. Battles of the nineteenth century . ETEENTH CENTURY. mouth the mass of wooden ships, transports, andsmall craft, interrupted in their preparations forthe landing, and nearer still the Italian ironcladssteaming out in one long line ready for battle. Persano, regarding his wooden ships as useless,had decided to take only his ten ironclads withhim, believing that they would be able to dealAvith the seven which Tegethoff was bringingagainst him. He formed his ironclads in threedivisions, eachof three ships, with the turret shipand ram Affondatore^ then the most powerful (ilta/ia^ a large broadsi
. Battles of the nineteenth century . ETEENTH CENTURY. mouth the mass of wooden ships, transports, andsmall craft, interrupted in their preparations forthe landing, and nearer still the Italian ironcladssteaming out in one long line ready for battle. Persano, regarding his wooden ships as useless,had decided to take only his ten ironclads withhim, believing that they would be able to dealAvith the seven which Tegethoff was bringingagainst him. He formed his ironclads in threedivisions, eachof three ships, with the turret shipand ram Affondatore^ then the most powerful (ilta/ia^ a large broadside ship, which had tillthen been flagship, no longer carried theAdmiral. When the haze cleared, the Italian fleet wassteaming across the Austrian front. Tegethoffhad already signalled to clear for action. Henow signalled to open fire with the bow guns,and the distant shots from the leading Austrianships were answered by the broadsides of AdmiralVaccas division, which led that of Italy. Butthe range was fully two miles, and these long. TRIESTE HARBOUR. vessel in the Adriatic,* on the starboard sideof the central division. The Affondatorc^ withher ram and her heavy turret guns (two300-pounders), was to come to the help ofwhichever of the three divisions was in need ofsuccour. At the last moment he himself wenton board of her—an unfortunate move, whichled to much confusion during the battle, ashis captains were mostly unaware that the Re * The Affondatore was a new ship built in the Thamesjust before the war. A correspondent of the Times whosaw her at Cherbourg, where she called on her way downChannel, wrote that she looked sufficiently formidable todestroy the whole Austrian ironclad fleet singlehanded. bowls did no harm. The fleets were wrappedin drifting clouds of smoke, and geysers offoam shot up here and there from the bluewater in the space between. Full steamahead, signalled Tegethoff. The fleets wereclosing, the Italians still keeping their broadsidesto the advancing foe
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1901
