The Second Battle of Durazzo, or the Bombardment of Durazzo was a naval battle fought in the Adriatic Sea during World War I. A large Allied fleet led by the Regia Marina attacked the enemy held city of Durazzo, Albania. The fleet destroyed the Austro-Hungarian shore defenses and skirmished with a small naval force. The attack involved primarily Italian forces though British, American and Australian warships also participated. It was also the largest naval battle the United States participated in during the war.
Background
Between September 15th through 29th, 1918 FrenchGeneralLouis Franchet d'Espèrey in command of a large allied army campaigned in Macedonia. The offensive was a victory and ended with Bulgaria's surrender. Fearing the remaining enemies would fall back on the Austrian held port Durazzo for supplies, D'Esperey requested that an allied naval fleet be assembled to attack Durazzo and thus prevent the city from supplying retreating enemy forces. D'esperey's request was approved and the Italian Regia Marina accepted the opportunity to lead the attack. Rear Admiral Carlo Paladini in the armoured cruiserSan Marco was to command the operation.
The Adriatic Sea, Durazzo is located on the coast of Albania, presently known as Durres.
Allied objectives were to bombard Durazzo and attack Austrian ships in the harbor if there were any. The Allies divided their fleet into two forces, one for bombarment and the other for screening the attacking ships from enemy submarines. Allied forces included one Italian predreadnought battleship, the Dante Alighieri, which was assigned to the covering force, three Italian armoured cruisers, three Italian light cruisers, five British light cruisers, fourteen British destroyers, two Australian destroyers, eight Italian torpedo boats and eleven American submarine chasers. Allied aircraft was also involved along with several Italian MAS boats.
Before the battle began, the Austro-Hungarian government decided to withdrawal most of their warships from Durazzo. Only two destroyers, one torpedo boat and two U-boats oppossed the allied fleet though the Austrian troops on shore manned at least three different shore batteries which dueled with the allied ships. Also in port was the hospital ship Austrian forces were commanded by Lieutenant Commander Heinrich Pauler.
Battle
The Second Battle of Durazzo began in the morning on October 2nd, 1918, allied aircraft attacked first by bombarding enemy troop concentrations and artillery batteries while the fleet was still steaming across the Adriatic. When the allies first entered Durazzo harbor the hospital ship Baron Call managed to alert the defenders, she was then boarded by the British but later released as she posed no threat to the fleet. Afterwards several of the Italian and British cruisers formed a line and began their bombarment from about 8,000 yards off the coast, meanwhile, the MAS boats and some American and British vessels attacked the three Austro-Hungarian naval ships, Dinara, Scharfschultze and No. 87.
The three ships sailed back and forth around Durazzo harbor firing their guns and dodging Italian torpedos and British shell fire. Torpedo boat No. 87 was heavily damaged and grounded and the two destroyers were sunk by American and British fire as they fled north along the coast. Three merchantmen, the Graz, Herzegovina and the Stambul were also attacked by the allied vessels, at least one was sunk and two other were damaged but escaped complete destruction. Most of the American forces were assigned to the covering force and at the battle's beginning were used to chart a clear path through a sea mine field off Durazzo. A few of the submarine chasers took fire from shore batteries at this time but none were damaged. After they were assigned to screen the other allied ships from submarine attacks. Patrolling to the north and to the south of the battle area, the Americans engaged the two Austro-Hungarian U-boats SM U-29 and SM U-31. At 11:05, a sailor on the submarine chaser No. 129 spotted U-29 which was then depth charged for fifteen minutes and damaged heavily but survived the encounter.
HMS Weymouth in Greece during the Battle of the Mediterranean.
U-31 was also depth charged and survived as well. At one point No. 129 was fired on by the enemy shore batteries, the closest shot landed about fifty yards from the vessel but the Americans suffered no casualties in the battle. After the battle American forces reported sinking the two submarines but this was not so. The submarines managed to damage at least one allied light cruiser; the HMS Weymouth was struck by a torpedo from U-131 under a Lieutenant Rigele which blew off a large portion of her stern and killed four men. A British destroyer was also hit by a torpedo. Weymouth spent the remainer of the war under repair. The four other British light cruisers are known to have been lightly damaged by shore battery fire before they were silenced and or destroyed that day. The battle ended by 12:30 am on October 2nd and from the beginning of the action civilians fled the city and by October 11th the once busy port was silent. A few days after that a Serbian army was landed and took contol.
Kingdom of Italy
United Kingdom
United States
Australia
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Heinrich Pauer
