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could pass with impunity". In 1917–1918, reinforcements from the
Australian and American navies brought the blockading force up to 35 destroyers, 52 drifters and more than 100 other vessels. Nevertheless, submarines continued to slip through until the end of the war; the introduction of the convoy system and better coordination amongst the Allies only helped to cut the losses they were causing after escaping the blockade.
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The ease with which German and
Austrian submarines continued out of the Austro-Hungarian ports in spite of the barrage (and the success they had in disrupting shipping in the whole of the Mediterranean) strongly embarrassed the Allies, the system being called "a large sieve through which U-boats
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intended to trap submarines or at least alert the surface vessels to their presence. A third division would be at
Brindisi. The drifters were supported by destroyers and aircraft. However, the demands of the
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By contrast, the presence of Allied capital ships involved in the blockade was generally successful in its mission of keeping enemy surface vessels from leaving the
Adriatic Sea.
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151:
was caught by the indicator nets during the course of the war. It was later considered that the straits had simply been too wide to be netted, mined or patrolled effectively.
188:
in
December 1916, a conference in London concluded that the drifters were insufficiently defended. The barrage was placed under the command of a British officer, Commodore
309:, severely injuring Horthy. However, the British cruisers broke off the engagement when the Italian flag officer received notice of heavy Austrian forces coming out of
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and threatening Allied operations there. The blockade was effective in preventing surface ships from escaping the
Adriatic, but it had little or no effect on the
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In June 1918, Horthy—by now commander-in-chief of the Austro-Hungarian Navy—decided to launch an attack on the barrage employing the four
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192:, who was able to call upon all Allied ships not in use elsewhere. His second-in-command was another British officer, Commander
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The
Austrians mounted nighttime raids against the barrage, five in 1915, nine in 1916 and ten in 1917. After a raid by four
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were dedicated to anti-submarine operations. The drifters were mostly
British and typically armed with a 6-pounder gun and
76:. The operation consisted of over 200 vessels at the height of the blockade. The blockade was intended to prevent the
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124:. The blockade consisted of over 200 vessels at its height, mainly British and French. A main force of up to 60
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was torpedoed and sunk by an
Italian torpedo boat at dawn on 10 June, resulting in the attack being cancelled.
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132:. In 1915 when the blockade was begun, two divisions of 20 would be on patrol at a time, equipped with steel
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Millholland, Ray, "The
Splinter Fleet of Otranto Barrage" The Readers League of America, New York, NY, 1936
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and other naval operations left the Otranto Barrage with insufficient resources to deter the
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8:
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The Battle of the Otranto Straits: Controlling the Gateway to the Adriatic in World War I
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exiting the harbour the very same day and exploded, sinking with all hands.
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333:. The night before, the same U-boat had laid a minefield at the mouth of
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290:—together with Italian and French destroyers, under command of Italian
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558:, in "Note di Storia e Cultura Salentina", anno XV, (Argo, Lecce 2003)
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Otranto nel Mondo. Dal "Castello" di Walpole al "Barone" di Voltaire
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Otranto e l'Inghilterra (episodi bellici in Puglia e nel Salento)
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was carried out on the night of 14/15 May 1917 by the cruisers
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The Northern Adriatic Ecosystem: Deep Time in a Shallow Sea
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Naval battles of World War I involving the United Kingdom
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Naval battles of World War I involving the United States
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Naval battles of World War I involving Austria-Hungary
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after the battle of the Otranto Straits, 15 May 1917
543:. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2004.
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588:Otranto Barrage article from firstworldwar.com
482:Society of Twentieth Century Wargamers Journal
645:Naval battles of World War I involving France
635:Mediterranean naval operations of World War I
583:Austro-Hungarian Raids on the Otranto Barrage
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650:Naval battles of World War I involving Italy
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395:. Columbia University Press. p. 29.
551:. A comprehensive account of the battle.
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361:, the most modern in the fleet. While
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488:from the original on 6 December 2013
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365:down the Adriatic, the battleship
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104:Location of the Otranto Barrage
29:sailing from their base in the
190:Algernon Walker-Heneage-Vivian
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299:Battle of the Otranto Straits
277:. The British light cruisers
232:and Austro-Hungarian U-boats
219:supported by the destroyers
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665:History of the Adriatic Sea
244:, along with German U-boat
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389:Frank K. McKinney (2007).
269:for defending his drifter
33:to man the Otranto Barrage
16:Naval Blockade during WW1
484:. russellphillipsbooks.
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273:under heavy attack from
108:The Adriatic is 72
507:Otranto Barrage article
80:from escaping into the
516:from firstworldwar.com
301:. The British damaged
265:was later awarded the
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478:"The Otranto Barrage"
357:battleships based at
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78:Austro-Hungarian Navy
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343:struck one of these
194:Charles Edward Turle
611:40.2167°N 18.9167°E
607: /
512:13 May 2020 at the
460:– Willmott, H. P.,
561:(IT) Carlo Stasi,
554:(IT) Carlo Stasi,
462:Dorling Kindersley
329:as it returned to
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139:Gallipoli Campaign
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571:978-88-31964-06-7
432:"Otranto Barrage"
402:978-0-231-13242-8
162:Raids and battles
50:Strait of Otranto
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68:side of the
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263:Joseph Watt
629:Categories
602:18°55′00″E
599:40°13′00″N
524:References
353:Tegetthoff
186:destroyers
116:; 45
86:submarines
367:SMS
323:Dartmouth
281:Dartmouth
279:HMS
221:SMS
210:Helgoland
202:SMS
112:(39
88:based at
510:Archived
486:Archived
407:Archived
363:en route
340:Boutefeu
335:Brindisi
331:Brindisi
271:Gowanlea
261:Skipper
126:drifters
54:Brindisi
52:between
31:Adriatic
27:drifters
25:British
670:Otranto
492:15 July
413:6 March
311:Cattaro
287:Bristol
229:Balaton
143:U-boats
90:Cattaro
72:in the
64:on the
48:of the
41:was an
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399:
355:-class
319:Novara
317:towed
307:Novara
275:Novara
223:Csepel
213:, and
204:Novara
196:. The
183:-class
181:Huszár
172:Novara
43:Allied
376:Notes
345:mines
327:UC-25
315:Saida
303:Saida
247:UC-25
216:Saida
66:Greek
62:Corfu
58:Italy
567:ISBN
545:ISBN
494:2013
415:2013
397:ISBN
359:Pola
284:and
252:U-89
241:U-27
238:and
226:and
60:and
37:The
235:U-4
148:U-6
114:nmi
56:in
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480:.
469:^
444:^
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423:^
405:.
313:.
207:,
118:mi
110:km
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.