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Austro-Hungarian Danube Flotilla

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Danube Flotilla
Austro-Hungarian monitors at Rustschuk in 1916
Activec. 1870-1918
CountryAustria-Hungary
BranchAustro-Hungarian Navy

The Austro-Hungarian Danube Flotilla was a section of the Austro-Hungarian Navy established after the Austro-Prussian War.[1] It consisted of 9 gunboats (valued at 17.5 million golden crowns), 8 armoured patrol boats (valued at 9 million golden crowns) and 55 other miscellaneous boats (valued at 4.5 million golden crowns), with a combined total manpower of 1000 soldiers.[2]

The flotilla fired the first shots of World War I on the night of 28/29 July 1914 during the bombardment of Belgrade, hours after the Austrian declaration of war against Serbia had been transmitted. The three ships present were SMS Temes, SMS Bodrog where the first shots of World War I just after 01:00 on 29 July 1914, when she and two other monitors shelled Serbian defences near Belgrade and SMS Szamos[3] and continued to participate in the war on the Eastern Front between 1914 and 1918 until Austria-Hungary's collapse. The 1920 Treaty of Trianon divided the ships of the flotilla between Austria and Hungary.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "A-H Danube Flotilla". www.gwpda.org. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  2. ^ "Imperial Austrian-Hungarian Danube Flotilla". Feldgrau. 2020-08-04. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  3. ^ "A-H Danube Flotilla". www.gwpda.org. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  4. ^ "Imperial Austrian-Hungarian Danube Flotilla". Feldgrau. 2020-08-04. Retrieved 2021-07-20.