Fleet handed to the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs

On the afternoon of 31 October 1918, aboard the dreadnought Viribus Unitis at Pola, the commander of the Austro-Hungarian fleet, Rear-Admiral Miklós Horthy, handed the ships over to representatives of the National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. In accordance with Horthy’s wish, the ceremony began at about 5 p.m. The ensign of the Imperial and Royal Navy was lowered from the masts and a tricolour took its place. According to Croatian accounts it was the Croatian tricolour, greeted with the anthem “Lijepa naša domovino”, and Slovene and Serb sailors also hoisted their own flags. The delegates of the Zagreb Council were led by Vilim Bukšeg, its commissioner for social welfare.

The decision had been taken the day before in Vienna by Emperor Charles I. On 30 October he signed an order under which the navy, together with its ports, fortifications and installations, was to pass into the ownership of the National Council in Zagreb, which on 29 October had proclaimed the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. The Danube flotilla went to Hungary. The order was sent to fleet headquarters, to the naval port commands at Pola and Cattaro and to the naval commands at Trieste, Fiume and Sebenico. Sailors who were not South Slavs could at their own request go home on indefinite leave. The Emperor hoped that the ships would not fall into the hands of the victors, and especially of Italy, because the new state had declared its neutrality. The other states emerging from the ruins of the monarchy, which had also contributed to building the fleet, were to receive compensation later. Similar handovers took place at Sebenico and in the Bay of Cattaro, where in February the sailors had mutinied.

The National Council had no ready candidate for commander. According to most accounts, Horthy’s proposal was accepted at Pola, while according to Italian accounts the choice had already been made the day before. Command of the fleet passed to Captain Janko Vuković de Podkapelski, a Croat and until then the commander of Viribus Unitis, who was appointed rear-admiral. In Zagreb the Council appointed the retired Rear-Admiral Dragutin Prica commander of the whole navy of the new state. Viribus Unitis became the flagship, according to some sources under the new name Jugoslavija. That same day Horthy left by train for the interior, and with him many German and Hungarian officers and sailors. Those who remained on the ships at Pola were mainly Croats, Slovenes and Czechs. South Slavs made up barely more than a third of the crews, and even fewer of the officers and specialists, so many ships had no one to man them.

The National Council notified the Entente powers that it had taken over the fleet and was not at war with them, but neither the Italians nor their allies recognised the handover. Nor did two Italian officers, Raffaele Rossetti and Raffaele Paolucci, know about it; on the evening of 31 October they set out from Venice to attack the ships at Pola with the Mignatta human torpedo (PL). Towards morning on 1 November they placed a charge under Viribus Unitis. At 6.44 a.m. the dreadnought blew up and sank, and with her died Vuković and, according to various estimates, from several dozen to about 400 sailors. The Armistice of Villa Giusti of 3 November treated the entire fleet as property of the defeated monarchy that had to be surrendered to the victors, and from then on the navy of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs existed mainly on paper.