Second Battle of Durazzo On 2 October, an allied fleet composed of Italian, British, Australian and American warships attacked the port of Durazzo, which had by that time come under Austro-Hungarian occupation, during the Second Battle of Durazzo. The fleet consisted of over 55 vessels along with MAS boats and supporting aircraft. Allied forces destroyed Austro-Hungarian shore batteries and defeated a small squadron of patrol craft while sustaining comparatively light damage. Durazzo was left in flames, several building, bridges and railroad targets were bombarded which forced the evacuation of the city. A week or so after the battle an allied army occupied the city without resistance. Sinking of Viribus Unitis On 1 November, the ex-Austro-Hungarian dreadnought flagship Viribus Unitis was sunk – along with the merchant-ship Wien— both at anchor at Pula by limpet mine attached by the crew of an Italian mignatta. The mignatta was the precursor of the human torpedo and was invented by Major of naval engineers Raffaele Rossetti. The whole Austrian Navy was at the time being transferred to the new State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, but the Italian attackers had not been informed. Austro-Hungarian submarines results Many Austro-Hungarian and German U-boats operated out of the Adriatic for the whole of the war. Due to lack of cooperation of the Allies in the Mediterranean control zones, and the late institution of the convoy system, U-boats experienced substantial success throughout the first war years. K.u.K. Kriegsmarine submarines sunk 117 ships during World War I, with the total of . The most well-known casualties were: Also, the K.u.K. Kriegsmarine submarines damaged the following ships: References External links Serbia, Balkans & Macedonia 1914-18 Combined Operations in the Adriatic, 1915-18 Military operations of World War I involving Austria-Hungary Mediterranean naval operations of World War I Campaigns and theatres of World War I