 On 23 May 1915 , between two and four hours after news of the Italian declaration of war reached the main Austro @-@ Hungarian naval base at Pola , Zrínyi and the rest of the fleet departed to bombard the Italian and Montenegrin coast . Their focus was on the important naval base at Ancona , and later the coast of Montenegro . The bombardment of Montenegro was part of the larger Austro @-@ Hungarian campaign against the Kingdoms of Montenegro and Serbia , who were members of the <unk> , during the first half of 1915 . The attack on Ancona was an immense success , and the ships were unopposed during the operation . The bombardment of the province and the surrounding area resulted in the destruction of an Italian steamer in the port of Ancona itself , and an Italian destroyer , <unk> , was severely damaged further south . On the shore , the infrastructure of the port of Ancona , as well as the surrounding towns , were severely damaged . The railroad yard in Ancona , as well as the port facilities in the town , were damaged or destroyed . The local shore batteries were also suppressed . During the bombardment , Zrínyi also helped to destroy a train , a railway station , and a bridge at <unk> . Additional targets that were damaged or destroyed included wharves , warehouses , oil tanks , radio stations , and the local barracks . Sixty @-@ three Italians , both civilians and military personnel , were killed in the bombardment . By the time Italian ships from Taranto and Brindisi arrived on the scene , the Austro @-@ Hungarians were safely back in Pola . 
