 At the start of the Italo @-@ Turkish War in September 1911 , Aretusa was stationed in Italian Eritrea in the Red Sea Squadron . Italian naval forces in the region also included five protected cruisers and several smaller vessels . Shortly after the start of the war on 2 October , Aretusa and the gunboat Volturno encountered the Ottoman torpedo cruiser <unk> @-@ i <unk> off Al Hudaydah . In a short engagement , the Italians vessels forced the Ottoman ship to flee into Al Hudaydah , bombarded the port facilities , and then withdrew . <unk> @-@ i <unk> was later interned in British @-@ controlled Suez The threat of an Ottoman attack from the Arabian Peninsula led the Italian High Command to reinforce the Red Sea Squadron ; the additional ships included another cruiser and several destroyers . The protected cruiser <unk> and two destroyers annihilated a force of seven Ottoman gunboats in the Battle of <unk> Bay on 7 January 1912 . 
