Atlas of Battles

naval engagement, major, nineteenth century

Battle of Lissa

Battle of Lissa was a naval engagement fought on 20 July 1866 at Adriatic Sea, in what is now Italy. It was part of Third Italian War of Independence. The recorded result: Austrian victory.

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Lissa naval battle, July 20th,1866; the Austrian navy against the Italian fleet. The RN Re d'Italia is sinking after being rammed by Tegetthoff's flagship, the SMS Ferdinand Max.
Lissa naval battle, July 20th,1866; the Austrian navy against the Italian fleet. The RN Re d'Italia is sinking after being rammed by Tegetthoff's flagship, the SMS Ferdinand Max.. Carl Frederik Sørensen, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought20 July 1866
WhereAdriatic Sea, Italy43.176N, 16.053E
OutcomeAustrian victory
BelligerentsAustrian EmpireagainstKingdom of Italy
Part ofThird Italian War of Independence1866

Where it sits in Third Italian War of Independence

Invasion of Trentino, 1866Operations in Valtellina (1866), 1866Naval operations on Lake Garda (1866), 1866Battle of Custoza, 1866Battle of Borgoforte, 1866Battle of Lissa, 1866Battle of Montelibretti, 1867Battle of Villa Glori, 1867Battle of Monterotondo, 1867Battle of Mentana, 186718661867Battle of Lissa, 1866
10 placed engagements of Third Italian War of Independence in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date20 July 1866
PlaceAdriatic Sea, Italy
43.176N, 16.053E
KindNaval engagement, nineteenth century
Strength4 ironclads; 3 armoured frigates; 1 ship of the line; 5 screw frigates; 1 screw corvette; 2 screw gunboats; 6 gunboats; 1 screw tender; 3 steamships9 ironclads; 1 armoured frigate; 2 armoured corvettes; 7 screw frigates; 1 screw corvette; 2 paddle corvettes; 1 sloop; 3 gunboats; 2 avisos; 4 merchantmen
Casualties and losses38 killed; 138 wounded612 killed; 36 wounded; 19 captured; 1 armoured frigate sunk; 1 gunboat sunk
Commanders
  • Wilhelm von Tegetthoff
  • Carlo Pellion di Persano
Battle of LissaBattle of LissaBattle of LissaSiege of RagusaSiege of IssaSiege of SalonaSiege of SalonaBattle of LissaSiege of SalonaSiege of SalonaPescaraMostarZadarDubrovnikZenicaŠibenik100 km43.176N, 16.053E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.
Initial situation at the battle of Lissa. Austrian Empire ships in red and Italian ships in blue. See also File:Battle of Lissa 1811 Map.png which is slightly different but with sources cited.
Initial situation at the battle of Lissa. Austrian Empire ships in red and Italian ships in blue. See also File:Battle of Lissa 1811 Map.png which is slightly different but with sources cited.. Rocco Pier Luigi, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1866

Battle of Lissa is one of 3,694 engagements of the 19th century in the atlas and one of 1,038 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q158054, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Lissa (1866), revision 1370268304, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.