Raid on Ruse

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Raid on Ruse
Part of Romanian Campaign of World War I

Diagram of the Romanian attack
Date27 August 1916
Location
Ruse, Bulgaria
Result Romanian victory
Territorial
changes		 The Austro-Hungarian Danube Flotilla retreats 130 km (81 miles) West along the Danube and is prevented from interfering in the subsequent Battle of Turtucaia
Belligerents
 Romania  Austria-Hungary
Commanders and leaders
Constantin Niculescu-Rizea [ro] Karl Lucich
Strength
3 torpedo boats (6 torpedoes) 5 monitors
4 armed boats
1+ barges
Casualties and losses
None 1 Barge sunk
Light damage to the Bulgarian port

The Raid on Ruse was the first naval action to take place on the Romanian front during World War I. It took place on the first day of the campaign, 27 August 1916, just as Romanian troops were crossing the border into Transylvania, then part of Austria-Hungary.

The Romanian attack

During the night of 27 August 1916 three Romanian small torpedo boats (the old 10-ton Rândunica and the converted hydraulic service vessels Bujorescu and Catinca, each armed with two torpedoes in wooden carriages) attacked the Austro-Hungarian Navy's Danube Flotilla stationed in the Bulgarian port of Ruse, which consisted of five monitors and four armed river boats. The objective was to sink one of the monitors, but the attack failed in its immediate purpose, as only one barge loaded with fuel was sunk (by Rândunica, commanded by Captain Constantin Niculescu-Rizea) and a quay was damaged by another torpedo. Due to this attack, however, the Austro-Hungarian Danube Flotilla (Commander Karl Lucich) retreated 130 kilometres (81 miles) west along the Danube, stopping at Belene and subsequently taking extensive defensive measures. The three crewmen of Rândunica were received as heroes in Bucharest, and the retreating Austro-Hungarian warships were prevented from interfering in the subsequent Battle of Turtucaia.[1][2][3][4]

References

  1. ^ Cristian Crăciunoiu, Romanian navy torpedo boats, Modelism, 2003, p. 52
  2. ^ Barrett, Michael B. (2013). Prelude to Blitzkrieg: The 1916 Austro-German Campaign in Romania. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 6. ISBN 9780253008701. OCLC 858657475.
  3. ^ Rumanian Review, Volume 51, Issues 1-9, Europolis Pub., 1996, p. 138
  4. ^ Stănescu, Raymond; Crăciunoiu, Cristian, Marina română în primul război mondial (in Romanian), pp. 73–76