Battle of Lissa (1811)

Battle of Lissa

Battle of Lissa, 13 March 1811
painting by Nicholas Pocock

Date	13 March 1811
Location	off Northern coastline of Lissa island, Adriatic Sea. (Vis in present-day Croatia)
Result	Decisive British victory

Belligerents

United Kingdom

French Empire

Italy

Commanders and leaders

William Hoste

Bernard Dubourdieu †

Strength

3 frigates,
1 post ship

6 frigates,
1 brig,
4 smaller craft

Casualties and losses

45 killed,
145 wounded

200 killed,
500 wounded and captured,
2 ships captured,
1 ship sunk

Coordinates: 43°05′21″N 16°10′18″E / 43.08917°N 16.17167°E / 43.08917; 16.17167

The Battle of Lissa (sometimes called the Battle of Vis; French: Bataille de Lissa; Italian: Battaglia di Lissa; Croatian: Viška bitka) was a naval action fought between a British frigate squadron and a larger squadron of French and Italian frigates and smaller ships on 13 March 1811 during the Adriatic campaign of the Napoleonic Wars. The engagement was fought in the Adriatic Sea for possession of the strategically important island of Lissa (also known as Vis), from which the British squadron had been disrupting French shipping in the Adriatic. The French needed to control the Adriatic to supply a growing army in the Illyrian Provinces, and consequently dispatched an invasion force in March 1811 consisting of six frigates, numerous smaller craft and a battalion of Italian soldiers.

The French invasion force under Bernard Dubourdieu was met by Captain William Hoste and his four ships based on the island. In the subsequent battle, Hoste sank the French flagship, captured two others, and scattered the remainder of the Franco-Venetian squadron. The battle has been hailed as an important British victory, due to both the disparity between the forces and the signal raised by Hoste, a former subordinate of Horatio Nelson. Hoste had raised the message "Remember Nelson" as the French bore down, and had then manoeuvred to drive Dubourdieu's flagship ashore and scatter his squadron in what has been described as "one of the most brilliant naval achievements of the war".

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Wikipedia