Austro-Hungarian Battleships 1914-18
Author Ryan Noppen
Illustrated by Paul Wright
This 48 page book is number 193 in the New Vanguard series of books available from Osprey Publishing.
At the start of World War I, Austria-Hungary did not have an overseas empire. At the beginning of the 20th Century, the primary purpose of the Austria-Hungarian navy was for the defense of its coastline. With the growth of their merchant marine, the admirals believed that they should take a more proactive policy of defense. The admirals knew that they required modern battleships to compete with the rest of Europe. Even though their navy had trouble financing any new ships, by 1914 the Austro-Hungarian Navy had five classes of battleships that they put in service in World War I.
The contents of this book center on the classes of ships and the battleship actions in World War I. The contents of New Vanguard 193 are:
- Introduction
- Monarch Class
- Habsburg Class
- Erzherzog Karl Class
- Radetzky Class
- Tegetthoff Class
- Austro-Hungarian Battleship Actions in World War I
- Securing the Cattaro Naval Base
- The Bombardment of Ancona
- The Cortellazzo Bombardment
- The Loss of Wien
- The Loss of Szent Istvàn
- The Last Days of Austria-Hungary’s Battleships
- Bibliography
- Index
In each of the sections in which the ship classes are discussed, there is a further brake down of the class of ship to that the following information is presented in detail:
- Armament
- Armor
- Machinery
Throughout the book you are provided with detailed photographs which support the text and show the battleships as they appeared between 1914 and 1918. Also included are detailed color illustrations that provide additional information and supplement the written material that show the painting schemes that were used.
New Vanguard 193, the Austro-Hungarian Battleships of 1914-18 is an excellent reference book on this subject. While it may not contain all the information that a reader is looking for, this book is informative reading. With the full color artwork, illustrations and cutaway artwork this is a book that is excellent for a ship modeler. The wargamer and historian will enjoy the mix of information and especially the ship actions in which they were involved. Overall, the Austro-Hungarian Battleships of 1914-18 provides and excellent amount of information to interest all readers.
