The Italians did not want to fight now. Their warships were basically in no condition to do so, but Pyotr Ivanov had no choice but to fight this battle!
It did not matter how the battle turned out. At the very least, they had to force the Italians back; failing that, they had to buy time. French reinforcements would be arriving soon.
Well, Pyotr Ivanov did not yet know that the French advance force consisted of a group of cruisers plus two battlecruisers. Otherwise, he would not have been so confident.
After all, if the main force of the Italian Navy was still intact, then even with these French reinforcements, the Bulgarian Navy's odds of victory would still not be high!
Once the distance between the two sides had closed to three nautical miles—5.5 kilometers—the battle began. Although the hit rate was still very low at this range, that was war; often, there simply was no choice!
As long as they hit the enemy, it was a profit; if they missed, so be it. And if heaven-defying luck struck and a single shell hit a vital point on an enemy battleship, that would be like winning the lottery—a colossal windfall!
As soon as the battle began, Count of Abruzzi sensed that something was wrong. The enemy's firepower was clearly that of the Entente's main force, though their number of warships seemed somewhat smaller.
Yet under the cover of night, aside from the flashes spewed by the guns, neither side could make out the other's exact situation. All they could do was fire in the enemy's direction!
As the naval battle broke out, the Roman government finally received news that Taranto had been attacked. When Prime Minister Antonio Salandra received the report, he thought he had run into April Fools'