As time ticked by, the naval battle raging off the port of Taranto grew ever more brutal.
The Italian warships' liability nature was laid bare. Their paper-thin armor simply was not suited for a battle like this, to say nothing of the fact that they were already wounded.
The situation grew increasingly unfavorable for the Italian Navy, and Count of Abruzzi's mood worsened by the moment. A shell had just struck the deck of his flagship, the Giulio Cesare, claiming more than ten lives, including that of his adjutant. Fortunately, it had not hit the main battery. Otherwise, his flagship would have been left here for good!
Dawn was nearly upon them. It was no longer possible for Count of Abruzzi to defeat the enemy and lead the main fleet away. Over the course of the night's fighting, the Italian Navy had lost two cruisers and three destroyers, while its only achievement was the sinking of a single enemy destroyer.
It was not that the Italian Navy was incompetent. Their warships had already been damaged to begin with, and they had a greater number of old vessels; naturally, their ability to withstand blows was lacking.
Though both sides fielded considerable numbers of warships, there were not actually many qualified to take part in a decisive battle. They could hardly send torpedo boats and supply ships into the fray, could they?
Those taking part in the decisive battle numbered only around twenty Bulgarian warships and nearly forty Italian Navy warships.
Though the Italians had more ships, they held no advantage. Bulgaria had five Dreadnoughts, while the Italian Navy had only three!
Fortunately, they also had four pre-Dreadnoughts and a whole host of old-fashioned warships. Relying on their numerical advantage, they fought the Bulgarian Navy head-on under cover of darkness.
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