The Cattaro mutiny occurred during World War I. Sailors of the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the Adriatic Bay of Cattaro (today: Kotor, Montenegro), which at that time belonged to Austria-Hungary, started it on 1 February 1918. The mutiny remained isolated and had to be abandoned after three days due to the arrival of loyal troops. Four sailors were subsequently executed according to naval law. The naval historian Halpern portrays this event as the last victory of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy over the social forces that would eventually overwhelm it.
Historical background
At the beginning of 1918, dissatisfaction with the food situation, with the political conditions, as well as war fatigue had increased further. After the Russian October Revolution of 1917 and the peace offer of the Bolsheviks, wide circles, especially of the working class, feared that the German Supreme Army Command could jeopardise the hoped-for peace on the Eastern Front by making excessive demands. In protest, the Jännerstreik occurred with over 700,000 participants throughout Austria-Hungary. Workers' councils were formed, which also demanded better supplies, the abolition of censorship, the end of martial law and the introduction of the eight-hour day. The strike wave also reached the naval arsenal in Pola. After the strikes in the Monarchy ended for the most part on 21 January, work was also resumed in Pola on 28 January. Presumably unaware of the end of the actions, the sailors of the warships anchored in Cattaro decided to hold a demonstration, which they hoped would give the movement further impetus.
The base of Cattaro in the south of Austria-Hungary became of special strategic importance when the Lovćen, located on Montenegrin territory and overlooking the bay, was conquered in 1916 during the occupation of Montenegro and Northern Albania. Cattaro now became an important base of operations against the Otranto barrier, a base for the submarine warfare in the Mediterranean, and for supplies to the Balkan front. For this purpose, besides destroyers, torpedo boats and submarines (also German ones), the whole Cruiser Flotilla under the flagship (Austrian: Flaggenschiff) "SMS Sankt Georg" as well as the V. Ship Division was deployed there.
Destroyers, torpedo boats and submarines as well as the modern Rapidkreuzer (fast cruisers) carried the main load of the naval warfare, while the large ships were mostly idly at anchor, because - as in the German Empire - the risk of the fleet getting destroyed seemed too great (fleet in being). This was also an important reason for increasing tensions between officers and crews aboard these units. The crews felt unjustly and roughly treated by their superiors. They complained about senseless drill, about strict punishment for nullity, about insults, humiliations by often young officers, about the poor rations in contrast to the officers, about torn off uniforms, about the little home leave. Many crew members were trained metalworkers and had come into contact with the ideas of the social democratic workers movement. They demanded democratic reforms. The perceived privileged position of the officers also fed the suspicion that they were not interested in peace, but wanted to prolong the war, while the ordinary soldiers and their families had to suffer great privations.
Course of events
The first day of the uprising, 1 February 1918
The uprising, which apparently had been prepared by various loose groups, started from the flagship "SMS Sankt Georg" on 1 February 1918 at about 12 noon.
The officers had lunch in their mess. The crew armed themselves, fired a cannon shot and raised a red flag. The chief officer (Austrian: Gesamt Detail Offizier) Zipperer, who rushed on deck, received a shot to the temporal bone. Medical assistance was initially prevented before he could be taken to the ship's hospital. In addition, a non-commissioned officer was shot through the chest and a sailor was injured by a ricocheting bullet. There were also shots fired at the ship's commander, but without hitting him. At the request of the crew, the ship's commander brought Rear Admiral Hansa, the commander of the Cruiser Flotilla, on deck. Anton Grabar demanded the immediate end of the war according to the Fourteen Points of Woodrow Wilson and he complained about the bad treatment especially by the young cadets and the insufficient rations. The officers were now ordered to eat the same food as the crew.
Another centre of action was aboard SMS Gäa. Gäa was a depot and workshop ship with a large number of older workers on board, who had come into contact with social democratic ideas more intensively.
The movement spread quickly. The red flag was hoisted on all larger ships. Only on the ships that were more frequently sent out for warfare, on which therefore the crews were treated much better by the officers, it encountered discomfort (on the fast cruisers) or resistance (on the destroyers, torpedo boats and submarines). Under the threat from the armored cruisers that the ships would be taken under fire, some of the smaller units, partly with the agreement of their commanders, hoisted the red flag.
The destroyer Csepel had earlier received a sailing order for 15 o'clock, to escort a convoy to Durazzo. The commander had the boilers fired up. Thereupon Gäa signalled that in case of leaving the bay fire would be opened. The commander of the Csepel, however, ordered the ship to be cast off and threatened to torpedo the Sankt Georg. The Sankt Georg and the Gäa then fired one cannon shot each. When the Csepel drew nevertheless nearer, the chief of staff on Sankt Georg ordered the Csepel back to the berth.
Altogether about 30 warships and about 3,000–4,000 men, out of a total of 5,000 naval personnel in Cattaro, took part in the uprising. Also the submarine base, the telegraph magazine, the naval mine command and the naval air station in Kumbor as well as the back-up battery in Gjenović (today: Đenovići) and the naval station Caballa were involved.
In place of the officers, sailors’ councils or crew committees, usually designated by acclamation, took over, and continued to organise the service in the normal way. A central committee was formed on SMS Sankt Georg. In the evening the committee handed over a note with the demands of the crews to the cruiser flotilla commander Rear Admiral Alexander Hansa, which contained both general political and crew-specific points:
"What we want
- Measures to initiate an immediate general peace.
- Complete political independence from other powers.
- Peace based on the Russian democratic proposal, 'without annexation etc.'
- Complete disarmament (demobilisation) and establishment of the voluntary militia.
- Right of self-determination of the peoples.
- An answer in good faith to Wilson's note.
- Greater support and adequate food and clothing for the relatives of the conscripted.
- Democratisation of the government.
- Due to malnutrition, omitting all unnecessary work and drill. For Korvees separate food allowance.
- More shore leave and of longer duration.
- Home leave strictly within 6 months once in the duration of 21 days without travel days. Same conditions for staff.
- Introduction of a humane, faster transport for those on leave, increase of the boarding allowance for home leave and possibly delivery of the food in kind.
- Equitable distribution of the ship's food. Same food for staff and crew.
- Better supply of smoking materials, the same for staff and crew.
- Abolition of censorship of letters.
- Consideration of special requirements of individual ships and boats.
- No consequences of any type for this demonstration.
Sailors' delegations of all units."
The rebels sent patrols ashore to persuade more units to join in. A patrol of the Gäa moored off Gjenović tried to persuade the crews of the nearby torpedo boats and submarines to join in by threat, but without much success. They were partly supported by the local population, throwing stones at the ships. The patrol of Sankt Georg was accompanied by an officer assigned by Rear Admiral Hansa. Hansa hoped to use this to steer the movement in calm waters and to be able to settle it through negotiations. He had assured the rebels, with the exception of those who had used weapons, that they would go unpunished if the uprising was ended. According to Plaschka's assessment, the members of the navy had "achieved a unique breakthrough that day."
The naval port commandant in Castelnuovo, Feldzeugmeister Guseck, the local army commander, had been informed of the course of events by Hansa via a telephone line which the insurgents only contained the next day. Guseck initiated comprehensive countermeasures, among them ordering of heavy naval forces from Pola as well as of infantry from the region. The German submarines sailed into the inner bay in the evening, which was perceived as a threat by the insurgents.
Second day of the uprising, 2 February 1918
In the morning, Guseck's ultimatum was presented to the central committee: all crews had to return to order and discipline within three hours, otherwise order would be restored by all means.
The central committee, however, presented new demands to Hansa, including
A senior NCO, the Titularbootsmann František Rasch from the lighting department in Kumbor now served as spokesman for the central committee. Hansa promised benevolent consideration and renewed his offer of immunity from prosecution in case of termination of the movement. This led to heated discussions at "St. Georg" as many wanted to give up.
Finally, the only officer who had made himself available to the movement, navy officer cadet Anton Sesan from the naval aviation department in Kumbor, whom Rasch had won over for leading the action, managed to convince the crew to persevere. The delegates now went back to their ships and stations. Hansa arranged for an extension of the ultimatum. One condition was that no ship movements would take place.
Sesan suggested that the ships should risk an advance into the Adriatic Sea in order to attract international attention and to encourage the crews of other nations to take action as well. Rasch, however, was counting on the approaching troops to show solidarity. The fleet remained in the bay. Plaschka sees in Rasch the determining element of the revolt, who also clearly addressed the social-revolutionary perspective in his comments to Hansa: "that the system in the state must be overthrown."
Around 2 p.m., the crew committee of the "SMS Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolf", which had been deployed as a guard ship at the harbour entrance off Porto Rose, decided to shift to the second, inner bay of Teodo to join the other rebel ships. In the process, the ship was fired upon by a land-based battery. Two dead sailors, among them Petty Officer Second Class Sagner, an important leader on the ship, were the result. The action, which was intended to lift the mood among the insurgents, caused great consternation in their ranks.
After the delegates of the fast cruiser "Novara" had returned from the flagship to their ship, the crew voted to keep the red flag as well. But the commander overrode their decision and ordered the ship to sail into the inner bay. In doing so, he allowed those sailors who feared being torn between the forces to leave the ship. When passing the "SMS Kaiser Karl VI", which was not far away, the red flag was put down. The rebels' threat to fire on falling off ships was not carried out. Later the other fast cruiser "SMS Helgoland", the torpedo boats and the destroyers followed. A new front against the revolting ships had emerged in the inner bay. Also the German submarine commanders were prepared to torpedo the rebellious ships if necessary.
During the night the central sailors' committee tried to send two telegrams by radio to Dr. Adler in Vienna and Count Károlyi in Budapest. They were asked to call on the government to intervene immediately, as to the committee's opinion the advance of the infantry may cause a general unrest in the Austro-Hungarian military. However, the committee had to rely on the land-based transmitter of the Naval Port Command. The stations on board had been manipulated by the specialist operators, so that the range was severely limited. Guseck did not let the telegrams pass.