ages
from Lissa satisfied him that the Italian fleet was not attempting
a diversion but was actually committed to an attack on the island,
Tegetthoff set out thither on July 19 with his entire fighting
force. His order of sailing was the order of battle. "Every captain
knew the admiral's intention as well as the admiral himself did;
every officer knew what had to be done, and every man had some
idea of it, and above all knew that he had to fight."[1]

[Footnote 1: Laughton, STUDIES IN NAVAL HISTORY, Tegetthoff, p. 164.]

In the meantime the Italian drive on Lissa had gone ahead slowly.
The island batteries were on commanding heights and manned by marines
and artillerymen resolved to fight to the last ditch. During the
second day's bombardment the _Affondatore_ appeared, and also some
additional troops needed to complete the landing force. Two-thirds
of the guns on shore were silenced that day, and if the landing
operations had been pushed, the island captured, and the fleet
taken into the protected harbor of St. Giorgio, Tegetthoff would
have had a harder problem to solve. But as the mist blew away with
a southerly wind at 10 o'clock on the next day, July 20, the weary
garrison on the heights of the island gave cheer after cheer as
they saw the Austrian squadron plunging through the head seas at
full speed from the northeastward, while the Italian ships hurriedly
drew together north of the island to meet the blow.

The Austrians advanced in three successive divisions, ironclads,
wooden frigates, and finally the smaller vessels, each in a wedge-shaped
formation (shown by the diagram), with the apex toward the enemy.
The object was to drive through the Italian line if possible near
the van and bring on a close scrimmage in which all ships could
take part, ramming tactics could be employed, and the enemy would
profit less by their superiority in armor and guns. Like Nelson's at
Trafalgar, Tegetthoff's formation was one not likely to be imitated,
but it was at least simple and well understood, and against a passive
resistance it gave the results planned.

[Illustration: BATTLE OF LISSA, JULY 20, 1866]

"_Ecco i pescatori!_" (Here come the fishermen), cried Persana,
with a scorn he was far from actually feeling. The Italians were
in fact caught at a disadvantage. One of their best ships, the
_Formidabile_, had been put _hors de combat_ by the batteries
on the day before. Another, coming in late from the west end of
th