On October 14, 1914, the streets of Pula Harbour near the sea were already filled with people who were waiting for it. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The wide waters of the harbor, once filled with the majestic fleet of which the people of Pula were proud, were now empty. A week after the entire fleet left the port, the people of Pula had a vague sense of something. The Imperial Mediterranean Fleet base has maintained martial law, and there has been no news of any fleet, and as time passed, the unrest of the population has become more and more intense.

The day before yesterday, the Croatian Navy's light cruiser Zenta sailed into the harbor crookedly and was immediately pushed to the dock of the naval shipyard by tugboats, and then the armed naval base guards immediately blocked the shipyard, accompanied by several ambulances. Subsequently, all hospitals in Pula Harbour received orders from the military to clear their beds, and all surgeons were asked to be on standby at the hospital.

All these actions convinced the people that the fleet was going to fight, and at the same time, they began to worry about the outcome of the battle. In particular, the martial law imposed on the shipyard by the guards of the naval base and the imminent threat of all the medical systems in the entire port of Pula have raised the unrest of the population to a climax.

Although the radio that night and the newspapers of the following day claimed that the Combined Dirk Fleet had won a brilliant victory over the Anglo-French Combined Fleet in the Ionian Sea, the vague reports did not calm the unease. The opponent is the British Royal Navy, which has hundreds of years of maritime supremacy, and the enemy has 16 battleships, and the enemy has only 13 of them, although the Imperial Navy is strong, but can it really defeat such an opponent? Even if you win, what is the tragic price?

The people of Pula Harbor, who had spent one day in uncertainty, noticed early in the morning that all the tugboats in the harbor were moving, and soon they realized that the fleet had returned.

In just an hour, the streets of Pula Harbor with a view of the sea are already crowded, and more and more people are coming. The entire south side of the port from Ullianique in the harbor to the port area is the naval shipyard area, which is cut off from view by the buildings along the wharf, and can only be seen from the coastal streets of the city adjacent to the commercial port and the naval shipyard.

The crowds here even affected traffic, and more people began to run higher than the harbor, and the Kashtel Ridge on the hill was crowded with people, and many people kept negotiating with the residents of the seaside buildings to get to the roof. All the people in the entire port city are concerned about the situation of the fleet for various reasons.

At 10 o'clock in the morning, the first ship finally appeared in front of the people's eyes.

"Oh God, that's the Linz!"

Most of the people in the port of Pula could name these ships of the Imperial Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, which were seen almost every day, and the appearance of the Linz immediately caused a commotion among the crowd.

At this time, the state of the Linz was no longer enough to describe it as a serious injury, the whole battleship was full of holes and devastation, and the freeboard, which was only 2 meters high from the water, made the Linz look like a shallow gunboat at this time, making everyone worry about whether she would sink at any time.

The ship that was dragged into the harbor immediately afterwards made many people grow their mouths, and the Innsbruck, which was dragged into the harbor with its bow high, did not raise its head proudly like its own hull posture, but made many people can't help but lower their heads and can't bear to look at the tragic condition of the battleship, the Linz is still intact, and the stern of the ship that is missing because of the Sbruck makes the hull nearly 10 meters shorter.

The miserable condition of the two warships brought the people's anxiety to a climax, was it that the other warships were in such a miserable condition as the Linz and Innsbruck, how many warships had been sunk by the mighty Imperial fleet? How many brave sailors and excellent officers died under the icy waters? Did the radio and newspapers hide the truth, and did the Imperial Navy win or suffer a crushing defeat?

In the midst of this uneasiness, a large gray figure appeared outside the harbor.

"It's the Tyrol!" As the gray shadow of the ship became clearer, people recognized the battleship.

Looking at the Tyrol from afar, the crowd grew silent, fearing that the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet, which they were so proud of, was as dilapidated as the light cruisers that preceded it.

The Tyrol entering the harbor sounded its whistle, and in the long whistle people finally saw the figure of the Tyrol, the originally beautiful and neat hull was now covered with scorched black marks, the steel plates pierced by the shells were twisted and deformed, and the dilapidated superstructure could be seen everywhere after the fire raged, and everything that could be seen showed what kind of battle the battleship had experienced.

Yet even on this shocking battleship, the officers and men of the Mediterranean Fleet still stood on the deck, just as they had entered the harbor before. Even if their uniforms were not as neat as before, even if their standing posture was not as upright as before, even if many of them were still bandaged, their ranks were still as neat as ever.

The contrast between the ruined battleship and the neat queue was stark, and many emotional women couldn't help but lower their heads and cover their mouths to control their emotions.

Because the Navy Pier could not berth all ships, large warships were generally moored to berths outside the port area. Today, however, the warships that entered the harbor were uncharacteristically heading towards the side of the harbor, and the damaged warships moved directly to the docks of the Navy Shipyard with the help of tugboats, which also made people see the appearance of these warships.

As the battleships approached, there were constant exclamations from the crowd.

"That's the Styria!"

"God, how did the Bohemia become like this?!"

"That's the Ljubljana, damn it! Look at the big hole in the bow! ”

"The Alsace has arrived!"

"Great, the Vidin is still there!"

"Thank God, it's the Hesse! Please God bless my son with peace! ”

When the Zaringen appeared in the field of vision, the people finally began to cheer. People waved their arms and hats, and even many young people took off their coats and shook them in the air.

"All 13 battleships are here!"

"We didn't lose 1 battleship!"

"Victory! Our victory! Long live the Navy! ”

While the people were cheering for the victory, a deafening roar rang out in the port of Pula! Several forts and forts around the port area of Pula Port and gun salutes fired together from the forts and forts resounded throughout Pula Harbor! The roar of the salute pushed the atmosphere inside the entire port to a climax!

However, on the pier, which is invisible to the public, the atmosphere is not all cheerful.

The factories on a small peninsula jutting out of the south side of the naval shipyard and the island of Andria, in the middle of the port area, usually block the view of the naval docks on the Valovine Peninsula to the southwest of the port area. It was only the Tyrol that had been badly damaged by the superstructure that landed on the pier of the naval base that landed on the pier of the naval base, and the first to disembark from the gangplank on the deck of the battleship was not the soldiers with their heads held high and full of the joy of victory, but the stretchers carried off the ship by the crew.

The wounded were covered in blood on the stretchers lined up on the docks, and the seriously injured were immediately carried to the ambulances that had been on standby for a long time and taken to the naval hospital, a scene that diluted the joy of victory in the hearts of those who greeted them on the pier.

When the seriously wounded were carried off the boat, the officers and men began to step down the gangplank in an orderly manner and lined up on the pier through the long trestle. Knowing that His Majesty the Emperor was greeting him on the dock, the officers and soldiers straightened their backs, and even the wounded, as long as they could still walk, still stood in the queue with their heads held high, waiting for His Majesty the Emperor's review.

Didrichs walked up to Jochen with steady steps, slowly raised his arms to his eyebrows, and shouted: "Report, Didrichs, commander of the Combined Fleet of the Mediterranean Fleet of the Imperial German Navy and the Combined Naval Fleet of the Croatian-Slovenian Kingdom, has returned victoriously with all the officers and men to salute His Majesty the Great Emperor!" ”

Jochen, dressed in a navy uniform with no luxurious accessories, swept his gaze over the lined sailors, all of whom tried their best to look their best, but their appearance was still untidy. However, the blood-stained bandages, the military uniforms stained with gunpowder, the upright posture and the slightly raised chin filled everyone with the fierce atmosphere of returning from a victorious battle on the battlefield.

The Emperor's voice was heard through the loudspeakers throughout the docks: "Welcome back safely." It is a great honor for me to stand here. Welcome back to our fleet, which has won an unprecedented victory in this war, at this exciting time! Allow me, Joachim? Friedrich? Ernst? Waldemar? Feng? Hohenzollern sends the highest respect to you, the great Imperial Admirals!

Because of your sincere efforts, you have achieved a brilliant victory! Earlier, the British admitted their defeat! No doubt! You have set a brilliant record! You are at sea! In the case of a numerical disadvantage! Defeated the Royal Navy without losing any of your capital ships! This victory is unprecedented! It may even be the last one!

Do you hear the cheers of the people of Pula? Soon! The whole empire will cheer for you! There's no reason why you shouldn't be proud of yourselves! There's no reason why we can't be so grateful!

Originally, I wanted to prepare a grand welcome for you, but now may not be the right time. You need to rest, you need to heal the wounds on your body. When you wash away the smoke from your body, you will get a solemn celebration ceremony, which you deserve.

Thank you! Allow me once again to pay you the highest tribute and wish all the officers and men of the Navy the best of luck! Long live Germany! Long live the Navy! ”

"Long live Germany! Long live the Navy! ”