- Navy:
- Navy of the Italian Regency of Carnaro, 1919-20
- Name:
- Marina de la Reggenza Italiana del Carnaro
- Career:
The Paris Peace Conference in 1919 allocated the city of Fiume (now Rijeka, in Croatia), on the border with Italy, to Yugoslavia. On 12 September 1919, about 2,000 Italian zem>black-shirt nationalists led by poet Gabriele D'Annunzio seized the city and declared its annexation to the Kingdom of Italy. The Italian government repudiated this fait accompli and initiated a blockade of Fiume while demanding the surrender of the invaders. D'Annunzio later proclaimed the Italian Regency of Carnaro (12 August 1920).
One destroyer (Agostino Bertani), two torpedo boats (66PN, 68PN) and eight MTBs from the Italian Reggia Marina mutinied and went over to Fiume in October-December 1919; the mutiny on one submarine (F-16) failed. Three more destroyers (Francesco Nullo, Pilade Bronzetti, Espero) went over to the rebels on 7-8 December 1920. They formed the Navy of the Regency, but the nationalists scarcely used these ships. Instead, they seized civilian boats to assault merchant ships and occupy a number of islands. All the ships were recovered by the Italians when they assaulted the city on 24-28 December 1920. The rebel ships were sent to Pola and renamed on 16 January 1921. The city became the “Free State of Fiume” under the Treaty of Rapallo between Italy and Yugoslavia.
