The Sailors of Cattaro


On February 1, 1918, red flags are hoisted on more than 40 ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the Imperial and Royal War Port of Cattaro (today Kotor/Montenegro).





Thus begins the legendary uprising of 6,000 sailors in Cattaro. The rebellion begins on the flagship "SMS Sankt Georg"...:



Sailor councils are elected according to the Soviet model...

... and the officers are disarmed.



Cattaro is - after Pola - the second most important naval port of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, consisting of a cruiser flotilla, an airport and a submarine port. It is also a strategically important base, including as a base for the Adriatic supply line to the Balkan front.



However, the fleet only operates a few operations and the crews are permanently drilled hard, they have to drill frequently and constantly do pointless work in order not to get “stupid ideas” from boredom.

The wait for the fight and the constant drill seem grueling. While the sailors get meager food and no vacation for years, the officers enjoy themselves on land with sumptuous fare.

But dissatisfaction is not the only reason for the uprising!

Throughout the Dual Monarchy, people are weary of war and hope for peace soon. In Russia, the Soviets (Workers' and Soldiers' Councils) had seized power in November 1917 and immediately offered an armistice to Germany and its allies.

Large parts of the sailors are enthusiastic about the Russian revolution!

Panic grips the authorities!

Emperor Charles I...


... telegraphed on January 17 to the Austrian negotiator, his Foreign Minister Count Czernin, in Brest-Litovsk:

"I must once again assure you that the whole fate of the monarchy and the dynasty depends on the conclusion of peace in Brest-Litovsk as soon as possible... If peace does not come about, then here is the revolution, no matter how much food there is. This is a grave warning at a grave time.”

But the sailors' rebellion remains isolated - they fail to capture the port.

Loyal army units are pulled together to recapture the insurgent ships.







On the guard ship "Kronprinz Erzherzog Rudolph" (at the back of the picture)...



... one of the sailors' leaders, Boatswain Sagner...



... killed in a brief exchange of fire, but there is no resistance, because the sailors want peace and not shoot at their comrades from the army!

The uprising collapses again on February 3rd.

Four sailors, the remaining leaders and members of the Sailors' Council Franticek (Franz) Rasch...



... Mate Brnicenic...



... Anton Graber...



... and Jerko Sizgoric...



... are afterwards summarily shot...:



The dramatist Friedrich Wolf (father of the film director Konrad Wolf and the chief spy of the GDR, Markus Wolf) has created a literary monument to the sailors with his play "The Sailors of Cattaro"...