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fondazioneterradotranto · 8 years ago

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La battaglia navale del Canale d’Otranto (14-15 maggio 1917)

Giovedì 11 maggio 2017. Ore 18.00.

Sala Convegni Hotel Palazzo Virgilio, Brindisi.

XI Convegno Nazionale di Studi e Ricerca Storica

La Puglia, il Salento, Brindisi e la Grande Guerra

VII sessione. La battaglia navale del Canale d’Otranto (14-15 maggio 1917)

Le frontiere, materiali o mentali, di calce e mattoni o simboliche, sono a volte dei campi di battaglia, ma sono anche dei workshop creativi dell’arte del vivere insieme, dei terreni in cui vengono gettati e germogliano (consapevolmente o meno) i semi di forme future di umanità.

Zygmunt Bauman

Organizzazione: Rotary Club Brindisi (ospitante); Società di Storia Patria per la Puglia (Sezione di Brindisi); Società Storica di Terra d’Otranto; AssoArma Brindisi

Lo sbarramento del Canale d’Otranto fu al centro, nella notte tra il 14 e il 15 maggio 1917, della più grande battaglia navale avvenuta in Adriatico nel corso nella Grande Guerra. Fu essa originata dal tentativo austroungarico di forzare il blocco che impediva alla Imperial Regia Marina di uscire dall’Adriatico per accedere al Mediterraneo.

La marina dell’Intesa cercò quasi subito di chiudere l’Adriatico creando, fin dal 1915, uno sbarramento di pescherecci armati, drifters, dotati di reti d’acciaio a strascico, per pattugliare la strettoia del canale di Otranto; lo scopo era quello d’ impedire ai sottomarini austroungarici di uscire nel Mediterraneo a caccia di bersagli. Questa barriera, di una cinquantina di imbarcazioni, era appoggiata dalla ricognizione aerea e da flottiglie di cacciatorpediniere pronte a intervenire al minimo allarme. Si trattava di un deterrente piuttosto efficace che, in pratica, paralizzò l’attività della marina austroungarica, tanto che essa tentò numerose volte di intaccarlo con incursioni a sorpresa, effettuate di notte a più riprese: 5 volte nel 1915, 9 nel 1916 e 10 nel 1917. L’operazione principale fu condotta nella notte del 14-15 maggio 1917; essa assunse il carattere di scontro navale vero e proprio e prese il nome di “battaglia del canale di Otranto”.

Al termine della battaglia navale di sicuro più importante dell’Adriatico le unità dell’Intesa colpite gravemente furono il Borea, l’Aquila, il Dartmouth, il Bristol con un bilancio di 7 morti sull’Aquila, 8 morti e 7 feriti sul Dartmouth, 11 morti e 12 feriti sul Borea mentre gli austriaci contarono 14 morti e 33 feriti sul Novara, 1 morto e 18 feriti sull’Hegoland, 3 feriti sul Saida. L’azione della squadra austroungarica ottenne un evidente successo, almeno a breve termine. Nello scenario generale, viceversa, questa bruciante sconfitta ebbe per conseguenza un fortissimo aumento dell’impegno navale degli alleati nel basso Adriatico, con lo schieramento permanente di una flotta di ben 35 cacciatorpediniere, tra cui anche unità australiane e statunitensi, 52 pescherecci e più di cento navi da guerra di vario genere, finché, nel corso del 1918, il canale venne sbarrato con una struttura permanente che chiuse la questione. In definitiva, anche questo scontro navale conferma che per quanto brillanti potessero apparire le iniziative degli imperi centrali, alla fine emergeva la decisiva supremazia materiale dell’Intesa, che era in grado, all’occorrenza di schierare imponenti forze per fronteggiare le necessità contingenti della guerra. Cosa che, un poco alla volta, Germania ed Austria – Ungheria non potevano più fare. Il Materialschlacht imponeva le sue ferree regole anche tra le due sponde del mare Adriatico.

Nel giugno del 1918 l’Austria-Ungheria pianificò una grande offensiva sul Piave per fiaccare definitivamente le truppe italiane. Allo stesso tempo la flotta imperiale, al comando del neo-ammiraglio von Horty de Nagy-Banya, decise di supportare indirettamente tale offensiva con una grande azione navale: il forzamento del canale di Otranto. Horty, convinto del successo dell’operazione, aveva fatto approntare alcuni apparecchi cinematografici per immortalare l’affondamento delle navi italiane. Le unità austroungariche furono tuttavia avvistate dai MAS 15 e 21; il comandante Luigi Rizzo, individuata la “Santo Stefano”, la silurò affondandola. Il MAS 21, del Guardiamarina Aonzo, lanciò sulla Teghetoff entrambi i suoi siluri, che colpirono ma non esplosero. L’azione ebbe il risultato tattico di fare rientrare il gruppo navale, senza procedere con la missione di forzamento del blocco,

Articolazione dei lavori:

Coordina e introduce i lavori

Antonio Mario Caputo, Società di Storia Patria per la Puglia

Indirizzi di saluto

Salvatore Munafò, Presidente Rotary Club, Brindisi

Giuseppe Genghi, Presidente AssoArma, Brindisi

Interventi

Amm. (Ris.) Stephan Jules Buchet, Esperto di storia della marineria

Gli sbarramenti del Canale d’Otranto durante il primo conflitto mondiale

F. CLAUDIO RIZZA, Capo Sezione Archivi – Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare – Roma.

L’azione navale del 15 maggio 1917 – Lo svolgimento dei fatti

Giuseppe Maddalena Capiferro, Società di Storia Patria per la Puglia

Umberto Maddalena, Brindisi e la difesa del Canale d’Otranto

Conclusioni

Domenico Urgesi, Società Storica di Terra d’Otranto

#battaglia navale del Canale d’Otranto #canale di Otranto #comandante Luigi Rizzo #drifters #von Horty de Nagy-Banya #Pagine della nostra Storia #Spigolature Salentine

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the-record-columns · 8 years ago

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March 8, 2017: Columns

Back when elections were fun...

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

Now and then in this space I have gratefully acknowledged the late attorney, judge, and all around great guy Max Ferree as a source for some of my stories. Today is no exception to the “Rule of Max,” which simply put states, “If you are going to steal my stories, at least tell the version I do.”Clearly, I miss Max Ferree, and what follows he passed along to me some years ago.Back in 1934, a Superior Court Judgeship was one to be relished by any lawyer in the State of North Carolina. Although the salary was very small in comparison with salaries today, it was head and shoulders above the amount the average lawyer was making in private practice. T. B. Finley had been the Resident Superior Court Judge our Judicial District for a number of years, but a vacancy occurred before the primary of 1934. Hayden Burke of the Alexander Bar Association and Jule Rousseau (the elder) of the Wilkes County Bar became opponents for this position.Rousseau was a member of the so-called “Shelby Dynasty,” a political unit which had come into being through the expertise of Max Gardner. Some of the parties prominent at that time in this dynasty were Clyde R. Hewing, later governor and senator; and Greg Cherry, later governor. In our part of the world, the most formidable advocateswere Sam Ervin, later to become Supreme Court Justice; and Senator Wilson “Coot” Warlick, Superior Court Judge and later Federal District Judge; and others of their ilk throughout the state.Burke won the first primary but the Shelby Dynasty determined that it wouldn't do to have one of their cohorts defeated in a Democrat primary, so allegations of fraud were registered with the State Board of Elections. These allegations were upheld and a new primary called.In 1934 it was the height of the Depression and there were many people who would vote for you in any event, but, in order to encourage them to come out, were paid. In that day and time, one dollar was the going price. Robert Brame was in charge of the Rousseau campaign committee and in some wise, responsible for getting the vote out without without money. The day after the primary which was won by Rousseau, he ran into Brame at the Brame Drug Store in North Wilkesboro and stated, “Well Robert, it looks like the public has finally spoken.” Whereupon Robert said, “Yeah, Judge, and every one of them look like George Washington.”The other election story Max like to tell was about a man named Gambill who many years ago ran for sherrif. When the votes were counted, he lost so badly that that he remarked he was going to buy himself a gun. When asked to explain, he replied that a man who had no more friends that him surely needed to carry one for protection.And to wind up, only once do I remember passing along a story or a line Max had not heard before. It involved the late Perry Dishmon, a printer who worked for The Record and Thursday Printing for a number of years. Perry and I were out scrounging one afternoon and “found” some really neat looking metal milk cans in an old building on F Street close to our offices. We hid one apiece in an old house I had bought on the corner below. I had pretty much forgotten about the milk cans until a year or two later when I bought the building in question--and its contents,So...I stopped by the print shop and informed Perry of the purchase of the building. In our conversation I told him that in all fairness since I had bought the building and the contents, that technically speaking both the milk cans still hidden in the old house should now be mine. Without hesitation, Perry bowed up and insisted, “No, hell no, that can is mine. I stole it fair and square!”“Well, who can argue with that logic.” Max said, as he grinned from ear to ear. Back when elections were fun... Now and then in this space I have gratefully acknowledged the late attorney, judge, and all around great guy Max Ferree as a source for some of my stories. Today is no exception to the “Rule of Max,” which simply put states, “If you are going to steal my stories, at least tell the version I do.”Clearly, I miss Max Ferree, and what follows he passed along to me some years ago.Back in 1934, a Superior Court Judgeship was one to be relished by any lawyer in the State of North Carolina. Although the salary was very small in comparison with salaries today, it was head and shoulders above the amount the average lawyer was making in private practice. T. B. Finley had been the Resident Superior Court Judge our Judicial District for a number of years, but a vacancy occurred before the primary of 1934. Hayden Burke of the Alexander Bar Association and Jule Rousseau (the elder) of the Wilkes County Bar became opponents for this position.Rousseau was a member of the so-called “Shelby Dynasty,” a political unit which had come into being through the expertise of Max Gardner. Some of the parties prominent at that time in this dynasty were Clyde R. Hewing, later governor and senator; and Greg Cherry, later governor. In our part of the world, the most formidable advocateswere Sam Ervin, later to become Supreme Court Justice; and Senator Wilson “Coot” Warlick, Superior Court Judge and later Federal District Judge; and others of their ilk throughout the state.Burke won the first primary but the Shelby Dynasty determined that it wouldn't do to have one of their cohorts defeated in a Democrat primary, so allegations of fraud were registered with the State Board of Elections. These allegations were upheld and a new primary called.In 1934 it was the height of the Depression and there were many people who would vote for you in any event, but, in order to encourage them to come out, were paid. In that day and time, one dollar was the going price. Robert Brame was in charge of the Rousseau campaign committee and in some wise, responsible for getting the vote out without without money. The day after the primary which was won by Rousseau, he ran into Brame at the Brame Drug Store in North Wilkesboro and stated, “Well Robert, it looks like the public has finally spoken.” Whereupon Robert said, “Yeah, Judge, and every one of them look like George Washington.”The other election story Max like to tell was about a man named Gambill who many years ago ran for sherrif. When the votes were counted, he lost so badly that that he remarked he was going to buy himself a gun. When asked to explain, he replied that a man who had no more friends that him surely needed to carry one for protection.And to wind up, only once do I remember passing along a story or a line Max had not heard before. It involved the late Perry Dishmon, a printer who worked for The Record and Thursday Printing for a number of years. Perry and I were out scrounging one afternoon and “found” some really neat looking metal milk cans in an old building on F Street close to our offices. We hid one apiece in an old house I had bought on the corner below. I had pretty much forgotten about the milk cans until a year or two later when I bought the building in question--and its contents,So...I stopped by the print shop and informed Perry of the purchase of the building. In our conversation I told him that in all fairness since I had bought the building and the contents, that technically speaking both the milk cans still hidden in the old house should now be mine. Without hesitation, Perry bowed up and insisted, “No, hell no, that can is mine. I stole it fair and square!”“Well, who can argue with that logic.” Max said, as he grinned from ear to ear.

Parachute Packing

By LAURA WELBORN

Have you ever heard the story about Charles Plum, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, who was a jet fighter pilot in Vietnam ? After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent six years in a Communist prison. He survived that ordeal and now lectures about lessons learned from that experience.

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man from another table came up and said, “You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk . You were shot down!” “How in the world did you know that?” asked Plumb.

“I packed your parachute,” the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, “I guess it worked!” Plumb assured him, “It sure did -- if your 'chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today.”

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb said, “I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform - a Dixie cup hat, a bib in the back and bell bottom trousers. I wondered how many times I might have passed him on the Kitty Hawk . I wondered how many times I might have seen him and not even said good morning, how are you, or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor.”

Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know. Now, Plumb asks his audience, “Who's packing your parachute?”

Each one of us plays a vital role in life and without each individual’s contributions, we are all weakened. Someone, recently, has no doubt “packed your parachute” with a word of encouragement, a spiritual insight, or simply by giving you a hand with a task. How many parachutes have you packed? I know I am going to be a lot more aware of when I am “packing someone’s parachute” or even how I am packing someone’s parachute.

Part of Lent is the awareness of our actions on others. Last week I tried to reinforce myself when I was able to resist temptation. At first that was not consuming “sugar or sugary foods” just because I know that is my addiction and believe me I am addicted. I went through cravings and withdrawals- Just ask my husband, Ken. I gave in several times but reassured myself that I was adding up coins to give to St. Paul ’s Crisis Ministry.

So This week I will ask myself: How often do I justify my own bad behavior? Or my carelessness of packing parachutes? I am going to be very aware of my “packing” and put a coin in my piggyback when I can honestly say I was intentional about packing someone’s parachute or acknowledge those that have packed mine (and there are lots of people who have packed my parachute).

Laura Welborn, Mediator and Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist Associate Visit laura at [email protected] or Laura Gentry Welborn on facebook.

You are what you eat

By EARL COX

To this end, the Palestinian government pays salaries to terrorists, lauds and rewards terrorists and their families, and incites hatred in media, on the streets and in schools, and international forums. Violent narrative in schoolbooks incites children as young as first-graders to murder Israelis and sacrifice themselves as martyrs for the “cause” of statehood. In a Hamas video of a school play, 10-year-olds in terrorist garb plunge fake knives into pupils dressed as Jews to the delight of the audience. “Moderate’ PA leaders praise teens and young adults who put what they’ve learned into practice with real daggers on the streets of Jerusalem. When a Palestinian terrorist kills Jews, the people parade in the streets, hand out candy to children, and name parks or other public places after the terrorist, enshrining him as a hero.

Tragically, for everyone in the region, an entire generation of Palestinian children and youth are being sacrificed to a culture that values death more than life. As King Solomon observed: “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Choosing Life in Practice

Unlike the Palestinian mindset, Jews don't fight with the goal of inflicting harm or death—but to preserve and protect life, though Israel exercises the right of self-defense in wars or terrorist attacks. All life is precious to the Jews. Jewish emergency-room doctors treat Jews, Druze, Palestinians and Christians alike. Soldiers and military leaders don't look for glory or victory parades. When the battle is over, soldiers quietly return home to their families. There are no monuments in Israel depicting mighty warriors or conquests—rather, memorials commemorate those who lost their lives fighting to prolong life for Israel and her people. A prominent Palestinian attorney told the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, “I never heard of any settler, Israeli soldier, or Israeli officer extorting a Palestinian citizen. It’s what the PA and Fatah do. … He who denies the citizen’s right to justice denies the people’s right to life (emphasis added), and hence has no authority over the rights of the people, or to negotiate in their name.” The attorney added that Palestinians are subject to extortion by the PA/Fatah, may not appeal directly to court, express their opinions, are forced to pay bribes to public officials, their sons or bodyguards, and are denied other human rights.

The U.S. Declaration of Independence upholds every person’s right to pursue “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” As the only democracy in the Middle East, Israel labors to protect quality of life and freedom. Could that be why more than half of East Jerusalem’s Arab residents prefer to be citizens of Israel with equal rights rather than citizens of a Palestinian state?

It’s puzzling that the United States and Western democracies who push for a Palestinian state do not seem concerned for Palestinian life, let alone their liberty or happiness. If one has genuine compassion for the Palestinian people—apart from politics— we must, like Israel, choose life.

For the Love of Vera

By Carl White Life in the Carolinas

When it comes to storytelling, I’m confident that diversity is essential for less boredom at the keyboard or at least that’s the way it is for me.

Most of my written words are derived from my journey in developing stories about current people and places visited and the occasional travels in history. However, now and then things take a different turn.

An Episode special titled “Remembering No More a Story of Change” was released in November 2015 and has received lots of attention.

The topic of Alzheimer’s Disease is not what most of our viewers would expect to see on an episode of Life In the Carolinas, however when I learned about the organization CART (Coins for Alzheimer’s Research Trust), which is based in the Carolinas I become intrigued with the idea of producing a segment.

The organization has raised millions of dollars from Rotary Clubs by collecting change during weekly meetings and the deeper I went in research, it became apparent that the people involved with this effort were seriously committed. Then I thought if we could bring together all the right elements we may be able to produce a Special rather than a short segment.

I felt if we could find the right Alzheimer’s family willing to share their life journey, combined with the passion of the CART founding story and world-class researchers to talk about the road to a cure we might have enough compelling content to create a special that would captivate our viewers.

The process officially started with the story lead from Allen Langley, a friend in Shelby, N.C. He introduced me to Bill Shillito, the executive director of CART. I met with Bill, and he shared with me the how the organization started in Sumter, SC.

Before long I attended an annual CART, meeting which was held in Columbia, S.C. I met with Roger Ackerman the founding co-member of CART, and it was then that I started to get a good feel for the organization.

I was optimistic about the Columbia meeting because I had already decided on our Alzheimer’s family. I had been introduced to Carrol Howell and her lovely mother, Vera, who has Alzheimer’s. At our first meeting, Carrol invited me to attend a performance of a choir that she directs.

I was amazed at what I witnessed. The choir members either had Alzheimer’s or some form of dementia. It was moving to see once active people, who now, due to their condition are for the most part not able to talk, yet when the music started, they could sing and express happiness.

Carrol first starting working with the choirs to be closer to her mother. Over time she would organize Senior Life Journeys and dedicate her life to providing services to other families in her situation. She has written books on the subject and helped countless families going through the Alzheimer’s journey.

During my visits, I noticed that Vera was full of life and loved having a good time. I felt that if they would say yes, we had found our Alzheimer’s family.

I ask Carrol if she would be willing to share her family story with our TV audience. She said, well let’s talk with Momma. So, that’s what happened, and Vera said yes.

Over the next several months we had numerous visits with Vera and Carroll, Rotary leaders, and leading Alzheimer’s Researchers. We would conduct many interviews and travel many miles. We did produce a Special, and it has gone on to live far beyond its broadcast release touching the lives of countless people.

The group of Rotarians in Sumter, S.C. who cared enough to make a difference in fighting this dreadful disease have now been joined by more than 20,000 other Rotarians and growing.

“Remembering No More a Story of Change” is the official title of the Special. However, from the many calls and notes I have received the people have titled it simply “Vera’s Story.”

Good stories do matter. As of this publish date, Carrol tells me Vera is doing okay, she remembers less, but Vera is Vera.

Carl White is the executive producer and host of the award winning syndicated TV show Carl White’s Life In the Carolinas. The weekly show is now in its 8th year of syndication and can be seen in the Charlotte viewing market on WJZY Fox 46 Saturdays at 12 noon. For more on the show visit www.lifeinthecarolinas.com, You can email Carl White at [email protected].

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