The Pola flotilla (''U-Flottille Pola'') was an

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for ...

(IGN) formation set up to implement the U-boat campaign against Allied shipping in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in support of Germany's ally, the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

. It was formed in 1915 from the previously established ''U-Halbflottille Pola'' (''German U-Boat Half-Flotilla, Pola''). It operated mainly from an advanced base at Cattaro in the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

, rather than from Pola. The flotilla was made up of

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

s dispatched from German home ports, which travelled via the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

and the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...

, and coastal-type UB- and UC-boats, which were moved in segments by rail to Pola and assembled there at the ''See-Arsenal'' of the

Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', ) was the navy, naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were designated ''SMS'', for ''Seiner Majestät Schiff'' (His Majes ...

(''kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine'': k.u.k.). The Pola Flotilla had a maximum strength of 33 U-boats. Due to the favourable conditions for commerce raiding in the Mediterranean, they caused a disproportionately large number of Allied losses during the U-boat campaign. 3.6 million tons of the 14 million tons lost by the Allies were sunk in the Mediterranean. Eight of the IGN's top dozen U-boat aces served in the Pola flotilla, including Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière and Waldemar Kophamel. In all, 45 U-boats served in the Pola Flotilla, eleven of which were lost operationally. In June 1917, the unit was renamed ''U-Flottille Mittelmeer'' and in January 1918 it was divided into two separate Flotillas, the first based at Pola, and the second at Cattaro, while the commander, re-titled ('' Führer der Unterseeboote im Mittelmeer'': U-Boat Leader, Mediterranean) assumed overall command of the forces there and at

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. In 1918 at the end of the campaign, the Pola Flotilla was evacuated to Germany. One of its boats, sank the battleship , the last British warship sunk during the U-Boat Campaign in World War I.

Commanding officers

References

*VE Tarrant ''The U-Boat offensive 1914-1945'' (1989) {{Uboat U-boat flotillas Military units and formations of the Imperial German Navy Naval units and formations of Germany in World War I