The Triple Entente had been courting Italy, which had declared neutrality at the start of the conflict, to join the war against her nominal partners in the Triple Alliance. Italy had long sought to seize parts of Austria-Hungary where significant numbers of Italians lived, and the Entente promised these areas in the event of their victory in the war. Italy signed the Treaty of London on 26 April and eight days later formally withdrew from the Triple Alliance, signalling the imminent start of hostilities. The Austro-Hungarian fleet commander, (Vice Admiral) Anton Haus, deployed a screen of warships to watch for movements of the Italian fleet. Following Italy's entry into the war against Austria-Hungary on 23 May, the entire Austro-Hungarian fleet sortied that afternoon to attack various targets along the Italian coast, primarily targeting Italian cities and the coastal railroad network. "Szigetvár" initially accompanied the main fleet to Ancona and was then detached to form a screen with three other cruisers and nine destroyers to warn of a sortie by the Italian fleet, which did not materialize. At around 00:25 on 24 May, "Szigetvár" shelled the Italian airship . "Szigetvár" arrived back in Pola at 11:20 with the rest of the fleet.