Bakar mockery The Bakar mockery ( Italian " Beffa di Buccari " ) was an escapade of the Italian Navy ( " Regia Marina " ) in the last year of World War I . Whilst it had little material effect on the war at sea , it was a particularly bold venture which had a welcome effect on Italian morale , which was at a low ebb following the defeat at Caporetto a few months previously . Background . In World War I , Italy was allied to France and Britain against the Central Powers , Austria - Hungary and Germany . Italy ’ s campaign on land against the Austrian army had been stalemated for two and a half years , with little movement , though at the cost of huge casualties . At sea an equality with the Austro - Hungarian Navy in capital ships had led to a deadlock , with neither side wishing to risk their loss ; thus the war at sea in the Adriatic was a contest of small ships , of raids and patrols , of sudden actions by night , and of losses to mines and submarines . In this arena , the Italian Navy had developed a commando force of fast torpedo boats , the MAS , which attracted men with a buccaneering spirit . In November 1917 the deadlock was upset by an Austrian offensive , supported by German forces made available by the collapse of the Russian front . In the battle of Caporetto the Italian army was defeated , and in a period of three weeks the front was pushed back 50 miles , to within striking distance of Venice . Action . The Bakar raid was conceived by the Italians as an attack on Austrian shipping in the harbour at Buccari ( now Bakar , in Croatia ) a port in an enclosed bay ( the Bay of Bakar ) near Fiume , at the head of the Kvarner Gulf . As it lay 80 km into a sheltered waterway , it was thought to be beyond attack , so the raid was intended as a psychological , as well as a physical , assault . The operation was led by " Capitano di Fregata " Costanzo Ciano , and comprised three MAS boats , with a total crew of 30 men . One of the boats , MAS 96 , was commanded by Lt Luigi Rizzo , who later led the assault on the battleship off Premuda . Also on board was Gabriele D ’ Annunzio , the poet . On 10 February 1918 the three MAS boats , under tow by torpedo boat s to conserve fuel , and escorted by two destroyers and a scout , set out from their base and at 10 pm , after 14 hours sailing , entered the Farasina channel , the waterway between Istria and the island of Cherso ( now Cres ) . Several hours later , having evaded Austrian patrols and the shore batteries at Porto Re ( now Kraljevica ) , the flotilla arrived outside the Bay . The MAS boats slipped their tows , and entered , as their escort withdrew . At about a mile from the target , the MAS switched from petrol engines to silenced electrical engines for the final approach and as closing with their targets the three fired their torpedoes , a total of six . However their boldness was not rewarded , and the torpedoes scored no hits ; five became entangled in nets , or otherwise failed to explode , while the sixth exploded harmlessly , slightly damaging a freighter and raising the alarm . Despite the alert , however the MAS boats were able to escape , and , making a dash down the channel , regained the open sea where they were re - united with their escort . Aftermath . Despite the lack of material success , the raid was a considerable fillip to Italian morale , as well as a psychological blow to the Austrians . In this it resembled the Doolittle raid on Tokyo in the Second World War , and prefigured the Flight over Vienna , D ’ Annunzio ’ s air raid on the Austrian capital . The Bakar Mockery was celebrated in several booklets at the time , and was heavily publicized by D ’ Annunzio , who realised its propaganda value .