Giulio Cesare and Italy's Adriatic fleet-in-being strategy

As flagship of the southern Adriatic, Giulio Cesare spent much of the First World War ready in harbor rather than risking narrow waters dense with submarines and mines. Paolo Thaon di Revel's strategy used lighter forces for raids, blockaded the Austro-Hungarian fleet, and kept the dreadnoughts ready for a decisive engagement. Destroying the opposing fleet too soon could have released Italian battleships for service under wider Allied command, weakening the Regia Marina's claim to independent status. The policy therefore balanced operational risk, coalition politics, and the service's postwar position as well as the immediate naval threat.