Leitha was about to demobilize when war preserved her service, and she soon fought on the Sava near Belgrade. A direct hit killed the crew inside her turret, but repair and rearmament returned the monitor to action in 1915. She later became a Danube Flotilla flagship, fought Romanian forces, and supported Austro-German river crossings. Her service continued into the postwar conflict against the short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic and Czech intervention forces. This long combat record shows that age mattered less when a specialized shallow-draft hull still fit its operating environment and could be maintained for the task.
Chapter · 58:37-1:02:36
Austro-Hungarian river monitors return to combat
The elderly monitors Leitha and Maros fought on the Sava and Danube, supporting occupations, river crossings, and operations through and beyond World War I.