Danube defence and guns moved ashore

During the Second Balkan War, Elisabeta guarded the mouth of the Danube, an approach important to Romania's economy. By the First World War, her main armament had been landed to form a coastal battery against possible attacks by Austro-Hungarian river monitors. Moving the guns ashore kept them useful at a strategic river entrance after the old cruiser had lost most of her value as a mobile combatant. The hull and its main battery could then serve separate local-defence roles.