The central action begins with the Austrian fleet closing while Persano is still sorting out his line and shifting his flag from Re d'Italia to Affondatore. Other captains continue watching the former flagship for signals, and the transfer opens a gap between Italian divisions. This is breaking the line rather than crossing the T: Tegetthoff drives through the gap to rake ships and concentrate forward fire while two Italian divisions fail to receive a general order to engage. Signaling and delegation failures convert an Italian fleet-wide numerical advantage into Austrian superiority at the decisive point.
Chapter · 35:20-40:39
Tegetthoff breaks the Italian line
Persano's late flag transfer opens a gap in the Italian line that Tegetthoff exploits with an arrow formation and concentrated forward fire.