World War 2
Her most notable actions took place during the Second World War and, more specifically, during the Battle of Calabria on July 9th, 1940. This indecisive engagement saw the Italian Navy take the stage against elements of the British and Australian navies during the Mediterranean Campaign. HMS Warspite managed a hit on Giulio Cesare causing fire and smoke near the rear smoke funnel. With reduced speed, the warship and its accompanying fleet pulled away to safety - as did the Allied fleet. After repairs before the end of August 1940, she was stationed in the Mediterranean in an effort to support Axis convoys and, in turn, stop Allied ones.
Giulio Cesare was one of the vessels present in Taranto harbor during the British surprise air raid on November 11th, 1940. Sister ship Conte di Cavour was sunk by torpedo where she lay but Giulio Cesare managed to survive the attack unscathed. The Battle of Cape Spartivento followed on November 27th, 1940 but the warship recorded little during the fracas. British bombers then delivered light damage to her in January of 1941.
The First Battle of Sirte took place on December 17th, 1941 at the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean and ended another inconclusive naval battle of the theater. Again Italian forces were pitted against British and Australian units this time joined by Dutch elements. Two allied destroyer were slightly damaged (with one sailor killed) in the limited fighting.
Into early 1942, Giulio Cesare was returned to Taranto and made a training platform for the foreseeable future. The Italian surrender to the Allies in September of 1943 made her a target to the Germans, who proceeded to attack the vessel (unsuccessfully) in March of 1944. She remained in Taranto waters throughout the rest of the war and several years thereafter - her fighting days in Italian service no officially over.
The Novorossiysk
In the post-war period, she was given to the Soviet Navy as reparations on February 6th, 1949 after which she was christened "Novorossiysk". She was, again, used as a training platform - this time for a new generation of Soviet seamen - and modernized with local systems and weapons as time and funds allowed. On October 28th, 1955, an explosion (perhaps from a German wartime naval mine) caused her to sink while berthed in Sevastopol, taking 608 souls with her.
The warship was officially struck from the Naval Register on February 24th, 1956. Once raised, she was stripped of her military value and sold for scrapping in 1957.
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