Editing River monitor (section)

==Europe==
[[File:River monitor Inn.png|thumb|Austro-Hungarian river monitor SMS ''Inn'' (later Romanian ''Basarabia''), the largest Danube warship sunk during World War I]]
On the [[Danube]], river monitors were employed during [[World War I]] by [[Austria-Hungary]] and [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]]. The Austro-Hungarian river monitor ''[[Yugoslav monitor Sava|Bodrog]]'' fired the first shots of [[World War I]], against the city of [[Belgrade]], and later also fought in the [[Romania during World War I|Romanian Campaign]], notably during the [[Flămânda Offensive]] in October 1916, when she was damaged. Another river monitor, ''[[SMS Körös|Körös]]'', was also heavily damaged by Romanian artillery, taking 12 hits and ran aground after her steam lines were severed.<ref>Michael B. Barrett, Prelude to Blitzkrieg: The 1916 Austro-German Campaign in Romania, p. 140</ref> On 22 September 1917, the [[Enns-class river monitor|''Enns''-class]] river monitor ''[[SMS Inn|Inn]]'' was sunk by a Romanian mine near [[Brăila]].<ref>Angus Konstam, ''Gunboats of World War I'', p. 29</ref><ref>René Greger, ''Austro-Hungarian warships of World War I'', p. 142</ref><ref>Mark Axworthy, Cornel I. Scafeș, Cristian Crăciunoiu, ''Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945'', p. 327</ref> She was refloated but her repairs were not completed before the War ended, and she was eventually handed over to Romania as war reparation, being renamed ''Basarabia''.<ref>René Greger, ''Austro-Hungarian Warships of World War I'', p. 142</ref>

[[File:Monitor_Sava_-_05.jpg|thumb|right|220px|The river monitor ''[[Yugoslav monitor Sava|Sava]]'' (formerly ''Bodrog'') fired the first shots of [[World War I]]. She is now a floating museum anchored along the [[Sava]] river in [[Belgrade]], [[Serbia]]]]

During World War I, the Romanian {{sclass|Brătianu|river monitor|4}} were the largest river monitors on the Danube, displacing 680 tons, armed mainly with three 120&nbsp;mm guns and protected by at least 70&nbsp;mm of armor around the belt, turrets and conning tower. They were built in sections at [[Trieste|Triest]] in [[Austria-Hungary]], transported to Romania by rail and assembled by the Romanians at the [[Galați shipyard]] in 1907–1908.<ref>Robert Gardiner, ''Conway's All the World Fighting Ships 1906–1921'', p. 422</ref><ref>Roger Kafka, Roy L. Pepperburg, ''Warships of the World'', p. 881</ref><ref>Frederick Thomas Jane, ''Jane's Fighting Ships'', p. 343</ref> They did not engage enemy ships, however, instead they were used to support ground forces during the [[Battle of Turtucaia]] and the [[First Battle of Cobadin]], and also took part in the [[Romania during World War I#1917 campaign and armistice|1917 campaign]], contributing to the stemming of the enemy advance.<ref>Spencer Tucker, Priscilla Mary Roberts, ''World War I: Encyclopedia, Volume 1'', p. 999</ref> During the Interwar period, the Romanian Danube Flotilla was the most powerful riverine fleet in the world.<ref>Axworthy, p. 327</ref> In 1924, the Romanian river monitors helped suppress the [[Tatarbunary Uprising]], along with the entire Romanian Danube Flotilla. In late 1980s and 1990s Romania commissioned newly built [[Smârdan-class river monitor]]s (classified as large armoured boats), and three big [[Mihail Kogălniceanu-class river monitor]]s, used still in the 21st century.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Jarosław Malinowski|title=Rumuńska Flotylla Dunajska|magazine=Okręty Wojenne|volume= 2/2006 (76)|date= 2006|place=Tarnowskie Góry|lang=pl}}</ref>

[[File:Hlídková loď President Masaryk (2).jpg|thumb|''President Masaryk'', the flagship of the Czechoslovak River Flotilla]]
Czechoslovakia had one monitor, {{ship||President Masaryk|monitor|2}}, of about 200 tons displacement. She was however classified as a patrol boat (''hlídková loď''). She was captured by the Germans in 1939 and commissioned as ''Bechelaren''. She was extensively rebuilt in 1943 and her armament was also modified in February 1945. She supported German troops during [[Operation Spring Awakening]] and later fought in Austria, sinking two Soviet gunboats.

Yugoslav river monitors were former Austro-Hungarian warships received as reparations. They were renamed {{ship|Yugoslav monitor|Vardar||2}} (ex-''Bosna''), {{ship|Yugoslav monitor|Sava||2}} (ex-''Bodrog''), {{ship|Yugoslav monitor|Drava||2}} (ex-''Enns'') and ''[[SMS Körös#Interwar period and World War II|Morava]]'' (ex-''Körös''). After the [[Invasion of Yugoslavia|fall of Yugoslavia]] in April 1941, ''Morava'' (renamed ''Bosna'') and ''Sava'' were commissioned by the newly created [[Independent State of Croatia]].

Six smaller monitors (70–100 ton displacement) were used by [[Poland]] in 1939 on shallow [[Pripyat River]]. Captured by the [[Soviet Union]], they were used in 1941 by the Soviets on the Pripyat and [[Dnieper|Dnepr]] rivers, along with Soviet riverine ships. The Soviet Union also had five ''Zheleznyakov''-class monitors of 263 tons, which served with the [[Danube Flotilla (Soviet Union)|Danube Flotilla]] and [[Dnieper Flotilla#The Dnieper Flotilla during the Second World War|Dnieper Flotilla]] in World War II.

Hungary also used river monitors, five of them notably taking part during the [[Kozara Offensive]] in 1942.