In the waning days of World War I, the SMS Viribus Unitis, a formidable battleship of the Austro-Hungarian navy, lay anchored in the port of Pula, now part of Croatia. It was November 1, 1918, a critical moment as the war's end seemed imminent. The Viribus Unitis, named after the empire's motto meaning "With United Forces," symbolized the naval strength of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.