Josef Conte Veith (1878–1959): The Hero of Ancona

A more fitting title for his memoirs would be "The Story of the Hero of Ancona," as the memory of his daring mission to raid the enemy war port of Ancona in the final year of the First World War defined the rest of his life.

The Daring Ancona Raid

In 1918, based on intelligence reports of a new, highly seaworthy Italian patrol boat, Veith conceived an audacious plan. Leading a small Austrian naval commando unit of two midshipmen and sixty sailors, he aimed to infiltrate the port of Ancona under cover of darkness. Their mission was to capture these new vessels and use them to wreak havoc behind the Italian lines at the Piave front, hoping to collapse the entire defensive position in coordination with the main army.
The operation began successfully. The team landed north of Ancona undetected and even managed to bluff their way through Italian checkpoints. With a cry of "Ecco, Inglesi!" ("Look, the English!"), they were waved through by the guards, who even rendered salutes.
However, at dawn, the mission took a disastrous turn. As the detachment moved into the harbour area, a single shot rang out—a signal of betrayal fired by the Italian-speaking midshipman from Trentino who was leading the group. The element of surprise was lost. After a brief firefight against impossible odds, Veith and his men were forced to surrender.

A Life of Resilience

Even in captivity, Veith's spirit was unbroken. After a failed escape attempt, he was held in a fortress in the Piedmontese mountains until the war's end. He settled in Innsbruck, where he lived a modest life, struggling with the post-war inflation that eroded his officer's pension. A personal letter from the exiled Emperor Karl, awarding him the Golden Bravery Medal for officers, was a rare and cherished recognition of his courageous, albeit failed, mission.
His old love for the mountains drew him to the Kaunertal, where he worked for years as a mountain guide on the Ötztal glaciers. He later lived in extreme modesty in several villages around Innsbruck.
​
In his final years, he suffered from phlebitis and passed away from an embolism on May 15, 1959, in Bad Hall, Upper Austria. In a poignant coincidence, an old comrade from the Imperial and Royal Navy delivered a deeply felt eulogy at his funeral.

A Man of Legacy and Loyalty

Josef Veith was the epitome of the old Austrian officer: cultured, witty, and temperamental, with an unwavering sense of loyalty. Nearly 80 years old, he travelled to Lake Starnberg to pay his respects to the son of his beloved Emperor Karl.
A final joy came six months before his death when a relative invited him to Rome. There, he gave a press interview about the Ancona raid, resulting in a laudatory feature in a renowned Italian illustrated magazine, finally giving his heroic act the public recognition it deserved.

Connection to the Resistance

Dr. Ernst v. Verdross, in his reports on the Nazi resistance movement in Hall, noted that the network maintained close contacts with surrounding groups. Among these key contacts was "Linienschifffahrtsleutnant Conte Veith in Tulfes," linking the naval hero of one war to the clandestine resisters of the next.
(Note: The final paragraph has been integrated from the separate query about Dr. Verdross to provide a cohesive biography and highlight the historical connection.)