Following the demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the conclusion of World War I, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (KSCS) was created. Austria-Hungary transferred the vessels of the former Austro-Hungarian Navy to the new nation. The Kingdom of Italy was unhappy with this, and convinced the Allies to share the Austro-Hungarian ships among the victorious powers. As a result, the only modern sea-going vessels left to the KSCS were 12 torpedo boats, and it had to build its naval forces almost from scratch.