THE ITALIAN INVASIONOF ALBANIA 1939

HISTORY CAMBRIDGE AS (PAPER 2)PRESENTATION 7

1933-1939 MODULE

POWERPOINT BASED ONWadsworth, Chapter 3

Fischer, Bernd Jürgen. Albania at War, 1939–1945 Library of Congress, Country Study of Albania

GENERAL OVERVIEWThe Italian invasion of Albania (April 7–12, 1939) was a brief military campaign by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom. The conflict was a result of the imperialist policies of Benito Mussolini. Albania was rapidly overrun, its ruler, King Zog I, forced into exile, and the country made part of the Italian Empire as a separate kingdom in personal union with the Italian crown.

Italian forces in Albania, 1939

STRATEGICAL ALBANIAAlbania was considered very strategic for Italy. Italian naval strategists coveted the port of Vlore and the island of Sazan at the entrance to the Bay of Vlore, as they would give Italy control of the entrance to the Adriatic Sea.Albania could provide Italy with a beachhead in the Balkans. Before World War I Italy and Austria-Hungary had been instrumental in the creation of an independent Albanian state. At the outbreak of the war, Italy had seized the chance to occupy the southern half of Albania, to avoid it being captured by the Austro-Hungarians.

MUSSOLINI’S INTEREST FOR ALBANIAWhen Mussolini took power in Italy he turned with renewed interest to Albania. Italy began penetration of Albania's economy in 1925, when Albania agreed to allow Italy to exploit its mineral resources.That was followed by the First Treaty of Tirana in 1926 and the Second Treaty of Tirana in 1927, whereby Italy and Albania entered into a defensive alliance.The Albanian government and economy were subsidised by Italian loans, the Albanian army was trained by Italian military instructors, and Italian colonial settlement was encouraged. Despite strong Italian influence, King Zog I refused to give in completely to Italian pressure.

THE INVASIONThe original Italian plans for the invasion called for up to 50,000 men supported by 137 naval units and 400 airplanes. Ultimately the invasion force grew to 100,000 men supported by 600 airplanes. On April 7 Mussolini's troops, led by General Alfredo Guzzoni, invaded Albania, attacking all Albanian ports simultaneously. There were 65 units in Saranda, 40 at Vlorë, 38 in Durrës, 28 at Shëngjin and 8 at Bishti i Pallës.

SABOTAGEThe regular Albanian army had 15,000 poorly equipped troops who had been trained by Italian officers. King Zog's plan was to mount a resistance in the mountains, leaving the ports and main cities undefended; but Italian agents placed in Albania as military instructors sabotaged this plan. The Albanians discovered that artillery pieces had been disabled and there was no ammunition. As a consequence, the main resistance was offered by gendarmes and small groups of patriots.

Italian soldiers passing Albanians, 7 April 1939

ADVANCEBy 1:30 pm on the first day, all Albanian ports were in Italian hands. That same day King Zog, his wife, Queen Geraldine Apponyi, and their infant son Leka fled to Greece, taking with them part of the gold reserves of the Albanian Central Bank. On hearing the news, an angry mob attacked the prisons, liberated the prisoners and sacked the King's residence. At 9:30 am on April 8, Italian troops entered Tirana and quickly captured all government buildings. Italian columns of soldiers then marched to Shkodër, Fier and Elbasan. Shkodër surrendered in the evening after 12 hours of fighting. However, two officers garrisoned at Rozafa castle refused to obey the ceasefire order and continued to fight until they ran out of ammunition. The Italian troops later paid homage to the Albanian troops in Shkodër who had halted their advance for an entire day.

MIXED DATAThe number of casualties in these battles is disputed. The Italian military forces maintained that at Durres 25 Italians were killed and 97 wounded and 160 Albanians were killed and several hundred wounded, while the town of Durres declared that 400 Italians had been killed. To cover up their losses the Italians immediately took away the bodies and washed the harbour and streets of Durres. On April 12, the Albanian parliament voted to depose Zog and unite the nation with Italy "in personal union" by offering the Albanian crown to Italy's King Victor Emmanuel III. The parliament elected Albania's largest landowner Vërlaci, as Prime Minister. Vërlaci served as interim head of state for five days until Victor Emmanuel III formally accepted the Albanian crown in a ceremony in Rome. Victor Emmanuel III appointed San Savino, a former ambassador to Albania, to represent him as "Lieutenant-General of the King".

KING ZOG KING VICTOR EMMANUEL

ALBANIA LEAVES THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

On April 15, 1939, Albania withdrew from the League of Nations, from which Italy had resigned in 1937. On June 3, 1939, the Albanian foreign ministry was merged into the Italian foreign ministry, and the Albanian Foreign Minister, Xhemil Dino, was given the rank of an Italian ambassador. Upon the capture of Albania, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declared the official creation of the Italian Empire and the figurehead King Victor Emmanuel III was crowned King of the Albanians in addition to his title of Emperor of Ethiopia, which had been occupied three years before.

ALBANIAN MILITARY MERGING ITALIAN ARMY

The Albanian military was placed under Italian command and formally merged into the Italian Army in 1940. Additionally, the Italian Blackshirts formed four legions of Albanian Militia, initially recruited from Italian colonists living in Albania, but later from ethnic Albanians. Albania followed Italy into war with Britain and France on June 10, 1940. Albania served as the base for the Italian invasion of Greece in October 1940, and Albanian troops participated in the Greek campaign, but they massively deserted the front line.

ALBANIAN MILITARY MERGING ITALIAN ARMY

The Albanian military was placed under Italian command and formally merged into the Italian Army in 1940. Additionally, the Italian Blackshirts formed four legions of Albanian Militia, initially recruited from Italian colonists living in Albania, but later from ethnic Albanians. Albania followed Italy into war with Britain and France on June 10, 1940. Albania served as the base for the Italian invasion of Greece in October 1940, and Albanian troops participated in the Greek campaign, but they massively deserted the front line.