Pre-invasion: Italy's influence and aims in Albania ,
Albania, during
World War I. The tricolour flag of Italy bearing the
Savoy royal shield is shown hanging alongside an Albanian flag from the balcony of the Italian headquarters. Prior to direct intervention in World War I, the
Kingdom of Italy occupied the port of
Vlorë in Albania in December 1914. Under Zog, Albania's economy was dependent on multiple financial loans given from Italy since 1931. In August 1933, Mussolini placed strict demands on Zog in exchange for Italy's continued support of Albania, including demands that all new appointments to leading positions in the Albanian government had to have received an "Italian education"; that an Italian expert was in the future to be in all Albanian government ministries; that Italy would take control of Albania's military – including its fortifications; that British officers that were training Albania's gendarmerie be replaced by Italian officers; and that Albania must annul all of its existing commercial treaties with other countries and make no new agreements without the approval of the Italian government; and that Albania sign a commercial convention that would make Italy Albania's "most favoured country" in trade. In 1934 when Albania did not deliver its scheduled payment of one loan to Italy, Italian warships arrived off the coast of Albania to intimidate Albania to submit to Italian goals in the region. However, the British opposed Italy's actions and under pressure, Italy backed down and claimed that the naval exercise was merely a "friendly visit". On 25 August 1937, Italian foreign minister Count Ciano wrote in his diary of Italy's relations with Albania in the following: "We must create stable centres of Italian influence there. Who knows what the future may have in store? We must be ready to seize opportunities which will present themselves. We are not going to withdraw this time, as we did in 1920. In the south [of Italy] we have absorbed several hundred thousand Albanians. Why shouldn't the same thing happen on the other side of the entrance to the Adriatic.". On 26 March 1938, Ciano wrote in his diary of annexing Albania like Germany did with Austria shortly prior: "A report from Jacomoni on the situation in Albania. Our penetration is becoming steadily more intense and more organic. The programme which I traced after my visit is being carried out without a hitch. I am wondering whether the general situation – particularly the Anschluss [with Austria] – does not permit us to take a step forward towards the more complete domination of this country, which will be ours." and days later on 4 April of that year wrote "We must gradually underline the protectorate element of our relations with Albania".
Invasion and the establishment of the Italian regime , King of Albania from 1939 to 1943 , Prime Minister of Albania from 1939 to 1941In spite of Albania's long-standing alliance with Italy, on 7 April 1939 Italian troops
invaded Albania, five months before the start of the Second World War. The Albanian armed resistance proved ineffective against the Italians and, after a short defense, the country was occupied. On 9 April 1939 the Albanian king,
Zog I fled to
Greece. Although Albania had been under strong Italian influence since 1927, Italy's political leader,
Benito Mussolini wanted direct control over the country to increase his and Italy's prestige, provide a response to Germany's
annexation of
Austria and occupation of
Czechoslovakia, and to have firm control over Albania to station large forces of the Italian military for future operations involving Yugoslavia and Greece. Albania became an Italian protectorate subordinated to Italian interests, along the lines of the German
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Albania officially became part of the
Italian Empire and
Victor Emmanuel III was proclaimed king of Albania, creating a
personal union with Italy; he was represented in Tirana by a
viceroy. A customs union was created, and Rome took over Albanian foreign policy. Although officially under Italian rule, the Albanians controlled the region and were encouraged to open Albanian language schools, which had been banned by the Yugoslav government. The Italians also gave the inhabitants Albanian citizenship and allowed them to fly the Albanian Flag. The Albanian armed forces were subsumed into the Italian military, Italian advisers were placed inside all levels of the Albanian administration, and the country was fascisticized with the establishment of an
Albanian Fascist Party and its attendant organizations, modelled after the Italian prototype. The Albanian Fascist Party was a branch of the National Fascist Party of Italy, members of the Albanian Fascist Party took an oath to obey the orders of the Duce of Fascism, Mussolini. The
italianization of Albania was one of Mussolini's plans. While Victor Emmanuel ruled as king,
Shefqet Vërlaci served as the prime minister. Vërlaci controlled the day-to-day activities of the Italian protectorate. On 3 December 1941, Shefqet Vërlaci was replaced as prime minister by
Mustafa Merlika-Kruja. The country's natural resources too came under direct control of Italy. All petroleum resources in Albania went through
Agip, Italy's state petroleum company. Albania was important culturally and historically to the nationalist aims of the Italian Fascists, as the territory of Albania had long been part of the
Roman Empire, even prior to the annexation of northern Italy by the Romans. Later, during the
High Middle Ages some coastal areas (like
Durazzo) had been influenced and owned by Italian powers, chiefly the
Kingdom of Naples and the
Republic of Venice for many years (cf.
Albania Veneta). The Italian Fascist regime legitimized its claim to Albania through studies proclaiming the racial affinity of Albanians and Italians, especially as opposed to the Slavic Yugoslavs. Italian Fascists claimed that Albanians were linked through ethnic heritage to
Italians, not to Slavs, and that the major influence exhibited by the Roman and Venetian empires over Albania justified Italy's right to possess it. Italy also attempted to legitimize and win public support for its rule over Albania by supporting Albanian irredentism, directed against the predominantly Albanian-populated
Kosovo in the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia and
Epirus in
Greece, particularly the border area of
Chameria, inhabited by the
Cham Albanian minority.
Albania at war Strategically, control of Albania gave Italy an important beachhead in the Balkans: not only did it complete Italian control of the
Strait of Otranto and the entrance to the
Adriatic Sea, it could be used to invade either Yugoslavia (in tandem with another thrust via
Venezia Giulia) or Greece. In October 1940, during the
Greco-Italian War, Albania served as a staging-area for Italian dictator
Benito Mussolini's unsuccessful invasion of
Greece. Mussolini planned to invade Greece and other countries like
Yugoslavia in the area to give Italy territorial control of most of the
Mediterranean Sea coastline, as part of the Fascists' objective of creating the objective of
Mare Nostrum ("Our Sea") in which Italy would dominate the Mediterranean. But the Albanian army under the command of colonel (later general) Prenk Pervizi abandoned the Italians in combat, causing a major unraveling of their lines. The Albanian army believed to be the cause of the betrayal was removed from the front. The Colonel Pervizi and his staff of officials was isolated in the mountains of Puka and Shkodra to the North. This was the first action of revolt against the Italian occupation. But, soon after the Italian invasion, the Greeks counter-attacked and a sizable portion of Albania was in Greek hands (including the cities of
Gjirokastër and
Korçë). In April 1941, Greece capitulated after an overwhelming
German invasion. All of Albania returned to Italian control, which was also extended to most of Greece, which was
jointly occupied by Italy, Germany and Bulgaria. Italian plans however to annex Chameria to Albania were shelved because the Italians found the region to have been almost completely Greek and also due to the strong opposition of the region's Greek population. The Germans also opposed such a move for the same reasons, and also because they were opposed to any territorial reduction of the
Hellenic state. After the fall of Yugoslavia and Greece in April 1941, the Italian government began negotiations with Germany, Bulgaria, and the newly established client state, the
Independent State of Croatia, on defining their borders. In April Mussolini called for the borders of Albania to be expanded – including annexing
Montenegro into Albania that would have an autonomous government within Albania, and expanding Albania's border eastwards, though not as far as the Vardar river as some had proposed – citing that
Ohrid should be left to the Slavic Macedonians, regardless of whether
Vardar Macedonia would become an independent state or be annexed by Bulgaria. However the Italian government changed its positions on the border throughout April, later supporting the annexation of Ohrid while giving the territory lying directly outside of Ohrid (including the sacred birthplace of
Saint Clement) to the Slavic Macedonians. After a period of negotiations Italy's new Balkan borders – including Albania's new borders, were declared by royal decree on 7 June 1941. After the
Italian capitulation in September 1943, the country was
occupied by the Germans until the end of the war. ==Persecution==