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| Battle of Saranda | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theGreco-Italian War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Greece |  Italy | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Alexandros Papagos | Ugo Cavallero | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Approximately 20,000 troops | Approximately 15,000 troops | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1,000 killed or wounded | 2,000 killed, wounded, or captured | ||||||
TheBattle of Saranda took place in southernAlbania between theGreeks and theItalians in December 1940, during theGreco-Italian War inWorld War II.
After intense clashes between Italian and Greek soldiers in the city ofKekova, the Italian Army in Saranda pushed through many of the civilians and from there, they defeated the Greek soldiers and took control of the entire Saranda valley. The subsequent Battle of Saranda was the first major battle of the Italian campaign inAlbania. Fought on one of the most important points in the entire country, it was a major blow to the occupation army. The Italians had attempted an invasion of Greece but were repelled. The battle was won by the Greeks, who captured the port ofSarandë (namedPorto Edda by Fascist Italy). Immediately after the battle, Italian Chief of StaffPietro Badoglio resigned from his post.[2]
Replacing the Italians, the Greeks thus occupied part ofNorthern Epirus (part of southern Albania), which was already a matter of territorial dispute between Albania and Greece.
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