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| Vlora War | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Clockwise from top: Italian base; Albanian soldiers; Italian cannons captured by Albanian irregulars during one of the battles | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Albanian nationalists |  Italy | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Qazim KoculiAhmet LepenicaSelam Musai †Spiro Jorgo Koleka Fani Shuka (MIA)Aristidh RuçiXhemal AranitasiAhmet Zogu[1] | Giovanni GiolittiSettimio PiacentiniEnrico Gotti † | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 10,000 troops, of which 3,000–4,000 engaged[2] | About 25,000 troops,[3] with only a fraction engaged due to an outbreak ofmalaria[4] | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | 2,000 killed, most of which died due tomalaria[5] | ||||||||
TheVlora War was a military conflict in theVlorë region ofAlbania between theKingdom of Italy andAlbanian nationalists. Vlorë, occupied by Italy since 1914, was attacked four times by Albanian nationalists. While repelling the attacks, the Italian troops suffered from an outbreak ofmalaria and could not receive support as theBersaglieri ofAncona refused to be sent to Albania, in the context of theBiennio Rosso agitations.[6] Italian prime ministerGiovanni Giolitti, considering the occupation of Vlorë pointless and unpopular, negotiated a treaty of compromise with the Albanians. This resulted in Italy abandoning its plans to make Albania amandate and ending the occupation of Vlorë, while it retained diplomatic protection over Albania to ensure its independence and annexed the island ofSaseno. The armistice agreement was confirmed a year later by theConference of Ambassadors of theLeague of Nations, confirming Albanian sovereignty and the Italian special interests. The Vlora War is considered an important moment in the history of the Albania's independence.[7][8] At the same time, the 1920 treaty of Tirana is considered the first of theTreaties of Tirana that gradually brought Albania into the Italian sphere of influence.[9] Both the Albanian committee and the Italian foreign ministry claimed victory and expressed satisfaction with the agreements;[10][11] many authors do not treat these clashes as forming an actual conflict and the very concept of a "Vlora War" is rare in historiography.
Before joining theTriple Entente as an ally inWorld War I, theKingdom of Italy signed the secretTreaty of London. Under this agreement, Italy promised to declare war onGermany andAustria-Hungary within one month in exchange for territorial gains at the end of the war. Articles 6 and 7 of the treaty dealt with the promised territories in Albania that Italy would receive:[12]
Article 6Italy shall receive full sovereignty over Valona, the island ofSaseno and surrounding territory....
Article 7Having obtained theTrentino andIstria by Article 4,Dalmatia and theAdriatic islands by Article 5, and also the gulf of Valona, Italy undertakes, in the event a small, autonomous, and neutralized state being formed in Albania Italy not to oppose the possible desire ofFrance,Great Britain, andRussia to repartition the northern and the southern districts of Albania betweenMontenegro,Serbia, andGreece. The southern coast of Albania, from the frontier of the Italian territory of Valona toCape Stilos, is to be neutralized. Italy will be conceded the right of concluding the foreign relations of Albania; in any case, Italy will be bound to secure for Albania a territory sufficiently extensive to enable its frontiers to join those of Greece and Serbia to the west ofLake Ochrida ..
In 1920, the Allies at theParis Peace Conference had not yet decided on the future of Albania, but Italy's claims to sovereignty over Vlorë had never faced a significant challenge. Prime MinisterFrancesco Saverio Nitti also sought a mandate over the rest of the country following the secretTreaty of London.[13]
| Albanian order of battle | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forces fromShullëri | CommanderKalo Telhai | ||||
| Forces fromKutë | CommanderRrapo Çelo andHalim Rakipi | ||||
| Forces fromDukat | CommanderSheme Sadiku andHodo Zeqiri | ||||
| Forces fromLumi i Vlorës | CommanderSali Vranishti | ||||
| Forces fromFëngu | CommanderMuço Aliu | ||||
| Forces fromKanina | CommanderBeqir Velo | ||||
| Forces fromSalari | CommanderSelam Musai | ||||
| Forces fromKurvelesh | CommanderRiza Runa | ||||
| Forces fromFterra | CommanderXhaferr Shehu | ||||
| Forces fromMallakastër | CommanderBektash Çakrani andHalim Hamiti | ||||
| Forces fromSkrapar | CommanderRiza Kodheli | ||||
| Forces fromBerat | CommanderSeit Toptani andIzedin Vrioni and Fani Shuka | ||||
| Forces fromPeqin | CommanderAdem Gjinishi | ||||
| Forces fromGjirokastër | CommanderJaver Hurshiti andXhevdet Picari | ||||
| Forces fromÇamëria | CommanderAlush Seit Taka andMuharrem Rushiti | ||||
| Forces fromKorça | CaptainFerit Frashëri andTosun Selenica | ||||
| Forces fromTirana | CaptainIsmail Haki Kuçi | ||||
| Albanian-American Volunteers | CaptainAqif Përmeti andKareiman Tatzani | ||||
| Italian order of battle | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area | Military Strength | Commander | |||
| Vlorë-Kaninë area | Center of High Command of 36th division forces | Commander: General Settimo Piacentini. Division commander - General Emanuele Pugliese and his aid General De Luca. | |||
| Kotë | Road, food and hospital center. 4th command of mixed artillery. Alpine battalion, 72nd battalion of Infantry. | Command of Carabinieri forces. Commander GeneralEnrico Gotti, Commander of the garrison Cavallo Michele. | |||
| Gjorm | Center of a machine gun company | Commander Captain Bergamaschi | |||
| Matohasanaj Castle | 72 infantry battalion, infantry regiment, 182nd mountain artillery section 70 mm. | Commander major | |||
| Tepelenë Castle | Infantry battalion, 157th artillery section, carabinieri forces. | Commander major Bronzini. | |||
| Llogara Pass | Part of 35th battalion of 35th regiment of bersaglieri, 105th repart. | Commander Captain Boansea | |||
| Himarë | Center of command of 35th regiment of bersaglieri. | Commander general Rossi, Colonel Manganeli. | |||
| Selenicë | Commander major Guadalupi | ||||
| Vlora Gulf | Battleships "San Mario", "Bruceti", "Dulio", Alkina" Orion, torpedinier "Arcione" | ||||
| Ujë i Ftohtë region (outskirt south ofVlorë) | Aviation forces | ||||
| Panaja | Central magazines of the Italian army | ||||
| Vajzë - hospital and post command. | |||||
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The conflict began on June 4 after Italian GeneralSettimo Piacentini refused to cede control of the Vlora district to the Albanian government. Previously, Albania had successfully expelled most of the Italian occupation from the country. After Italy refused the request ofAhmet Zogu, the then Albanian Minister of the Interior, to continue the evacuation, the Albanians formed the National Defense Committee, led byQazim Koculi, and began recruiting volunteers.[7]Ahmet Lepenica took command of the force, which consisted of about 4,000 soldiers. The Albanian rebels were poorly armed; some did not carry firearms and resorted to sticks and stones. In the area around Vlora, there were about 25,000 Italian soldiers equipped with artillery.[7]
The Albanians fought in the Vlora region and were joined by local volunteers, resulting in a force of over 10,000 irregular fighters. Despite the increase in numbers, only up to 4,000 Albanians participated in the conflict. This force included the Banda e Vatrës, an Albanian military band formed in theUnited States that traveled by boat for 23 days to reach Durrës.[14][7] The advance of the Albanian troops and the communist revolutionary movements, coupled withriots in the Italian army, made it impossible to reinforce the Italian soldiers in Vlora.[15][7] As a result, the Italian soldiers barricaded themselves in Vlora, facing malaria and communist agitation in their ranks, and without receiving any orders; they defended the city from four attacks on 5 June, 6 June, 11 June, and 24 July.[7][15]
The military stalemate continued for three months until the Italian and Albanian governments signed theTreaty of Tirana on 2 August 1920,[16] which ended the conflict.
Italy undertakes to recognize and defend the autonomy of Albania and, retaining only Saseno, abandons Vallona.
It was the first diplomatic agreement between Albania and a foreign country. The pact prevented further partition of the territory of the Albanian state. Albania managed to achieve full recognition by the Western powers of its independence within its 1913 borders.[17]
The armistice, introducing a ceasefire on August 5th, contained these main points:
The Treaty of Tirana was ratified by the League of Nations Conference of Ambassadors in November 1921. It recognized Italian special interests in Albania while reaffirming Albanian independence. Giovanni Giolitti, the Italian Prime Minister at the time, expressed his satisfaction with the treaty in these words:
What really interests us is that Vallona cannot form a base of operations against us; and this aim was achieved with the occupation of the islet of Sasseno, which lies at the mouth of the bay itself... For these reasons, I decided to renounce the mandate conferred on us by the Paris Conference on Albania, which would have represented an enormous liability without any profit, and to limit our action to the diplomatic protection of Albania against the aims of other States, and to abandon Vallona, ensuring however recognition of the possession of Sasseno
However,Benito Mussolini referred to Vlora as the "AlbanianCaporetto.".[10] Upon taking power, he also ensured Albanian independence and caused the1923 Corfu crisis after a border disagreement with Greece.
... the political quarrel turned into an armed conflict, which ended with the unexpected victory of the Albanians.
