albania in ww1

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Balrog
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albania in ww1

#1

Post by Balrog » 05 Jun 2003, 23:21

i would like to know if anyone has photos of the the war in albania. i'm looking for photos of
1.) the italian armed and equipped albanian legion(plus, any information on it)
2.)king zog in his austrian army uniform(i believe he was given the rank
of colonel to buy the loyalty of his mati tribe)
3.)the greek army occupying southern albania
4.)and photos of any naval war ships along the albania coast
thank you for any information.

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Peter H
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#2

Post by Peter H » 06 Jun 2003, 04:22

From Corbis.com

Albanian soldiers 1915 with Italian officer(?).
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Albanian soldiers at drill.
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Essad's Artillery 1915.
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Scutari 1916
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The Austrian 19th Corps occupied northern Albania in January 1916.A large naval base was set up at Durres(Durazzo) after its capture.The Austrian 19th Corps was designated Army Group Albania in 1918 and consisted of the 47th,81st Divisions and the 220th Landsturm Brigade.

An Albanian Legion.Albanische Legion,was set up under Austrian command.It consisted of 9 battalions with Austro-Hungarian officers and NCOs,approx 6,000 Albanians.

The Greek Army occupied the disputed Northern Epirus in November 1914 and formally annexed the region in March 1916.In August 1916 the Italians,with Allied permission,occupied Northern Epirus via southern Albania,forcing the neutralist Greek army to withdraw.

The Italian Corps de Speciale Albanie occupied southern Albania in March 1916--this consisted of the Italian 38th,43rd and 44th Divisions.It was re-designated 'Albanian Occupation Troops' in June 1916.The 43rd and 44th Italian Divisions were withdrawn, in late 1916,back to Italy.Albanian irregulars were recruited to replace them,hence the formation of another Albanian Legion,now Italian.

In June 1917 the 'Albanian Occupation Troops' were renamed Italian 16th Corps now consisting of the Italian 38th,13th and 36th Divisions,and the 9th Cavalry Brigade.In July 1918 the 16th Corps attacked and captured Berat in southern Albania,but was counterattacked by the Austrian 19th Corps and lost most of the territory gained.With the Bulgarian collapse in September 1918,the Italian 16th Corps advanced into Central Albania,occupying Durres on the 14th October,Tirana on the 15th.

The source of this narrative is the excellent Osprey book,Armies in the Balkans 1914-18 by Nigel Thomas and Dusan Babac.


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Balrog
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#3

Post by Balrog » 06 Jun 2003, 05:15

great photos! the albanians manning the artillery look like they are wearing native dress. thank you for all the information.

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arb
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#4

Post by arb » 17 Jul 2003, 17:38

you can find at http://www.luce.it movies of that period.

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