Albania 1939-1945

[malioni91]

Dear All,
I saw that there isn't any dedicate thread on the Albanian resistance during World War II. I was thinking to open this thread where we all can post photos and materials on this topic which is little known in Western Europe.

[G. Trifkovic]

Hi malioni91 and !

This is an interesting topic which surely warrants a thread of its own. Since this is a research forum, please provide sources for all the information you post (including photos) for the benefit of our members.

Cheers,

Gaius

[malioni91]

The two photos below have been taken from a photographic album published by the Albanian State Archive. They were first uploaded in a digital format at albmilitary.com

[malioni91]

Taken from "The OSS in World War II Albania" by Peter Lucas.

[malioni91]

The first photo has been published in "Fjalori Enciklopedik Shqiptar" while the second one is on the website of the Italian magazine l'Unita.

[malioni91]

One of the many German KIA cemeteries erected in Tirana in late November 1944. This particular cemetery was created by a number of Catholic priests who gathered bodies of dead German soldiers which were left on the streets of Tirana after the liberation. The photo has been published by the Albanian National Archives. The letters AQSH on the photo stand for "Arkivi Qendror i Shtetit" (State's Central Archives).

[malioni91]

The photos below show Albanian partisans inspecting a German machine-gun position in one of Tirana's main square a day or so after the liberation of the city. This means that the photos were taken either November 19th or 20th 1944. The Germans dug-in a tank (can somebody ID the type) inside the water fountain. The tank's turret with its heavy caliber machine-gun was the main obstacle to the partisan advance. The turret in the photo is still facing towards the direction where most of the partisan attacks came from. The explanation for this is that either the partisans didn't know how to turn the turret on the German positions or the tank was already damaged when the partisans captured it.

[AVV]

Hello!

can somebody ID the type

German light tank Pz.Kpfw. II, I think.

Best regards, Aleks

[malioni91]

Hello!

German light tank Pz.Kpfw. II, I think.

Best regards, Aleks

Thanks Aleks

[malioni91]

The following photos have been uploaded at albmilitary.com I believe that they are part of a photo collection published by the Albanian National Archives.

The first pic shows a group of partisans somewhere in South Albania. The partisan with the white hat, is an ex-Italian soldier which was trapped in Albania after the Italian armistice. A few hundred of Italians formed the Battalion "Antonio Gramsci" which was part of the 1st Partisan Shock Brigade. This battalion fought with valor during the battle of Tirana and they were granted the honor to march at the front of the victory parade. The second pic shows one of the many barricades which were erected by the partisans during the battle of Tirana.

[AVV]

Thanks Aleks

You are welcome.
Here is present day photo of the same type of turret in Greece.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40452904@N08/6027142950/
It seems that the turret on your photo has original armament - 20 mm. gun.

Best regards, Aleks

[Marcus]

Thanks for sharing these photos, it is an interesting topic.

/Marcus

[Petterson]

Speaking about Albanian resistance movement during the Italian occupation. The newspapers published in summer of 1939 claimed that there were Guerrilla groups who did fight against Italian troops and those guerrillas operated in Albanian inland. The Albanian refugees told about them.

[G. Trifkovic]

Hi all,

here the excerpt from the divisional history of the 100th Jaeger Division (Hanns Neidhardt: Mit Tanne und Eichenlaub. Kriegschronik der 100. Jäger-Division, vormals 100. leichte Infanterie-Division, Stocker-Verlag, Graz, Österreich, 1981, 468 p.), about its stay in Albania from July 1943 to march 1944. Audiatur et altera pars!

Cheers,

Gaius

[malioni91]

Speaking about Albanian resistance movement during the Italian occupation. The newspapers published in summer of 1939 claimed that there were Guerrilla groups who did fight against Italian troops and those guerrillas operated in Albanian inland. The Albanian refugees told about them.

I believe that most of the newspapers in 1939 wrote just for propagadan purposes. Unfortunately due to the close connections that our military had with Italy at the time, and due to King Zog's government betrayal, Albania was unable to organize a true guerrilla movement until 1941. By 1943 the movement had morphed into an organized guerrilla army which operated mostly in Southern Albania. By the end of 1943-1944 the UNCSH (Ushtria Nacional-Clirimtare/ National Liberation Army) controlled almost 40% of the country and was able to mount large-scale operations. For more info, I have attached a paper on this subject that I wrote a year ago.

Best regards,
Malion