| Battle of Tirana and Kruja | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of World War II in Albania | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Balli Kombetar  LANÇ |  Italy | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Colonel Scarpa † [2] | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 300 Ballists 40 Albanian Partisans | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 150-250 killed [2] 14 captured | ||||||
The Battle in the area of Tirana and Kruja (Beteja E Tiranes dhe Kruje) took place between Albanian resistance fighters against Italian fascist occupiers of Albania. [3] [4]
On August 4, 1943, after the Mukje Conference, LANÇ and Balli Kombetar prepared for an operation against the Italian forces. [5] Albanian resistance forces began the operation with a strength of around 340 men, led by commander Abaz Kupi. [6] [7]
During the battles around 150-250 Italian soldiers died, 14 were captured and many of the supplies such as weapons and ammunition were captured by the Albanians.[ citation needed ]
In Albania, World War II began with its invasion by Italy in April 1939. Fascist Italy set up Albania as its protectorate or puppet state. The resistance was largely carried out by Communist groups against the Italian and then German occupation in Albania. At first independent, the Communist groups united in the beginning of 1942, which ultimately led to the successful liberation of the country in 1944.
Krujë is a town and a municipality in north-central Albania. Located between Mount Krujë and the Ishëm River, the city is 20 km north of the capital of Albania, Tirana.
The Democratic National Front Party (PBKD), also sometimes referred to as the Right National Front or Right National Party, is a political party in Albania led by Artur Roshi. It was formed in 1998 by breaking away from the ultra-nationalist National Front. The PBKD is a right-wing group with nationalist policies which aim to create a Greater Albania. It remains closely linked to the National Front, but has made its policies more moderate.
The Balli Kombëtar was an Albanian nationalist, collaborationist, and anti-communist resistance movement during the Second World War. It was led by Ali Këlcyra and by Midhat Frashëri. The movement was formed by members from the landowning elite, liberal nationalists opposed to communism, and other sectors of society in Albania.
The Mukje Conference was held on 1–3 August 1943 in Mukaj. There was signed the Mukje agreement, a treaty between the nationalist Balli Kombëtar and the National Liberation Movement representatives. The aim was to generate a platform on how to regulate the Albanian resistance in World War II and how to prepare for the future of Ethnic Albanian state. The National Liberation Movement included the Communists and Legaliteti of Abaz Kupi, as well as smaller local nationalist leaders. The conference was intermediated by the British emissaries with the idea of unifying the Albanian political spectrum against the Fascists, similar to AVNOJ in Yugoslavia.
Zajas is a village in the municipality of Kičevo, North Macedonia. Zajas was the seat of the Zajas Municipality, and is now in Kičevo Municipality.
Abas Ermenji was an Albanian politician, historian and nationalist fighter with social democratic views who opposed the Albanian Monarchy and Communism.
The National Liberation Movement, also translated as National Liberation Front, was an Albanian communist resistance organization that fought in World War II. It was created on 16 September 1942, in a conference held in Pezë, a village near Tirana, and was led by Enver Hoxha. Apart from the figures which had the majority in the General Council it also included known nationalists like Myslim Peza although the Partisans under Yugoslav influence ended up executing numerous Albanian nationalist figures. In May 1944, the Albanian National Liberation Front was transformed into the government of Albania and its leaders became government members, and in August 1945, it was replaced by the Democratic Front.
The Battle of Gjorm was a battle of the Albanian Resistance of World War II against the Kingdom of Italy. The battle took place on January 1–2, 1943, in the areas of Gjorm, Vranisht, Dukat, Tragjas and Tërbaç in south-western Albania.
Abaz Kupi was an Albanian military officer.
The Legality Movement were an Albanian royalist and pro-monarchy faction founded in 1941. It was led by Abaz Kupi.
"Free Albania" National Committee, also known as "Free Albania" National-Democratic Committee, also National Committee for a Free Albania or NCFA, was a political organization of post-World War II Albanian emigres based in the Western countries. It was supported by the CIA as part of the Albanian Subversion and was a member of the National Committee for a Free Europe. The committee's aim was organizing the Albanian diaspora and cooperating with western powers in overthrowing Enver Hoxha's Communist regime in Albania.
The committee's creation was initiated in Rome and was completed in Paris in the summer of 1949.
Sofia Noti (1925–1944) was an Albanian World War II freedom fighter and a national martyr. A nurse, she was captured as a POW, and then hanged by the Nazi forces in the concentration camp Pavlou Mela, in Thessaloniki, Greece.
The insurgency in Karadak–Gollak, also known as the War in Eastern Kosovo, was a series of Albanian riots in the Karadak and Gollak regions with spillover into the Anamorava regions. Initially directed against Bulgarian, German, and Italian occupation following the Invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941, it later targeted the Yugoslav Partisans who were attempting to gain control of the area.
The Reçi War, was the toughest and most successful resistance against the Italian fascists in the Shkodra region. This war took place in World War II in Albania, 1943 and was the last Albanian war against the Italian invaders.
The FirstBattle of Preševo or Battle of Eid al-Fitr took place on Eid al-Fitr, from 18th to 24th September 1944 during World War II, between Yugoslav Partisans and Balli Kombëtar forces, in the territory of the Kingdom of Bulgaria.
The Liberation of Tepelena in 1943 was a military offensive involving communist Albanian partisans against Italy, Nazi Germany, and the Balli Kombëtar. The Italian forces ultimately surrendered following diplomatic negotiation.
Ukshin Nuhë Peci, known as Ukshin Kovaçica, was an Albanian nationalist and Balli Kombëtar commander in Kosovo during World War II. He was one of the most notable fighters in the region Shala e Bajgorës.
The German Winter Offensive in Albania (1943–1944), also known as the Winter Offensive or the Winter campaign, was a military campaign carried out by German forces during their occupation of Albania. The primary objective of this offensive was to secure southern Albania in case of a retreat. To successfully achieve this goal, the Germans needed to weaken the Albanian Partisan resistance, which had posed a significant challenge to their control in the region.