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Italian invasion of Albania

Part of the interwar period

Column of Italian forces in Albania.

Date	April 7–12, 1939 (5 days)
Location	Albanian Kingdom
Result	Italian victory Albania becomes an Italian protectorate King Zog I flees to Greece Albanian resistance begins

Belligerents

Italy

Albania

Commanders and leaders

Benito Mussolini
Alfredo Guzzoni
Giovanni Messe
Ettore Sportiello

Zog I
Xhemal Aranitasi
Abaz Kupi
Mujo Ulqinaku †

Strength

22,000 soldiers
400 aircraft^[1]
2 battleships
3 heavy cruisers
3 light cruisers
9 destroyers
14 torpedo boats
1 minelayer
10 auxiliary ships
9 transport ships

8,000 soldiers^[2]
5 aircraft
3 torpedo boats

Casualties and losses

Possibly 700 dead (according to Fischer)^[3]
12–25 dead (Italian claim)^[3]^[4]
97 wounded^[4]

Likely more than 700 dead (according to Fischer)^[5]
160 dead and several hundreds wounded (according to Pearson)^[4]
5 aircraft
3 torpedo boats

v t e World War II in Albania
1939 Italian invasion 1940 Korytsa Himara Saranda 1941 Klisura Pass Trebeshina Hill 731 Spring offensive Karadak–Gollak 1942 1943 Gjorm Leskovik Përmet Tepelena Kurtez Tirana and Kruja Reç German invasion Drashovica Pezë 1944 Draufgänger Menina Preševo Kosovo Tirana Desivojca

Events leading to World War II
1910s Treaty of Versailles 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye 1919 Polish–Soviet War 1919–1920 Polish–Lithuanian War 1919–1920
1920s Treaty of Trianon 1920 Treaty of Rapallo 1920 Franco-Polish alliance 1921 March on Rome 1922 Corfu incident 1923 Occupation of the Ruhr 1923–1925 Mein Kampf 1925 Second Italo-Senussi War 1923–1932 Dawes Plan 1924 Locarno Treaties 1925 Young Plan 1929 Great Depression 1929
1930s Japanese invasion of Manchuria 1931 Pacification of Manchukuo 1931–1942 January 28 incident 1932 Geneva Conference 1932–1934 Defense of the Great Wall 1933 Battle of Rehe 1933 Nazis' rise to power in Germany 1933 Tanggu Truce 1933 Italo-Soviet Pact 1933 Inner Mongolian Campaign 1933–1936 German–Polish declaration of non-aggression 1934 Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance 1935 Soviet–Czechoslovakia Treaty of Mutual Assistance 1935 He–Umezu Agreement 1935 Anglo-German Naval Agreement 1935 December 9th Movement Second Italo-Ethiopian War 1935–1936 Remilitarization of the Rhineland 1936 Arab revolt in Palestine 1936–1939 Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 Italo-German "Axis" protocol 1936 Anti-Comintern Pact 1936 Suiyuan campaign 1936 Xi'an Incident 1936 Second Sino-Japanese War 1937–1945 USS Panay incident 1937 Anschluss Mar. 1938 Polish ultimatum to Lithuania Mar. 1938 May Crisis May 1938 Battle of Lake Khasan July–Aug. 1938 Bled Agreement Aug. 1938 Undeclared German–Czechoslovak War Sep. 1938 Munich Agreement Sep. 1938 First Vienna Award Nov. 1938 German occupation of Czechoslovakia Mar. 1939 Hungarian invasion of Carpatho-Ukraine Mar. 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania Mar. 1939 Slovak–Hungarian War Mar. 1939 Final offensive of the Spanish Civil War Mar.–Apr. 1939 Danzig Crisis Mar.–Aug. 1939 British guarantee to Poland Mar. 1939 Italian invasion of Albania Apr. 1939 Soviet–British–French Moscow negotiations Apr.–Aug. 1939 Pact of Steel May 1939 Battles of Khalkhin Gol May–Sep. 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact Aug. 1939 Invasion of Poland Sep. 1939
v t e

The Italian invasion of Albania was a brief military campaign which was launched by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom in 1939. The conflict was a result of the imperialistic policies of the Italian prime minister and dictator Benito Mussolini. Albania was rapidly overrun, its ruler King Zog I went into exile in neighboring Greece, and the country was made a part of the Italian Empire as a protectorate in personal union with the Italian Crown.

^ Fischer 1999 (Purdue ed.), p. 21.
^ Fischer 1999 (Purdue ed.), p. 22.
^ ^a ^b Fischer 1999, p. 22:Reports on the number of casualties differed rather significantly. The townspeople of Durrës maintained that the Italians lost four hundred. Although Italian propaganda claimed that Italy only lost twelve men in the entire invasion, it is possible that approximately two hundred Italians were killed in Durrës alone and as many as seven hundred Italians may have been killed in total.
^ ^a ^b ^c Pearson 2004, p. 445.
^ Fischer, Bernd J. (1999a). Albania at war, 1939-1945. West Lafayette, Ind.: Purdue University Press. p. 22. ISBN 9781557531414. Albanian casualties may have been higher.