World War II in Albania
| World War II in Albania | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the European theatre and Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II | ||||||||
Clockwise from top left: Albanian refugees crossing the border to Yugoslavia in April 12, 1939, Ballists and Communists converse during Mukje Agreement 1943, Italian troops in Durrës, Communist Partisans fighting in Tirana 1944, Partisans march through Tirana after occupying it 28 November 1944 | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Belligerents | ||||||||
|
LANÇ |
Northern Epirus Liberation Front |
Italy (until Sep. 1943)
Germany (from Sep. 1943)
| ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
|
Ndoc Çoba Grigorios Lambovitiadis | |||||||
| Strength | ||||||||
|
1942 ~4,000 1944 ~40,000 | More than 700,000 Axis troops were stationed | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||
|
Around (including civilians) 28,000 killed 12,600 wounded 44,500 imprisoned or deported |
Axis and collaborators: 26,595 killed 21,245 wounded 20,800 prisoners | |||||||
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 (until 1943) 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.
The Center for Relief to Civilian Populations (Geneva) reported that Albania was one of the most devastated countries in Europe. 60,000 houses were destroyed and about 10% of the population was left homeless.