Vlora War
| Vlora War | |||||||||
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Clockwise from top: Italian base; Albanian soldiers; Italian cannons captured by Albanian irregulars during one of the battles | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Albanian nationalists | Italy | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Qazim Koculi Ahmet Lepenica Selam Musai † Spiro Jorgo Koleka Fani Shuka (MIA) Aristidh Ruçi Xhemal Aranitasi Llazar Bozo Ahmet Zogu |
Giovanni Giolitti Settimio Piacentini Enrico Gotti † | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 10,000 troops, of which 3,000–4,000 engaged | About 25,000 troops, with only a fraction engaged due to an outbreak of malaria | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | 2,000 killed, most of which died due to malaria | ||||||||
| Events leading to World War II |
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The Vlora War was a military conflict in the Vlorë region of Albania between the Kingdom of Italy and Albanian nationalists. Vlorë, occupied by Italy since 1914, was attacked four times by Albanian nationalists. While repelling the attacks, the Italian troops suffered from an outbreak of malaria and could not receive support as the Bersaglieri of Ancona refused to be sent to Albania, in the context of the Biennio Rosso agitations. Italian prime minister Giovanni Giolitti, considering the occupation of Vlorë pointless and unpopular, negotiated a treaty of compromise with the Albanians. This resulted in Italy abandoning its plans to make Albania a mandate and ending the occupation of Vlorë, while it retained diplomatic protection over Albania to ensure its independence and annexed the island of Saseno. The armistice agreement was confirmed a year later by the Conference of Ambassadors of the League of Nations, confirming Albanian sovereignty and the Italian special interests.
The Vlora War is considered an important moment in the history of the Albania's independence. At the same time, the 1920 treaty of Tirana is considered the first of the Treaties of Tirana, which gradually brought Albania into the Italian sphere of influence. Both the Albanian committee and the Italian foreign ministry claimed victory and expressed satisfaction with the agreements; many authors do not treat these clashes as forming an actual conflict and the very concept of a "Vlora War" is rare in historiography.