Serbian occupation of Albania
Encyclopedia
Albania
declared independence from the Ottoman Empire
in 1912 and achieved full recognition the following year. This chapter of Albanian history was shrouded in controversy and conflict as the larger part of the self-proclaimed region had found itself controlled by the Balkan League
states: Serbia
, Montenegro
and Greece
from the time of the declaration until the period of recognition when Albania relinquished many of the lands originally included in the declared state. Since the proclamation of the state in November 1912, the Provisional Government of Albania
successfully asserted its control over a part of central Albania including the important cities of Vlorë
and Berat
.
of Albania. In October 1912, the Balkan states, following their own national aspirations jointly attacked the Ottoman Empire
and during the next few months partitioned nearly all of Rumelia
, the Ottoman territories in Europe, including those inhabited by the Albanians. In November, with the outbreak of the First Balkan War
, the Albanian
s rose up and declared the creation of an independent Albania, which included all of what is now Albania
and Kosovo
.
in October 1912 as part of its campaign in the then-ongoing First Balkan War
. The Kingdom of Serbia
occupied most of the Albanian-inhabited lands including Albania's Adriatic coast. Serbian Gen. Božidar Janković
was the Commander of the Serbian Third Army
during the military campaign in Albania. The Serbian army met with strong Albanian guerrilla resistance, led by Isa Boletini
, Azem Galica
and other military leaders. During the Serbian occupation, Gen. Jankovic forced notables and local tribal leaders to sign a declaration of gratitude to King Petar I Karađorđević for their "liberation by the Serbian army".
The army of the Kingdom of Serbia captured Durrës
on 29 November 1912 without any resistance. Right after their arrival in Durrës, on 29 November 1912, the Kingdom of Serbia established Durrës County
, its district offices and appointed the governor of the county, mayor of the city and commander of the military garrison.
During the occupation
, the Serbian army committed numerous crimes against the Albanian population
"with a view to the entire transformation of the ethnic character of these regions." The Serbian government denied reports of war crimes.
Following the signing of the Treaty of London in May 1913 which awarded new lands to Serbia, including most of the former Vilayet of Kosovo, the Serbian government agreed to withdraw its troops from outside of its newly expanded territory. This allowed an Albanian state to exist peacefully. The final withdrawal of Serb personnel from Albania was in October 1913.
and its surrounding had long been desired by Montenegro
, although its inhabitants were overwhelmingly ethnic Albanians. The Siege of Scutari took place on 23 April 1913 between the allied forces of Montenegro
and Serbia
against the forces of the Ottoman Empire
and the Provisional Government of Albania
.
Montenegro took Scutari on 23 April 1913, but when the war was over the Great Powers didn't give the city to the Kingdom of Montenegro, which was compelled to evacuate it in May 1913, in accordance with the London Conference of Ambassadors. The army's withdrawal was hastened by a small naval flotilla of British and Italian gunboat
s that moved up the Bojana
River and across the Adriatic coastline.
expelled the Ottomans from the Himara region. The Greek Navy also shelled
the city of Vlora on 3 December 1912. The Greek Army didn't capture Vlore, which was of great interest to Italy
.
Greek forces were stationed in what would become southern Albania until March 1914. After the Great Powers agreed on the terms of the Protocol of Florence in December 1913, Greece was forced to retreat from the towns of Korçë
, Gjirokastër
and Sarandë
and the surrounding territories.
included only about half of the ethnic Albanian population, while a large number of Albanians remained in neighboring countries.
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
declared independence from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in 1912 and achieved full recognition the following year. This chapter of Albanian history was shrouded in controversy and conflict as the larger part of the self-proclaimed region had found itself controlled by the Balkan League
Balkan League
The Balkan League was an alliance formed by a series of bilateral treaties concluded in 1912 between the Balkan states of Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia, and directed against the Ottoman Empire, which at the time still controlled much of the Balkan peninsula...
states: Serbia
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...
, Montenegro
Kingdom of Montenegro
The Kingdom of Montenegro was a monarchy in southeastern Europe during the tumultuous years on the Balkan Peninsula leading up to and during World War I. Legally it was a constitutional monarchy, but absolutist in practice...
and Greece
Kingdom of Greece
The Kingdom of Greece was a state established in 1832 in the Convention of London by the Great Powers...
from the time of the declaration until the period of recognition when Albania relinquished many of the lands originally included in the declared state. Since the proclamation of the state in November 1912, the Provisional Government of Albania
Provisional Government of Albania
The Provisional Government of Albania is the first Government created by Assembly of Vlorë in 4 December 1912. It was a paternal government, led by Ismail Qemali, until his resignation in 22 January 1914 and by Fejzi Bej Alizoti, until the coronation of William, Prince of Albania.- Government...
successfully asserted its control over a part of central Albania including the important cities of Vlorë
Vlorë
Vlorë is one of the biggest towns and the second largest port city of Albania, after Durrës, with a population of about 94,000 . It is the city where the Albanian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on November 28, 1912...
and Berat
Berat
Berat is a town located in south-central Albania. As of 2009, the town has an estimated population of around 71,000 people. It is the capital of both the District of Berat and the larger County of Berat...
.
Provisional Government of Albania
1912 was to be an eventful year in Rumelia. From August, the Ottoman Government recognized the autonomyAutonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
of Albania. In October 1912, the Balkan states, following their own national aspirations jointly attacked the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and during the next few months partitioned nearly all of Rumelia
Rumelia
Rumelia was an historical region comprising the territories of the Ottoman Empire in Europe...
, the Ottoman territories in Europe, including those inhabited by the Albanians. In November, with the outbreak of the First Balkan War
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...
, the Albanian
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
s rose up and declared the creation of an independent Albania, which included all of what is now Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
and Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
.
Serbian campaign
The Serb army first entered Ottoman territory inhabited by ethnic AlbaniansAlbanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
in October 1912 as part of its campaign in the then-ongoing First Balkan War
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...
. The Kingdom of Serbia
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...
occupied most of the Albanian-inhabited lands including Albania's Adriatic coast. Serbian Gen. Božidar Janković
Božidar Jankovic
Božidar Janković was the Commander of the Serbian Third Army during the First Balkan War between the Balkan League and the Ottoman Empire....
was the Commander of the Serbian Third Army
Third Army (Serbia)
The Serbian Third Army was a Serbian field army that fought during World War I.During the First Balkan War, the Third Army participated in the Battle of Kumanovo along with the Serbian First Army and the Serbian Second Army...
during the military campaign in Albania. The Serbian army met with strong Albanian guerrilla resistance, led by Isa Boletini
Isa Boletini
Isa Boletini was an Albanian nationalist figure and guerilla fighter, born in the village of Boletin near Mitroviça, Ottoman Empire...
, Azem Galica
Azem Galica
Azem Bejta , commonly known as Azem Galica, was a Albanian nationalist and rebel who fought for the unification of Kosovo with Albania.-Life:Bejta was born in the village of Galica in the Drenica region of central Kosovo...
and other military leaders. During the Serbian occupation, Gen. Jankovic forced notables and local tribal leaders to sign a declaration of gratitude to King Petar I Karađorđević for their "liberation by the Serbian army".
The army of the Kingdom of Serbia captured Durrës
Durrës
Durrës is the second largest city of Albania located on the central Albanian coast, about west of the capital Tirana. It is one of the most ancient and economically important cities of Albania. Durres is situated at one of the narrower points of the Adriatic Sea, opposite the Italian ports of Bari...
on 29 November 1912 without any resistance. Right after their arrival in Durrës, on 29 November 1912, the Kingdom of Serbia established Durrës County
Durrës County (Kingdom of Serbia)
Durrës County was one of the counties of the Kingdom of Serbia established on 29 November 1912 on the part of the territory of Albania taken from the Ottoman Empire during the First Balkan War. Durrës County had four districts : Durres, Lezha, Elbasan and Tirana...
, its district offices and appointed the governor of the county, mayor of the city and commander of the military garrison.
During the occupation
Military occupation
Military occupation occurs when the control and authority over a territory passes to a hostile army. The territory then becomes occupied territory.-Military occupation and the laws of war:...
, the Serbian army committed numerous crimes against the Albanian population
Massacres of Albanians in the Balkan Wars
A series of massacres of Albanians in the Balkan Wars were committed by the Serbian and Montenegrin Army and paramilitaries, according to international reports....
"with a view to the entire transformation of the ethnic character of these regions." The Serbian government denied reports of war crimes.
Following the signing of the Treaty of London in May 1913 which awarded new lands to Serbia, including most of the former Vilayet of Kosovo, the Serbian government agreed to withdraw its troops from outside of its newly expanded territory. This allowed an Albanian state to exist peacefully. The final withdrawal of Serb personnel from Albania was in October 1913.
Montenegrin campaign
ScutariShkodër
Shkodër , is a city located on Lake of Shkoder in northwestern Albania in the District of Shkodër, of which it is the capital. It is one of the oldest and most historic towns in Albania, as well as an important cultural and economic centre. Shkodër's estimated population is 90,000; if the...
and its surrounding had long been desired by Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
, although its inhabitants were overwhelmingly ethnic Albanians. The Siege of Scutari took place on 23 April 1913 between the allied forces of Montenegro
Kingdom of Montenegro
The Kingdom of Montenegro was a monarchy in southeastern Europe during the tumultuous years on the Balkan Peninsula leading up to and during World War I. Legally it was a constitutional monarchy, but absolutist in practice...
and Serbia
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...
against the forces of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and the Provisional Government of Albania
Provisional Government of Albania
The Provisional Government of Albania is the first Government created by Assembly of Vlorë in 4 December 1912. It was a paternal government, led by Ismail Qemali, until his resignation in 22 January 1914 and by Fejzi Bej Alizoti, until the coronation of William, Prince of Albania.- Government...
.
Montenegro took Scutari on 23 April 1913, but when the war was over the Great Powers didn't give the city to the Kingdom of Montenegro, which was compelled to evacuate it in May 1913, in accordance with the London Conference of Ambassadors. The army's withdrawal was hastened by a small naval flotilla of British and Italian gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
s that moved up the Bojana
Bojana
-Places:* Bojana , a river in Albania and Montenegro* Ada Bojana / Bojana Island* Boyana, a quarter of Sofia, Bulgaria- People :* Bojana Jovanovski* Bojana Novakovic* Bojana Radulović* Bojana Popović* Bojana Atanasovska* Bojana Bobusic* Bojana Panić...
River and across the Adriatic coastline.
Greek campaign
The Greek Army controlled territory that would be later incorporated into the Albanian state before the declaration of Albanian Independence in Vlorë. On 18 November 1912, after a successful uprising and 10 days prior to the Albanian Declaration of Independence, local Maj. Spyros SpyromiliosSpyros Spyromilios
Spyros Spyromilios was a Greek Gendarmerie officer who took part in the Greek struggle for Macedonia and the Balkan Wars. He was born in Himara, Ottoman Empire, modern southern Albania, or known as Northern Epirus among Greeks...
expelled the Ottomans from the Himara region. The Greek Navy also shelled
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
the city of Vlora on 3 December 1912. The Greek Army didn't capture Vlore, which was of great interest to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Greek forces were stationed in what would become southern Albania until March 1914. After the Great Powers agreed on the terms of the Protocol of Florence in December 1913, Greece was forced to retreat from the towns of Korçë
Korçë
Korçë is a city in southeastern Albania and the capital of the Korçë District. It has a population of around 105,000 people , making it the sixth largest city in Albania...
, Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër is a city in southern Albania with a population of 43,000. Lying in the historical region of Epirus, it is the capital of both the Gjirokastër District and the larger Gjirokastër County...
and Sarandë
Sarandë
Sarandë or Saranda is the capital of the District of Sarandë, Albania, and is one of the most important tourist attractions of the Albanian Riviera. It is situated on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea in the Mediterranean 2 nautical miles from the Greek island of Corfu. The city of Saranda has a...
and the surrounding territories.
Aftermath
Under strong international pressure, Albania's Balkan neighbors were forced to withdraw from the territory of the internationally recognized state of Albania in 1913. The new Principality of AlbaniaPrincipality of Albania
The Principality of Albania refers to the short-lived monarchy in Albania, headed by William, Prince of Albania and to the state after the First World War, until the abolition of the monarchy in 1925, when Albania was declared a republic.-Principality:The Principality was established on February...
included only about half of the ethnic Albanian population, while a large number of Albanians remained in neighboring countries.
See also
- Albanian National Revival
- Massacres of Albanians in the Balkan WarsMassacres of Albanians in the Balkan WarsA series of massacres of Albanians in the Balkan Wars were committed by the Serbian and Montenegrin Army and paramilitaries, according to international reports....
- Autonomous Republic of Northern EpirusAutonomous Republic of Northern EpirusThe Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus was a short-lived, self-governing entity founded on February 28, 1914, in the aftermath of the Balkan Wars, by the Greeks living in southern Albania ....
- Siege of ShkoderSiege of ShkoderThe Siege of Scutari took place from October 28, 1912 to April 23, 1913, between allied forces of Montenegro and Serbia against forces of the Ottoman Empire and the Provisional Government of Albania.-Naming:...