You certainly dont hear alot about Albania in WWII. According to the article the Albanian military was absorbed by Italy. How well did they do? Did they fight in the Italian army? What type of equipment did they use? As Germany annexed Austria and moved against Czechoslovakia, Italy saw itself becoming a second-rate member of the Axis. After Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia without notifying Mussolini in advance, the Italian dictator decided in early 1939 to proceed with his own annexation of Albania. Italy's King Victor Emmanuel III criticized the plan to take Albania as an unnecessary risk. Rome, however, delivered Tiranë an ultimatum on March 25, 1939, demanding that it accede to Italy's occupation of Albania. Zog refused to accept money in exchange for countenancing a full Italian takeover and colonization of Albania, and on April 7, 1939, Mussolini's troops invaded Albania. Despite some stubborn resistance, especially at Durrës, the Italians made short shrift of the Albanians. Unwilling to become an Italian puppet, King Zog, his wife, Queen Geraldine Apponyi, and their infant son Skander fled to Greece and eventually to London. On April 12, the Albanian parliament voted to unite the country with Italy. Victor Emmanuel III took the Albanian crown, and the Italians set up a fascist government under Shefqet Verlaci and soon absorbed Albania's military and diplomatic service into Italy's. After the German army defeated Poland, Denmark, and France, a still-jealous Mussolini decided to use Albania as a springboard to invade Greece. The Italians launched their attack on October 28, 1940, and at a meeting of the two fascist dictators in Florence, Mussolini stunned Hitler with his announcement of the Italian invasion. Mussolini counted on a quick victory, but Greek resistance fighters halted the Italian army in its tracks and soon advanced into Albania. The Greeks took Korçë and Gjirokastër and threatened to drive the Italians from the port city of Vlorë. The chauvinism of the Greek troops fighting in Albania cooled the Albanians' enthusiasm for fighting the Italians and the Greeks, and Mussolini's forces soon established a stable front in central Albania. In April 1941, Germany and its allies crushed both Greece and Yugoslavia, and a month later the Axis gave Albania control of Kosovo. Thus Albanian nationalists ironically witnessed the realization of their dreams of uniting most of the Albanian-populated lands during the Axis occupation of their country. Albania - Italian Occupation and this, "A draft was instituted in 1925 which yielded 5,000 to 6,000 men per year (of the 10,000 that came of age each year). The Italians provided training and equipment and had virtual command over them. Albania placed its security in Italian hands in November 1927 when it signed the Second Treaty of Tiran
Nice topic... Right after the capitulation of Yugoslavia on 17 April 1941, the issue of expanding Albanian borders was brought to discussion. On 21 and 22 April, Ribbentrop and Ciano met in Vienna to discuss this. Count Ciano insisted that the Albanian borders expand eastwards, especially north of the Lake Prespa (today Macedonian-Albanian-Greek border), while Ribbentrop represented the Bulgarian claims over the entire Vardar Macedonia (today Republic of Macedonia). It was decided that western Macedonia (Struga, Gostivar, Tetovo) should be annexed by Axis Albania, while the rest should go to Bulgaria. Disputes about the Bulgarian-Albanian border continued throughout the war, as both sides wanted more territories for themselves. And...here's an interesting link
I found this article about US Naval air losses in the area and did not know the navy used patrol bombers in the area. World War Working Group
Very interesting info but Kamchatka Peninsula is not in Albania. ."The Kamchatka Peninsula (Russian: полуостров Камчатка) is a 1250-kilometer long peninsula in the Russian Far East".
A little is mentioned here about the resistance of Albanian People against Italians and later Germans. During the war Albania lost 28000 people in fightings against italians and later germans. The resistance was well organized after the foundation of communist party on November 8th 1941. At the same time there was another wing that did resistance - The Nationalists (Balli Kombetar) and Legalists (King Zog Supporters). Another interesting thing about this period is the fact that Albania was one of the few countries that hid the jews in their homes and no jews were executed or sent to concentration camps from Albania. One albanian man Vasil Laci during the visit of King Emmanuel tried to kill the King but was unsuccessful in his attempt.
