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Albania
Tag
(09)
1939
March
25
The Italian ultimatum to Albania
On 25 March 1939 Rome sent Tirana a draft treaty that would strip Albania of its independence. King Zog I played for time while Mussolini prepared a landing.
April
07
Italy invades Albania
On Good Friday, 7 April 1939, Italian troops landed in four Albanian ports. Zog I fled to Greece and the crown was given to Victor Emmanuel III.
1940
November
13
The Battle of Pindus
On 13 November 1940 the Greeks cleared the Pindus. The Julia Alpine Division, which took Vovousa on 2 November, was encircled and repulsed with heavy losses.
14
The Greek counter-offensive
On 14 November 1940 the Greek army launched a counter-offensive at Korçë and in Epirus. Within ten days it drove the Italians out of Greece and entered Albania.
22
The Greeks take Korçë
On 22 November 1940 the Greek 9th Division entered Korçë in Albania – the first sizeable town taken from the Axis powers since the war began.
December
08
The Greeks take Gjirokastër
On 8 December 1940 the Greeks entered Gjirokastër, the main town of southern Albania, having taken Delvinë and the port of Sarandë as the Italians fell back.
1941
January
10
The Greeks take the Klisura Pass
On 10 January 1941 the Greek II Corps took the Klisura Pass on the Vjosa in Albania, opening the road to Berat. An Italian relief division disintegrated.
March
09
The Italian spring offensive in Albania
On 9 March 1941, with Mussolini watching, the Italians attacked the Greeks in Albania to retake Klisura. After two weeks and 12,000 casualties it collapsed.
1944
November
17
The liberation of Tirana
On 17 November 1944, after nearly three weeks of fighting, the last German units left Tirana, which was taken over by Enver Hoxha's communist partisans.