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 that 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.

Background

Before joining the Triple Entente as an ally in World War I, the Kingdom of Italy signed the secret Treaty of London. Under this agreement, Italy promised to declare war on Germany and Austria-Hungary within one month in exchange for territorial gains at the end of the war. Articles 6 and 7 of the treaty dealt with the promised territories in Albania that Italy would receive: Article 6 Italy shall receive full sovereignty over Valona, the island of Saseno and surrounding territory.... Article 7 ''Having obtained the Trentino and Istria by Article 4, Dalmatia and the Adriatic islands by Article 5, and also the gulf of Valona, Italy undertakes, in the event a small, autonomous, and neutralized state being formed in Albania Italy not to oppose the possible desire of France, Great Britain, and Russia to repartition the northern and the southern districts of Albania between Montenegro, Serbia, and Greece. The southern coast of Albania, from the frontier of the Italian territory of Valona to Cape Stilos, is to be neutralized. The Italy will be conceded the right of concluding the foreign relations of Albania; in any case, Italy will be bound to secure for Albania a territory sufficiently extensive to enable its frontiers to join those of Greece and Serbia to the west of Lake Ochrida ..'' In 1920, the Allies at the Paris Peace Conference had not yet decided on the future of Albania, but Italy's claims to sovereignty over Vlorë had never faced a significant challenge. Prime Minister Francesco Saverio Nitti also sought a mandate over the rest of the country following the secret Treaty of London.

Orders of battle

Albanian order of battle

Italian order of battle

Course of war

The conflict began on June 4 after Italian General Settimo Piacentini refused to cede control of the Vlora district to the Albanian government. Previously, Albania had successfully expelled most of the Italian occupation from the country. After Italy refused the request of Ahmet Zogu, then Albanian Minister of the Interior, to continue the evacuation, the Albanians formed the National Defense Committee, led by Qazim Koculi, and began recruiting volunteers. Ahmet Lepenica took command of the force, which consisted of about 4,000 soldiers. The Albanian rebels were poorly armed; some did not carry firearms and resorted to sticks and stones. In the area around Vlora there were about 25,000 Italian soldiers equipped with artillery. The Albanians fought in the Vlora region and were joined by local volunteers, resulting in a force of over 10,000 irregular fighters. Despite the increase in numbers, only up to 4,000 Albanians participated in the conflict. This force included the Banda e Vatrës, an Albanian military band formed in the United States that traveled by boat for 23 days to reach Durrës. The advance of the Albanian troops and the communist revolutionary movements, coupled with riots in the Italian army, made it impossible to reinforce the Italian soldiers in Vlora. As a result, the Italian soldiers barricaded themselves in Vlora, facing malaria and communist agitation in their ranks, and without receiving any orders; they defended the city from four attacks on 5 June, 6 June, 11 June, and 24 July.

End of hostilities

The military stalemate continued for three months until the Italian and Albanian governments signed the Treaty of Tirana, which ended the conflict. "Italy undertakes to recognize and defend the autonomy of Albania and, retaining only Saseno, abandons Vallona." It was the first diplomatic agreement between Albania and a foreign country. The pact prevented further partition of the territory of the Albanian state. Albania managed to achieve full recognition by the Western powers of its independence within its 1913 borders. The armistice, introducing a ceasefire on August 5th, contained these main points: The Treaty of Tirana was ratified by the League of Nations Conference of Ambassadors in November 1921. It recognized Italian special interests in Albania while reaffirming Albanian independence. Giovanni Giolitti, the Italian Prime Minister at the time, expressed his satisfaction with the treaty in these words: "What really interests us is that Vallona cannot form a base of operations against us; and this aim was achieved with the occupation of the islet of Sasseno, which lies at the mouth of the bay itself... For these reasons, I decided to renounce the mandate conferred on us by the Paris Conference on Albania, which would have represented an enormous liability without any profit, and to limit our action to the diplomatic protection of Albania against the aims of other States, and to abandon Vallona, ensuring however recognition of the possession of Sasseno" However, Benito Mussolini referred to Vlora as the "Albanian Caporetto.". Upon taking power, he also ensured Albanian independence and caused the 1923 Corfu crisis after a border disagreement with Greece.