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venerdì 17 luglio 2015

Federico Salvati: La crisi armistiziale e la reazione delle forze armate italiane in Albania. In LIngua Inglese

The 8 September Armistice announcement and the reaction of the Italian Army in Albania

 Federico Salviati

INTRODUCTION

Albania and the Italian army situation

The decision to invade Albania was taken by the Italians on 13Th May 1939[1]. All the operative directories were prepared during a meeting between Mussolini, General Pariani, Galeazzo Ciano and Francesco Jacomoni. The Italian troops washed up on the coasts of Albania on the 7Th April.          The military forces were made of 22.00 strongs, 64 pieces of artillery, 125 Tanks, 860 motor vehicles, 1200 motorcycles 5.5000 bicycles and 2.500 horses. Three days after the beginning of the operations, the Italians had conquered the major tactical target reporting 12 deaths and 81 wounds. The operation were guided by general Guzzoni.
The Albanian theater represented, more or less, a successful result for the Italian government. During his permanence in Albania Ciano depicted the country as favorably incilined towards the army, describing  Rome as the “Albania powerful protector against its regional rivals”[2].
            After the Greek invasion, nevertheless, the situation changed radically. The Albanian units, employed in the fighting activities, turned out to be unreliable and “not that eager” to give their lives for the Italian cause. It is clear, from the examined sources, that the Italian government naively thought, that its policy of integration, carried on during the years of occupation, could generate, among the Albanian population, a social acceptance of the Italian domination[3]. The        Greek operation got a started on the 28Th of October 1940. Once the the campaign was over, the appeal of the Italian troops in Albanian was completely marred. The effect of the war on the country had been far more grave than the Italian government perceived. In spring 1942 the situation progressively worsened till the point of no return. What really worried the Albanians was the possibility that, with the Italian defeat, the country could loose the territorial advantages acquired under the Italian domination.
             Between 1942 and 1943, the relations between the Italians and the Albanians grew more and more tense. Italian officials and collaborators became targets of social and political violence. In June 43 the social situation burst out and the Italian troops had to face the rising of the Albanian resistance forces.
            Up to this point the rebels and the communist propaganda had been perceived as a minor problem. Ciano and Jacomoni believed that, with the defeat of the USSR, the communist movement in Albania would disappear. In addition the national government succeeded in passing a law that forbade to the Italian army the arrest for political reasons of an Albanian citizen, without the permission of the Albanian authority. These factors allowed the rebellion to thrive and the rebels grew stronger and stronger, with the worsening of the strategic situation.
The rebels' activities forced the Italian government to rearrange the disposition of its troops.
The “Comando Goruppo Armate Est” (East Group Command) was created. The Command had under its responsibility the 4 main groups in the south east theater:
-9a Armata ( the 9Th army) in Albania
-XIV corpo d'armata (the XIV Army Corp)
-(Le truppe mar egeo)Egeo Sea troops
-VI corpo d'armata (The VI Army corp)
The East Group Command was initially under the command of the General Geloso. In a second moment the coordination was taken by general Rosi. Our dissertation hence forth will concentrate mostly on the 9TH Army: the unity dislocated in Albania. The 8 September, the responsibility of the EGC was reduced solely to the 9th army. This made the East Group Command a duplicate of the 9th army. Such action contributed in a great length to stir up the situation since this operative structure slowed down any reaction that could have been taken swiftly by the officials in command.

1.1 The 9Th army and the operative situation

The 9Th army was divided in 2 Army Corps and it had at its dependence 2 (the “Perugia” and the “Brennero”) divisions as reinforcements .
            Until the “operation Husky” the engagement of the Army were dictated by the needs to keep the area secure. The major orders given to the Troops detached in Albania were similar to the ones carried on by the divisions in Italy. Mostly they consisted in fighting the freedom-fighters' infiltrations and the local criminality, while guarding logistics and tactical resources for the troops fighting in the other theaters.
The 9TH army had to its disposal 118.000 strongs and 12.000 back up units coming from the Albanian military militia[4]. The operatives were divided among 280 nuclei scattered in the whole Albanian territory.
            Carabinieri, Guardia di Finanza and Frontier Guards provided for the operational security, while the rest of the troops was meant to carry on the military tasks.
The 9Th army did not have to its disposal a strong artillery endowment. There was no real counter-aerial weaponry in Albania as well. Heavy fire power was not a great concern for the Italian troops since the geography of the territory did not allow a wide employment of armored vehicles. Most of the military endowment, however, had been took away in order to be shipped to the Italian units fighting in North Africa.
            Mobility of troops was provided mostly by the Parma division, some contingents like the Peruggia division were completely lacking in vehicles and mechanized means.
           
1.2 The German situation

It is worth noticing that until the fall of Mussolini (25 July 1943) there was no significant German military contingent in  Albania. After this event, the strategy of the Italian Supreme Command was to convince the Germans, in every conceivable way, that the Italian Army was not a major threat for the Wehrmacht. The Germans, on the other hand, took advantage of the 45 days, between the fall of Mussolini and the 8 September armistice announcement, to plan out the penetration of their troops in Albania.
            The first measure taken by the German Commands was to appoint general Lothar Radulic as commander of the 2nd Armored Army. This German division had the specific task to occupy Dalmazia and Montenegro, neutralizing the Italian troops in Albania by any necessary mean.
In August, it has been estimated that 1000 Germans penetrated Albania. The principal targets of the Germans were:
1)      The institution of an “office of liaison” at the 9Th army command
2)          The occupation of Valona and Durazzo in order to prevent the allies to get ashore.
3)         The institution in Tirana of the central German command and the capture of the aviation sites.
Such operations were carried on with the approval of the Italian command. General Dalmazzo (commander of the 9th Army) believed the Command in Tirana and the liaison office to be both useful initiatives and he rerouted the incoming German troops to their Command in Belgrade. In Auguste the German had taken control of all the principals strategic targets in Albania. In September the Wehrmacht troops in Albania amounted to 310.000 strongs. These operatives were under the control of the German command in Belgrade and the South East Army Group in Salonicco. The German troops, unlike the Italians, disposed of a great mobility and clear orders. Their primary objective was to “occupy and control”, being ready to use the force when the goals could not have been achieved.

1.3 Rebels.

According to the 9TH arm intelligence[5] the rebel forces were mostly concentrated in the southern part of the country. The organization was divided in squads, Ceta (company) and battalions.            Generally speaking, every battalion comprehended roughly 160-200 strongs. Enver Hoxa was the command in charge of the rebel forces (ENA Albanian National Army). The  central command referred to the local commands, that in turn gave dispositions to the territorial units in the regions.

2 General dispositions before the 8 September armistice

Before we unravel the events that took place consequently the 8 September announcement of the armistice, it is important to frame the preconditions preceding the deliver of the news.
            Between 6Th and 8Th of April the supreme command sent 3 important documents that had the purpose to give instructions to the Italian army, concerning the course of action to follow after the armistice. Such directories were indeed confused and generic and they contributed to throw the Italian troops in the sheer chaos.
The Italian commanders detached in Albania, of course, were not informed about the ongoing negotiations with the allies.
            Anyway, short before the armistice communication, the operative memo op 44 was emanated. The document gave to the Albanian command the order to amass the troops along the coast. The permission to mobilize the troops in the region Durazzo-Tirana-Scutari-Dulcigno was denied. The Italian government was paranoiac about secrecy. Badoglio thought that authorizing the mobilization of the main strategic regions would have given away the news of the armistice. The counter order arrived too late and the forces in the regions remained bogged down, defenseless towards of the German troops.
            Even if the  government knew perfectly the nature of the situation, in the days immediately before the armistice it continued to broadcast radio announcements in order to spur the Italians to collaborate with the Germans, reassuring the troops about the Italian engagement to their allies[6].         Only with the emanation of the  memorandum n°1 (destined to the Supreme Commanders of the Army the Navy and the Aviation) for the first time it was made some reference to the possibility of hostility generated by the German soldiers. The memorandum recommended to pay attention of the alley's behavior and to intend acts of violence not as isolated events but as a systematic actions.    
            Finally the menorandum n°2 referred openly to the armistice but it lacked of any instruction about modalities and time schedules. The memorandum was destined to the commands of the Aegean Sea and the East Group. The document instructed the commanders to not provoke the Germans and to assure them of the inoffensive nature of the Italian troops. The document intimated to not partake to the rebellion since the rebells were to be considered still as enemies. General Giglioli (Chief of staff of the 9Th Army) received this memorandum on 8th of September at the 17:00. The order was handed in, directly by general Ambrosio( Supreme Commander of the Italian Army). General Giglioli made notice that he memorandum reported the 6Th of September as the due date for delivering. Seen the inconsistency of the fact he pretended this to be changed. The date was not changed despite the protests. This ultimately reviled to be a minor detail. General Giglioli, in fact, never made it to the East Group Command because of the bad weather. This left the troops without a written order and without the possibility to confirm the incoming news of the armistice.
            The secrecy and the paranoiac attitude of the Italian government, anyway, were not less of a cause for the Albanian operative disaster after the armistice announcement. After the war, criminal courts of Cusani Palace [7]reported how Badoglio, speaking about the armistice negotiations, confessed to Ambrosio that the secrecy required by the situation needed to be preserved and he was ready to sacrifice 500.000 men in order to lead Italy out of the war. Few days later the armistice announcement (11Th of September) the King broadcast his getaway from Rome, without reviling his whereabouts. The same day Ambrosio and General Roatta spoke to the radio, spurring the  Italian troops to fight the Germans who had to be considered as enemies of the crown. Badoglio, in turn, delivered a radio message himself, calling the Italian people to resist and to fight against the oppression of the German troops, that had to be “defeated by the Italian courage”[8].
            There is no trace of these messages in the documentation consulted, there is no trace of the orders of the supreme commands or the Italian declaration of war to the third reich. The only possible conclusion is that the Albanian troops were left to their own destiny and in the period between the 8 and 19 September  ( the arrest of general Rosi) the Italian soldiers were meant as doomed and beyond any possibility of salvation.

3 The news of the armistice

Colonel Albert in his notes[9] explicitly says that “there was a vague sensation about what the subsequent event would be”
            The 8 September, as we said, general Giglioli was in Rome and General Rosi had received a communication for an urgent convocation the day after.
            The Germans knew about these movements and they were convinced that Rosi's convocation was the prelude for a repatriation of the troops.[10]
            The 9Th army, meanwhile, was preparing to turn the command over from Dalmazzo to General Sogno.
            The 8 Septembert at the 9Th Army Commander, General Dalmazzo[11], was among of the first ones to know about the armistice soon after its communication. The general summoned Ten.     Col. De Matteis and he sent him to the East Group Command to have confirmation about the news. The the East Group declared they did not have any information. At the 19,45 col. Parini from the war ministry communicated to the 9th army command that the situation was under control and and the communication was just enemy's propaganda. Acquired the data, Matteis reached the Albanian ministry of communication and propaganda to write a press note to deny the armistice.
            General Tucci[12] from the 9th army tried to communicate with the supreme command in Rome. Yet he did not receive any enlightenment. Around 20 o' clock a radio message from Badogio, announcing the armistice, reached the troops, along with the communication of denial of the armistice.
            The communication of the armistice, anyway, was received with the utmost joy by the troops. Everyone thought that the signing of the armistice meant the end of the war and the return of the Army to Italy. In all the outposts the soldiers celebrated the news all night long.

4.1 The communication of the armistice to the East Army Group

At the East Group Command who first brought the communication of the armistice was Count Barbaric from the lieutenancy of the royal army.[13] General Rosi, after he had been communicated of the armistice, tried to reach the supreme command but without any luck.
Around 22 o' clock Maj Shlubeck and Ten Joss, from the German liaison unit, visited the East Group Command, asking for clarifications. Rosi said to the German delegates that he had known about the armistice around 18,00 and he had acquired confirmation of it around 20 o' clock[14]. The general affirmed that still he did not have any particular instruction about operative dispositions to follow but he would comply with the directories of the supreme command. Generally speaking he did not give any particular assurance to the Germans.
Rosi, by doing so, was taking time, since he did not have any precise objective. He was not intentioned to take any personal initiative, consequently, he thought his best option would have been to wait and see.
            At 00.20 on the 9th of September, the Supreme Command gave instructions to the East Group. With the order 243202, the East Group lost the command of the Aegean Sea forces and it was ordered to take control of all the ports and to hold to any strategic land positions in Albania. The possibility to cooperate with the Germans was explicitly foreseen but the Supreme Command allowed to retaliate against any violent provocation. Meanwhile at the German liaison unit office in Albania, general Gnam of the Wehrmacht, had been briefed by the Col Joss and the Ten Schlubeck about the situation[15]. The general decided that the most urgent think was to take control of the port of Durazzo forcing the Italian vessels to remain in the harbor.
            At the 00.30 general Rosi called the German unit in order to speak with Maj Schlubeck. Gen Rosi stated his will to keep the heavy armory while the Germans communicated their need to take control of the ports in order to grant the security of the theater.
            At 10,00 A.M of the 9Th September general Rosi communicated that the Italian troops would retire from Durazzo Valona and Cattaro. The Germans did not take the news well, stressing that in this way the heavy artillery would have fallen under the control of the enemy. General Rosi repeated that there he was only following the Supreme Command's instructions and he was not intentioned to give up the heavy armory. Around 18.00 general Bessel (commander of the German liaison unit in Tirana) had come back from his duties abroad. He demonstrated immediately his concerns both about the possibility for the Italians to turn against the Germans and the penetration of the Anglo-Americans in the country. Rosi reassured the Germans that the Italians did not consider the Germans as enemies, giving his availability for any Germans' operative need. Bessel and Rosi bargained the whole night about the dispositions to take in order to face the scenario. The negotiations were long and tiresome between the Italian and the Germans. In the morning of the 10Th of September finally the commanders agreed on:
1)                 The non hostility of the Italian troops against the Germans.
2)                 Freedom of movement for the Germans in the Albanian theater.
3)                 The delivering of the heavy weaponry to the Germans in exchange of the promise of a quick repatriation of the Italians.
The 2 generals signed a common agreement and general Rosi, for a short time, truly believed that his strategy finally was giving its results. The day after general Randulic landed in Tirana around 10 o'clock. The general had been nominated to coordinate the operations in Albania after the armistice communication.
General Randulic openly communicated, after his arrive, that he had instructions to arrest general Rosi. After a difficult discussion it was decided to arrest general Rosi during his duties at the Command of the East Group.
General Gnam called the Italian Command to let them know that general Randulic had arrived and he was intentioned to speak with general Rosi.
The call was made to make sure that general Rosi was in office.
            At 10,30, September the 11th paratroopers of the SS forces surrounded the venue of the East Group Command. The whole Command was arrested. At 13 o'clock general Rosi was on an airplane directed to Belgrade were he was taken in custody as prisoner of war.
            The Germans were persuaded that Rosi had an anti-German attitude. Gen Randulick thought that a strong action was his best option. In the opinion of the general the Italian army, without its lieutenancy, would have been more malleable and less prone to resist the German dispositions.

4.2 Considerations about the general Rosi actions

As we recalled, until the 8th of September there was no consistent German forces in Albania, while General Rosi had 6 divisions to his disposal. Being conscious of the situation, the Germans were actually expecting some resistance from the Italians. Against their evaluations the Army did not opposed any.  Rosi in its relation[16] is very eager in letting us know how he was completely bereft of any information. All though, seen his position it is hard to justify so much insecurity. Rosi chose to negotiate allowing the Germans to enter the country. His plan probably was to gather the troops and to leave the country at the first occasion.
            Zangrandi[17] in his memories is very harsh on Rosi. He thought the general to be arrogant and very fond of himself. The judgment he gives of Rosi's strategy is completely negative.
            Softer is the opinion of the Capitan Tirabbassi who stresses the impossibility Rosi had to act independently and the difficulty of the position wherein he happened to be[18].
            Concluding: The course of action taken by general Rosi paralyzed the situation. Time was  squandered uselessly. On the other hand the general was indeed in a difficult position, since a misjudgment of the scenario could have had heavy consequences on his person. A more firm and secure man probably would have acted in a better way, saving the lives of thousands of men. The sin of general Rosi was to believe the promises made by the Germans who, on the other hand, did  everything they considered as necessary to secure the theater.

5.1 The occurrences of the 9th Army

The “I” office of the 9th army was the first informed of the armistice, the 8th of September at 16,30. According to the relation of the ten. col. Angelo De Matteis[19], the office communicated  the news to the East Group Command and to general Dalmazzo. The General, for apparently no reason, grew confident that the armistice had been signed with the absence of the Germans. 
            At 22.00 of the day after, General Gnam went to pay a visit to the 9th army Command. He asked the Italian troops to yield all the aviation facilities. General Dalmazzo, against the instruction attached to the armistice communication, did not refused the proposal promising that the Italian troops would support the Germans against the rebels. They agreed that general Ferroni[20] would go to the German command to study a plan for the Italian deployment on the field. During September 10th, all day long, the 9th army received news of violent episodes concerning Italians and Germans contingents in the whole Albanian territory.
             The troops was restless but general Dalmazzo continued to try to keep thinks calm, presenting the situation to the soldiers as under control.
            In the Morning of the the 11th September general Dalmazzo found out the news of general Rosi's arrest. Simultaneously the supreme command in Rome closed any communication with the 9th army.
            The day after, general Randulic communicate to general Dalmazzo he needed to see him at the Dajiti hotel in Tirana. General Dalmazzo joined the meeting shorty after the communication, accompanied by the general Tucci and the general Di Lorenzo. Here Randulic communicated that the East Group Command was taken prisoner and he intended to give the command to general Dalmazzo. The intention of the Germans was to have someone to trust  for the organization of the Italian march towards the concentration camps. Dalmazzo refused the offer declaring that the situation could not allow such solution.
            After this answer general Randulic declared general Dalmazzo and his stuff prisoners of war. Despite the protests of general Dalmazzo the Germans took control of the situation leaving no doubt that there would be enmity between the Italian and the Germans there after.
            The only hope left for Dalmazzo was an intervention of the rebels or the allies.
After his arrest, Dalmazzo ultimately issued the infamous order op.9042. With such document the general was explicitly asking he dependent groups to disarm. During the meeting  of the Command of the 9th army, such decision was justified by Dalmazzo as a useful sacrifice to buy the army some time. In fact, ditching a part of the forces would have given the general enough time to reorganize a resistance[21].
            Major Shlubeck, in his report, gives us another version of the events, speaking of Dalmazzo as a pliable man, who more than once had already given signs of surrender to the German Command[22].  The order to disarm the Italian troops was smoothly executed on the same day.
            Dalmazzo was surely hoping for something to come up before it was to late. In the evening of the 11th of September the Italians managed to keep the individual armaments but they had to submit to the will of the Germans. The intention of Dalmazzo was to concentrate all the forces in the north and then to resist the Germans.
            According to the relation of general Tucci[23], the general was preparing a movement towards north- east. This would have created the premises for a first line of resistance. Some Greek and Albanian rebels would have supported the Italian movement.
            The 13th September Dalmazzo renewed his complains with the German Command, letting them notice that there was no official declaration of war between Germany and Italy and for such reason they could not arrest the Italian command.
            The Italian military activity, despite the efforts of the commanders, did not turn out to be of any usefulness. The action of the rebels relieved to be dispersive and inefficient, while the Italians were not able to organize a true action to contrast the German penetration. From the relation of general Dalmazzo[24] it is clear that on September the 13th, there was no longer any control on the German movement in the country and the Italians did not have any actual military power to renegotiate terms for any subsequent action.
            On September the 15th the commanders of the 9th command were gathered in office and some them definitively decided to give up to the Germans. The same day the news came that the division Brennero had joint the Germans upon the promise of repatriation. On September the 16th Dalmazzo was under the complete control of the Germans.
            During the days before these events Dalmazzo had tried, secretly, to arrange a repatriation with the Major Seymor[25] from the allied forces.
Ten. Col. De Matteis tried to contact Major Seymor after September the 16Th but it is reported by De Matteis[26] himself that the transport of the Italian troops failed for an excessive of caution.
             The same day Dalmazzo gave the order to gather the troops.  In the early afternoon the general asked ten. col. Zignani to study a plan to free the command of the German occupation, in order to give leeway to the commanders. This plan reveled to be nothing else than a failure.
            Most of the Units was marching, without any armament, to Kruja. The division Brennero was useless and the naval and the air forces did not dispose of enough fire power. The division Firenze was useless as well because its commander, general Azzi[27], was intentioned to join the Albanian resistance and he had cut any communication. The command could not count on the support of its troops and at the same time, as we read in the relation of Zignani[28], General Dalmazzo was victim of frequent nervous crisis and unable to lead.
            On September 17th Dalmazzo understood that the 9th army was not able to operate anymore. During the night of the same day general Dalmazzo received a letter from Tucci who expressed is concern about the situation of the Command, insisting for the general to leave the command station. In the evening of the 18th Dalmazzo finally was brought to Belgrade.
            With the deportation of general Dalmazzo, ultimately, the role of the 9th army in Albania ceased. General Tucci took the place of Dalmazzo but the army was no longer a danger to the Germans.


5.2 An appraisal of general Dalmazzo orations

Dalmazzo in his memories justifies his behavior as “plausible”.[29] He really believed that the armistice was the result of a joint action between the Italians and the Germans. He furthermore  says that the only possible action to avoid the events following the 8 September would have been to eliminate the Germans liaison units at the firs opportunity. The ground situation and  the general uncertainty did not leave any possibility for a swift action.
             Just as Rosi did, Dalmazzo tried to take time, in order to plan a repatriation of the troops. Soon Dalmazzo came to realize that the German had no intention to bargain the repatriation, leaving the Italians with no possibility to provide for their own security. Dalmazzo did not partake to the negotiations with the East Groups. May be this presence would have granted a clearer impression of the Germans intentions. Maybe Dalmazzo was not resolute enough or maybe he did not want to sacrifice the lives of his troops in a useless resistance. In his memories he defends his decision describing it as the most reasonable. Many anyway accused him to have left the Italian forces to the sweet mercy of the Germans.
            Zignani[30], for instance, remembers Dalmazzo as weak and scarcely intuitive. The general surely misjudged the situation and this mistake cost the lives of many innocent soldiers.
             Maj Shlubeck as well states that the behavior of Dalmazzo was a useful mean for the German purposes and the Italian troops brought in themselves the seed of their destruction. Dalmazzo was definitively not the right men at the right place. His insecurity brought chaos upon the whole army that, instead of fighting, fell prisoner of the old allay.
            Even if Dalmazzo could be justified, somehow, his actions  were misled by presumption and a lack of certainty and this attitude made him take decisions that turned out to be catastrophic for the life of over 100.000 soldiers.

6 Conclusions

Soon after the armistice, the Italian military authority was no longer able to impose its will among the soldiers. Left to their own, the troops went towards very different destinies depending on their personal attitude and the decision taken by the commanders of the dependent groups.
6.1 The “returnees”

Once given the news of armistice, the idea of the “return” became an obsession to many.
The situation, anyway, was not what it seemed. Most of the soldiers fell for the German propaganda, believing that compliance with the German directories would have got them back home.
            A consistent part of the Italian troops decided so, to give up their armament upon the promise to be taken home by the Germans. With no weapons and no orders some of them started a long and dangerous march towards home.
            All the events linked to the Italian repatriation would deserve another study. Here is sufficient to remind that, the return was full of adversities. Many died in the attempt to reach the Italian coasts and may other had an even sadder destiny.
            Division “Firenze” after it had been disarmed, started a long march towards Kruja in order to not fall prisoner of the Germans. Fortunately the division menage to come back home by leaving the country individually from the ports of the Albanian coast.
            The division Parma, freed by the Rebels in Dracovitza, fled towards Santi Quaranta. Here they managed to come back home embarking on a transport to Italy.
             Similar destiny underwent the division Puglie.
             Complicated instead was the destiny of the division Brennero. After they had joined the German army, they actually were repatriated. Once in Italy some of them managed to reach their loved ones, some others continued the war along side the Salò Republic and some others were rerouted in Germany as prisoners of war.

6.2Prisoners of war

Soon after the communication the Armistice, the Germans assumed a very sympathetic attitude towards the Italians. Gathered all the troops the attitude changed completely. The soldiers were concentrated in Poland and in Bulgaria and eventually rerouted in Germany.
            During the concentration the Germans divided the Italians in two goups: the ones still loyal to Mussolini and the Badollians. The treatment in stock for the 2 groups was very different. The first ones were apparently still in duty as soldiers. The second one, instead, were stripped of they military duties and their military honor. Instead of being taken back to Italy as promised, they were declared prisoners of war and kept in concentration camps along side with the enemy soldiers.

6.3 The loyalists

The German after the armistice tried to recruit as many Italian soldier as possible. The German command presented to the loyalists the possibility to leave the Albanian soil and to preserve their armament. Many troops felt the moral duty to continue the battle along side the old ally. Some other joined the German army just to seek a better destiny in comparison with the one in stock for the others.

6.4 Non-combatants

After the armistice the major part of the Italian troops in Albania refused to resume the fight. They had clearly the hope to manage to return home somehow.
            It has been estimated, very approximately, that between 1945 and 1946 the Italians repatriated from Albania were at least 20.00-25.000.
            Many lived hidden or on the run. Their condition was awful most of the time. They were forced to work in farms, undergoing conditions of semi-slavery and discrimination. Ultimately many survived and could come back home alive.

6.5 Fighting the axis

Once it became clear that the Germans were not going to fulfill their promises and the repatriation was just a big illusion, some units from the Italian troops decided to join the rebels. The relations between the Albanian resistance and the Italians was difficult and full of hard feelings.
            It took some time for the rebels to accept the foreign soldiers. Most of the time the Italians had to provide for themselves and their tactical tasks were limited to logistic support or isolated missions.
            The contribute of the Italian people to the Albanian liberation, anyway, remains undeniable. 
The contribution of the Italian soldier finally got recognized with the foundation of the Command of the mountainous troops. Such action constituted integral part of Italian war of liberation that would end only th 25th April 1945. 

6.6 What could have been done for the Italians
            Could have anything been done to avoid the dramatic situation of the Italian army in Albania? Of causer the answer shall be yes. When it comes to hindsight, anyway, it is far to easy to spot a better  way to manage a situation. Of cause the Italian command in Albania could have been more firm. Maybe this would have averted the subsequent imprisonment. The story, all though, is not made up of “what ifs”. The situation was not the most easy one to face. For sure responsibilities do not have to be ignored but the more we go down the chain of command and the more difficult it is to point fingers against a responsible.
            Reckless and ungrateful has been the behavior of the commanders of the Albanian forces. Even  more reckless and  more ungrateful has been the behavior of the Italian central government. A military action led by the central government, by all means, could have been a valid option. Employing the forces in the north Mediterranean or the unites detached in Italy, such action could have even brought to the open of another front, shortening the war of several months.
            But as we have said, history is not made of lost chances and it would be a lot wiser to get to now the people and the reasons of their choices rather than looking for culprits to judge.



[1]Aga Rossi, Una nazione allo sbando (Mulino 1993), 140-150
[2]Albanian survey Marshl Badoglio: documents Italian Ministry of defense
[3]Albanian survey Marshl Badoglio: documents Italian Ministry of defense
[4]The Albanians

It is worth mentioning, even if briefly, the situation of the Albanian forces in the region.
From 12Th April 1939 Albania became part of the Italian domain and the Albanian citizens were enlisted in the Italian army. In 1941, seen the scarce spirit of the Albanians forces, they were retired form the front line. The Albanian units were organized in 3 different regiments with the name of “Albanian hunters”. Between 1942 and 1943, reasons of domestic order in Albania imposed to not dismiss the regiments. After the fall of Mussolini, the Albanian forces tun out to be a strong instability factor for the Italians. Soon after the fall of the regime,  the “Albanian hunters” became vengeful and hostile, adding uncertainty to an already rather complicated situation.
[5]War Diary 9Th army: documents Italian Ministry of defence
        Relation “I” office: Albanian resistance situation
[6]War diary 9th army: Documents Italian Ministry of Defense
[7]Giuseppe Conti “SIM: Una guerra segreta” (Il mulino 2009) 120-123
[8]Coltrinari Massimo” “La Resistena Degli Italiani in Albania” (Rivista Militare 1996) 86-95
[9]Relation Colonel Albert: Documents Italian Ministry of Defence
[10]Massimo Coltrinari: “Albania quarantatre” (Edizioni ANRP1996) 45-47
[11]Relation Gen Lrenzo Dalmazzo: Documents Italian Ministry of Defence
[12]Relation Gen  Carlo Tucci: Documents Italian Ministry of Defense
[13]Relation Gen Ezio Rosi : Documents Italian Ministry of Defense
[14]Relation Gen Ezio Rosi : Documents Italian Ministry of Defense
[15]Massimo Coltrinari “Albania quarantatre” cit 11
[16]Relation General Ezio Rosi:Documents Italian Ministry of Defense
[17]R. Zangrandi “25 Luglio 8 Settember” Feltrinelli 1964 575
[18]Relation Capitan Carabinieri Mario Tirabassi: Documents Italian Ministry of Defense
[19]Relation Ten.Col. Angelo De Matteis: documents Italian Ministry of Defense
[20]Relation gen. Lorenzo Dalmazzo:  documents Italian Ministry of Defense
[21]Relation Lorenzo Dalmazzo: Documents Italian Ministry of Defense
[22]Massimo Coltrinari “La Resistenza degli Italiani in Albania” 9
[23]Relation Gen Carlo Tucci : Documents Italian Ministry of Defense
[24]Relation Lorenzo Dalmazzo: Documents Italian Ministry of Defense
[25]In the sources acquired there is no name of the Major. The only indication is that he belonged to the Arabian corp of intelligence service
[26]Relation Ten.Col Angelo De Matteis: Document Italian Ministry of Defense
[27]Relation Gen Aldo Azzi: Document Italian Ministry of Defense
[28]Relation Ten. Col. Gofredo Zignani: Document Italian Ministry of Defense
[29]Relation Gen Lorenzo Dalmazzo: documents Italian Ministry of Defense
[30]Relation Ten col Gofredo Zignani: documents Italian Ministry of Defense

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