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Abstract
This essay presents a new way of thinking about Albania during the First World War. It offers a broader perspective that shows the "Long War" (1912-1925) that Albania experienced. Therefore, rather than seeing the Balkan Wars (1912-1913), the First World War (1914-1918), and the post-war settlements 1918-1924 as separate events, this essay posits the necessity of placing them together as one continuous conflict. Throughout these years differing ideas about what Albania was to become and how the new political entity would be governed was a constant source of conflict.
Key Words: Albania, Balkans, Word War I, Insurgency, Macedonian Front, Civil War.
Slowa kluczowe: Albania, Balkany, I wojna swiatowa, powstanie, front macedofiski, wojna domowa.
Albania's entry, or more properly, Albania's slide into the First World War is something that is frequently ignored in the historiography of the war. Few histories of the conflict mention Albania at all. Occasionally, operations in Albania are grouped within the larger Macedonian Front.1 Rarer still, are antecedents to Albania's entanglement in the First World War mentioned.2 This work examines the complex series of events that led to Albanian involvement in the war by exploring the way in which Albania gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire after a long series of rebellions in 1910-1912 and then the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913. These events were precursors to others leading to Albania's involvement in the larger war of 1914-1918. Finally, this essay will highlight the struggles Albania experienced internally as well as externally between 1918 and 1925. An integrated narrative and a new framework will both highlight the place of Albania within the larger First World War and also show the uniqueness of the Albanian struggle.
Albania as a modem independent country was born during the Albanian Rebellions of 1910-1912 when numerous Albanian groups fought against the Committee of Union Progress for autonomy within the Ottoman Empire.3 Autonomy was secured in August of 1912, but it was short-lived. The Balkan Wars were the true crucible of Albania's independence. As Ottoman forces were defeated, a provisional government was formed and independence declared in Vlorë in April 1913.4
But, independence proved difficult to achieve. The Great Powers imposed a German monarch upon the new state and Albania's neighbours coveted portions of its...