Albania 20 Franga 1939 P-7 Italian occupation Fair

Description

One banknote of  Albania 20 Franga ND1939 P-7 Italian occupation.Condition (opinion): Fair.  Tears or
cuts: one cut of 3,2cm (large) at lower central fold edge .
See below for related historic information from the web.
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Banknote Grading
UNC
AU
EF
VF
F
VG
G
Fair
Poor
Uncirculated
About Uncirculated
Extremely Fine
Very Fine
Fine
Very Good
Good
Fair
Poor
Edges
no counting marks
light counting folds OR...
light counting folds
corners are not fully rounded
much handling on edges
rounded edges
Folds
no folds
...OR one light fold through center
max. three light folds or one strong crease
several horizontal and vertical folds
many folds and creases
Paper
color
paper is clean with bright colors
paper may have minimal dirt or some color smudging, but still crisp
paper is not excessively dirty, but may have some softness
paper may be dirty, discolored or stained
very dirty, discolored and with some writing
very dirty, discolorated, with writing and some obscured portions
very dirty, discolored, with writing and obscured portions
Tears
no tears
no tears into the border
minor tears in the border, but out of design
tears into the design
Holes
no holes
no center hole, but staple hole usual
center hole and staple hole
Integrity
no pieces missing
no large pieces missing
piece missing
piece missing or tape holding pieces together
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The Albanian Kingdom (Gheg Albanian: Mbretnija Shqiptare, Standard Albanian: Mbretëria Shqiptare, Italian: Regno albanese), also known as Greater Albania,[1][2] existed as a protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy. It was practically a union between Italy and Albania, officially led by Italy's King Victor Emmanuel III and its government: Albania was led by Italian governors, after beingmilitarily occupied by Italy, from 1939 until 1943. During this time, Albania ceased to exist as an independent country and remained as an autonomous part of the Italian Empire led by Italian government officials, who intended to make Albania part of aGreater Italy by assimilating Albanians as Italians and colonizing Albania with Italian settlers from the Italian Peninsula to transform it gradually into an Italian land.[3]
In the Treaty of London during World War I, the Triple Entente had promised Italy central and southern Albania as a possession as a reward for fighting alongside the Entente.[4] In June 1917, after Italian soldiers seized control of substantial areas of Albania, Italy formally declared a protectorate over central and southern Albania; however this was overturned in September 1920 when Italy was pressured to remove its army from Albania.[4] Italy was enraged with the minimal gains that she received from peace negotiations, which she regarded as having violated the Treaty of London. Italian Fascists claimed that Albanians were ethnically linked to Italians through links with the prehistoric Italiotes, Illyrian and Roman populations, and that the major influence exerted by the Roman and Venetian empires over Albania justified Italy's right to possess it.[5] Italy also justified the annexation of Albania on the basis that because several hundred thousand people of Albanian descent had been absorbed into society in southern Italy already, that the incorporation of Albania was a reasonable measure that would unite people of Albanian descent into one state.[6]Italy supported Albanian irredentism, directed against the predominantly Albanian-populated Kosovo in Yugoslavia and Epirus inGreece, particularly the border area of Chameria, inhabited by the Cham Albanian minority.[7]
The Italian invasion of Albania (April 7–12, 1939) was a brief military campaign by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom. The conflict was a result of the imperialist policies of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Albania was rapidly overrun, its ruler, King Zog I, forced into exile, and the country made part of the Italian Empire as a separate kingdom in personal unionwith the Italian crown.
Contents  [hide]
1
Background
2
Invasion
3
Aftermath
4
See also
5
Footnotes
6
References
7
External links
Background[edit]
Albania had long been of considerable strategic importance to the Kingdom of Italy. Italian naval strategists coveted the port of Vlorë and the island of Sazan at the entrance to the Bay of Vlorë, as they would give Italy control of the entrance to theAdriatic Sea.[3] In addition, Albania could provide Italy with a beachhead in the Balkans. Before World War I Italy and Austria-Hungary had been supportive to the creation of an independent Albanian state.[4] At the outbreak of the war, Italy had seized the chance to occupy the southern half of Albania, to avoid it being captured by the Austro-Hungarians. That success did not last long, as Albanian resistance during the subsequent Vlora War and post-war domestic problems forced Italy to pull out in 1920.[5] The desire to compensate for this failure would be one of Mussolini's major motives in invading Albania.[6]
Albania was important culturally and historically to the nationalist aims of the Italian Fascists, as the territory of Albania had long been part of the Roman Empire, even prior to the annexation of northern Italy by the Romans. Later, during the High Middle Ages, some coastal areas (like Durazzo) had been influenced and owned by Italian powers, chiefly the Kingdom of Naples and the Republic of Venice for many years (cf. Albania Veneta). The Italian Fascist regime legitimized its claim to Albania through studies proclaiming the racial affinity of Albanians and Italians, especially as opposed to the Slavic Yugoslavs.[7] Italian Fascists claimed that Albanians were linked through ethnic heritage to Italians due to links between the prehistoric Italiotes, Roman and Illyrian populations, and that the major influence exhibited by the Roman and Venetian empires over Albania justified Italy's right to possess it.[8]
When Mussolini took power in Italy he turned with renewed interest to Albania. Italy began penetration of Albania's economy in 1925, when Albania agreed to allow Italy to exploit its mineral resources.[9] That was followed by the First Treaty of Tirana in 1926 and the Second Treaty of Tirana in 1927, whereby Italy and Albania entered into a defensive alliance.[9] Among other things the Albanian government and economy were subsidised by Italian loans and the Albanian army was trained by Italian military instructors. Despite strong Italian influence, King Zog I refused to give in completely to Italian pressure.[10] In 1931 he stood up openly to the Italians, refusing to renew the 1926 Treaty of Tirana. After Albania signed trade agreements with Yugoslavia and Greece in 1934, Mussolini made a failed attempt to intimidate the Albanians by sending a fleet of warships to Albania.[11]
As Nazi Germany annexed Austria and moved against Czechoslovakia, Italy saw itself becoming the lesser member of the Pact of Steel.[12] The imminent birth of an Albanian royal child meanwhile threatened to give Zog a lasting dynasty. After Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia (March 15, 1939) without notifying Mussolini in advance, the Italian dictator decided 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, deliveredTirana an ultimatum on March 25, 1939, demanding that it consent to Italy's occupation of Albania.[13] Zog refused to accept money in exchange for allowing a full Italian takeover and colonization of Albania.
The Albanian government tried to keep secret the news of the Italian ultimatum. While Radio Tirana persistently broadcast that nothing was happening, people became suspicious; and the news of the Italian ultimatum was spread from unofficial sources. On April 5 the king's son was born and the news was announced by cannons. People poured out into the streets alarmed, but the news of the newborn prince calmed them. People were suspicious that something else was going on, which led to an anti-Italian demonstration in Tirana the same day. On 6 April there were several demonstrations in Albania's main cities. That same afternoon 100 Italian aircraft flew over Tirana, Durrës, and Vlorë, dropping leaflets instructing the people to submit to Italian occupation. The people were infuriated by this demonstration of force and called for the government to resist and to release the Albanians arrested as "communists". The crowd shouted, "Give us arms! We are being sold out! We are being betrayed!". While a mobilization of the reserves was called,
Invasion[edit]
Italian troops in Albania.
The original Italian plans for the invasion called for up to 50,000 men supported by 137 naval units and 400 airplanes. Ultimately the invasion force grew to 100,000 men supported by 600 airplanes.[15] On April 7 Mussolini's troops, led by General Alfredo Guzzoni, invaded Albania, attacking all Albanian ports simultaneously. There were 65 units in Saranda, 40 at Vlorë, 38 in Durrës, 28 at Shëngjin and 8 more at Bishti i Pallës.
On the other side the regular Albanian army had 15,000 poorly equipped troops who had been trained by Italian officers. King Zog's plan was to mount a resistance in the mountains, leaving the ports and main cities undefended; but Italian agents placed in Albania as military instructors sabotaged this plan. The Albanians discovered that artillery pieces had been disabled and there was no ammunition. As a consequence, the main resistance was offered by gendarmes and small groups of patriots.
In Durrës, a force of only 360 Albanians, mostly gendarmes and townspeople, led by Abaz Kupi, the commander of the gendarmerie in Durrës, and Mujo Ulqinaku, a marine official, tried to halt the Italian advance.[15] Equipped only with small arms and three machine guns, they succeeded in keeping the Italians at bay for several hours until a large number of small tanks were unloaded from the Italian ships. After that, resistance began to crumble, and within five hours Italy had captured the city.[16]
By 1:30 pm on the first day, all Albanian ports were in Italian hands. That same day King Zog, his wife, Queen Geraldine Apponyi, and their infant son Leka fled to Greece, taking with them part of the gold reserves of the Albanian Central Bank. On hearing the news, an angry mob attacked the prisons, liberated the prisoners and sacked the King's residence. At 9:30 am on April 8, Italian troops entered Tirana and quickly captured all government buildings. Italian columns of soldiers then marched to Shkodër, Fier and Elbasan. Shkodër surrendered in the evening after 12 hours of fighting. However, two officers garrisoned at Rozafa castle refused to obey the ceasefire order and continued to fight until they ran out of ammunition. The Italian troops later paid homage to the Albanian troops in Shkodër who had halted their advance for an entire day. During the Italian advance in Shkodër the mob besieged the prison and liberated some 200 prisoners.[17]
The number of casualties in these battles is disputed. The Italian military forces maintained that at Durrës 25 Italians were killed and 97 wounded and 160 Albanians were killed and several hundred wounded, while the townspeople of Durrës declared that some 400 Italians had been killed. To cover up their losses the Italians immediately took away the bodies and washed the harbor and streets of Durrës.[15]
On April 12, the Albanian parliament voted to depose Zog and unite the nation with Italy "in personal union" by offering the Albanian crown to Italy's King Victor Emmanuel III.[18]The parliament elected Albania's largest landowner, Shefqet Vërlaci, as Prime Minister. Vërlaci served as interim head of state for five days until Victor Emmanuel III formally accepted the Albanian crown in a ceremony at the Quirinale palace in Rome. Victor Emmanuel III appointed Francesco Jacomoni di San Savino, a former ambassador to Albania, to represent him in Albania as "Lieutenant-General of the King" (effectively a viceroy).
Aftermath[edit]
Main articles: Albanian Kingdom (1939–1943) and Albanian Resistance of World War II
See also: Democratic Government of Albania
Kingdom of Italy
Albanian Kingdom
Flag of Albania, during Italian rule.
On April 15, 1939, Albania withdrew from the League of Nations, from which Italy had resigned in 1937. On June 3, 1939, the Albanian foreign ministry was merged into the Italian foreign ministry, and the Albanian Foreign Minister, Xhemil Dino, was given the rank of an Italian ambassador. Upon the capture of Albania, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declared the official creation of theItalian Empire and the figurehead King Victor Emmanuel III was crowned King of the Albanians in addition to his title of Emperor of Ethiopia, which had been occupied three years before. The Albanian military was placed under Italian command and formally merged into the Italian Army in 1940. Additionally, the Italian Blackshirts formed four legions of Albanian Militia, initially recruited from Italian colonists living in Albania, but later from ethnic Albanians.
Upon the occupation of Albania and installation of a new government, the economies of Albania and Italy were connected through a customs union that resulted in the removal of most trade restrictions.[19] Through a tariff union, the Italian tariff system was put in place in Albania.[19] Due to the expected economic losses in Albania from the alteration in tariff policy, the Italian government provided Albania 15 million Albanian leks each year in compensatio
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