Aspekte të Luftës së Tiranës dhe Largimi i Wehrmacht-It nga Shqipëria në Nëntor 1944
Aspects of the Battle of Tirana and the withdrawal of Wehrmacht from Albania in November 1944

Summary/Abstract: The concept of the German occupation of Albania was crystallized right before the invasion and it took place on September 1943. According to this concept Albania theoretically would be a neutral and independent country run by a national government, under the rule of the German Wehrmacht. In this framework the German Wehrmacht would organize the defence of territory against a possible deployment of the British and American Allies at the Albanian coast. So, the German Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop hoped to gain the support of the most of Albanians, to isolate the popular liberation movement, and to keep occupied Albania with the least military strength possible. Most of the Albanians did not agree with such policy. They were organized in the National Liberation Movement and fought against the German occupiers. In this context one of the greatest operations of the partisan army during Second World War was the ‘Battle of Tirana’. This battle lasted 19 days and ended on November 17th, 1944. It was characterized by considerable losses from both sides. In the light of new documents for the German archive sources we find out detailed data and new evidences which allow us to have a full picture of this battle and draw right conclusions. In the second part of this paper it is discussed withdraw of Wehrmacht from Shkodra which was conditioned by the reconstruction of the strategic bridge of Bioce (Montenegro). This bridge was built by German troops on November 28th, 1944. Thus the concentrated German troops were blocked longer in the city of Shkodra and its suburbs. In the evening of November 28th’ after receiving the information on the reconstruction of the Bioce Bridge, Germans started to release the positions in the suburbs of Shkodra and on November 29th, 1944 the German troops left officially the last big city of Albania. Meanwhile the withdraw of the German troops from Albania marked the beginning of a new epoque for Albania.

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