Aspekte të qëndrimit të mbajtur nga shqiptarët gjatë Luftës së Parë Ballkanike
Aspects of the Attitude Taken up by the Albanians during the First Balkan War

Summary/Abstract: This article deals with the situation of the Albanians after the beginning of the First Balkan War which became worse after the Balkan armies marched into the inner Albanian territories. The Albanians were to face up to the big challenge of choosing between their religion and national identity. Most of them came to the conclusion that the biggest danger to them came from their neighbours rather than from the Ottoman state. The cooperation of the Catholic Albanians with Montenegro must not be seen “en block”. There were two main trends prevailing among the Catholic Albanians: The first trend was mainly represented by Clergy leaders like Monsignor Jak Serreqi, Monsignor Bianki and Don Nikollë Kaçorri. They were convinced that the cooperation of the Albanians with Montenegro was fatal for the destiny of the Catholic Albanians. The second trend consisted of highlanders from Upper Scutari, a part of the Catholic inhabitants of the city of Scutari and any low rank clergymen which were armed and under the full influence of Montenegro. The factors influencing some kind of confusion, demoralization and passivity of Albanians and of the Ottoman army in the Balkan War were: the Albanian national forces were not united among each-other in their way of thinking and doing, the armies of the Balkan League applied the tactic of “combat storm” in Albanian territories, the Balkan armies found some kind of support by a part of Albanians which were given weapons by the neighbouring governments, a great number of Albanians did not respond to the call for joining the Ottoman army. The occupation of the greatest part of the Albanian territories by Serbian, Montenegrin and Greek armies during the First Balkan War in 1912 had unrepairable consequences for the Albanian nation and the future of the Albanian state. For a number of reasons the passing of the Albanians from the platform of the administrative autonomy into that of the independence of Albania took place somewhere in the middle of November 1912 as it became obvious that the Ottoman army was broken in the Balkan War.

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