Memorie.al publishes for the first time seven rare photos of the period of the Vlora War, which took place in the summer of 1920. In this conflict, on the one hand, participated considerable voluntary combat formations of Albanian patriots from all the provinces of the country, (even up to the Patriotic Patriotic Society “Vatra” of the USA, which also brought its spiritual gang), while on the other side stood the units of the Italian army, which sought to keep Vlora, the island, occupied. of Sazan and part of the south coast.
This war took place in the span of three months (June 3 to September 3, 1920), and according to the documents of the time, after the call: “Homeland in danger”, made by the Albanian government of Prime Minister Sulejman Delvina, (issued by Congress of Lushnja) in those fights engaged about 10,000 troops of Albanian insurgents, against 20,000 troops of Italian soldiers. After three months of fighting, Italian troops withdrew from the city and the insurgents entered liberated Vlora on September 3, 1920.
In these images, several episodes from this bloody conflict are observed. In photo no. 1 shows formations of the Italian army, who are making final preparations in their camp stationed on the beach of Vlora. In photos no. 2 and 3, show images from the fighting in the trenches of Italian soldiers, who with all their arsenal of weapons, ranging from the lightest, such as ‘Italian rifles’, to the heavy ones, such as: field cannons, mortars etc., took positions and fired at the Albanian insurgents, and then, the withdrawal of the Italian army towards the Port of Vlora is seen.
In photos no. 4, it is noticed that the Italian general, Enrico Gotti, came out of the fighting positions in the village of Drashovica, where he was later killed (the only senior Italian soldier killed in this conflict). In photo no. 5, appears, the Mayor of Vlora, the well-known poet, publicist and diplomat, Ali Asllani, giving a greeting speech, in front of the people of Vlora and the fighters who took part in those fights. While in photo no. 6, it is clear the house where in 1912, the Elder of Vlora, Ismail Qemali, had declared Independence. This old building was located on the coast on the northeast side of the city of Vlora and the image fixed in the photo in question, belongs to the summer of 1920./Memorie.al
