Flag of the Albanian Resistance during World War II.
The Albanian Resistance was a resistance movement founded in 1939 following the Italian invasion of Albania, with the Albanian populace resisting the Italians and Wehrmacht until the end of World War II in 1945. There were the Hoxha Group, led by Emil Hoxha, and the supporters of King Zog, who were anticommunist, and fought Hoxha's group.
History[]
The Albanian Resistance were made up of 4,000 people as of 1942, but increased to 70,000 by 1944, men and women included. The Albanian Resistance operated separately from the Yugoslav National Army of Liberation, but were similar; they were believers in Communism and were mainly peasants. Their leader was Emil Hoxha, who led them throughout the whole of the war, fighting against the Kingdom of Albania with some aid from the Italian Resistance and SOE, and after the Italian surrender in September 1943, large parts of the country were liberated by the partisans. Of course, the Germans retaliated with their usual brutality, taking over Tirana and killing thousands of civilians in retribution. The Albanian Resistance liberated Tirana in November 1944, and fought in the campaign in the Balkans until the end of the war.