Mujo Ulqinaku (born Mujo Cakuli; 1896 – 7 April 1939) was an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

sergeant of the

Royal Albanian Navy Between 1914 and 1939, there were three separate Albanian navies. The first navy was short-lived, belonging to the Principality of Albania. The second Albanian Navy shared a similar fate, as it served the short-lived Albanian Republic. The third n ...

, known for his resistance on 7 April 1939 to the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

forces during the

Italian invasion of Albania The Italian invasion of Albania (April 7–12, 1939) was a brief military campaign which was launched by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom in 1939. The conflict was a result of the imperialistic policies of the Italian prime m ...

. He was given the

People's Hero of Albania People's, branded as ''People's Viennaline'' until May 2018, and legally ''Altenrhein Luftfahrt GmbH'', is an Austrian airline headquartered in Vienna. It operates scheduled and charter passenger flights mainly from its base at St. Gallen-Alten ...

award posthumously.

Life

Mujo Ulqinaku was born in 1896 in

Ulcinj Ulcinj ( cyrl, Улцињ, ; ) is a town on the southern coast of Montenegro and the capital of Ulcinj Municipality. It has an urban population of 10,707 (2011), the majority being Albanians. As one of the oldest settlements in the Adriatic coast ...

, in the

Principality of Montenegro The Principality of Montenegro ( sr, Књажевина Црна Горa, Knjaževina Crna Gora) was a principality in Southeastern Europe that existed from 13 March 1852 to 28 August 1910. It was then proclaimed a kingdom by Nikola I, who then ...

, now modern

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

, to a family of sailors and fishermen. In his teens he joined the commercial fleet in

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...

and

Lezhë Lezhë (, sq-definite, Lezha) is a city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Lezhë County and Lezhë Municipality. One of the main strongholds of the Labeatai, the earliest of the fortification walls of Lezhë are of typical Illyrian const ...

. Later he served in the Albanian navy, based in

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...

, with the rank of sergeant, commanding the patrol boat ''Tiranë''. He was one of the few officers of the

Royal Albanian Army The Royal Albanian Army () was the army of the Albanian Kingdom and King Zog I of the Albanians from 1928 until 1939. Its commander-in-chief was King Zog; its commander General Xhemal Aranitasi; its Chief of Staff was General Gustav von Myrdacz ...

who tried to stop the

. Armed only with a

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

, he was placed in the center of the defense line where he killed and wounded dozens of Italian soldiers. He was killed by an artillery shell from an Italian warship in the last hour of the battle.

Legacy

Ulqinaku is memorialized by a monument in front of

Durrës Castle Durrës Castle ( sq, Kalaja e Durrësit) is the fortified old city of Durrës, Albania. It is enclosed by city walls built in the late 5th century, and repaired and reinforced in the Middle Ages and early modern periods. History The castle was bu ...

. A grammar school in Durrës and streets in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

and

Prishtina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and ...

bear his name. A documentary on his life and actions, "" ( en, Mujo Ulqinaku fights on), was released in 1979 by

Kinostudio Shqipëria e Re The National Center of Cinematography ( sq, Qendra Kombëtare e Kinematografisë) is the largest film distributor and film production company in the cinema of Albania connected with over 700 films (feature films and documentaries) between 1947 and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulqinaku, Mujo 20th-century Albanian military personnel 1896 births 1939 deaths Heroes of Albania People from Ulcinj Albanians in Montenegro Military personnel killed in action