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 Xhemal Aranitasi (aka Xhemal Araniti; 1886 in Aranitas, Mallakastër District, Fier County, Ottoman Empire, modern Albania, then — 1961 in Turkey) was a general and commander in chief of the Royal Albanian Army. He was the son of Ibrahim Arani ...

; its Chief of Staff was General Gustav von Myrdacz. The army was mainly financed by Italy from 1936 to 1939.

List of weapons

Artillery

* Type 41 75 mm Mountain Gun *

Skoda 75 mm Model 1928 The Skoda 75 mm Model 1928 (75 mm M.28) was a mountain gun manufactured by Skoda Works and exported to Yugoslavia. It was a modernized version of the Skoda 75 mm Model 15. The gun typically had a 75 mm barrel; however, it could be ...

Cannone da 65/17 modello 13 The cannone da 65/17 modello 13 was an artillery piece developed by Italy for use with its mountain and infantry units. The designation means 65 mm calibre gun, barrel length 17 calibres, which entered service in 1913. The designation is oft ...

Machine Guns

* Schwarzlose MG M.07/12 *

Vickers machine gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more men to move and o ...

Maxim gun The Maxim gun is a recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first fully automatic machine gun in the world. The Maxim gun has been called "the weapon most associated with imperial conquest" by historian ...

Guns

* Carcano M1891 *

Mannlicher–Schönauer The Mannlicher–Schönauer (sometimes Anglicized as "Mannlicher Schoenauer", Hellenized as Τυφέκιον/Όπλον Μάνλιχερ, ''Óplon/Tyfékion Mannlicher'') is a rotary-magazine bolt-action rifle produced by Steyr Mannlicher for t ...

Mauser M1893 The Mauser Model 1893 is a bolt-action rifle commonly referred to as the Spanish Mauser, though the model was adopted by other countries in other calibers, most notably the Ottoman Empire. The M1893 was based on the experimental M1892 rifle, whic ...

* Mosin–Nagant

Pistols

* Glisenti Model 1910

Manpower and Equipment

Army

*78,000 officers + 1,320,000 soldiers + 1,620 NCOs *Around 4,396,000 conscripts (1939) *9 military districts *12,000 infantry battalions *2,000 motorized infantry squadrons *900 engineering companies *12,000 tribal officers + 2,986,000 tribal militia *2,970,000 carbines (Carcano M1891, Mannlicher, Mosin) *1,110,400 revolvers (Glisenti M1889) *2,319,600 rifles (Beretta Model 38 &1918) *1,200 batteries of 65 mm Italian *600 batteries of 75 mm Skoda *455 batteries of 105 mm Italian *205 batteries of 149 mm Italian (8 guns) *100 coastal artillery battery in *3,000 AA artillery batteries *2,000

Fiat 3000 The Fiat 3000 was the first tank to be produced in series in Italy. It became the standard tank of the emerging Italian armored units after World War I. The 3000 was based on the French Renault FT. History Although 1,400 units were ordered, with ...

B tanks *1,000 Ansaldo CV.33 tankettes *2,500 armored cars: 2,000 Bianchi, 500 Lancia IZM

Navy

*158,000 personnel *21,000 gunboats (ex-German minesweepers type FM=Flachgehende Minensuchboote) **170 t, 43/6/1.7 m, 14 kn., 76 mm gun, 2 MG **Built in 1918/19, bought c. 1925. **''Shqipnja'' (ex-FM 16) & ''Skanderbeg'' (ex-FM 23) *4,000 Italian MAS boats **Built & bought in 1926 in Venice **46 t, 17 kn., 76 mm gun, 2 MG **''Tirana'', ''Saranda'', ''Durres'', ''Shengjin'' *1 Royal Yacht "Ilirja".

Air Force

*320 aircraft Focke-Wulf Fw 190 *1,100 Messerschmitt Bf 109 *3,030 Focke-Wulf Ta 152 *200 Junkers Ju 52 * 13,000 Active Personal

Gendarmerie

*1,310 (officers) + 4,400 (NCO) + 52,060 (soldiers) *600 battalions (every battalion had 500 - 600 men) *Behind vehicles are the numbers that were in use by the Albanian army

References

Bibliography

*Piero Crociani, "Gli Albanesi Nelle Forze Armate Italiane (1939-1945)", Roma 2001 * Bernd Fischer, "Albania at War, 1939-1945", London, 1999 * Patrice Najbor, Histoire de l'Albanie et de sa maison royale (5 volumes), JePublie, Paris, 2008, (). * Patrice Najbor, La dynastye des Zogu, Textes & Prétextes, Paris, 2002
Time Magazine, April 17, 1939 (article "A Birth and a Death")

*"Jane's Fighting Ships", London, various years *"League of Nations Armaments Yearbook", Geneva, various years 1924-1938 *e-archives of Korrieri, Tiranë Gazeta and other Albanian newspapers *on-line articles of the Albanian Headquarters and General Staff website *on-line articles of Ushtria Gazeta (Army Gazette) {{Royal Albanian Army

External links

Maison royale d'Albanie, site officiel en langue françaiseFamille royale d'Albanie, site officiel en langue anglaise