Battle of Gjorm
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The Battle of Gjorm ( sq, Beteja e Gjormit) was a battle of the
Albanian Resistance of World War II In Albania, World War II began with its invasion by Italy in April 1939. Fascist Italy set up Albania as its protectorate or puppet state. The resistance was largely carried out by Communist groups against the Italian (until 1943) and then Germ ...
against the
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
. The battle took place on January 1–2, 1943, in the areas of
Gjorm Gjorm is a village in the Vlorë County, southwestern Albania. It was part of the former municipality Brataj. At the 2015 local government reform, it became part of the municipality Selenicë. World War II During World War II, Gjorm was part of ...
, Vranisht, Dukat,
Tragjas Tragjas is a community in the Vlorë County, southwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Vlorë. History The village has been inhabited since ancient times where the ruins of the city of Sofa are lo ...
and Tërbaç in south-western Albania.


Prelude

After the occupation of the
Kingdom of Albania Kingdom of Albania may refer to: *Kingdom of Albania (medieval) — from the Capetian House of Anjou *Albanian Kingdom (1928–1939) — from the House of Zogu *Albanian Kingdom (1939–1943) — from the House of Savoy during the Italian occupati ...
by the
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
in 1939, several resistance groups were formed. The most important of these groups were
Balli Kombëtar The Balli Kombëtar (literally ''National Front''), known as Balli, was an Albanian nationalist, collaborationist and anti-communist resistance movement during the Second World War. It was led by Ali Këlcyra and by Midhat Frashëri. The movem ...
, a nationalist organization formed by Mit'hat Frashëri and
Ali Këlcyra Ali Bey Këlcyra (May 28, 1891 – September 24, 1963) born Ali Klissura, was an Albanian lord and a member of the Albanian parliament in the 1920s. He was co-founder with Mid'hat Frashëri of the Balli Kombëtar organization in 1942, and t ...
and the
Albanian National Liberation Front The National Liberation Movement ( sq, Lëvizja Nacional-Çlirimtare; or ''Lëvizja Antifashiste Nacional-Çlirimtare'' (LANÇ)), also translated as National Liberation Front, was an Albanian communist resistance organization that fought in World ...
, which later became a communist group led by
Mehmet Shehu Mehmet Ismail Shehu (January 10, 1913 – December 18, 1981) was an Albanian communist politician who served as the 23rd Prime Minister of Albania from 1954 to 1981. As an acknowledged military tactician, without whose leadership the communist p ...
and
Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 unt ...
. Dukat and
Gjorm Gjorm is a village in the Vlorë County, southwestern Albania. It was part of the former municipality Brataj. At the 2015 local government reform, it became part of the municipality Selenicë. World War II During World War II, Gjorm was part of ...
became two of the centers of Balli Kombëtar, whose forces in the region were led by
Hysni Lepenica Hysni is an Albanian masculine given name and may refer to: * Hysni Curri (died 1925), Kosovar-Albanian military figure and revolutionary *Hysni Kapo (1915–1979), Albanian military commander and politician *Hysni Krasniqi Hysni Krasniqi (bor ...
, a military commander, and
Skënder Muço Skënder Muço (1904–1944) was an Albanian lawyer and leader of Balli Kombëtar, one of the most important resistance organizations in Albania during World War II. Along with Musine Kokalari Muço founded the first social democratic party of Al ...
, a prominent lawyer from
Tragjas Tragjas is a community in the Vlorë County, southwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Vlorë. History The village has been inhabited since ancient times where the ruins of the city of Sofa are lo ...
. Mehmet Shehu, a commander of the Albanian National Liberation Front, created a partisan unit in the wider region of Mallakastër. Beginning in mid-1942, there were frequent minor attacks against the Italian troops located in the area. In November 1942, these attacks intensified. The commander of the heavily armed Italian troops in the area, which initially numbered 2,000, was Colonel Franco Clementi.


Battle

The main battle, which lasted thirty-six hours, took place on January 1–2, 1943. The Albanian units were supported during the battle by 300 local volunteers. During the battle, the Italian army used
tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
s as well as
field guns A field gun is a field artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march, that when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances ( field artille ...
and many
machine guns 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 ...
. The battle ended with the decisive defeat of the Italians, who were completely routed from the battlefield, which came under Albanian control. A total of 186 Italian soldiers and officers were killed, including the commander of the Italian troops, Colonel Clementi, while hundreds were wounded and 80 were taken prisoner. Two Italian tanks were destroyed, while military equipment captured by the Albanians included three field guns, twenty-nine machine guns, large quantities of ammunition, and hundreds of rifles.


Aftermath

After being defeated and routed from the battlefield, the Italian army engaged in reprisals against the civilians of the five villages of Dukat, Gjorm, Trëbaç, Tragjas, and Vranisht. The Italian air force bombed the villages. During these attacks, there were many civilian victims including the mayor of Dukat, Shukri Cane. As a consequence of another
punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong behavio ...
, Gjorm was also mortared until it was completely ruined. A 1981 painting by Fatmir Haxhiu, entitled ''Gjorm War'' ( sq, Lufta e Gjormit), commemorates the Battle of Gjorm. The painting is on display in the National Historical Museum of Albania.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gjorm, Battle of Conflicts in 1943 1943 in Albania Military history of Albania during World War II Battles involving Balli Kombëtar Military history of Italy during World War II