Following the Italian invasion of Albania, the Albanian Kingdom became a protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy. The Italians used the Albanian minority in Greece, as an excuse to start the war. The final alibi was the alleged murder by Greek agents of a Cham Albanian leader. Although fascist Italy was defeated in the Greco-Italian War, a rapid German "Blitzkrieg" campaign followed in April 1941, and by the middle of May, Greece was under joint occupation by three Axis powers: Germany, Italy and Bulgaria. At this time Italy introduced a local administration called "Këshilla" in Thesprotia, which was supported by several hundred Cham Albanians. Some hundreds of Chams participated in the formation of the "Ali Demi" Battalion in May 1944, and the "Chameria" battalion