The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-04-07

 expiring within few hours.
 Then Mussolini ordered his Facist legions to march.
 Throughout the night troops crowded into transports at Bari and Brindisi for the 60-mile crossing to Valona and the 80-mile crossing to Durazzo, the chief Albanian ports.
 First Landing at Valona
 Authoritative advices said that the first troops landed at Valona, whose possession would enable Italy to closely cork the narrow entrance to the Adriatic.
 It was said that there was no fighting.
 Estimates of the number of oc- cupation troops varied from 10000 to 60,000.
 Transport ships piled back and forth between Bari and Brindisi and the Albanian coastthe same trans ports that had taken Italian troops to Ethiopia and Spain.
 Orders to army commanders were to effect the occupation of the en- tire country with the greatest pos sible speed.
 Most of the landing units were motorized. The plan was first to oc- cupy ports, then to send fast-moving units to key towns inland and as soon as those were organized to move into outlying towns and to give the Albanians no time to or ganize even Guerrilla resistance.
 Albanians Has Small Army
 If the Albanians tried to fight, they had an army of 12,6O0 men and 8 small fotilla of speed boats. Against them Mussolini sent his best troops, backed by war planes and war ships,
 The principal contingents of oc- cupation troops were the plume hated Bersaglieri and the Grena- diers.
 Private dispatches said that the occupation proceeded methodically and swiftly.
 Three-motored S-75 bo m b In g planes, such as were used in the Spanish civil war, and scores of pro- tecting pursuit planes were used tc cover the occupation. Al lplanes were of squadron A-the "A" standing for Adriatic.
 Many of the houses in Albanian ports had been built by Italians stoutly with the idea that come day they might be used as strong points As soon as the troops moved into these towns today they began con. verting these key houses into fort. resses.
 Choose Port of Valona The port of Valona, where the frs Italian troops were landed, wa! chosen because the nearby Italian island of Sasen is heavily fortified and it's artillery dominates the towr and the surrounding country. The roads were built by Italian engineering forces, and along thes, roads the Italian mechanized units bristling with guns, moved inland. Gen. Alberto Pariani, under secre tary of war and chief of staff of tn, army, was chief engineer for thes, roads.
 Pariani had just concluded todd, a secret conference with Gen. Will helm Keitel, chief of the high com mand of the German armed forces. Telephone service to Tirana which operates only between g a. m and noon daily, was cut today be cause of the Italian troop move. ments.
 Official Communique
 An official communique said Mus. solini took his action because, during negotiations for strengthening tn, Italian-Albanian military alliance o 1927, demonstrations at Tirana, tn, Albanian capital, and other town. had endangered Italian lives.
 It had looked for time as il there might be a peacable solution
 King Fog had baked at an Ital. ian protectorate but intimated that he was willing to grant most oi Mussolini's demands.
 It was reported that he hac threatened, if Mussolini invaded tho country, to abdicate and leave his people to carry out their threat tt fight unrelentingly and unceasingly for their liberty, retiring to tho mountain fastnesses if necessar, and conducting guerrilla activities.
 Hitler Secret Instructions
 As the Italian forces moved against Albania today, Prince Philir of Hesse was believed to be bringing to Rome secret instructions iron Adolf Hitler. on Albanian, "Stor Hitler and general European policy and a renewed assurance of support in any emergency which might bt precipitated.
 Thus the "axis" powers, working together, made their first reply tt the British diplomatic coup whicl put Poland in c British French. Polish bloc, with Russia in the back. ground as c silent partner, to oppos, their expansionist policies. l Another C0mnunique
 An ofiicial conmunique explained Mussolini's action today:
 During the last few days, whil, conversations were progressing be- tween the Italian government anC i Kif0 ZoR for conclusion of a new