 French troops entered Korçë on November 29, 1916 during a military operation that aimed to connect the Allied front in Thessaloníki in the Macedonian front to the region in south Albania, which was held by the Italian troops. French troops in Korçë were under General Maurice Sarrail, and under direct command of Colonel Descoins. There were two groups of rebels active in the region of Korçë, one was led by Themistokli Gërmenji and another by Sali Butka. In the meantime, Albanian irregular bands, headed by Butka and cooperating with the Austrian forces, completely ravaged Moscopole, and threatened that if Korçë would suffer the same fate if it did not raise the Albanian flag and surrender to Albanian authorities.
