Albanian Kingdom ( 1939 – 43 ) The Albanian Kingdom ( Gheg Albanian : " Mbretnija Shqiptare " , Standard Albanian : " Mbretëria Shqiptare " , ) existed as a protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy . It was practically a union between Italy and Albania , officially led by Italy ' s King Victor Emmanuel III and its government : Albania was led by Italian governors , after being militarily occupied by Italy , from 1939 until 1943 . During this time , Albania ceased to exist as an independent country and remained as an autonomous part of the Italian Empire led by Italian government officials , who intended to make Albania part of a Greater Italy by assimilating Albanians as Italians and colonizing Albania with Italian settlers from the Italian Peninsula to transform it gradually into an Italian land . In the Treaty of London during World War I , the Triple Entente had promised Italy central and southern Albania as a possession as a reward for fighting alongside the Entente . In June 1917 , after Italian soldiers seized control of substantial areas of Albania , Italy formally declared a protectorate over central and southern Albania ; however this was overturned in September 1920 when Italy was pressured to remove its army from Albania . Italy was enraged with the minimal gains that she received from peace negotiations , which she regarded as having violated the Treaty of London . Italian Fascists claimed that Albanians were ethnically linked to Italians through links with the prehistoric Italiotes , Illyrian and Roman populations , and that the major influence exerted by the Roman and Venetian empires over Albania justified Italy ' s right to possess it . The Italy also justified the annexation of Albania on the basis that because several hundred thousand people of Albanian descent had been absorbed into society in southern Italy already , that the incorporation of Albania was a reasonable measure that would unite people of Albanian descent into one state . Italy supported Albanian irredentism , directed against the predominantly Albanian - populated Kosovo in Yugoslavia and Epirus in Greece , particularly the border area of Chameria , inhabited by the Cham Albanian minority . History . Pre - invasion : Italy ' s influence and aims on Albania ( 1914 - 1939 ) . Prior to direct intervention in World War I , Italy occupied the port of Vlorë in Albania in December 1914 . Upon entering the war , Italy spread its occupation to region of southern Albania beginning in the autumn 1916 . Italian forces in 1916 recruited Albanian irregulars to serve alongside them . Italy with permission of the Allied command , occupied Northern Epirus on 23 August 1916 , forcing the neutralist Greek Army to withdraw its occupation forces from there . In June 1917 , Italy proclaimed central and southern Albania as a protectorate of Italy while Northern Albania was allocated to the states of Serbia and Montenegro . By 31 October 1918 , French and Italian forces expelled the Austro - Hungarian Army from Albania . After World War I ended , Italy was pressured to withdraw its military forces and did so on 2 September 1920 . The Italian Fascist regime had politically and economically penetrated and dominated Albania during Zog ' s rule and was planning for annexation of Albania years prior to the event . Albania became a " de facto " protectorate of Italy after the signing of the Treaties of Tirana of 1926 and 1927 . Under Zog , Albania ' s economy was dependent on multiple financial loans given from Italy since 1931 . In August 1933 , Mussolini placed stringent demands on Zog in exchange for Italy ' s continued support of Albania , including demands that all new appointments to leading positions in the Albanian government had to have received an " Italian education " ; that an Italian expert was in the future to be in all Albanian government ministries ; that Italy would take control of Albania ' s military - including its fortifications ; that British officers that were training Albania ' s gendarmee be replaced by Italian officers ; and that Albania must annul all of its existing commercial treaties with other countries and make no new agreements without the approval of the Italian government ; and that Albania sign a commercial convention that would make Italy Albania ' s " most favoured country " in trade . In 1934 when Albania did not deliver its scheduled payment of one loan to Italy , Italian warships arrived off the coast of Albania to intimidate Albania to submit to Italian goals in the region , however the British opposed Italy ' s actions and under pressure , Italy backed down and claimed that the naval exercise was merely a " friendly visit " . On 25 August 1937 , Italian foreign minister Count Ciano wrote in his diary of Italy ' s relations with Albania in the following : " We must create stable centres of Italian influence there . Who knows what the future may have in store ? We must be ready to seize opportunities which will present themselves . We are not going to withdraw this time , as we did in 1920 . In the south [ of Italy ] we have absorbed several hundred thousand Albanians . Why shouldn ’ t the same thing happen on the other side of the entrance to the Adriatic . " . On 26 March 1938 , Ciano wrote in his diary of annexing Albania like Germany did with Austria shortly prior : " A report from Jacomoni on the situation in Albania . Our penetration is becoming steadily more intense and more organic . The programme which I traced after my visit is being carried out without a hitch . I am wondering whether the general situation – particularly the Anschluss [ with Austria ] – does not permit us to take a step forward towards the more complete domination of this country , which will be ours . " and days later on 4 April of that year wrote " We must gradually underline the protectorate element of our relations with Albania " . Invasion and the establishment of the Italian regime . In spite of Albania ' s long - standing protection and alliance with Italy , on 7 April 1939 Italian troops invaded Albania , five months before the start of the Second World War . The Albanian armed resistance proved ineffective against the Italians and , after a short defense , the country was occupied . On 9 April 1939 the Albanian king , Zog I fled to Greece . Although Albania had been a " de facto " Italian protectorate since 1927 , Italy ' s political leader , Benito Mussolini required direct control over the country to increase his own prestige and provide a response to Germany ' s annexation of Austria and occupation of Czechoslovakia . Albania was an Italian protectorate subordinated to Italian interests , along the lines of the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia : the Albanian crown was declared in personal union with the Italian crown , Albania was to be governed by an Italian vicegerent representing King Victor Emmanuel III , a customs union was enacted , and Albanian foreign policy was to be handled by Rome . The Albanian armed forces were subsumed in the Italian military , Italian advisors were placed inside all levels of the Albanian administration , and the country fascisticized with the establishment of an Albanian Fascist Party and its attendant organizations , modelled after the Italian prototype . The Albanian Fascist Party was a branch of the National Fascist Party of Italy , members of the Albanian Fascist Party took an oath to obey the orders of the Duce of Fascism , Mussolini . Italian citizens began to settle in Albania as colonists and to own land so that they could gradually transform it into Italian soil . While Victor Emmanuel ruled as king , Shefqet Vërlaci served as the Prime Minister . Vërlaci controlled the day - to - day activities of the Italian protectorate . On 3 December 1941 , Shefqet Vërlaci was replaced as Prime Minister and Head of Government by Mustafa Merlika - Kruja . The country ' s natural resources too came under direct control of Italy . All petroleum resources in Albania went through Agip , Italy ' s state petroleum company . Albania was important culturally and historically to the nationalist aims of the Italian Fascists , as the territory of Albania had long been part of the Roman Empire , even prior to the annexation of northern Italy by the Romans . Later , during the High Middle Ages some coastal areas ( like Durazzo ) had been influenced and owned by Italian powers , chiefly the Kingdom of Naples and the Republic of Venice for many years ( cf . Albania Veneta ) . The Italian Fascist regime legitimized its claim to Albania through studies proclaiming the racial affinity of Albanians and Italians , especially as opposed to the Slavic Yugoslavs . Italian Fascists claimed that Albanians were linked through ethnic heritage to Italians due to links with the prehistoric Italiotes , Illyrian and Roman populations , and that the major influence exhibited by the Roman and Venetian empires over Albania justified Italy ' s right to possess it . Italy also attempted to legitimize and win public support for its rule over Albania by supporting Albanian irredentism , directed against the predominantly Albanian - populated Kosovo in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and Epirus in Greece , particularly the border area of Chameria , inhabited by the Cham Albanian minority . Thus a Fascist Italian publication named " Geopolitica " claimed that the population of the Epirus - Acarnania region of Greece belonged to Albania due to it being racially Dinaric , and formed a ' single geographic system ' with the Adriatic zone . Despite the efforts of the Italian vicegerent , Francesco Jacomoni , to stir up insurrections and create a fifth column , and the favourable reports he sent to the Italian foreign minister Count Ciano , events proved that there was little enthusiasm among the Albanians themselves : after the Italian invasion of Greece , most Albanians either deserted or defected . Albania at war . Strategically , control of Albania gave Italy an important beachhead in the Balkans : not only did it complete Italian control of the Strait of Otranto and the entrance to the Adriatic Sea , it could be used to invade either Yugoslavia ( in tandem with another thrust via Venezia Giulia ) or Greece . In 1939 , Count Ciano spoke of Albanian irredentist claims to Kosovo as valuable to Italy ' s objectives , saying : In October 1940 , during the Greco - Italian War , Albania served as a staging - area for Italian dictator Benito Mussolini ' s unsuccessful invasion of Greece . Mussolini planned to invade Greece and other countries like Yugoslavia in the area to give Italy territorial control of most of the Mediterranean Sea coastline , as part of the Fascists ' objective of creating the objective of " Mare Nostrum " ( " Our Sea " ) in which Italy would dominate the Mediterranean . But the Albanian army under the command of colonel ( later general ) Prenk Pervizi abandoned the Italians in combat , causing a major unraveling of their lines . The Albanian army believed to be the cause of the betrayal was removed from the front . The Colonel Pervizi and his staff of officials was isolated in the mountains of Puka and Shkodra to the North . This was the first action of revolt against the Italian occupation . But , soon after the Italian invasion , the Greeks counter - attacked and a sizable portion of Albania was in Greek hands ( including the cities of Gjirokastër and Korçë ) . In April 1941 , Greece capitulated after an overwhelming German invasion . All of Albania returned to Italian control , which was also extended to most of Greece , which was jointly occupied by Italy , Germany and Bulgaria . Italian plans however to annex Chameria to Albania were shelved due strong opposition and ethnic conflict between Albanians and Greeks , as well as opposition by Aromanians to the region being Albanianized . After the fall of Yugoslavia and Greece in April 1941 , the Italian government began negotiations with Germany , Bulgaria , and the newly established client state , the Independent State of Croatia , on defining their borders . In April Mussolini called for the borders of Albania to be expanded - including annexing Montenegro into Albania that would have an autonomous government within Albania , and expanding Albania ' s border eastwards , though not as far as the Vardar river as some had proposed - citing that Ohrid should be left to the Slavic Macedonians , regardless of whether Vardar Macedonia would become an independent state or be annexed by Bulgaria . However the Italian government changed its positions on the border throughout April , later supporting the annexation of Ohrid while giving the territory lying directly outside of Ochrid ( including the sacred birthplace of Saint Clement ) to the Slavic Macedonians . After a period of negotiations Italy ' s new Balkan borders - including Albania ' s new borders , were declared by royal decree on 7 June 1941 . After the Italian capitulation in September 1943 , the country was occupied by the Germans until the end of the war . Economy . Upon the occupation of Albania and installation of a new government , the economies of Albania and Italy were connected through a customs union that resulted in the removal of most trade restrictions . Through a tariff union , the Italian tariff system was put in place in Albania . Due to the expected economic losses in Albania from the alteration in tariff policy , the Italian government provided Albania 15 million Albanian lek s each year in compensation . Italian customs laws were to apply in Albania and only Italy alone could conclude treaties with third parties . Italian capital was allowed to dominate the Albanian economy . As a result , Italian companies were allowed to hold monopolies in the exploitation of Albanian natural resources . In 1944 , the number of companies and industrial enterprises reached 430 , from just 244 in 1938 and only 71 such in 1922 . The degree of concentration of workers in industrial production in 1938 doubled compared with 1928 . At this time , Albania ' s economy had trade relations with 21 countries , but most developed were first to Italy and then to Yugoslavia , France , Germany , Greece etc . . The inserted into the path of capitalist development much later than other European countries , despite the presence of some foreign capital mainly Italian , Albania had not yet made any move towards industrial capitalism phase at the moment of the explosion of World War II . Agriculture , which employed over 87 % of the working force , was the main sector of the economy and contribute to the formation of 92 . 4 % of national income in that time , while only 10 . 2 % of cultivated lands regularly and main products only reduced the wheat , corn and rye . Earth work with primitive tools dominance of wood plows , fertilizers hardly known at all , while all fields were turned into swamps . The level of productivity and level of organization and mechanization of agriculture in this period were very low . Administrative division . Italian - administered Albania was initially divided into 12 provinces : In 1941 , Kosovo was attached to Albania as the Province of Pristina ( Italian : " Provincia di Pristina " ) or Province of Kosovo ( Italian : " Provincia del Cossovo " ) .