Editing History of Albania (section)

=== Albania under Italy ===
{{Main|Albania under Italy}}

[[File:Flag of Albania (1939-1943).svg|thumb|right|180px|Flag of the [[Albanian Kingdom (1939–43)|Albanian Kingdom (1939–1943)]]]] [[File:Shefqet Verlaci.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Prime minister [[Shefqet Vërlaci|Shefqet Bej Vërlaci]]]]

While Victor Emmanuel ruled as king, [[Shefqet Bej Verlaci]] served as the prime minister. Shefqet Verlaci controlled the day-to-day activities of the new Italian protectorate. On 3 December 1941, Shefqet Bej Verlaci was replaced as prime minister and head of state by [[Mustafa Merlika Kruja]].<ref name="isbn1-84511-104-4">{{cite book |author=Owen Pearson |title=Albania in the Twentieth Century, A History : Volume II: Albania in Occupation and War, 1939–45 |publisher=I. B. Tauris |location=London |year=2006 |page= 167|isbn=1-84511-104-4 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=P3knunC7z_oC&q=%22Shefqet+Verlaci%22+%22prime+minister%22&pg=PA167}}</ref>

From the start, Albanian foreign affairs, customs, as well as natural resources came under direct control of Italy. The puppet [[Albanian Fascist Party]] became the ruling party of the country and the [[Italian Fascism|Fascists]] allowed [[Italian colonists in Albania|Italian citizens]] to settle in Albania and to own land so that they could gradually transform it into Italian soil.

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, soon after the Italian invasion, the Greeks counter-attacked and a sizeable portion of Albania was in Greek hands (including the cities of [[Gjirokastër]] and [[Korçë]]). In April 1941, after Greece capitulated to the German forces, the Greek territorial gains in southern Albania returned to Italian command. Under Italian command came also large areas of Greece after the successful German [[Battle of Greece|invasion of Greece]].

After the fall of Yugoslavia and Greece in April 1941, the Italian Fascists added to the territory of the Kingdom of Albania most of the Albanian-inhabited areas that had been previously given to the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]]. The Albanian fascists claimed in May 1941 that nearly all the Albanian populated territories were united to Albania ([http://terkepek.adatbank.transindex.ro/kepek/netre/226.gif see map] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226114618/http://terkepek.adatbank.transindex.ro/kepek/netre/226.gif |date=26 February 2009 }}). Even areas of northern Greece ([[Chameria]]) were administered by Albanians.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.myalbania.eu/2014/12/history-of-albania.html|title=History of Albania {{!}} My Albania! The Official website of Albanian! Open source travel guide|website=myalbania.eu|access-date=2019-01-29|archive-date=30 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130053133/http://www.myalbania.eu/2014/12/history-of-albania.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> But this was even a consequence of borders that Italy and Germany agreed on when dividing their spheres of influence. Some small portions of territories with Albanian majority remained outside the new borders and contact between the two parts was practically impossible: the Albanian population under the Bulgarian rule was heavily oppressed.