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1914 Vlorë Raid

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1914 Vlorë Raid
Part of History of Albania

Bekir Fikri in 1914
Date7–8 January 1914
Location
Vlorë
Result

Goverment victory

Belligerents
Albanian Goverment
Supported by:
Great Powers		 Pro-Ottoman albanians
Supported by:
Ottoman Empire
Strength
unknown 19 officers, more than 200 soldiers and other twenty people
Casualties and losses
unknown unknown

The 1914 Vlorë Raid (in Albanian:1914 bastisje Vlorë) was a short lived attempt to regain Albania under ottoman control organized by Bekir Fikri and other men but ultimately failed as they were arrested and most of them sentenced in life Imprisonment

Background

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After winning the Revolt in 1912, Albania was still recovering after the Second Balkan War and they also had to deal with some pro-Ottoman guerrilla groups. These groups wanted Albania to return under the control of the Ottoman Empire and that the only religion was Islam and no other religion; this was obviously not good given that Albania was not 100% Muslim. On the contrary, it also had a Christian population who were in very good relations with the Muslim one, so the newly-formed government had a lot to resolve.

Plot

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The CUP government in Istanbul had tasked Fikri to bring Albania under Ottoman suzerainty as they viewed the country a threat to Greece and Serbia in any future war.[1][2] The aims of the CUP wished to compensate for the loss of Ottoman land and reputation during the Balkan Wars and to increase their power in the Balkans again.[3] Dissatisfaction over the selection process of an Albanian monarch in Albania provided the CUP that opportunity.[3] Fikri, by then a lieutenant colonel (binbaşı) worked in Albania on propaganda activities to ensure the establishment of an Ottoman king instead of the German Prince Wilhelm of Wied to the Albanian throne.[4] The CUP supported Ahmed Izzet Pasha, an Ottoman-Albanian officer and CUP member that sought the Albanian throne in 1913.[5][3] Fikri, as a CUP member was sent by the Ottoman government to prepare for Albania.[3] He travelled from Istanbul to Sofia then Budapest and arrived at Shkodër in November 1913 with 5,000 gold Napoleons to use as an incentive to make people side with him, to hold diplomatic talks and provide them with confidential correspondence with Istanbul.[2] Fikri managed to convince the notables of Shkodër to support Izzet Pasha.[2] Later Fikri traveled to Durrës and through a secret letter to the Istanbul government asked them to deliver troops and ammunition to the town.[6] In same letter Fikri outlined his views that he wanted Izzet Pasha as king of Albania, and to pursue that aim in the southern parts of the country he requested for a transporter, stunner, cannon and ammunition delivery to Durrës.[2] Fikri thought that southern Albania could be convinced through force of arms.[2]

Fikri acting as Izzet Pasha's emissary contacted Ismail Qemali who had declared Albanian independence in November 1912 during the Balkan Wars.[5][3] He presented Qemali with a plan that envisaged joint Ottoman, Albanian and Bulgarian military action against Greece and Serbia.[7][2] Albania's reward in the military venture would have been the allocation of Kosovo and Chameria, areas given to Serbia and Greece by the Conference of Ambassadors.[7] Qemali assured Fikri of his loyalty to Izzet Pasha as monarch of Albania and supported a plan from the CUP government in Istanbul to secretly infiltrate troops and weapons into the country to conduct a guerilla war against Serbian and Greek forces.[8][4] After these negotiations Fikri sent telegrams to Istanbul, and asked the government to send 200-300 ammunition boxes with bullets, 4 machine guns and 4 cannons to Vlorë. In January 1914, 200 Ottoman soldiers and 19 officers with ties to Qemali boarded the steamship Maran for Vlorë.[2] Dressed as Albanian civilians, their objective was to seize the town at night and make Izzet Pasha the monarch of Albania.[9]

Discovery of the plot

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The Serbs uncovered the plot and the Serbian consul in Vlorë, Gavrilović, reported the operation to the International Control Commission (ICC),[8][2] an organisation set up by the Great Powers to temporarily administer Albania until its own political institutions were developed. The ICC disturbed by events allowed Dutch officers sent as a neutral force by the Great Powers to serve as the Albanian Gendarmerie to declare a state of emergency and stop the activities of Fikri.[8][7][4] In a raid on the port of Vlorë they discovered during 7–8 January 1914 a total of 11 Ottoman officers and more than 200 soldiers.[8] Another twenty people, including Fikri, were arrested.[8][10][9] During Fikri's trial the plot emerged and an ICC military court under Colonel Willem de Veer condemned him to death[9] and he was later pardoned with life imprisonment,[8] while Kemal and his cabinet resigned.[7] Due to the efforts of the Ottoman government Fikri was released from imprisonment on 18 August 1914.[2] Later in 1914 Fikri fought and died at the Battle of Sarikamish during the First World War.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Clayer, Nathalie (2007). Aux origines du nationalisme albanais: La naissance d'une nation majoritairement musulmane en Europe [The origins of Albanian nationalism: The birth of a predominantly Muslim nation in Europe]. Paris: Karthala. p. 705. ISBN 9782845868168.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Tütüncü 2017, p. 42.
  3. ^ a b c d e Tütüncü 2017, p. 40.
  4. ^ a b c Tütüncü 2017, pp. 41–42
  5. ^ a b Gostentschnigg, Kurt (2017). Wissenschaft im Spannungsfeld von Politik und Militär: Die österreichisch-ungarische Albanologie 1867-1918. Springer-Verlag. p. 575. ISBN 9783658189112.
  6. ^ Tütüncü, Mehmet (2017). "Grebeneli Bekir Fikri Bey Albay Thomson'a Karşi 1914 Avlonya Olayı [Grebeneli Bekir Fikri Bey against Colonel Thomson: The Case of Vlorë 1914]". Düşünce ve Tarih. 3 (31): 40, 42.
  7. ^ a b c d Winnifrith, Tom (1992). Perspectives on Albania. Springer. p. 111. ISBN 9781349220502.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Kiefer, Dorothea (1979). Entwicklungspolitik in Jugoslawien. Ihre Zielsetzungen, Planungen und Ergebnisse. Oldenbourg Verlag. p. 320. ISBN 9783486496017.
  9. ^ a b c Tütüncü 2017, p. 41.
  10. ^ Gostentschnigg, Kurt (2017). Wissenschaft im Spannungsfeld von Politik und Militär: Die österreichisch-ungarische Albanologie 1867-1918. Springer-Verlag. p. 575. ISBN 9783658189112.
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