In early 1914, the newly established Principality of Albania entered a period of violent political collapse, sometimes described as a civil war.
An independent, but deeply unstable Albanian state had been established in the aftermath of the Balkan Wars and was set to transition into a monarchy as a result of the arrangements of the European Great Powers. Immediately after Albania formally became a monarchy under Prince Wilhelm of Wied in February 1914, debilitating mass conflict erupted in the country. Wilhelm's failure to maintain control led to his departure from Albania that September, resulting in a political vacuum and the end of any remaining central authority.
The collapse, which eventually became intertwined with the Balkans theatre of World War I, involved various factions that asserted control as the country split along religious and ethnic lines; multiple countries also intervened and occupied the recognized territory of Albania. The country's fragmented situation would not be resolved until after the end of the war.
Background
Albania gains independence The First Balkan War (1912–1913), which pitted the Balkan League (Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Serbia) against the Ottoman Empire, resulted in the defeat of the latter and its withdrawal from most of the Balkans. During this time, Albanian nationalists, who sought to form an independent Albania and resist any partition at the hands of the Balkan League, convened the All-Albanian Congress in Vlorë on 28 November 1912. The result was the declaration of an independent provisional Albanian state (Independent Albania) that same day under the leadership of Ismail Qemali, which only controlled a small region that included Vlorë (designated as the capital), Berat, and Lushnjë. The rest of the territory within the modern Albanian borders was occupied by Greek, Serbian, and Montenegrin forces.
The Treaty of London (1913), enforced by the Great Powers, delineated the present borders of Albania, resulting in a much more reduced territory compared to that which had been claimed by Qemali's government. The treaty also established the International Control Commission (ICC) to supervise Albania and provide security. Finally, the Great Powers decided that Albania would become a monarchy, and began looking for a prince.
Descent into instability and establishment of monarchy A power struggle began in October 1913 when Essad Pasha Toptani, an ambitious local commander and politician, established a rival administration (the Republic of Central Albania) in central Albania, a largely Muslim region. Toptani sought to challenge Qemali's government and characterized it as the undemocratic "personal creation of a number of men". The Republic of Central Albania was supported by the local Muslim nobles as well as by Serbia. Toptani's seizure of central Albania also resulted in the Catholic population of northern Albania being cut off from Qemali's administration; however, the Catholics had never been eager to submit to any central Albanian government anyways. Meanwhile, Serbian and Montenegrin troops finalized their withdrawal from Albania's recognized territory in November 1913.
This unfavorable situation was further compounded by a plot, spearheaded by Bekir Fikri, to establish an Albanian-Ottoman alliance and install a Turkish ruler (Ahmet Izzit Pasha) in Albania. The ICC uncovered the plot in January 1914 and raided Vlorë, discovering more than 200 Ottoman soldiers which had infiltrated the country. Qemali, who had supported the plot, was forced to resign. Toptani was subsequently also made to disband his administration and step aside in February 1914, as by that time Prince Wilhelm of Wied, a German, had agreed to become the monarch of Albania. The new Principality of Albania, with Wilhelm as prince, was then proclaimed on 21 February 1914.
Course of events
Wilhelm's assumption of power and Northern Epirote revolt On 21 February 1914, the Principality of Albania was formally established as an Albanian delegation arrived in Neuwied, Germany to ceremonially transfer the power to Wilhelm. The Great Powers allowed Toptani to lead this delegation as compensation for his displacement from power. The Catholic tribes decided to support Wilhelm and swore loyalty to him.
That same day, the Great Powers asked for the withdrawal of the Greek army, which was still occupying territory in southern Albania (Northern Epirus) assigned to be within Albanian borders. The ethnic Greek majority of Northern Epirus, unwilling to come under Albanian administration, revolted and established the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus on 28 February as the Greek army withdrew south. This state was led by Georgios Christakis-Zografos. Fighting erupted between the Northern Epirotes and Albanian forces, and lasted throughout the spring.
Wilhelm finally arrived in Albania's new capital of Durrës a month later on 7 March 1914, with his wife and a small royal household. His six-month reign would be characterized as largely incompetent, with the Great Powers continuously intervening in his affairs via their representatives in the ICC. A new government was formed, led by Turhan Përmeti serving as prime minister. The power-hungry Toptani gained an influential position as the new minister of war and minister of the interior, from which he constantly undermined the government. From an organizational point of view, aside from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the rest of the cabinet was dysfunctional.
Albanian forces and Northern Epirote separatists continued fighting until May, when the Albanian government decide to negotiate with Northern Epirus as they were unable to suppress the revolt. Toptani discreetly aided the Northern Epirotes by preventing 20,000 Albanian reinforcements from being deployed to fight them. The result of the negotiations was the Protocol of Corfu, signed on 17 May 1914, in which it was agreed to that the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus would continue to exist as a self-governing entity within Albania.
Outbreak of Muslim revolt and exile of Toptani Meanwhile, Prince Wilhelm's arrival in Albania had caused immediate anger and unrest among the Muslims of central Albania, who were influenced by Ottoman propaganda which portrayed the new regime as a tool of the Christian powers and the large landowners. By early May 1914, the discontent had evolved into a general revolt led by Haxhi Qamili and other Muslim clerics. The aim of the rebels was to restore Ottoman rule over Albania, and they violently rejected Albanian nationalism and secularism. The preferred method of organization of the rebels was the formation of local councils for directing and expanding the rebellion.
There are differing accounts as to the exact nature of Toptani's involvement in the uprising. Some sources indicate that he had a leading role in the uprising from the beginning, yet others describe the rebels as explicitly anti-Toptani. In any case, and regardless of whether he actually enjoyed widespread support among the rebels, Toptani wanted to take advantage of the chaos to oust Prince Wilhelm and seize power for himself, and was backed by Italy, which viewed Wilhelm as too pro-Austrian. Dutch officers led by Lodewijk Thomson who were stationed in Albania as part of the ICC ultimately decided to have Toptani arrested, despite Wilhelm remaining indecisive on the matter. On 19 May, Toptani's house was raided by government forces and he surrendered; the following day he was exiled to Italy.
Expanding conflict and first siege of Durrës
Toptani's departure had little effect on the expanding insurgency in central Albania, which continued throughout the summer of 1914. The Catholic Albanian tribes, once more cut off from the rest of the country, remained loyal to Wilhelm and did not support the Muslim revolt. They sent troops under the command of Prenk Bib Doda and Isa Boletini to participate in a joint operation with Dutch forces to defeat the Muslim rebels. They engaged the rebels at Shijak near Durrës on 23 May, but this attack failed. In the aftermath of the battle, fearing that the triumphant rebels were about to enter Durrës, Prince Wilhelm and his family briefly fled and took refuge on an Italian ship off the coast. They later returned that evening as the rebels had maintained their positions. That same day, the rebels captured Tirana.
On 3 June, the first central political body of the Muslim insurgency, the "General Council", was elected following an assembly of councils at Shijak. By now, while there appeared to be factions who were in favor of Toptani and factions who were opposed to him, they had all firmly united in order to reach their common goal of ousting Prince Wilhelm.
The Principality of Albania now only de facto controlled Durrës and its outskirts, with Thomson leading the defense of the city. The Muslim insurgents continued to siege the city, and Thomson was killed on 15 June during a rebel attack.
Northern Epirus also took advantage of the situation to finish consolidating its territory, seizing Korçë on 8 July and Tepelenë later that month.
More ICC reinforcements from Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Romania arrived in Durrës in early July, but failed to prevent successive victories of the Muslim rebels, most notably the capture of Berat and Vlorë from the ICC on 12 July and 21 August, respectively. Owing to negative public opinion in the Netherlands, the Dutch military mission in Albania was formally terminated on 27 July. One day later (28 July), World War I broke out.
Departure of Prince Wilhelm The attention of the Great Powers quickly turned towards the new European war and away from the chaos in Albania. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans began leaving the besieged Durrës on 2 August 1914. This was followed by the departure of the Dutch two days later. The ICC's multinational force left the country on 23 August. Nonetheless, Austria-Hungary demanded that Prince Wilhelm send Albanian troops to fight with the Central Powers. When Wilhelm refused, stating that the Treaty of London had required Albania to remain neutral, his remuneration was cut off.
On 1 September 1914, the Muslim insurgents notified the ICC that they demanded that Wilhelm leave Albania or they would begin a renewed bombardment of Durrës until it surrendered. Under overwhelming pressure, Wilhelm finally decided it would indeed be best to leave the country, departing on 3 September 1914 on the same Italian yacht that he had briefly fled to earlier in May after the battle at Shijak. He issued a proclamation to the Albanian people that "he deemed it necessary to absent himself temporarily", and went on to join the Imperial German Army on the eastern front. The ICC briefly assumed full control of the Albanian government before disbanding itself on 6 September. The next day, Durrës finally fell to the Muslim rebels.
With these events, remaining central authority crumbled and any sense of national unity in Albania evaporated.
Emergence of the Senate of Central Albania and return of Toptani The "Senate of Central Albania" was the polity that was formed by the Muslim insurgents after their capture of Durrës on 7 September 1914. Inside the city, the victorious rebels hoisted the Ottoman flag, began imprisoning supporters of Wilhelm, and declared that they would seek to install a Muslim prince. Prince Şehzade Mehmed Burhaneddin, a son of the former Ottoman sultan Abdul Hamid II, was invited to take up this position, but this proposal never materialized. Conflict broke out between the Senate of Central Albania and Northern Epirus after the latter attacked Berat.