XVI Italian Army Corps
| Albanian Republic | ||||||||||
| Republika Shqiptare | ||||||||||
| Protectorate of Italy | ||||||||||
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Motto Atdheu mbi te gjitha "Homeland above all" |
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Anthem Himni i Flamurit "Hymn to the Flag" |
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| Capital | Valona (Vlorë) | |||||||||
| Political structure | Protectorate of Italy | |||||||||
| Prime Minister | Turhan Përmeti | |||||||||
| Historical era | Interwar period | |||||||||
| • | Established | June 23, 1917 | ||||||||
| • | Disestablished | 2 August 1920 | ||||||||
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The Italian protectorate over Albania was established by the Kingdom of Italy during World War I in an effort to secure a de jure independent Albania under Italian control. It existed from June 23, 1917 until the summer of 1920.
The Kingdom of Italy occupied the port of Vlorë on December 1914, but had to withdraw after the Austrian-Hungarian invasion in late 1915 - early 1916, and the fall of Durrës on 27 February 1916. In May 1916, the Italian XVI Corps, some 100,000 men under the command of General Settimio Piacentini, returned and occupied the region of southern Albania by the autumn 1916, while the French army occupied Korçë and its surrounding areas on November 29, 1916. The Italian (in Gjirokastër) and French forces (in Korçë), according mainly to the development of the Balkan Front, entered the area of former Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus (controlled by the Greek minority) in autumn 1916, after approval of the Triple Entente.
The establishment of the Autonomous Albanian Republic of Korçë was done on December 10, 1916 by French authorities with a protocol, according to which an autonomous province would be established on the territories of Korçë, Bilishti, Kolonja, Opar and Gora in eastern Albania.
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