The “Battle of Leskovik” unfolded, a conflict aimed at liberating the town of Leskovik, where 400 fascist soldiers were stationed, armed with numerous machine guns and several mortars. Twelve partisan units from the Korça district, comprising around 600-700 fighters, participated. The military operations were directed by a headquarters with Nexhip Vinçani at the helm. Partisan units from Gorë-Opar, Devoll, Rrëza e Korçës, “Tomorri”, Kurorë, Leskovik, Kolonjë, and two other units were tasked with attacking Leskovik. At the same time, partisan units from Vithkuq and Ostrovica waited on the roads Ersekë-Leskovik and Përmet-Leskovik. The attack began at 3:00 on May 17, 1943. Caught off guard, the fascists were ready to surrender, but air support arrived, as well as two battalions, which were ambushed by partisans near the Shalës and Çarshova bridges, suffering significant losses. It was only on the morning of May 17 that Italian battalions, which came to aid the Leskovik garrison, managed to enter the town. However, under pressure from the large partisan forces, on May 25, the Italian troops withdrew from the city for good, leaving many dead, wounded, and prisoners. Four partisan fighters fell as martyrs, while 12 others were wounded. After the liberation of Leskovik, the entire border line from Konispol to Devoll was controlled by partisan forces, which, by decision of the Central Committee of the Albanian Communist Party and the General Liberation Council, established national liberation control posts along the border. The enemy lost communication links between Army IX (Albania) and Army XI (Greece). The Battle of Leskovik proved that conditions were created for organizing military actions with the participation of larger forces. (In the photo: View from Leskovik.)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 2 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 1550.
Photo: © https://shqiptarja.com/
Graphic processing: AHCF
