The “XVIII Assault Brigade of the Albanian National Liberation Army” was formed in Slatina of Peshkopia from the partisan battalions of Dibra, Cermenika, and Martanesh, along with young volunteers from the provinces of Dibra, organized into four battalions. On August 22, 1944, alongside the forces of the V Assault Brigade, its fighters successfully engaged in their first combat against the German and collaborationist forces concentrated on Mount Korabi. This attack resulted in significant enemy losses and thwarted the “Fox Hunting” operation, which aimed to occupy the liberated Peshkopia. On September 2, two battalions of the XVIII Assault Brigade, in cooperation with the V Assault Brigade, liberated the city of Dibra. Subsequently, on September 21, in the fortified region of Doda Castle and at the River, the brigade struck and routed the forces cooperating with the enemy. The forces of the XVIII Assault Brigade also participated in the liberation of the city of Kicevo, during which Hibe Palikuqi was martyred. After a series of combat operations against retreating German forces along the Prizren-Kukës-Pukë road and in the vicinity of Prizren, on November 5, the brigade initiated its assault against the Nazi invaders in Kukës. Together with the 5th Assault Brigade, it played a crucial role in the liberation of Prizren on November 16, and on November 17, it struck and destroyed the column of Nazi soldiers heading from Prizren to Kukës, ultimately liberating Kukës on November 18. The brigade was commanded by Esat Ndreu, with Miço Kallamata serving as commissar. (In the photo: Partisans of the XVIII Assault Brigade.)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 1 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 306.
Photo: © Central State Archives
Graphic processing: AHCF
