The “Kruja War” took place, a series of instructive and defensive battles conducted by the partisan forces against the Germans and their collaborators, for the liberation of the city of Kruja. With this task, the General Staff of the Albanian National Liberation Army charged the forces of the partisan battalions of Dibra, Krujë-Ishmi and Mati. About 400 Italians of the former “Florence” division, united with the forces of the Albanian National Liberation Army, also participated in the fighting. Abaz Kupi also participated with his forces, which were deployed in the southern part. The battle began in the early hours of September 22, 1943. Unable to hold out for long, the enemy forces abandoned the city. The enemy’s attempt on the same day to reoccupy Kruja failed. In order to recapture Kruja, the German command created the special combat group “Neuman”, which together with many militias, supported by artillery and aviation, launched a counterattack on the morning of September 24. During the counterattack, the Italian soldiers defending one side of the highway abandoned their positions and retreated. In order to protect the forces and the population from harm and in the face of the very large superiority of the Germans and their collaborators, the partisan command ordered a withdrawal. In the fighting, the Germans left about 100 killed and wounded, apart from the prisoners. (In the photo: Partisan battalions formed until July 1943.)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 2 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 1549.
Photo: © Central State Archives
Graphic processing: AHCF
