Part XXIII: The Diaspora Goes to War

November 1, 1940. London.

How did I ever defeat this man?

Occam's razor would probably put it down to blind luck. A broken clock is right twice a day after all, and Zog had made his share of mistakes in recent memory. If he'd failed to see the rebellion burgeoning in his own tribe, he probably failed to see the revolution coming in 1924.(1) Still, it had been one thing to look at Zog's competence from outside, ever since he had accepted the King's offer to become Prime Minister and lead the government in exile, he had a front row seat. Immediately upon his arrival in London Chatin Sarachi presented him with a gargantuan folder and proceeded to brief him on a litany of subjects, many of which were still a blur to him. One thing did stand out clear as crystal: despite all the rhetoric to the contrary, Zog had been planning this war for a long time and more than that was absolutely confident that he would emerge the victor. Why else would he throw his fortune into the fray in the way that he had? Tens of millions of dollars had probably already been invested and the war wasn't even half a year old at this point. Zog's detractors would of course point to his weapons factories and the fact that he'd used the newly nationalized Bank of Albania to pay back most of his pre-war expenditure but even those points showed a profound belief in not only his victory but that of his allies. After all, neither measure would have done him a lick of good if the Luftwaffe had succeeded in cowing Britain during the summer.

Of course, Zog had never put much stock in the mighty Luftwaffe, at least not in the Battle of Britain. Noli had been shocked to learn upon his arrival in London back in June that Zog regarded the entire aerial battle as superfluous as he believed the Royal Navy would be more than capable of repelling any German invaders. Even then, his predictions of the eventual British victory had been eerily close to reality as the RAF utilized its "homefield advantage" to the utmost. Of course, in comparison to his more recent "insights," betting on Britain in June 1940 seemed positively tame.

"Prime Minister Noli!"

Eden was, of course, beaming as he had been since the news of Operation Judgement reached him. Fan really could not blame him. The man had taken a rather large gamble by insisting that Zog's intelligence be taken seriously and it had paid off in a major way. The raid on Taranto was being hailed as a masterstroke in the finest Nelsonian fashion around the world and until the Italians repaired their battleships, the Mediterranean was no longer Italy's Mare Nostrum

"Secretary Eden." Still caught up in the ongoing mystery that was Ahmet Zogu, Noli had difficulty matching the Secretary of State's enthusiasm. Still, he was glad for the distraction. When he could put aside the astounding competence Zog had suddenly amassed in the last decade, he actually found himself enjoying being called "Prime Minister" again.

Not that personal enjoyment has anything to do with it…

"I just saw the latest photos of Zog! Excellent to see him up and about even if it's with a cane… I imagine our propaganda people in Alexandria are already having a field day with them."

Speaking of personal enjoyment…

If his personal enjoyment had at all been a factor Noli wouldn't even be here. It was one thing to reconcile himself to Zog and the Kingdom of Albania when he was living comfortably and completing his Ph.D. at Boston College while receiving an academic stipend from the man. (2) Zog paid the bills and Noli was free to choose whether or not and exactly how much he wanted to engage with the fact that the man who had deposed him in 1925 was now not only ruling over Albania but presiding over a true golden age in the midst of the Great Depression. If he was being honest with himself, he still struggled with being confronted with that reality on a daily basis. Under normal circumstances he would have been mildly unhappy, or at best indifferent, about Zog's recovery.

But these were not normal circumstances. Zog didn't ask him to serve based on their relationship. He asked Noli to do the best thing for Albania and Noli responded in a manner befitting the existential threat facing his countrymen. His work ethic and experience made him the best English-speaking Albanian politician no matter how much Konica (3) disagreed. The fact that Zog had managed to recruit both of them to represent him in London put his interests, and, more importantly, those of Albania as a whole, in good hands. Albania would need every advantage it could muster if it wanted to survive this war intact.

The ongoing war meant that the fact that Zog was recovering so quickly was an undoubted boon regardless of Noli's mixed feelings. They'd all feared the worst when news of his supposed death reached them and that fear had only slightly abated when Vehib Pasha reported about his injuries and provided photographic proof of his survival after being evacuated. Now though, with each passing day Zog gained not only strength with which to continue the fight but legitimacy. Here was a King who was willing to lay down his life for his people and who bore the scars to prove it.

"Every step he takes is one more blow to that Italian farce of a Regency."

Eden smirked "As if it needed another."

If only you knew… One of the aspects which made his new post as Prime Minister tolerable was the fact that the political evolution Zog had experienced over the past decade now meant that they were largely on the same side of most issues. As a result, many of the same reactionaries which had supported Zog's effort to drive him out of the country were now trying to remove him. He'd keep trying to convince Eden that there was more to the beys' defections than mere opportunism but so far only a handful of Englishmen truly understood. The propaganda would certainly help, but Zog would need far more support if he wanted to truly reshape the country.

"I'm not sure everyone would agree with you," Noli replied with a sigh "especially Prince Leka."

"Case in point. Leka's presence here makes the whole idea of a Regency a bit daft even if they can argue that he's here against his will and are ruling in his stead. The boy clearly adores his father and would never betray him or his legacy. Still I can sympathize. How's the boy doing?"

"Better now that he has another letter from his father and pictorial evidence that he's recovering quickly." Noli had delivered them himself only a few days earlier. Again, one of those odd developments of his new career. If someone tried to tell his past self that he'd eventually become a father figure to the son of Ahmed Zogu and the grandson of Shefqet Vërlaci he would have sent them to an insane asylum. Fortunately, the boy was defying his heritage to grow up rather well all things considered. Noli's regular trips up to Berwick had become welcome breaks from his duties here in London. Even Adile's harsh manner was beginning to grow on him.

"Understandable." Eden said as he gestured to the chair opposite Noli's desk "May we get started?"

Noli nodded and the two of them took their seats.

As usual, Eden spoke first. "Before we get started, I'm happy to report that our push to accelerate reinforcements to Malta is proceeding splendidly. I've been told that if all goes well forty ships will be docking there before the end of this year. The Navy's also taking a serious look at the proposal to station a surface contingent there to intercept Italian convoys. If and when the Germans arrive to bail out Mussolini, they should find quite the surprise waiting for them. At the very least, I think it's fair to say that Zog's investments have been sufficiently secured. At the very least they won't be going to waste and perhaps they might just turn the tide of the war in the Mediterranean."

"Let's hope so." It had taken Noli days to come to terms with the sheer scope of Zog's investment in Malta when he'd arrived in London. Somehow the man had figured out the British strategy before the Royal Navy and had not only anticipated the Island's needs but saw to it that they were met out of his own pocket before the war even started. On its own such a move would have been astonishing, but Zog built on it by sending FMSh construction crews to expand airfields and dig air-raid shelters, again with money drawn from his personal empire. If Zog was not spending even more on Albania, Noli might have protested, yet as it was, he was still trying to take in the scope of it all. He could only hope that all of these grand gestures would be repaid when the time came.

Speaking of which…

"I hope we will be able to come to a better understanding of what a proper return for those investments is today Secretary Eden."

Eden smiled and nodded "As do I, Prime Minister Noli. If it were up to me, I'd write you a blank cheque, but unfortunately, it's not and so we have to go through the motions. Still, I must emphasize again that these negotiations are largely a formality. Given what the Kingdom of Albania has already contributed and is currently contributing to the war effort in the Mediterranean, I have every confidence that the foundation for a long and prosperous relationship between our two nations has already been established."

"I sincerely hope you're right." Noli said as he pulled out the folder he'd had drawn up for this meeting. "If you'd like, let's get straight to the meat of the matter: funding for the Albanian forces in Egypt."

Eden nodded "Of course. Again, I must stress that we are still in uncharted territory. The situation with the Kingdom of Albania and Zog's expansive…resources. Is… unique… to say the least."

"I think it's fair to say that the Albanian Forces in Egypt are unique as well. Certainly, they are unique enough for them to merit similar treatment to the other units being raised by the Poles, Czechs, and Norwegians. Why should the nature of Zog's wealth merit different treatment than King Haakon?(4) If anything, Zog's willingness to mobilize his assets in a timely fashion should lead to even better treatment!"

"I understand and I agree to a point, but the Treasury…"

Perfidious Albion indeed… Noli tried to keep a straight face as Eden repeated the British position for what felt like the hundredth time. He understood the impulse well enough, Britain had been thrust into an incredibly costly war for its very survival and was hesitant to surrender funds unless it absolutely needed to. If he were in Eden's shoes, he would have probably agreed to do the same thing. He just wished that the whole process could be accelerated.

"Putting Malta aside for a moment. Can you name another formation equal to the First Albanian Motorized Infantry Brigade? Even in the British Army."

Eden shook his head. "I think it's important to note that it hasn't seen combat yet so there's no basis for comparison. I'm sure Vehib Pasha and Percy Hobart will work wonders yet again, but the men in Alexandria are fighting a different war and simply don't have the same training as the ones who drove the Italians back at Durres…"

You'd be surprised… Noli certainly was when he'd learned of the foundations Zog had laid in Alexandria long before the war. Over three years ago, Zog founded a shipping company under the guise of "diversification" and overseen not only the purchase of hundreds of 30 cwt trucks but the training of their drivers under the guise of "company events" and a mandatory vaccination program. Though the hiring of Vehib Pasha in 1936 and Percy Hobart following his "retirement" in 1940 raised eyebrows, nobody could quite make sense of it prior to the war. The best anyone could guess was that the entire organization was a kind of make work scheme for the Albanian diaspora and a few other hangers on. That had all changed in June 1940, as in the blink of an eye, the "Royal Albanian Shipping Company" became the core of the "Albanian Forces in Egypt." (5) Since then volunteers had been pouring in from Albanian communities around the world to flesh out the existing pre-war structure and provide reinforcements for when the casualties inevitably began to mount.

There was also the Royal Albanian Air Corps to consider as well. Given a few more years, Zog might have been able to field a squadron of fighters to beat back the Italian bombers, but in their absence, he'd managed to do the next best thing. The ground crews and the Ala Littoria aircraft they'd captured in June had already made an excellent name for themselves, not only at Malta but in setting up the ferry route from West Africa to Egypt. It had been a herculean task, but now aircraft were offloaded at Dakar and hopped across the Sahara from airbase to airbase until they got to Sudan and then flew north to Egypt. (6) The nucleus of fighter pilots Zog had trained before the war became the first to receive aircraft from this reinforcement route, pioneering a path that was now the backbone for the Desert Air Force's replacements. Though the fighter pilots themselves hadn't been seen much action so far, everything Noli heard suggested positive developments were forthcoming there as well.

"Still," Eden continue "I understand your point and I assure you His Majesty's Government is appreciative of the material aid Albania has been able to provide in Egypt and is willing to provide fair compensation."

"You must have a different meaning for 'fair' here in the United Kingdom." Noli scoffed.

Of course, it was all part of a show. Noli was no stranger to bartering and thus had no problem putting on a sense of fake indignation to secure a better deal. He was positive Eden was doing the same, albeit in a distinctly English way.

"I assure you we do not. His Majesty's Government is not, however, willing to subsidize poor business decisions."

And so it would continue for the next hour or so. Making things worse was the fact that both of them were just following orders. Neither side wanted to bankrupt the other, but both believed that the other would bilk them if given the slightest opportunity. Such was diplomacy in the Twentieth century.

"Will you at least acknowledge that King Zog's 'poor business decisions' dramatically improved General Wavell's transport situation overnight?" Given Wavell's position near the bottom rung for British reinforcements this achievement was hardly difficult, but still it had gone a long way towards winning the man's support even if he was still desperately short of the vehicles he needed.

"General Wavell has stated as much, and he is quite appreciative at General Pasha's willingness to cooperate by sharing the brigade's vehicles but…"

"Secretary Eden, do you really expect those vehicles that do manage to survive to be worth anything by the time this is all over?"

"The weapons…"

Noli grinned knowing that the change in subject signaled yet another point for him. "…Are all chambered in .303 British unlike the 6.5mm Carcano our army is using in Albania. The rest are all interchangeable with the types employed by the rest of Wavell's troops. Clearly, they were intended for service alongside your troops even if they are a bit obsolete. They should be good enough to serve until the current rifle crisis has abated. Especially when our GZ's arrive."

The P14 Enfield Rifle. In addition to being issued to the Home Guard, a few thousand were purchased by Zog as military surplus before the war and became the main battle of the 1st Albanian Motorized Infantry Brigade until 1941​

"That may be, and I certainly hope that your 'Fire Fists' are as effective as some of our boffins seem to think, but a refund is simply out of the question. Nor will we be considering anything similar for the arms and equipment from the Royal Egyptian Army. The irregularities in their acquisition alone…"

"Would you rather we give them back to Farouk?" Noli shot back with a grin. Long an admirer of Zog's, King Farouk of Egypt had been more than happy to use his influence to make the already notoriously unreliable Egyptian army's quartermasters look the other way for the right price. Officially, the machine guns, mortars, and a host of other military necessities were all "on loan" but that did little to disguise the fact that the Albanians had effectively purchased everything outright. The brigade was still short of artillery, and most of their equipment was just as obsolete as the P14 rifles Zog had purchased as military surplus, but Noli had been assured that it would be ready to take part in the coming offensive unlike the Egyptians who had been relegated to internal defense due to political unreliability.(7)

Eden sighed. "Look, I'll cut to the chase. Immediate refunds are out of the question, but I'm sure we can help recoup some of the costs another way, perhaps in post-war aid for economic recovery?"

Noli tried not to look relieved, he had been instructed to push for something exactly along those lines. If he could save himself a few hours of negotiating, by accepting Eden's attempt to kick the can down the road so much more the better. Hammering out the details and making sure the British could not renege on them would be an entirely different matter, if not an entirely unexpected one.

Notes

1. In OTL Noli was able to depose Zog drive him into exile in Yugoslavia in 1924.

2. See Part VIII.

3. Faik Konica, Albanian Minister in Washington D.C. to 1939. By all accounts an excellent orator and diplomat but also fond of only working for a few hours in the morning.

4. Haakon VII of Norway.

5. Percy Hobart, inventor of the infamous D-Day "Funnies," had a long and illustrious career in OTL which was derailed by his inability to get along with Wavell and other officers. In OTL he was forced to return to the UK following his dismissal and joined the Home Guard. In TTL, Zog offers him a more palatable alternative. As for the pre-war training exercises, something similar happened in OTL

6. Dakar going to the Free French means a more direct route for aerial reinforcements. In OTL planes were landed in Ghana.

7. While less capable than the SMLE in many ways, the P14 used the same ammunition and remained in use as a sharpshooter weapon during WWII.

November 9, 1940. Alexandria, Egypt.

Nëntoger (8) Sherafedin "Dine" Doshishti had been dreading this day from the moment Salih arrived in Caserta almost six months ago.(9) For the briefest moment he felt a pang of regret at his decision to go with him. Had he finished his semester and graduated as planned, he would have been in Italy when the war began. As a VIP, Mussolini probably would have sentenced him to house arrest and allowed him to sit out this blasted war in some Italian villa while simultaneously avoiding either disappointing his family or killing the brothers he'd gained through the Accademia Aeronautica.

You have no time for regrets in the sky… Stay in the moment. Stay alive. The voice of his instructor echoed in his mind causing him to push the distractions away and touched his aircraft's rudder ever so slightly to bring the lumbering Italian bomber into his sights. Though it was far from certain that one of his classmates was onboard, it was not a foregone conclusion either. Plenty of fighter pilots ended up flying bombers for one reason or another.

How many of my former so-called "brothers" bombed my home? How many are flying over England right now bombing my mother and sisters? How many even care? As much as he hated to admit it, he knew the answer. Somehow, he'd always known. That had been why he followed Salih. He might not have wanted this war, but he'd made his choice. He wouldn't have been able to live with himself if he had chosen to sit on the sidelines while Salih and Hysen(10) fought alongside Uncle Ahmet. As much as the thought of potentially killing his former classmates sickened him, the thought of not doing so and being branded a coward for life by the only group of people who truly knew him and cared about him kept him moving forward.

To its credit, the H-75 responded adequately. As he made his final approach, Dine pulled back on the throttle and couldn't help but crack a grin as the Hawk's R-1830 engine roared in response. At least we're not stuck in Gladiators any more…all the downsides of a bi-plane without any of the beauty and grace of the CR.32. The H-75 was not without its faults, but he'd take it and the additional speed over the Gladiator any day of the week. It was a far cry from the CR.32 he'd long imagined flying, more of a mass-produced brick rather than a work of fine craftsmanship, but it would do for now. The Desert Air Force's priority for reinforcements was still well below the rest of the RAF and the Royal Albanian Air Corps was even further down. They had been told to make do with what they had, even if that meant flying American planes with French controls and British Guns.(11)

The Curtiss H-75a Fajkua/Mohawk I purchased by the Royal Albanian Air Corps in June 1940 and used by No.325 Squadron until March 1941​

Puffs of smoke and the occasional tracer round shot out from the bombers in front as they came into range, but nothing hit his plane. More veterans from the Albanian front… he sneered inwardly. Rumors had been flying around the base that the Regia Aeronautica was focusing on Malta and Libya now that the Albanian campaign was over. Dine had his doubts, but couldn't say one way or the other. It did explain the sudden increase in air raids recently, but their number was hardly commensurate to what had been reported over Albania. Still, as he watched the gunners try and fail to land hits on their attackers he couldn't help but wonder and feel the same drive for vengeance that likely sparked the rumors in the first place.

As much as he was tempted to respond immediately, Dine continued to hold his fire and close all the while ironically noting that he was doing exactly what he'd been trained to do at the Accademia Aeronautica. Even with twice as many machine guns as the CR.32, he knew that he still needed as many hits as possible to bring down a bomber in a single pass. So instead he continued to press in, just like he had in so many training exercises only this time the bullets were real and the bomber in his sights wasn't pretending to be anything other than the S.M. 79 it was. As his aircraft began to shudder from the occasional impact of a heavy machine gun round, Dine felt a new appreciation for the H-75's ability to weather the storm far better than either the Gladiator or any Italian plane he knew of.

Let's see how they do when their targets can shoot back.

With a touch of his stick, Dine placed his gunsight just in front of the bomber's central engine and squeezed the trigger sending 4 deadly streams of .303 British out into the desert air. It wasn't the prettiest kill, but the telltale puff of fiery smoke from the engine and cockpit coupled with the bomber's sudden dive signaled that his rounds had done their job. As his aircraft cut through the formation his peripheral vision was filled with smoke and flame as his wingmen did the same.

So much for the bomber always getting through…

As he brought his plane around and scanned the sky for additional targets, Dine couldn't help but feel a hole in his heart where the elation from his first "kill" should be. Back in his bunk in Caserta he'd always imagined it happening as a part of a pitched turning dogfight over verdant forests. But that had been lifetime. Everything had been so simple then. He'd had his future all mapped out, he was on track to be one of the Kingdom of Albania's first fighter pilots, Albania was going to effectively become part of the Italian Empire, and he'd join his Italian "brothers" in their inevitable wars against Bolshevism. Now, instead of his first kill being some godless Slav, he'd probably just sentenced at least one of his classmates to burn to death alongside 5 other men.

The fact that probably have to kill plenty more of his former classmates made things even worse. If the increased Italian bombing attacks were a preamble to another general offensive towards Alexandria, the idle patrols he'd flown so far would probably be few and far between. Even if there was no offensive in the offing, he'd probably be put in this scenario again and again as his squadron had already been told that, due to their better aircraft, they were going to join the Hurricane squadrons at the front. Worse still, because he was the only one to complete his pilot training in Italy, he was the only one in the squadron to feel this way and his training meant that any attempt to shirk combat patrols would be very poorly looked upon. Somehow, he was going to have to find a way to deal with all of this, but right now he heeded to find the wherewithal to put on the right face for when he landed.

Notes

8. Second Lieutenant

9. Both Dine and Salih are from OTL, the youngest and oldest sons of Zog's eldest sister Adile respectively. In OTL Dine was educated as a pilot for the Royal Albanian Air Corps at Caserta while Salih was educated at St. Cyr. In TTL both are more motivated due to their uncle's example and the increased funding to the military.

10. Hysen Doshishti was the second son of Adile, all three of them went into exile with Zog in OTL.

11. See Part XXII for more details. In OTL all ex-French H-75 Hawks were initially earmarked for the Middle East, only to be delayed due to the need to change their gauges and throttles and weapons. Albanian training means that they only need to swap out the guns and thus can get them into action a bit faster.

(Excerpted from Xhelal Muça "Historia e Luftës së Dytë Botërore: Forcat Shqiptare në Egjipt (1936-1945)" 1967 English Trans. Elsie Roberts(12) 1984)

MAP

On December 2, 1940 General Wavell summoned Generals Platt, Legentilhomme, and Cunningham (13) to Cairo to report on the growing consensus regarding events in Italian East Africa. Given the Italian defensive posture since the failure of their attack on Loyada and heavy pressure from the Albanian government in Exile to draw Italian troops away from the occupation, any plans for offensives before the coming of the rainy season were to be delayed until the conclusion of the upcoming attack in the Western Desert. In the meantime, outside of rendering what aid they could to the Loyalist movement, Wavell instructed all three Generals to adopt a defensive posture and prepare for an offensive later in 1941.(14)

In addition to responding to political pressure from London for a grand offensive, Wavell's retention of the 4th Indian Division also reflected a growing concern about the arrival of Italian reinforcements. Having been largely neglected during the initial months of the war due to the unexpected nature of the Albanian campaign, Libya became Mussolini's focus after October 1940 and a steady stream of reinforcements had arrived prior to the reinforcement of Malta on November 10. Though the arrival of additional airpower and Force K reduced this flow to a trickle and most of these reinforcements remained around Tripoli and Benghazi, those that arrived freed up the forces already there to join Graziani in Egypt and threaten to transform long odds into impossible ones. By December 9, Graziani's small initial force east of the Egyptian border had been bolstered to the point that seven understrength Italian divisions now faced off against the British forces of one armoured division and four infantry brigades. (15) Even with the pending arrival of the 6th Australian division, to lose two elite brigades to a secondary theatre in such a situation seemed extremely foolish to most observers and the plan was promptly scrapped.

Wavell also seemed to possess a desire to expand Operation Compass beyond the 5-day offensive initially planned. Having conferred with Vehib Pasha about events in Albania, Wavell believed that Italian morale after a reverse was unlikely to be high and had no intention of giving them any respite if they displayed any signs of "cracking." He therefore ordered every possible preparation made to exploit any initial success to support an advance to the Egyptian border and beyond. "I do not entertain extravagant hopes of this operation,' he wrote, 'but I do wish to make certain that if a big opportunity occurs we are prepared morally, mentally, and administratively, to use it to the fullest." (16)

A mere three days after coordinating Operation Compass with actions in East Africa, General Wilson, in keeping with his maxim of "maximum preparation and minimal paper" sent his only written order to General O'Connor who in turn sent out formal orders on December 6. The concentration of forces for Operation COMPASS was to begin immediately with the movement of the 4th Indian division from Maaten Baggush to Bir Kenayis, forty miles out from Matruh along the Siwa track. On December 7, all troops were informed that this was not a second training exercise and that the assault would take place early on December 9.

To cover these early moves, the Desert Air Force in conjunction with bomber squadrons from Malta began an offensive against Italian airfields on the night of December 7 with a night attack on the airfield at Castel Benito by Tripoli which destroyed or damaged 29 aircraft. In the following days Blenheim and Bombay bombers took part in offensive operations against airfields in Cyrenaicia which destroyed a further 10 aircraft and caused significant confusion. Unbeknownst to the participants, these raids proved far more devastating than initially thought as not only were only 140 bombers and 191 fighters available to the Regia Aeronautica on December 7 instead of the 250 of both types estimated by British intelligence, but even those available were plagued by maintenance issues due to the absence of spare parts stockpiles in Libya.

With the Regia Aeronautica's strength largely paralyzed, the initial operations went smoothly. In the coastal sector a mixed force under the overall command of Brigadier A.R. Selby, centered around the 1st Albanian Motorized Infantry Brigade under Vehib Pasha and augmented by elements of the Matruh garrison moved out to Makila to ensure that the Italian forces there could not aid their comrades further inland. With the aid of Albanian strategic deception teams, the Selby force erected a brigade of dummy tanks to distract Italian ground attack aircraft while a nighttime bombardment from the British Monitor Terror further distracted from their assumption of positions south and east of Makila before the dawn of the 9th.(17)

Believing that the primary Allied attack was coming from the coastal road, Italian forces at Makila thus found themselves with no inclination to help the detachments in the Nibiewa or Tummars West camps especially as they also lacked adequate communications or transport. Caught completely by surprise, cut off from support, and overwhelmed by the combined arms tactics employed by the British, the Italian forces stationed at these camps were quickly overwhelmed before the end of December 9. Within the space of a few hours, the combined forces of the 7th Armoured Division and the 4th Indian Infantry Division had taken thousands of Italians prisoner and captured vast quantities of war materiel that would prove crucial in the coming days.

Though this news did not reach Selby until 3:20pm, at Vehib Pasha's urging Selby had already dispatched elements from the 1st Albanian Motorized Infantry Brigade to cut off any possibility of an Italian retreat from Makila. Despite the darkness and difficult terrain, Vehib Pasha's men were well trained and eager to prove themselves equal to their comrades in the pre-war Army and had barely managed to position themselves in time to block the retreat of the First Libyan Division. The resulting night engagement was confusing and disorganized, a stark contrast to the set piece battle at Durres, but it was a victory nonetheless, as Vehib Pasha's new command forced the 1st Libyan Division back to Makila. Once again, a communication breakdown inhibited perfect coordination between Selby Force and O'Connor, but the pinning of the 1st Libyan division nevertheless proved to be an unexpected boon as it allowed the latter's forces to complete their drive to Sidi Barrani on December 10 with minimal casualties.(18)

In addition to the efforts on the ground, the Royal Albanian Air Corps also contributed to the success of Operation Compass. Having been reorganized as No. 325 Squadron and fully acclimatized to the Curtiss H-75 Fajkua aircraft purchased from the French, the Albanian pilots responded admirably to their shift from defensive duties over Alexandria in support of the new offensive. As many of the Albanian pilots had also been trained in army cooperation, they quickly found themselves pressed into attacking the retreating Italian troops in addition to engaging Italian aircraft. Once again skilled Albanian ground crews proved vital as they adapted to 325 squadron's new roles by installing improvised bomb racks to aid in these missions while struggling with the herculean task of keeping the aircraft flying amidst the harsh conditions and intense operational tempo.(19)

Demoralized by British successes to its west, harried by continual air attacks, and now completely cut off from resupply, the 1st Libyan Division surrendered to Selby and Vehib Pasha on the morning of December 11. Before the end of the day the Second Libyan Division and 4th Blackshirt division had followed suit leaving Graziani with only the Cirene Division and a smattering of smaller formations to guard the Egyptian frontier. Between December 9 and 11 the Allied forces had captured no fewer than 38,300 Italian and Libyan prisoners, 237 guns, and 783 light and medium tanks. The total of captured vehicles was never recorded, but more than a thousand were counted. Total British casualties were 51 killed captured and missing and the First Albanian Motorized Infantry Brigade only suffered 14. In light of such a resounding success, Wavell gave O'Connor permission to continue with the aggressive pursuit towards Tobruk and Bardia he proposed.

Yet these successes came burdened with their own challenges as the capture of nearly twenty times the expected number of prisoners placed an extreme burden on an already tenuous logistical situation. Here again Albanian rear-echelon formations played a key role in repairing and pressing captured Italian vehicles and supplies into service to help address these growing needs. Albanian ingenuity and preparation also became increasingly valuable as the campaign demonstrated the superiority of the "Albican" to the smattering of other containers still used by the British Army to carry water and petrol which lost nearly 30% of their contents due to their use of inferior materials and construction techniques. Overnight, the large stockpile of Albicans Zog had stockpiled in Alexandria ceased to be a "White Elephant" as the long-awaited deal for their purchase was struck in London and they rapidly made their way to the front. (20)

Unfortunately, the men behind these vital logistical achievements were largely overshadowed by the subsequent events that their efforts made possible. This phenomenon proved to be particularly true among the Albanians as O'Connor, now convinced of the Albanian's fighting mettle due to their actions around Makila, accepted its suitability for mobile operations and sent it inland to support the 4th Armoured Brigade's effort to cut the road between Tobruk and Bardia which they did on December 14. The results proved even more spectacular than at Makila as Graziani's disorganized forces proved unable to reorganize themselves in time and found themselves in the same situation the 1st Libyan division had found themselves only a few days earlier: demoralized, cut off, and under continual aerial attack. Moreover, they also faced the determined advance of the 4th Indian division who pressed on to Bardia immediately after taking Sollum on December 14. The Italian defenses at Bardia collapsed five days later following a series of attacks from the 4th Indian Division supported by the Royal Navy. By December 19 they captured 40,000 men and officers, over 400 guns, 13 medium and 117 light tanks—many of them serviceable-- several hundred motor vehicles, and many documents of immediate value. (21)

Once again, Allied rear echelon formations were called to undertake herculean efforts to support the continued advance. This time they were aided by the port facilities at Sollum and Bardia which, while small, nevertheless played a vital role in supplementing the movement of supplies from Egypt via road convoys to the rapidly advancing forces of the Western Desert Force now reorganized as the XIII Corps. Unfortunately for their quartermasters, the pace of the advance only intensified as even before the collapse of Bardia, Wavell and O'Connor had agreed to press on to Tobruk as it was hoped that the addition of the more sizeable port facilities there would facilitate the deployment of the 6th Australian division. On the morning of December 19, before all resistance at Bardia had ceased, the 6th Armoured Brigade was on the move westward to El Adem. The next day it was operating to cut off Tobruk while advance elements of the 1st Albanian Motorized Infantry Brigade gained touch with the eastern defenses. The 7th Indian Brigade came up on its left while the 4th Armoured Brigade extended the investing line to the west, with the Support Group blocking the western exits and 7th Armoured Brigade operating farther west still.

The speed of the Allied advance, coupled with the capture of El Adem, the principal airfield and repair depot in Cyrenacia, meant that it largely went unopposed from the Regia Aeronautica. Fearing yet another coup, the Italians abandoned their airfield at Derna on December 20, forcing their detachments to operate from Maraua, nearly twice as far away. The same could not be said of the Desert Air Force which rapidly moved forward, basing aircraft at Sollum, Bardia, and Gambut to support the attack on Tobruk. When coupled with poor Italian communications, the relative distances between their respective forces guaranteed continued Allied air superiority. This in turn led many fighter squadrons, No. 325 among them, to turn to army cooperation duties in the absence of any serious aerial opposition which caused the Italian position to further deteriorate.

However, due to the logistical need to capture the port of Tobruk intact and its more established defenses, Wavell opted to delay the attack until sufficient artillery and ammunition could be brought to the front and the backlog of Italian prisoners dealt with. This respite also proved to be vital for the exhausted men of the 7th Armoured Division and 1st Albanian Motorized Infantry Brigade and their vehicles which had been worn down by the harsh climate and intense operational tempo. Over the next two weeks, Albanian rear echelon troops worked to establish new depots closer to Tobruk while preparations for the attack and subsequent advance were undertaken. In light of the Albanians' superior mobility they were once again tasked with supporting the 7th Armoured Division's advance to Derna and Mechili while the attack on Tobruk was assigned to General Beresford-Pierse and the 7th Indian brigade. In the meantime, the Desert Air Force continued to wreak havoc on the defenders in addition to Wellington bombers from Malta who were freed from their usual duties in the Adriatic by a stretch of bad weather.

As a result, the Italian defenders found themselves in no position to adequately resist the attack on January 5. At 5:40am the 7th Indian Brigade began its assault with heavy artillery support while the engineers cleared mines and boobytraps to make a path for 16 "Matilda" infantry tanks. Within an hour they had punched a hole a mile wide in the Italian defenses through which poured the rest of the troops assigned to the attack. Italian resistance collapsed the next day with the surrender of 25,000 prisoners (including 2,000 sailors), 208 field and medium guns and 87 tanks, the total casualties in XIII Corps were just over 400. Arrangements had been made to take over the installations as rapidly as possible, and it was a great relief to find that the demolitions had been confined chiefly to guns and ammunition. In the harbour the San Giorgio was beached and burning, and there were many other wrecks. A naval fuel plant had been destroyed and the floating crane sunk. The jetties were damaged but usable; the power-station was in working order, with 4,000 tons of coal; there was a complete bulk petrol storage installation; a refrigeration plant and a distillation plant were undamaged; and 10,000 tons of stored water were found. The Inshore Squadron began at once its task of sweeping for mines and on the morning of January 8 the harbour was ready to receive shipping. (22)

By that point, the 7th Armoured Division, supported by the First Albanian Motorized Infantry Brigade had already begun preparations to drive the Italians completely out of Cyrenaica. With considerable support from the Desert Air Force, having once again moved forward to airbases near Tobruk, advance units had already begun to engage Italian forward positions around Derna and Mechili. Sensing an opportunity to defeat the Italians in detail by exploiting the distance between their two positions, O'Connor ordered the 4th Indian division to continue advancing along the coast to Derna while the Albanians focused on supporting the attack on Mechili. The results continued to justify O'Connor's confidence in Vehib Pasha and his forces as the mobile Albanian infantry played a critical role in defeating the Italian force at Mechili on January 10 despite it being spearheaded by a brigade of medium tanks. When combined with the efforts of the Long Range Desert Force, rumors of Algeria defecting to the Free French, and the rapidly deteriorating position of the Regia Aeronautica in Libya, the defeat at Mechili prompted Balbo to remove Graziani, take direct control of the Italian forces, and withdraw from Cyrenacia entirely in order to preserve Italian control over Tripolitania. (23)

Unfortunately for Balbo, his efforts to salvage the situation were completely undermined by O'Connor's relentless advance. Despite the increased strain on the men and vehicles of the 7th Armoured Division and Albanian Motorized Infantry Brigade, O'Connor continued to push forward from Mechili to cut off any avenue of retreat by advancing to the sea via Msus. After allowing for a brief period to build up the requisite logistical force, O'Connor began his advance on January 17 while the 4th Indian division continued to press towards Benghazi along the coast. Despite the rough terrain, advance elements of the 7th Armoured Division reached Msus by dawn on the 18 and continued to push forward to cut the Via Balbia with Vehib Pasha's men following shortly behind. Unlike their earlier encirclements of Italian troops which had been largely bloodless, this time the Albanians found themselves facing a pitched battle as the Italians attempted to break out at Breda Fomm.

Referred to as Beteja e Puçrra (24) by the Albanian veterans, due to the small hill where Vehib Pasha established his initial position, The Battle of Breda Fomm once again proved the value of motorized infantry. As they had at Mechili, the Albanians played a crucial role by supporting the 7th Armoured Division's remaining tanks in stopping an Italian breakout during the pitched two-day battle. Without them it is unlikely that O'Connor would have had the strength to maintain control of the vital high ground and thus dominate the battle so completely. As it was, the Albanians fearlessly threw themselves into the fray, repelling attack after attack with an unsurpassed ferocity. By 9pm on January 20, the Italian position had grown truly untenable as they found themselves unable to break through to the south and facing the advancing 4th Indian division to the north. Albanian cheers resounded through the desert air as white flags began to appear to signal the end to the fighting. The battlefield was an astonishing scene of wreckage and confusion, thirty kilometers of lorries, guns, and tanks in abandoned jumble. Everywhere were herds of prisoners, reckoned at 25,000, amongst them the mortally wounded General Tellera, commander of the 10th Army, his entire staff, and General Bergonzoli, commander of the 23rd Corps, who, having long avoided capture, surrendered at last to the Albanians. More than 100 medium tanks and well over 100 guns were destroyed or captured. The success of the plan to cut off the 10th Army, as it retreated from Cyrenaica, could not have been more complete; hardly a man or a vehicle escaped. (25)

The campaign which began at Nibeiwa and Sidi Barrani and ended seven weeks later at Beda Fomm was the first in which two modern armies, with comparable airforces, had met and fought over undeveloped country. The result exceeded all expectations. An Allied force of never more than two divisions, advanced 500 strenuous miles and totally destroyed an army of ten divisions, for a loss of 400 killed, 1,253 wounded, and 45 missing. The captures were 130,000 prisoners; 180 medium tanks and more than 200 light; and 845 guns of the size of field guns and above. The 5th Squadra, Italo Balbo's pride and joy, whose first line strength early in December was about 38o aircraft, also suffered crippling losses. Apart from the wrecks of the many aircraft destroyed by the continual attacks of the Desert Air Force, 91 aircraft were abandoned intact on the enemy's main airfields. To these losses must be added those aircraft destroyed in combat, shown by the Italian records to have been 58 of all types. In fact, the 5th Squadra was so completely mastered by the Allies that it made no effective contribution to the campaign despite a continued stream of reinforcements. In the confusion of constant withdrawals the ground organizations were quite unable to deal with the aircraft already in the country, so that the reinforcements achieved very little, and in the final stages the retreating army was left practically without air support.

In stark contrast to the Italians, the Operation Compass was an unmitigated success for Vehib Pasha and the Albanian Forces in Egypt. Having struggled with nearly six months of British doubts over their loyalty and effectiveness, by January 20, the First Albanian Motorized Infantry Brigade had been transformed in their allies' eyes from a "glorified transport section" into an elite unit as had No. 325 Squadron. Similarly, Vehib Pasha had once again risen to the occasion and risen from an unwanted exile to become O'Connor's most capable subordinate. Thus, before the dust of Breda Fomm had even cleared, O'Connor agreed with Vehib Pasha's proposal to take El Aghiela and begin digging in to preserve their hard-fought gains while Wavell consolidated the Allies' newfound control over Cyrenaica. In order to maintain a force this far forward, immediate action was undertaken to make use of the port at Benghazi. Though there was some concern that Italian or potential German air raids would make this feat impossible, the first ships were offloaded on January 24 and the disorganization of the Regia Aeronautica prevented them from effectively inhibiting British use of the port for several weeks until the arrival of Fliegerkorps X later in February. (26)

With the exhausted, but fanatical Albanians guarding the front, the remainder of the XIII Corps was replaced by the Anzac Corps under Thomas Blamey, consisting of the Australian 6th Division, the New Zealand 2nd Division, and the Second Armoured Division under none other than Vehib Pasha's friend and advisor: Percy Hobart. (27) This turn of events created one of the more touching moments of the conflict as Blamey personally accompanied Maj. Gen. Bernard Freyberg and the 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade to relieve the Albanians a month later. Accompanied by press, Blamey and Freyberg personally congratulated Vehib Pasha for his role in the previous campaign and his efforts to dig in at El Aghiela. Noting that Vehib Pasha was also a veteran of the Gallipoli campaign like himself and Freyberg, Blamey famously remarked that "It's wonderful to have you on our side this time. Given everything that's happened, I'll take you over the Italians any day of the week." When coupled with the achievements of the Albanian Forces in Egypt, the optics of former foes taking arms together against Fascist tyranny proved to be too much for the press to ignore and attracted worldwide attention. This attention particularly impactful in America where the facts that almost 30% of the Albanian Forces in Egypt were Albanian-American and included a pair of Zog's nephews was mobilized by Zog's former business partner Columbus Marion "Dad" Joiner to push for not only fundraising but interventionism as well. News of the Albanian Forces in Egypt's success also reached Albania proper initially through rumors and then through leaflets where it played a significant role in buoying morale while Zog was recovering from his injuries…

Notes

12. An ATL figure and of course a tribute to Robert Elsie, the translator of so many Albanian works into English.

13. General Alan Cunningham, commander of the British forces in Kenya.

14. In OTL Wavell agreed to transfer two brigades from the 4th Indian division to support efforts in East Africa and followed through on December 11. Here, a less aggressive Italian force in East Africa coupled with a stronger Free France reduces the need for an early offensive and allows Zog's push for an offensive in Libya to be effective.

15. Basically, Italian forces start the campaign in TTL weaker than OTL due to Albania, however no Greek Campaign means that they are bolstered by the Libyan ports operating at peak capacity in October and early November to around OTL levels. Part XXIV will cover this phenomenon along with the arrival of Force K and massive reinforcements to Malta.

16. OTL Wavell Quote

17. Even though the Albanians are more suited to desert warfare, I think concerns about their loyalty and effectiveness would prevent them from being used in the Battle of the Camps, thus they are included with the blocking force.

18. In OTL the British forces at Makila had far fewer men and trucks and thus were unable to prevent the escape of the 1st Libyan Division.

19. Albanian for Falcon/Hawk. Also in OTL the French aircraft were not equipped with bomb racks thus requiring the Albanians to improvise bomb racks.

20. The British did purchase substantial numbers of Albicans in TTL, however the prioritization of the BEF meant that most of them were lost at Dunkirk. Fortunately Jack's foresight comes through again.

21. Changes start to mount, in OTL the withdrawal of the 5th and 7th Indian brigades led to a substantial pause in the offensive which allowed Graziani to reorganize. In TTL not only do the British not have to send the Indians to East Africa and Bring the Australians up to replace them, but they have several hundred more trucks, 30% more fuel and water due to Albicans, and an Albanian Motorized Infantry Brigade. As a result they're able to keep going after taking Sidi Barani and take Bardia far faster and with fewer casualties than OTL. Also due to the delayed Greek campaign, there's no need for the Battleships to sortie north and so they are available to help with Compass.

22. Even with the advantages of TTL, O'Connor is still restrained by logistical realities. The need to bring supplies up and transport prisoners means that it takes about the same number of days to move from Bardia to Tobruk in TTL as it did in OTL.

23. In OTL the Italians managed to escape at Mechili. In TTL they're not as lucky due to the Albanians providing mobile infantry support.

24. "Battle of the Pimple"

25. Basically TTL's battle is earlier and a bit more one-sided for the Allies.

26. More on the Germans in the Mediterranean will be coming in subsequent updates. In TTL the Albanian campaign, while an embarrassment, is not as catastrophic as Greece so Germany does not begin to intervene in October. Rather in TTL, it looks like Italy has things reasonably under control until December 11 (despite mounting concerns after the Taranto Raid), after which the Germans rapidly jump into action. Also, it is worth noting that Malta is in much better shape than OTL and will receive more German attention as a result.

27. Hobart's presence with the Albanians plays a key role in their successful integration into Wavell's offensive and goes a long way towards restoring his relationships and reputation in the region. As a result, when the commander of the 2nd Armoured, Maj. Gen. Tilly, dies in a plane crash, Hobart is picked to replace him.