ITALIAN MOVEMENTS IN ALBANIA—CONQUEST OF MONTENEGRO

While the French and British were strengthening their position in Saloniki in every possible way, the Italians were beginning a movement which was to have some influence in the Balkans.

Already, a year before, Italy had landed a small containing force in Avlona, Albania, on the Adriatic coast, because Greece had previously occupied a section of southern Albania, contiguous to her frontier. Albania, it will be remembered, had been declared an independent nation after the Balkan wars and William of Wied had been appointed its sovereign, by the consent of the Powers. But so turbulent had his subjects been that finally, when an uprising threatened his life, he fled on a foreign warship. The leader of the Albanians, in so far as they could be brought to respect any one general leader, was Essad Pasha, the Albanian commander at Scutari, who had defended that place so long and so valiantly against the attacks of the Montenegrins during the First Balkan War.

Already in the latter days of November there had been rumors that Italy was landing an army of considerable size in Avlona, to assist the Serbians. This could easily be done without attracting much attention, as this town, often described as the "Gibraltar of the Adriatic," is not more than fifty or sixty miles from the Italian coast and can be reached by steamer in a few hours. Its occupation by an enemy would be highly undesirable, from the point of view of Italian interests. Baron Sonnino, the Italian prime minister, made a speech in which he declared that Italy was determined to do everything to assist the Serbian army, and that the Italian flag on the other side of the Adriatic would also constitute a reaffirmation of Italy's traditional policy, which included the maintenance of Albanian independence.

By the end of the first week of December, 1915, an army of 50,000 had been landed. With part of this force Italy occupied Durazzo on December 21, 1915, joining up there with Essad Pasha, who had declared himself against Austria. A few days later this chief, in the name of the Albanian nation, declared war on Austria.

Meanwhile, the Austrian warships had become very active along the coast; in December their activities culminated in an attempt to bombard Durazzo, whereupon they were engaged by some Italian, French, and British ships and compelled to retire, with the loss of two destroyers.

Thus, at the beginning of the year 1916, a period of comparative quiet seemed to be settling down over the Balkans, with one exception. And that exception was Montenegro. Austria was now prepared to turn her full attention to this little state, whose soldiers had invaded her territory several times, during the Serbian campaign at the very beginning of the war, and now again, when the final invasion had been undertaken.

Little was heard of Montenegro in the press dispatches, but she had thrown the full strength of her little army into the field against the Austro-German invaders. Before the Balkan wars her fighting men had numbered some forty thousand, but by this time they were reduced to something less than twenty thousand. They were short of artillery and munitions, short of all kinds of supplies, even food, but it was a difficult task for the Allies to offer them any material relief. Montenegro is unserved by any seaport and even the Italians who had landed at Avlona did not hope to establish any communication with them through the mountainous country intervening.

The one topographical feature of Montenegro that must be especially noted is a mountain which rises abruptly, dominating the surrounding Austrian territory along the coast, more especially the seaport and naval station, Cattaro. The importance of this eminence, Mount Lovcen, would have been paramount, had it been properly equipped for offensive action.

For Cattaro is a natural harbor of the first order, capable of accommodating the whole Austrian fleet. The barracks at Cattaro are plainly visible from the top of Mount Lovcen, but to bring guns of a large enough caliber up there to reach those barracks was practically impossible, on account of the rugged nature of the surrounding country.

During the ten weeks the fourth and final invasion of Serbia was running its course, the warriors of the Black Mountains were engaged in giving their kinsmen, the Serbians, their full support. Indeed, the Montenegrin army, though it amounted only to a few regiments, had held a slice of Bosnia for some time, formed the left flank of the whole Serbian position and did good service during the earlier stages of the conflict, being opposed to the Austrian lines around Fotcha and on the Lim, a branch of the Drina.

But the Austrians along this part of the front were satisfied merely to hold the Montenegrins back, not a very difficult task, considering their numbers. On the other hand, any attempt to advance into their mountainous country would have been an extremely arduous undertaking, entirely out of proportion to the importance of the Montenegrin forces, from a military point of view.

When Serbia had finally been overrun, Mackensen withdrew his Germans and also some of the Austrians, these being sent north up to the Russian front, where there seemed danger of renewed activities on the part of the czar's forces. Especially threatening were the rumors that the Russians were about to make a descent on Bulgaria through Rumania, or across the Black Sea.

The Austrians along the Montenegrin front, however, remained where they were and presently they were strongly reenforced, for Austria was determined on the permanent elimination of Montenegro, as she had been determined on putting an end to the Serbian nation. Nor was this impossible, in spite of the mountainous nature of the country, if only the invaders were provided with heavy enough guns. What could be done in Serbia could also be done in Montenegro.

As far back as the middle of November, 1915, it was announced in the dispatches from Rome that Austria was assembling a force of three army corps in Herzegovina to attack Montenegro from that side. There was also available the Austrian troops already in Serbia on the eastern frontier of Montenegro, to say nothing of the Bulgarians, who so far assisted the Austrians as to take Djakova, on December 3, 1915. The whole expedition was put under the command of Von KÖvess, shortly after the fall of Mitrovitza.

King Nicholas was not ignorant of what was coming. At the end of November, 1915, after Serbia's last resistance had been overcome, he issued a proclamation to his people in which he said that Montenegro would continue the fight to the bitter end, even though it was probable that she would share the fate of Serbia. The Allies, he went on to state, would make every effort to keep, not only the army, but the people as well, supplied with all that was needed to live and to resist the enemy. Supplies had always been a hard problem in that poverty-stricken little land and when the Serbian refugees began flocking in, it became an insoluble problem, unless with help from outside, which was not always forthcoming.

It was obvious that, in spite of the fact that they had assisted in a successful invasion of Serbia, the Austrians, now that they were by themselves again, were not so confident of overcoming even the Montenegrins that they could afford to undertake the campaign impulsively, for during the whole month of December, 1915, they did not press the campaign on the Montenegrin front. During this period and the first week of January, 1916, they were satisfied with more or less holding their lines, though they did advance some distance on the eastern, or Sanjak, front, capturing Plevlie, Ipek, and Bielopolie. But, as an offset to this success, the Montenegrins scored at least one victory of considerable magnitude. On December 1, 1915, the Montenegrin forces operating in southeastern Bosnia defeated the Austrians near Foca, on the Drina, seven miles across the Drina, forcing the enemy to retreat along the river toward Gorazda. A few days later the Austrians retaliated by sending an aeroplane flying over Cettinje, which dropped a number of bombs on that small city. Other aeroplanes, flying over the Montenegrin encampments, dropped circulars stating that all Serbia had been conquered, and if Montenegro made any further resistance, she would suffer the same fate. Toward the end of the month the Austrians began a heavy bombardment of Mount Lovcen and launched a strong infantry attack against it, but were repelled with considerable losses.

On December 23, 1915, the Montenegrin Government reported having inflicted a reverse on the Austrians advancing from the east. The Austrians bombarded violently in the Mojkovac sector, then attacked Touriak, in the direction of Rozai-Berane, but were thrown back. At Berane the Montenegrins assumed the offensive for a brief space, and at Bielo they drove the enemy troops back as far as Ivania.

However, these were all minor operations and the successes of the Montenegrins were not of a permanent nature. Apparently the Austrians were all this time strengthening their lines and arranging their forces for the general offensive, which they were ready to begin early in January, 1916.

On January 6, 1916, KÖvess began decisive operations with a series of violent attacks on the eastern front, on the Rivers Tara, Lim, and Ibar, while at the same time the warships in the Gulf of Cattaro opened a terrific fire on Mount Lovcen.

For four days the Montenegrin troops offered a determined resistance. Berane, on the Lim, was captured by the Austrians on the 10th. On the same day the warships suddenly ceased their bombardment of Mount Lovcen and Austrian infantry swept up the mountain sides and delivered a strong attack. The handful of Montenegrins at the top were completely overwhelmed and Lovcen was captured. Some surprise was expressed among the Allies at the time that this supposedly powerful stronghold should so easily succumb, but it soon developed that the defenders were not only short of food, but they had run out of ammunition and had practically fired their last cartridges.

With Lovcen in the hands of the enemy Cettinje could no longer be held by the Montenegrins, and on January 13, 1916, it was occupied by the Austrians. The back of the Montenegrin resistance had now been broken.

On January 17, 1916, it was announced in the Austrian Parliament by Count Tisza that the Montenegrin Government had sued for terms of peace. Montenegro's official version of this sudden surrender was given in a note by the Montenegrin Consul General in Paris:

"The newspapers announce that unhappy Montenegro has had to submit to the inevitable after having struggled heroically under particularly disadvantageous conditions against an enemy much superior in number and formidably armed. It may be considered as certain that if the king and the Government have yielded it is because the army had expended the last of its munitions.

"Even flight was impossible. The enemy was on the frontiers; there was no escape by the sea; inveterate hostility was to be encountered in Albania. If the Serbian army was able to escape from Serbia, the weak contingents of Montenegro, exhausted by the superhuman efforts of their long and desperate, but effective resistance, and by privations of all kinds, were not able to seek refuge on friendly territory. It is possible to discuss ad infinitum the conditions of the suspension of hostilities, the details of which, it is to be observed, come from enemy sources; it is even possible to heap insults on the unfortunate conquered...."

The question immediately raised in the British and French newspapers was: who opened negotiations with the enemy—the king or his minister? MÏuskovitch, who was frankly in favor of the Austrians, had become premier at a critical moment in Montenegro's fate and negotiations were undoubtedly proceeding while the fighting on Mount Lovcen was still in progress. It was said that this was well known to the troops in the field, and in consequence they had not made so determined a resistance as they might otherwise have done. Meanwhile throughout Germany and Austria celebrations of the great victory were going on and a Vienna paper published what purported to be the terms that were to be granted the conquered Montenegrins, harsh in the extreme. It was even indicated that the Montenegrin soldiers must all serve with the Austrians on the Italian front. And next there was a strange silence, a period during which no mention at all was made of Montenegrins, as to whether they had accepted the terms or not.

Meanwhile among the Allies, who had not expected that Montenegro would give in so quickly, there was much criticism of the little state's surrender. It was suggested that it had been inspired for dynastic reasons, by a pro-Austrian section of the court. It was even asserted that King Nicholas had secretly come to terms with Austria before the fall of Mount Lovcen and that the resistance put up by the Montenegrins was unreal and of a purely theatrical character. It was recalled that the wife of the Montenegrin Crown Prince was a German princess. It was said that a compact was in existence, and had been in existence for several months, by which Montenegro agreed to hand Mount Lovcen over to the Austrians in return for Scutari.

These speculations were finally terminated by an official statement issued by Sir J. Roper Parkington, the Consul General for Montenegro in London, in which he said that the king and the Government of Montenegro had peremptorily refused the conditions of peace offered them by Austria and that Montenegro would continue the struggle to the bitter end. The announcement made by the Austrian Government that the Montenegrins had already laid down their arms seemed, therefore, to have been without foundation. This communiquÉ also stated that all the reports issued by the Austrians had been in large part untrue.

"King Nicholas," continued this official announcement, "remains with his two sons at the head of his troops, to organize a final defense, and to take part, in case of necessity, in the retreat of his brave army. His majesty expresses the hope that the Allies will eventually afford him effectual assistance for the retreat, as they have already done for the Serbian army." In the fourth week in January, 1916, the Montenegrin premier, M. MÏuskovitch, issued a note admitting there had been negotiations with Austria, but asserted that they had been merely a pretext to gain time, to insure the safe retreat of the army toward Podgoritza and Scutari, as well as to give opportunity to the Serbian troops to leave Podgoritza and Scutari for Alessio and Durazzo in Albania.

On January 23, 1916, old King Nicholas appeared in Rome, where he was met by his son-in-law, the King of Italy, and from thence he went on to Lyons, in France, where his queen had preceded him and where, by the courtesy of the French Government, the capital of Montenegro was temporarily established.

At this time the Austrian Government had continued issuing reports to the effect that the Montenegrin soldiers were laying down their arms, but this seems to have been only partly true. Though many of them were captured, a much greater number joined the Serbians in Albania, where they made a juncture with the forces under Essad Pasha.

The Austrians, however, continued their advance, occupying Scutari on the 23d and San Giovanni di Medua on the 25th. Thus Montenegro itself was finally overrun.

But this little country, the poorest in Europe, offered the Austrians very little reward for their enterprise.

An Austrian journalist, accompanying the invading forces when they took possession of the king's palace in Cettinje, described the interior decorations as follows:

"In the reception room two great oil paintings occupied the positions of honor. One was that of the Emperor of Austria and the other was that of the Queen of Hungary. In the king's study, on one of the writing tables, there was a portrait of Francis Joseph and in other rooms we also came across his picture."

On the whole, Montenegro had not made the desperate resistance which its reputation for hard fighting had led people to believe it would put up. This partial failure was explained by M. MÏuskovitch, who declared that when Montenegro entered the war on the side of the Allies she had been promised everything necessary for the army and also for the civil population, because even in normal times they import wheat. Russia and France were to have sent supplies, but this promise could not be carried out. They had done the best they could with the materials on hand, but without ammunition they could not be expected to fight.

The Montenegrins, said the premier, had been given the task of protecting the rear of the Serbian army and they had defended the Sandjak frontier so successfully that on this side the Serbians had had time to retire. But when the Serbians were obliged to fall back on Montenegrin territory, their arrival precipitated events. The Montenegrins had still some supplies, but with 120,000 to 130,000 additional mouths to feed, these were soon exhausted. On many occasions the Montenegrin soldiers did not receive rations for a whole week and when they did, each ration only amounted to half a pound of corn flour a day.

After escaping, King Nicholas sent the following letter to General Vukovitch:

"I order you anew to resist the enemy in the most energetic way possible. In the event of a retreat, follow the direction of the Serbian army toward Durazzo. The Serbian commanders have been informed of this. You will receive food supplies at Medua and farther on.

"Prince Mirko and all the other ministers who have remained cannot in any case open negotiations with anyone whatever. The French Government has promised our retreating army all possible facilities, such as it gave to the Serbian army. Prince Mirko and the other ministers must in no case remain, but make every possible effort to escape."

Having completed their invasion of Montenegro, the Austrians now began to continue their advance over into Albania. On January 26, 1916, they reached San Giovanni di Medua, a seaport in northern Albania. At the same time Essad Pasha at Durazzo reported that he was being threatened by an Austrian and Bulgarian column marching northwest from Berat, while still another column was heading toward the Italian forces in Avlona. Meanwhile all haste was being made in getting the Serbians safely out of Albania and transporting them to Corfu, the Greek island lying south of Avlona, in the Adriatic, which the Allies had occupied under the protest of the Greek Government. This undertaking was much facilitated by an improvement in the weather, which until then had been very severe, and by the construction of bridges across the rivers by a force of British engineers. Depots of provisions were also established along all the roads by which the refugees were straggling in toward the coast. The few guns, limbers, and munitions which these fragments of the Serbian army had brought with them were transported to Brindisi. At about the same time that the Austrians occupied San Giovanni di Medua, a Bulgarian detachment had occupied Dibra, in southern Albania, just above the Greek frontier and not far from Lake Ochrida and Monastir.

On February 10, 1916, the last of the Serbian soldiers had been taken out of Albania. In spite of the attempt made by Austrian ships and submarines, involving several minor naval engagements with the ships of the Allies, the embarkations had been going on at the rate of from eight to ten thousand men a day. In Corfu alone, 75,000 had been landed; others were taken to Bizerta, the French naval port in Tunis, and some had been sent to Italy. On this date Dr. Vesnitch, the Serbian minister in Paris, made the following statement:

"One hope still illumines the night of invaded Serbia; her avenging army. At present that army numbers more than 100,000 men. It can be confidently stated that it will be increased to 150,000."

On February 11, 1916, the Austrians had advanced within a few miles of Durazzo and on the following day occupied the Tirana heights, between Breza and Bazar Siak, Breza being about twelve miles northeast of Durazzo and Bazar Siak about halfway between these two towns. Two days later the Italian forces advanced against this Austrian column and delivered a strong attack, which was repulsed by the Austrians, according to Vienna dispatches. Meanwhile the Bulgarians were occupying Fieri, about sixteen miles from Avlona, and claimed that they had taken possession of a third of southern Albania. A day or two later the Austrian and Bulgarian columns operating in central Albania made a junction and occupied Elbassan, thirty-eight miles southeast of Durazzo.

The enemy was, in fact, closing in on Durazzo. On February 25, 1916, the Austro-Bulgarian forces had driven the Italians to the isthmus west of the Durs lakes and the Austrian artillery began to open fire on Durazzo itself. At daybreak the next morning the Austrians closed in and the Italians and Albanians under Essad Pasha were finally, after a spirited resistance, driven back from their positions at Bazar Siak. Soon afterward the Italians on the southern bank of the lower Arzen were forced to abandon their positions. The Austrians crossed the river and proceeded southward.

At noon a decisive action east of Bazar Siak drove the Italians from their positions. The same fate was suffered by the defenders of Sasso Blanco, six miles east of Durazzo. By evening the entire outer circle of defenses had been taken. The Austrians, advancing to the inner line positions, observed that the Italians were embarking on their ships.

They were now able to reach the docks with their artillery, and attempted to hinder the retirement of the Italians with a heavy shell fire and succeeded in inflicting some damage to some of the ships. But by the following morning the Italians had made good their escape, and with them went Essad Pasha and his Albanian troops.

On February 28, 1916, the Austrian Government issued a full report on the campaign in Albania which had culminated in that section in the capture of Durazzo:

"The Austrian troops have captured Durazzo. During the forenoon one column, under the fire of the Italians, advanced across the northern isthmus to Portos, four miles north of Durazzo. Our troops advancing across the southern isthmus were hindered at the beginning by the fire of the Italian artillery, but toward night numerous detachments, by wading, swimming, and floating, reached the bridge east of Durazzo, driving back the Italian rear guard. At dawn an Austrian battalion entered the burning town."

The spoils were, according to the report, twenty-three cannon, including six big coast defense guns, 10,000 rifles, and a large amount of artillery ammunition and provisions.

The Italian version was:

"After our ships had silenced the enemy batteries and swept the coast and near-by roads of their fire, all the Italian troops which were sent temporarily to Durazzo to cover the evacuation of the Serbians, Montenegrins, and Albanians, reembarked without incident and were transported to Avlona, notwithstanding the bad weather which still prevails in the lower Adriatic. War material which was still serviceable was also taken aboard the ships and the damaged supplies were either rendered useless or destroyed."

Thus, by the first of March the Austro-Bulgarian forces had almost completed their conquest of Albania, the only important point still in the hands of the Italians being Avlona. At this point, however, the Italians had made longer and bigger preparations for defense, besides which they were here in far greater numbers, estimated at from 50,000 to 120,000.[Back to Contents]