Historical Collections

Independence

On November 28, 1912, 469 years after the raising of the flag of the Kastrioti family in Kruja, on a second November, the Flag of Independence was raised in Vlora. With the Declaration of Independence of Albania, the first independent Albanian state was established.

Among other institutions, on December 4, 1912, just six days after the Declaration of Independence, the Ministry of National Defence was created, with General Brigade Mehmet Pasha Deralla as its minister.

On May 4, 1913, the Provisional Government of Vlora approved the formation of the General Staff, a proper military body headed by Major Ali Shefqet Shkupi.

In the second half of 1913, the General Staff, according to the plan approved by the Ministry of Defence, organized an army with the characteristics of a regular army. For the first time in the Albanian state, the military recruitment law was implemented, which emphasized that: "Military duty shall be performed by every physically fit male, aged 20 to 40 years old."

An important part of the military organization was the People's Volunteer Forces. They were armed and raised themselves, in support and defence of the government and the independent Albanian state.
A new development was the organization of Reserve Forces and Active Forces.

The Government of Vlora also began taking measures for the uniforms and armament of the army, ordering clothing from Italy and heavy weapons such as machine guns, cannons, and ammunition from Austria. Subsequently, the intelligence, mobilization, and reconnaissance services were established. In total, the overall number of the army reached up to 12,000 forces.

In this part of the museum related to the League of Prizren and Independence, the first models of rifles with bayonets, revolvers, including the Austrian Gasser revolver, which was also used by Isa Boletini, are exhibited.