Vlora incident

The Vlora incident was a military confrontation between Albania and the Soviet Union in 1961. The Albanian People's Army blockaded the Vlora naval base, leading to the seizure of Soviet ships and equipment. The incident underscored the escalating diplomatic tensions between the two nations, ultimately resulting in the expulsion of Soviet forces from Albania.^[1][2]

Vlora incident
Part of the Cold War and Albanian–Soviet split
Withdrawal of the Soviet Navy from Pasha Liman Base, Vlora (1961)
Date March 28 – June 8, 1961 (3 months and 9 days)[6] Location Vlorë, Albania 40.323889°N 19.419167°E / 40.323889; 19.419167 Result Albanian victory Expulsion of Soviets from Albania Territorial changes The Albanian Army seized control of the Soviet Naval Base
Belligerents
Albania	Soviet Union Supported by:  North Korea[3] Warsaw Pact:[4][5]  Bulgaria  Czechoslovakia  East Germany  Hungary  Poland
Commanders and leaders
Enver Hoxha Mehmet Shehu Beqir Balluku	Nikita Khrushchev Aleksei Antonov[7] Andrei Grechko[8]
Units involved
Albanian Armed Forces Albanian Naval Force	Soviet Armed Forces 40th Naval Infantry Brigade KGB
Strength
6,000 soldiers[9] and dozens of artillery[10]	4,000 soldiers and technicians[11]
Casualties and losses
none	Material losses seized by the Albanian Army 4 submarines 5 Komsomolets torpedo boats[12] 4 defence ships 8 minesweepers 1 degaussing ship 2 tanks 1 Torpedo (Project 368T) 1 dive boat[13] Military casualties: Soviet transport ship was shot by cannon and destroyed Soviet group was killed[7] several Soviet sailors were killed by Albanian soldiers[14]

Background and prelude (1945–1961)

After World War II, Albania came under communist leadership, and under Enver Hoxha's direction, the country grew to be one of the Soviet Union's closest allies in Europe. The Albanian government received financial and military assistance from the Soviet Union, which also helped to industrialize the nation.^{[citation needed]}

However, in the 1960s, a rift developed between Albania and the Soviet Union as a result of divergent views on how to interpret Marxism-Leninism and the best method for implementing communism on a global scale. Albania criticised the USSR for being too accommodating towards the United States and its allies, and rejected the détente approach that the Soviet Union was pursuing with the West.^[15][16][17]

In 1960, Enver Hoxha caused a rift with the Soviets after he aligned his military with China.^[18] Nikita Khrushchev hoped that Albania would serve as a military base on the Mediterranean Sea for "all the socialist countries" and provided equipment and training to the Albanian army, which included a fleet of twelve submarines. As a result of the rift the Soviet Union imposed economic sanctions on Albania, withdrew eight of the twelve submarines, broke up Soviet naval facilities at the Albanian port of Vlora, engaged in polemical exchanges with Albanian leadership and encouraged pro-Moscow leaders in Albania to stage a coup against Hoxha.^[18] Among the conspiracy's ringleaders was Vice Admiral Teme Sejko, a senior Albanian military officer.^[19][20] Although the submarines withdrawal came shortly after the announcement of a trial against Sejko, it should not be assumed that the Albanians had prompted the Soviets to withdraw.^{[21][22][failed verification]}

The Soviet position in the Mediterranean

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union tried to increase its military presence and influence outside of its boundaries, notably in the Mediterranean area. The stance of the Soviet Union in the Mediterranean was mainly intended to counter the United States and NATO, who maintained a sizable naval presence in the area. The Soviet Union was successful in increasing its naval presence in the Mediterranean. Albania was one instance of this, giving the Soviet Union a portion of its coastline as part of the latter's swift push into the Mediterranean.^[23] While comparatively insignificant politically and economically to the Soviet Union, Albania allowed the country to establish a strong military base that housed marines and larger units similar to destroyers.^[24][25]

Vlora Base

Vlora Base, also known as Pasha Liman Base, was a major Soviet naval base on the Albanian coast. Established in 1957, it served as an important base for Soviet submarines and warships in the Mediterranean.^[26]

The attack and withdrawal of the Soviet Navy

In 1961, the Albanian government decided to use military force to expel the Soviet forces from Albania and to take control of four of the twelve Soviet submarines. On April 7, 1961, Albanian troops began to position the Vlora base and encircle the Soviet soldiers. Soviet forces were ordered to evacuate the base and leave Albania. Soviet troops initially resisted, but after several days of siege and negotiations, an agreement was reached. Soviet forces left the Vlora base on April 12, 1961 and withdrew from Albania.^[27] The Soviets withdrew, recalling eight submarines.^[28]

After the Soviets tried to leave Albania, they were pursued by the Albanian Naval Force and threatened with gunships. During this crisis, a group of Soviets were killed and a Soviet ship was destroyed by the Albanian army.^[12]

Following these events, Khrushchev sought revenge on Albania. In 1962 he engaged with Warsaw Pact members on how they could launch an invasion of Albania. However, this plan was curtailed by the advent of the Cuban Missile Crisis.^[29]

Aftermath

It led to the expulsion of the Soviets from Albania. During the attack several Soviet sailors were killed by Albanian Armed forces. After the incident, diplomatic relations between Albania and the Soviet Union were cut off and the Soviet Union lost access to the Mediterranean on the Albanian coast.^[30][31][32]

Despite the dramatic shift in relations with the Eastern Bloc for Albania, the Vlora incident did not result in any kind of improvement in relations between Albania and Western countries, either. Albania maintained close relations with the People's Republic of China, until those too were broken off in 1978.^[33]

See also

• Face to Face (1979 film), Albanian film adaptation of the 1961 military conflict with the Soviets

References

1. Prifti, Peter R. (1971). Albania and Sino-Soviet Relations, 1971. Indiana University: Center for International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. p. 35.
2. Abstracts, Russian and East European Series. ABSEES. 1971.
3. https://www.nknews.org/2019/08/comrades-disunited-north-korea-and-the-soviet-albanian-split/
4. ""Shqiptarët tentuan t'i merrnin të 12 nëndetëset!"- Zbardhet dokumenti sekret i arkivave sovjetike: Si dështoi plani që baza t'i kalonte Traktatit të Varshavës" (in Albanian). Retrieved 2022-12-21.
5. "ГОТОВИЛСЯ ЛИ ПЕРЕВОРОТ В АЛБАНИИ? "ДЕЛО Т. СЕЙКО": ВЕРСИИ". libmonster.ru. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
6. "The Vlora incident—the whole story of Albanian submarine defection". min.news. 2023-02-24. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
7. "Dossier: Të dhëna të reja dokumentare mbi ndarjen sovjeto-shqiptare ResPublica". www.respublica.al. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
8. "Enver's secret diary, March–April, '61: "Marshal Grecko threatened us that if the 'Vlora Base' did". Memorie.al. 2021-03-20. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
9. "Ramohito: How 2000 landed Russian military us Paschaliman". Retrieved 2023-02-12 – via PressReader.
10. Mastny, Vojtech; Byrne, Malcolm (2005-01-01). A Cardboard Castle?: An Inside History of the Warsaw Pact, 1955–1991. Central European University Press. ISBN 978-963-7326-08-0.
11. "CIA: Ja pse Moska ngriti bazat e saj ushtarake në Sazan dhe kapacitetet ushtarake që kishte Shqipëria, arsyet e shkarkimit të Beqir Ballukut". sot.com.al. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
12. "Настоящие пираты: Как Албания "отжала" у СССР четыре подводные лодки и почему Хрущёв их не вернул". Life.ru (in Russian). 2021-08-08. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
13. D.C., German Historical Institute (Washington) (1998-10-28). 1968: The World Transformed. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-64637-6.
14. The Soviet naval threat to Europe : military and political dimensions. Bruce W. Watson, Susan M. Watson. LONDON: ROUTLEDGE. 2020. ISBN 978-0-429-31478-0. OCLC 1135666648. The expulsion was particularly unpleasant as the Albanians shot and killed several Soviet sailors and seized some Soviet Whiskey submarines
15. Quarterly Review of Military Literature. USA: University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. 1962.
16. The Soviet naval threat to Europe : military and political dimensions. Bruce W. Watson, Susan M. Watson. LONDON: ROUTLEDGE. 2020. ISBN 978-0-429-31478-0. OCLC 1135666648.
17. Luthi, Lorenz M. (2008). The Sino-Soviet split : Cold War in the communist world. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-3762-5. OCLC 705944524.
18. Fink, Carole; Gassert, Philipp; Junker, Detlef; Mattern, Daniel S., eds. (1998). 1968: The World Transformed. Cambridge University Press. pp. 117–118. ISBN 978-0-5216-4637-6.
19. Professional Journal of the United States Army. USA: Ohio State University. 1962.
20. "Gazeta AFP". gazeta.afp.al. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
21. Kramer, Mark; Makko, Aryo; Ruggenthaler, Peter, eds. (2021). The Soviet Union and Cold War Neutrality and Nonalignment in Europe. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 354. ISBN 978-1-793-63193-0.
22. Morgan, Peter (2017). Ismail Kadare: The Writer and the Dictatorship 1957-1990. Routledge. p. 40, 313. ISBN 978-1-351-56200-3.
23. Breemer, Jan S (1989). Soviet Submarines. University of Michigan: Jane's Information Group. p. 187. ISBN 9780262160704.
24. Prifti, Peter R (1978). Socialist Albania Since 1944. Ohio State University: MIT Press. p. 311. ISBN 9780262160704.
25. Thought. University of California: Siddhartha Publications. 1970.
26. "Pasha Liman MAP · Remains of Paranoia". ausstellungen.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
27. "Ограбление по-албански: как в 1961 году Албания украла у СССР 4 подлодки". Русская семерка (in Russian). 2021-06-08. Archived from the original on 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
28. "Albania's Soviet-era sub awaits its fate, refusing to sink". France 24. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
29. "Zbulohet plani i Rusisë për pushtimin e Shqipërisë" (in Albanian). Retrieved 2023-03-22.
30. Elsie, Robert (2010). Historical dictionary of Albania. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7380-3. OCLC 659564122.
31. Keefe, Eugene K (1971). Area Handbook for Albania. University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 223. In December 1961, the Soviet Union broke off diplomatic ties with Albania,
32. The Soviet naval threat to Europe : military and political dimensions. Bruce W. Watson, Susan M. Watson. LONDON: ROUTLEDGE. 2020. ISBN 978-0-429-31478-0. OCLC 1135666648. The expulsion was particularly unpleasant as the Albanians shot and killed several Soviet sailors and seized some Soviet Whiskey submarines.
33. Hoxha, Enver (1979). Reflections on China (PDF). Vol. I. Tirana: 8 Nëntori Publishing House. p. 656.