Operation Valuable

Operation Valuable
	Part of the Cold War
	; Top left: American forces recruiting paramilitary soldiers in Munich, Germany; Top right: US Colonel F. H. Dunn inspecting the anti-communist Company 4000 during training in Hohenbrunn, Bavaria in November 1950; Bottom left: The Sigurimi with a captured CIA agent; Bottom right: Josip Broz Tito gives green light to US General John C. H. Lee to take down fellow communist ruler Enver Hoxha
Date	1949–1956; Operation Valuable: ; 1949–1954; (5 years); Operation BG/Fiend:; October 1950–May 1956; (5 years and 7 months)
Location	Albania
Result	Communist Albanian victory
Belligerents
Hoxha's regime:; Communist Albania	Western Bloc:; United States; United Kingdom; NATO Italy; West Germany; Greece; Turkey; Yugoslavia Separatists:; KEVA
Commanders and leaders
Enver Hoxha; Mehmet Shehu	Dean Acheson; Frank Wisner; Franklin Lindsay; James G. McCargar; David Smiley; Julian Amery
Units involved
Albanian People's Army Sigurimi;	United States Army CIA Kompania 4000; ; O.P.C; British Army MI6; Italian Navy UDBA
Strength
unknown	Initial operation:; / 500 agents; / 2,000 paramilitary soldiers; 5 submarines; 180 C-47 aircraft; 80 landing craft assault boats; 6 landing craft utility; 7,500 commandos
Casualties and losses
unknown	1949–1954; / 300 agents dead; 961 agents and paramilitaries killed or captured; 33 Yugoslav agents of the UDBA were captured or executed; 60 agents killed
	400 civilians executed

Operation Valuable was a covert operation conducted during the Cold War by the United Kingdom and the United States in collaboration with other Western Bloc nations. The operation aimed to overthrow the communist regime of Albanian ruler Enver Hoxha as part of broader efforts to counter communist influence around the world and install pro-Western leaders. It involved strategic military actions, incorporating air, naval, and ground assets in pursuit of its objectives.^[8] As part of the operation, MI6 and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) launched a joint covert operation using Albanian expatriates as agents. Other anti-communist Albanians and Europeans from other nations worked as agents for Greek and Italian intelligence services, some supported by MI6 and the CIA. Many of the agents were caught, put on trial, and either shot or condemned to long prison terms of penal labor.^{[citation needed]}

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^ "Country Plan Albania" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 97 (39). 1949. Present OPC plans for operations in Albania envisage the recruiting and training of an additional guard company, making a total of two (500 agents), and the infiltration of 50 agents by 30 June 1952. Given the widespread although at present uncoordinated opposition to the regime, it should be possible to recruit initially at least 2,000 guerrillas from opposition elements now awaiting outside assistance.
^ "Country Plan Albania" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 97 (39). 1949.
^ "Η άγνωστη αποτυχημένη προσπάθεια ανατροπής του Ενβέρ Χότζα από Βρετανούς και Αμερικανούς (1949 – 1958) και ο ρόλος της Ελλάδας". www.protothema.gr. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
^ "BBC World Service - World Update, The CIA's Secret Failure in Albania". BBC. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
^ "Η άγνωστη αποτυχημένη προσπάθεια ανατροπής του Ενβέρ Χότζα από Βρετανούς και Αμερικανούς (1949 – 1958) και ο ρόλος της Ελλάδας". www.protothema.gr. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
^ GazetaSot. "Dokumenti i CIA zbardh të vërtetën e operacionit BGFIEND kundër regjimit të Enver Hoxhës, si hidheshin agjentët amerikanë dhe britanikë në Shqipëri dhe roli i agjentëve shqiptarë të stërvitur në Gjermani". sot.com.al. Retrieved 11 July 2023. Radio Tirana raportoi më 27 tetor se 33 spiunë jugosllavë u kapën ose u vranë nga forcat shtetërore të sigurisë. Asnjë prej tyre nuk ishte agjent i OPC. Këto tre lajmërime tregojnë për suksesin e forcave qeveritare në ndalimin e infiltrimeve nga jashtë. Aktualisht, vetëm dy grupe të OPC janë operativë në Shqipëri, por meqënëse ende nuk është vendosur kontakti radio, statusi i operacioneve nuk njihet. (Albanian) Radio Tirana reported on October 27 that 33 Yugoslav spies were captured or killed by state security forces. None of them were OPC agents. These three announcements show the success of government forces in stopping infiltrations from abroad. Currently, only two OPC groups are operational in Albania, but since radio contact has not yet been established, the status of operations is unknown.
^ The Journal of Intelligence History. LIT Verlag Münster. ISBN 978-3-8258-0650-7. The next OPC team was parachuted in October 1951, just when in Tirana British, American, Greek, Italian and Yugoslav agents captured at different times were on trial. In general, during 1951, 60 Western agents were parachuted into Albania. None of them survived.
^ Gloyer, Gillian (2008). Albania: The Bradt Travel Guide. Bradt Travel Guides. ISBN 978-1-84162-246-0.

[3] "Country Plan Albania" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 97 (39). 1949. Present OPC plans for operations in Albania envisage the recruiting and training of an additional guard company, making a total of two (500 agents), and the infiltration of 50 agents by 30 June 1952. Given the widespread although at present uncoordinated opposition to the regime, it should be possible to recruit initially at least 2,000 guerrillas from opposition elements now awaiting outside assistance.

[4] "Country Plan Albania" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 97 (39). 1949.

[5] "Η άγνωστη αποτυχημένη προσπάθεια ανατροπής του Ενβέρ Χότζα από Βρετανούς και Αμερικανούς (1949 – 1958) και ο ρόλος της Ελλάδας". www.protothema.gr. Retrieved 8 July 2023.

[6] "BBC World Service - World Update, The CIA's Secret Failure in Albania". BBC. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2023.

[7] "Η άγνωστη αποτυχημένη προσπάθεια ανατροπής του Ενβέρ Χότζα από Βρετανούς και Αμερικανούς (1949 – 1958) και ο ρόλος της Ελλάδας". www.protothema.gr. Retrieved 8 July 2023.

[8] GazetaSot. "Dokumenti i CIA zbardh të vërtetën e operacionit BGFIEND kundër regjimit të Enver Hoxhës, si hidheshin agjentët amerikanë dhe britanikë në Shqipëri dhe roli i agjentëve shqiptarë të stërvitur në Gjermani". sot.com.al. Retrieved 11 July 2023. Radio Tirana raportoi më 27 tetor se 33 spiunë jugosllavë u kapën ose u vranë nga forcat shtetërore të sigurisë. Asnjë prej tyre nuk ishte agjent i OPC. Këto tre lajmërime tregojnë për suksesin e forcave qeveritare në ndalimin e infiltrimeve nga jashtë. Aktualisht, vetëm dy grupe të OPC janë operativë në Shqipëri, por meqënëse ende nuk është vendosur kontakti radio, statusi i operacioneve nuk njihet. (Albanian) Radio Tirana reported on October 27 that 33 Yugoslav spies were captured or killed by state security forces. None of them were OPC agents. These three announcements show the success of government forces in stopping infiltrations from abroad. Currently, only two OPC groups are operational in Albania, but since radio contact has not yet been established, the status of operations is unknown.

[10] The Journal of Intelligence History. LIT Verlag Münster. ISBN 978-3-8258-0650-7. The next OPC team was parachuted in October 1951, just when in Tirana British, American, Greek, Italian and Yugoslav agents captured at different times were on trial. In general, during 1951, 60 Western agents were parachuted into Albania. None of them survived.

[11] Gloyer, Gillian (2008). Albania: The Bradt Travel Guide. Bradt Travel Guides. ISBN 978-1-84162-246-0.

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