Battle of Saranda

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The Battle of Saranda took place in southern Albania between the Greeks and the Italians in December 1940, during the Greco-Italian War in World War II.

After intense clashes between Italian and Greek soldiers in the city of Kekova, the Italian Army in Saranda pushed through many of the civilians and from there, they defeated the Greek soldiers and took control of the entire Saranda valley. The subsequent Battle of Saranda was the first major battle of the Italian campaign in Albania. Fought on one of the most important points in the entire country, it was a major blow to the occupation army. The Italians had attempted an invasion of Greece but were repelled. The battle was won by the Greeks, who captured the port of Sarandë (named Porto Edda by Fascist Italy). Immediately after the battle, Italian Chief of Staff Pietro Badoglio resigned from his post.^[1]

Replacing the Italians, the Greeks thus occupied part of Northern Epirus (part of southern Albania), which was already a matter of territorial dispute between Albania and Greece.