The introduction of the Communist regime in Albania was very similar to that in the

neighbouring Yugoslavia, and these are no coincidences. Since the establishment of the

Communist Party of Albania (CPA) in November 1941, the Yugoslav Communists have

exerted a great deal of influence on their Albanian counterparts by actively participating in

the very process of the group formation. It was thanks to the Yugoslavian communists

Miladin Popović and Dušan Mugos, who were active in Kosovo, that after six days of difficult

discussions involving the groups of Albanian communists from the Shkoder and Korçë and

the so-called young groups were finally reconciled and, by way of compromise, the first

secretary of the Envera Hodża’s party and the 12-person Central Committee were elected.

The goal set by the Albanian Communists in their founding declaration was also clear. These

were the liberation of Albania from the Italian occupation (which it was under in April 1939),

the fight for independence and, most importantly, the formation of a popular democratic

government.

In October 1942, using Yugoslavian experience - not only in the ongoing guerrilla fight but

also, perhaps above all, politically - the CPA proclaimed the establishment of the so-called

National Liberation Front, which, like its counterpart in the occupied Yugoslavia, was to bring

together all parties and political groups striving for the liberation of Albania under the

leadership of communists. This activity, as well as the creation of armed partisan troops, the

so-called National Liberation Army, significantly increased the prestige of the KPA, hitherto a

marginal political force in Albania, which had only 200 members in 1942.

Support for the communist partisan troops came from the least expected side in September

1943, when together with the capitulation of Italy (which had occupied Albania so far), some

soldiers moved to the communist side. However, this did not mean the liberation of the

country yet, as the place of the Italian occupiers was taken instantly by the Germans. At that

time, the CPA also made its first attempts to communicate with other factions not affiliated

with the National Liberation Front, mainly the right-wing nationalist organization Balli

Kombëtar (Eng. National Front), whose representatives spun a vision of post-war Great

Albania, enlarged, among others, by Yugoslavian Kosovo. This resulted in a strong reaction

from Yugoslavian communists, afraid of losing control over the marriage of communism with

the idea of a Great Albania, which had so far been kept in the hands of the KPA and, above

all, which had been dangerous for Yugoslavia. In the end, the talks were broken and Balli

Kombëtar, on the basis of the so-called Dalmazo-Këlcyr Protocol, consorted with the

occupying forces in order to fight together against the Communists. The repercussions of

such a step were disastrous for nationalists. They lost most of their public support, and the

National Liberation Army, perceived as uncompromising and ideological in its struggle for

independence, grew into the main guerrilla force in the country. At the beginning of 1944,

70 thousand Albanians were already fighting in its ranks.

The image of the steadfast red guerrilla was further reinforced by the events of the second

half of 1944, when the difficult situation on the eastern front forced the German troops to

withdraw from the territory of Albania. The communist troops, with their only real military

force, gradually took control of the area that was being abandoned by the occupying forces,

until 28 October they liberated the country's capital, Tirana. Thus, the communists,

unhindered and almost full of power, started from the very beginning to implement the

ideology of Marxism-Leninism.