Italian invasion of Albania in the context of "Enver Hoxha"

Imperialism, colonialism and irredentism played an important role in the foreign policy of Fascist Italy. These included both ethnic-nationalist irredentist claims and frivolous foreign adventures intended to artificially raise the regime’s prestige. Among the regime's goals were the acquisition of territory considered historically Italian in France (e.g. Nice) and Yugoslavia (e.g. Dalmatia), the expansion of Italy's sphere of influence into the Balkans (e.g. Greece) and the acquisition of more colonies in Africa. The pacification of Libya (1923–32), the invasion of Ethiopia (1935–36), the invasion of Albania (1939), the invasion of France (1940), the invasion of Greece (1940–41) and the invasion of Yugoslavia (1941) were all undertaken in part to add to Italy's national space. According to historian Patrick Bernhard, Fascist Italian imperialism under Benito Mussolini, particularly in Africa, served as a model for the much more famous expansionism of Nazi Germany in Eastern Europe.

The Kingdom of Albania was in personal union with the Kingdom of Italy following the Italian invasion of Albania in 1939 and until the German occupation in September 1943. It is also referred to as Italian Albania or Greater Albania, and was a state controlled by Fascist Italy. The monarch was Italian King, Victor Emmanuel III, who was represented in Albania by Italian governors. During this time, Albania ceased to exist as an independent country and became an autonomous part of the Italian Empire. Officials intended to make Albania part of a Greater Italy by assimilating Albanians as Italians and colonizing Albania with Italian settlers from the Italian peninsula to transform it gradually into an Italian land.

In the Treaty of London during World War I, the Triple Entente had promised territories in Albania to Italy as a reward for fighting against the Central Powers. Italian Fascists claimed that Albanians were ethnically linked to Italians through association with the prehistoric populations, and that the major influence exerted by the Roman and Venetian empires over Albania gave Italy the right to possess it. In addition, several hundred thousand ethnic Albanians had already been absorbed into southern Italy, which was used to justify annexation as a measure that would unite all Albanians into one state. Italy supported Albanian irredentism, directed against the predominantly Albanian-populated Kosovo in Yugoslavia, but also against Epirus in Greece, particularly the border area of Chameria, inhabited by the Cham Albanian minority.

Victor Emmanuel III (Italian: Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro di Savoia; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albanians from 1939 to 1943, following the Italian invasions of Ethiopia and Albania. During his reign of nearly 46 years, which began after the assassination of his father Umberto I, the Kingdom of Italy became involved in two world wars. His reign also encompassed the birth, rise, and fall of the Fascist regime.

The first fourteen years of Victor Emmanuel's reign were dominated by prime minister Giovanni Giolitti, who focused on industrialization and passed several democratic reforms, such as the introduction of universal male suffrage. In foreign policy, Giolitti's Italy distanced itself from the fellow members of the Triple Alliance (the German Empire and Austria-Hungary) and colonized Libya following the Italo-Turkish War. Giolitti was succeeded by Antonio Salandra, Paolo Boselli, and Vittorio Emanuele Orlando. The First World War brought about Italian victory over the Habsburg Empire and the annexation of the Italian-speaking provinces of Trento and Trieste, completing the national unity of Italy, and the southern part of German-speaking Tyrol (South Tyrol). For this reason, Victor Emmanuel was labelled the "King of Victory". However, a part of Italian nationalists protested against the partial violation of the 1915 Treaty of London and what they defined as a "mutilated victory", demanding the annexation of Croatian-speaking territories in Dalmatia and temporarily occupying the town of Fiume without royal assent.

Cham Albanians or Chams (also spelled Çam Albanians or Çams; Albanian: Çamët; Greek: Τσάμηδες, romanized: Tsámides), are a subgroup of Albanians who originally resided in a region along the coast of the Ionian Sea in southwestern Albania and northwestern Greece, an area known among Albanians as Chameria. The Chams have their own particular cultural identity within Albanian subgroups. A number of Chams contributed to the Albanian national identity and played an important role in starting the renaissance of the Albanian culture in the 19th century. The Chams speak their own dialect of the Albanian language, the Cham Albanian dialect, which is a Southern Tosk Albanian dialect and one of the two most conservative ones; the other being Arvanitika.

During the late 1930s Chams suffered from intimidation and persecution under the dictatorship of General Metaxas. Following the Italian occupation of Albania in 1939, the Chams became a prominent propaganda tool for the Italians and irredentist elements among them became more vocal. As a result, on the eve of the Greco-Italian War, Greek authorities deported the adult male Cham population to internment camps. After the occupation of Greece, parts of the Muslim Cham population collaborated with Italian and German forces. This fueled resentment among the local Greek population and in the aftermath of World War II, the entire Muslim Cham population were forcefully expelled to Albania.

The Albanian Kingdom (Gheg Albanian: Mbretnija Shqiptare; Tosk Albanian: Mbretëria Shqiptare) was the official name of Albania between 1928 and 1939. It was established when the Albanian parliament declared the country a monarchy, and President Ahmet Bej Zogu was proclaimed Zog I. This transition marked the end of the Albanian Republic and the beginning of a constitutional monarchy. Zog I's reign was characterized by efforts to modernize the country, including legal reforms and infrastructure development, although his government maintained his authoritarian practices as president.

The kingdom maintained close relations with Fascist Italy, which provided financial and military support. However, by the late 1930s, Albania's dependence on Italy grew, culminating in Italy's invasion of Albania on April 7, 1939. The invasion led to the establishment of an Italian protectorate, and King Zog I fled into exile. The communist Party of Labor of Albania gained control of the country toward the end of World War II, establishing a communist regime and formally deposing Zog, who lived the remainder of his life in exile.