The southernmost Italian landing, at Sarandë (Santi Quaranta to the Italians) right across the strait from Greek-held Corfu, was the only one to feature the Blackshirts of the MVSN, Mussolini’s party militia. The Albanians fought for Sarandë, the main port of a region inhabited by mostly Greek Orthodox Albanians with a large component of ethnic Greeks. They had no more love for Italy than the Muslims living to the north.

The Blackshirts were little better than the Albanians – a collection of poorly-trained militia with corrupt, apathetic officers. They would need the help of the regular army’s elite Bersaglieri to bring firm control to this section of Albania. Undeterred, the Fascist Party quickly began recruiting for a Blackshirt Legion made up of Albanian Fascists, offering cash inducements when enlistment lagged.