Albania in 1913-1914: 96 views from the time of Wied and the Dutch Military Mission

By: Robert Elsie (1950-2017)

Thanks to the Dutch officers sent to Albania in 1913-1914 to establish the first gendarmerie of the newly created Albanian State, they were given not only the usual military equipment, but - fortunately for us - also a camera. They photographed the things they saw and experienced at a defining time in Albanian history: the nation's belated independence after five centuries of Ottoman rule, the arrival of a new German king to rule the small Balkan country, and the country's descent into chaos. caused by internal unrest and the Balkan Wars on the eve of the First World War.

Many photographs of Dutch officers have survived to this day and are being presented here, most for the first time. This photo collection, published for the first time in the album "Driteshkronja: early photography from Albania and the southwestern Balkans", Pristina 2007, contains many unique images of a vanished world which - I hope - will amaze all people interested in Albanian and Balkan history.

The author is grateful to the families of Dutch officers, many of whom have preserved collections of old glass slides and generously provided them for this presentation. On this occasion, I would like to express my thanks to other persons and institutions who have helped in various ways in the realization of this presentation, among them: the Netherlands Institute for Military History (Nederlands Instituut voor Militaire Historie) in The Hague and the archivist of his Okke Groot, as well as Durim Bani in The Hague, Jolien Berendsen-Prins, the president of the Thomson Foundation, in Groningen, Kastriot Dervish in Tirana, Gerda Mulder of the Netherlands Photographic Museum (Nederlands Fotomuseum) in Rotterdam, Harrie Teunissen- in Leiden and Richard van den Brink in Utrecht.

Albania was an integral part of the Ottoman Empire from the Turkish conquest of the southwestern part of the Balkan Peninsula around 1390-1400 and until the collapse of the great empire in 1912. During these five centuries, the vast majority of the Christian population converted to Islam and Albanians took the customs and way of life of the East. Albanians were also noted for their outstanding help in the Ottoman Empire. Many viziers (prime ministers) and high rulers of the Empire were of Albanian origin.

During the last decades of the nineteenth century, a period of apparent decline of the Ottoman Empire, the Albanian national movement emerged. For the first time, national consciousness became more important to educated Albanians than religious affiliation or imperial glory. Albanians began to demand more and more autonomy and self-determination within the Empire – the idea of ​​political independence was still a distant dream. This movement, known as Rilindja, crystallized during the years 1878-1881 in the League of Prizren. However, despite the awakening of the national movement, the Ottoman rule in Albania lasted for almost thirty years. In June 1908, the Ottoman Empire was shaken by the revolution of the Young Turks. This internal revolt initially enjoyed the support of the Albanian leaders in Istanbul and Thessaloniki. However, shortly after the revolution, most educated Albanians realized that, as far as the demand for Albanian autonomy was concerned, the Young Turks were no better than the Old Turks. Since no Albanian demand was met, during the years 1909-1912, numerous uprisings occurred in Northern Albania and Kosovo.

Albania itself did not play any special role in the Balkan Wars during the years 1912-1913, however, as a de facto part of the Ottoman Empire, it was in the middle of the fires. During the First Balkan War from October 1912 to May 1913, the Albanians were indeed in a very complicated situation. There had been countless uprisings against the Turks in Albania and Kosovo, but now the Albanian leaders feared the threatening coalition of the Christian forces of Serbia, Montenegro and Greece more than the military presence in their country of the weakened Ottoman forces. They wanted to preserve the territorial integrity of Albania. Within two months, the Ottoman forces had been almost completely defeated, and only in Shkodër and Ioannina were some Turkish units still standing. The very existence of Albania was in danger.

At that time, Ismail Qemal bey Vlora (1844-1919) returned to Albania with the support of Austria-Hungary, who proclaimed the country's independence in Vlora on November 28, 1912. Although the declaration of independence was a historic act for the Albanian people, it was more abstract than real. The Montenegrins had taken Lezha and Shengjin and surrounded Shkodra; the Serbs had conquered not only Kosovo and western Macedonia, but also Elbasan, Tirana and Durrës; and the Greeks had captured Saranda and stationed their forces on the island of Sazan before the bay of Vlora. Fighting in and around Shkodër continued from March to May 1913, when both Turkish and Serbian troops began to withdraw from the country. International recognition of Albanian independence was achieved at the Conference of Ambassadors in London in 1912-1913.

This conference of six Great Powers (Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia and Italy) began its work on 17 December 1912 at the British Foreign Office under the leadership of the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey. (Sir Edward Grey, 1862-1933). As for Albania, the ambassadors initially decided that it should be recognized as an autonomous state under the sovereignty of the sultan. However, after many discussions, on July 29, 1913, it was formally decided that Albania was an autonomous, sovereign and hereditary principality or kingdom, guaranteed by the six Great Powers. Thus, the independence of Albania was officially recognized, although the power of the new Albanian provisional government, established on July 5, 1913, actually included only Vlora and its surroundings. It was agreed that the new king would be appointed by the six Great Powers after the proposal of the two states most interested in Albania: Austria-Hungary and Italy. They chose the German prince, Wilhelm zu Wied (Wilhelm zu Wied, 1876-1945).

Widi was born into a Protestant family in Neuwied on the Rhine, between Bonn and Koblenz. His mother was Mary, Princess of Holland. Vidi, an officer in the Prussian army, was the cousin of the German emperor and the nephew of Queen Elizabeth of Romania. He married Princess Sophia (1885-1936) of Schönburg-Waldenburg (Schönburg-Waldenbug) in Saxony. In October 1913, the Great Powers offered him, the compromise candidate, the throne of the newly born Albanian state, a country he knew almost nothing about. On November 1, 1913, after thinking deeply about the proposal and having set some conditions for himself, Vidi accepted the Albanian throne and arrived in Durrës on March 7, 1914 with the Austro-Hungarian military ship Taurus. From the beginning, the chaotic situation within Albania and its relations with neighboring countries made it impossible for the well-intentioned German prince to reign. He was abandoned by the international community and did not receive the promised financial and military support, particularly as a result of the outbreak of the First World War. On September 3, 1914, after six months in Albania, Vidi left on the Italian ship Misurata, without officially resigning, and never returned.

In July 1913, the new Albanian kingdom needed not only a king, but also recognized borders, a government and – of obvious importance – a police force to guarantee the king's rule and ensure order. public. The Conference of Ambassadors in London had decided that public order would be ensured by a gendarmerie led by foreign officers who would have effective command and control. Initially, it was decided that the officers would come from the Swedish army, but the Kingdom of Sweden was engaged in a similar mission in Persia, so the Netherlands was chosen, being a politically neutral state, without certain interests in Albania and, no doubt, because , with its colonies in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), it had plenty of experience with a majority Muslim population. Thus, on August 1, 1913, the Dutch Government received the official request from the International Control Commission to provide officers for the restoration of public order in Albania. On September 19 of that year, after internal discussions, the Netherlands informed the Commission that, in fulfilling the request, it would provide Dutch officers for the Albanian mission.

The Minister of War, Hendrikus Colijn, contacted his friend, Major Lodewijk Thomson (1869-1914), a well-known political and military figure, and asked if he was interested. Thomson, born in Voorschoten near The Hague on 11 June 1869, had been the Liberal Union MP for Leeuwarden between 1905 and 1912. His military experience was from the Dutch East Indies (especially north of the island of Sumatra), as an observer in the South African War and during the siege of Ioannina and Shkodër during the First Balkan War. However, before his appointment as chief of mission could be formalized, the Dutch cabinet resigned, and the new Minister of War, Bosboom, decided that other candidates should be considered. For this reason, the appointment of the head of mission was delayed even though the preliminary appointment had been officially approved.

By royal decree of 20 October 1913, Colonel Willem De Veer was finally chosen as commander of the 10rd Field Artillery Regiment, and Thomson, of the Twelfth Infantry Regiment, was appointed his deputy. From the start, collaboration between the two proved difficult because De Veer lacked Thomson's organizational skills and experience. The advance mission of the two Dutch officers and their assistants, Sergeants Van Reijen and Stock, reached Vlora on November 1913, XNUMX, where the headquarters of the provisional government and the headquarters of the International Control Commission were located. Much time had been wasted and the officers wanted to travel to the country to better understand the problems they would face. Turkish, Serbian and Montenegrin troops had left Albania, but the country was not united.

Most of Central Albania north of Vlora was under the rule of Esad Pasha Toptan (1864-1920), who is known in Albanian historiography as one of the most devious, sold and selfish characters. On October 16, 1913, Esad Pasha had formed his own government in Durrës, for the region between Mati and Shkumbin. The Dutch officers departed on November 20, 1913, accompanied by Melek bey Frashëri, who later became Thomson's assistant, and Et'hem bey Vlora, son of Ismail Qemali. They traveled to Fier, Berat, Elbasan and Tirana where they met Esad on November 25. Esadi welcomed them respectfully although he openly showed his displeasure at the presence of Et'hem Bey, the son of his rival. From Durrës, De Veer and Thomson continued to Shkodër where they arrived on November 29 to inspect the international troops there. In Ndreffushas, ​​they met Prenk Bibë Doda (1858-1920), the well-known leader of the Catholic Mirdita.

On December 9, after three weeks of travel and meetings with the local leaders of northern and central Albania, De Veer and Thomson returned to Vlora. Albania's southern border had not been definitively defined, and Greek troops had taken over many parts of the country, refusing to leave until Albania could guarantee order. In this situation, the International Control Commission asked two Dutch officers to create a military force to establish order in the south. The request for more officers was transmitted to the Dutch government. Meanwhile, De Veer and Thomson mobilized 1,000 soldiers in Albania, mostly refugees in Vlora, and fighters from Kosovo and Shkodra. In its final form, the Albanian gendarmerie would have 5000 troops at its disposal, of which about 800 were properly trained. On December 24, 1913, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands appointed De Veer chief of the new Albanian gendarmerie. At the beginning of January 1914, the uprising of the pro-Ottoman forces, which opposed the increased Western influence in Albania, began.

In November 1913, these forces, influenced by the Young Turks, had offered the Albanian throne to General Izzet Pasha (1864-1937), the Turkish Minister of War, who was of Albanian descent. The chaotic situation in Albania was deliberately increased by Izzet Pasha, who aimed to divide the people in order to take power and the throne. With this purpose, he sent a young Turkish officer of Albanian origin, named Beqir Grebena, also known in Turkish as Bekir aga Grebenali or Bekir Fikri Efendi, from Macedonia to Albania to create chaos and overthrow the provisional government with a coup d'état. In Shkodër, Grebena won the sympathy of the Islamic community, which was suspicious of the Austro-Hungarian Kultusprotektorat, and in Durrës he managed to win the trust of Esad Pasha for a certain time.

At the end of the year, in support of Grebena, the Xhonturks sent 375 soldiers, in civilian clothes, to Vlora, many of them with the Austrian ship Meran. However, Syreja bey Vlora heard about their plan and informed the International Control Commission without delay. Concerned that Turkish troops might land in Vlora, the Commission gave Dutch officers full power to do as they pleased. On 6 January 1914, Thomson and De Veer incorporated the local police without delay into the new gendarmerie, which had originally been envisaged to occupy the south of the country, and took control telegrafin and customs. When Meran came to Vlora, they managed to capture and disarm 19 officers and returned 161 soldiers via Trieste to Istanbul. Beqir Grebena was sentenced to death. At the same time, Esad Pasha, the only man in Albania who had his own army, tried to take as much territory as possible.

On January 9, his men tried to take Elbasan, but were repulsed by the city's leader, Aqif Pash Bicaku, also known as Aqif Pash Elbasan. In his memorandum on Albania, published in August 1917, King Vid said that: "Esad Pasha and Ismail Qemal Bey were at each other's throats and conspiring against each other in various ways. Esadi, the most important and powerful of the two, was trying to expand his power southwards, towards Elbasan. By gifts and promises he managed to neatly increase his influence and that of his people. Haptas never opposed the International Commission, but squirmed like an eel, constantly asserting his loyalty, even claiming that he was always ready to serve Europe and the new king. Since then, reports on his character have raised suspicions that he was playing a double game and was only aiming to expand his power.

Ismail Qemal's influence in the south was constantly decreasing. He lacked proper support from the army, contrary to Esad who had the forces he had withdrawn from Shkodra as well as new forces... There was a lack of financial administration in the service of the country. Esad Pasha had his hands on the customs of Durrës and Ismail Qemal bey had the income of the customs of Vlora in his hands. Thus both of them had spent the main financial resources of the country in the service of their personal needs.

Ismail Qemali allocated a portion of customs revenues for refugees and the creation of a new gendarmerie, but Esad Pasha categorically refused to give public funds collected by him for these much-needed aspects. The Dutch officers who, instead of the Swedish officers originally envisaged, had been entrusted with the task of creating an international gendarmerie, and who had devoted much energy and enthusiasm to this aim, were not at all supported by Esad Pasha in central Albania. He already caused trouble. From the beginning and until the end, he hindered their work, making it clear that he already had a good Albanian gendarmerie at his disposal. The south of Albania was a special problem.

Many gangs led by former Greek officers, apparently with the support of the Greek government (although there was no evidence of this), were working to foment an uprising to spread chaos in the region. During its activity, the Commission realized that the elimination of these two powerful figures, Esad Pasha and Ismail Qemal Bey, was a necessary condition for peace and tranquility in Albania and to enable the governance of the new king. They realized that the time had come for Esad Pasha and Ismail Qemal Bey to leave because, according to them, the former had become too powerful and the latter was responsible for bad governance. This opinion was reinforced by their involvement in the failed Young Turk plot to install the Turkish general, Izzet Pasha, as king of Albania. The International Commission succeeded in persuading Ismail Qemal Bey to resign as head of the 'provisional government', a post for which he was completely unfit, but Esad Pasha continued to govern unhindered as head of the senate presidency for Central Albania. "

Ismail Qemal bey Vlora was forced to leave Albania after the request of the International Control Commission, but the commission did not have the right power to remove Esad. Therefore Esadi stayed in the country and agreed to leave the government only with the promise that he would lead the Albanian delegation which would travel to Germany in February 1914 to offer the Albanian throne to Prince Vid. On February 23, 1914, the rest of the Dutch officers arrived in Vlora, two weeks before the arrival of the prince. They were: Lieutenant First Class Gerard Mallinckrodt, who became Thomson's aide; captains Wouter De Waal, Hugo Verhulst, Henri Kroon, Joan Snellen van Vollenhoven, Lucas Roelfsema and Johan Sluys; and Lieutenants First Class Carel De Iongh, Jetze Doorman, Jan Fabius, Julius Sonne, Hendrik Reimers and Jan Sar. Before the mission in Albania, each of them was equipped not only with a uniform and a weapon, but also with a camera. The contingent also included medical inspector Tiddo Reddingius, sanitary sergeant J. van Vliet and civilian doctor F. De Groot.

Before the beginning of the mission in Albania, everyone earned a higher rank. The Dutch officers were quickly scattered around the country. Sluys, Roelfsema and Sar went to Durrës, Kroon and Fabius to Shkodër, Snellen van Vollenhoven and Doorman to Korçë, Verhulst and Reimers to Elbasan, De Waal and Sonne to Gjirokastër, while De Iongh remained with De Veer in Vlora. In the first half of 1914, chaos reigned in southern Albania and Epirus. Many Greeks, who made up a fifth of the population there, wanted union with Greece. Greek troops had taken Gjirokastra and Korça during the Second Balkan War and, despite the rebuke of the international community, did not withdraw until February, when Austria-Hungary threatened to use violence against them. A provisional (Greek) government for Northern Epirus was established in Gjirokastra, which was supported politically and militarily by Jorgios Hristaki Zografos, the governor of Epirus and the Greek minister of foreign affairs (1912-1915).

The Greek army was becoming more and more involved in supporting the comity and bandit groups, and by mid-April 1914, Greek forces had occupied land along a line from Himara to Permet and Leskovik. Compared to them, the small forces of Dutch officers were very few. In March 1914, shortly after his arrival in Albania, Prince Vidi appointed Thomson as commissioner general for the south. His appointment pleased De Veer, who wanted to be freed from Thompson, his kidnapped accomplice. On 10 March, Thomson arrived in Corfu to negotiate with the Greek forces, thus exceeding his mandate. After a while, on April 6, Vidi issued a decree for the mobilization of all Albanians aged 20 and 21. The Italian Minister of War urged Vidi to attack Gjirokastra, promising him Italian support.

The situation in the south of the country continued to be dire. In mid-May, De Waal and his troops tried to retake Gjirokastra. With the support of Albanian volunteers led by Çerçiz Topulli, they came to the banks of the Drino river and heard shots fired at the Orthodox monastery of Kodra near Tepelena. There had been a terrible devastation – the corpses of 218 old men, women and children massacred by the Greek forces. Some victims, Albanian Orthodox Christians, were crucified, others were dismembered. General De Veer reported to the Commission about the tragic event on May 10 as follows: "South of the village of Kodra (Hormovë), I found a small church which was undoubtedly used as a prison. Inside it, the walls and floor were bathed in blood, everywhere were bloody hats and clothes. The doctor, member of the Commission of Inquiry, saw parts of the brain. On the altar we found a heart still bleeding. One hundred and ninety-five corpses were taken out to be buried deeper because the ditch where they were thrown was too shallow. All the corpses were headless.”

In the English Parliament in London, Aubrey Herbert (1880-1923) spoke with great passion about the massacre, but Western public opinion was tired of the extensive devastation in the Balkans and the tragedy did not resonate. De Waal tried to attack Gjirokastra on May 12 with the help of the volunteers of Sali Butka (1857-1938), but was blocked by the Greek troops of General Papoulia. On May 17, 1914, a political agreement was reached, the Provision of Corfu, according to which Northern Epirus remained part of Albania, but would be under the control of the International Commission. However, the (Greek) parliament of Northern Epirus refused to ratify the agreement, and so fighting continued until the summer when, on July 8, Korça fell to the Greek troops of General Georgios Contos Vardhas.

Even after Vid's arrival in Durrës, the actual power in central Albania remained in the hands of Esad Pasha, who managed to be appointed by the king as minister of war. Thus a confrontation with the Dutch officers, who commanded the only official armed troops, was inevitable. Assad had promised to make 20.000 reservists available to fight the Greeks in the south, but since he was in close contact with Greek rebel leaders, he did not keep his word. In early May 1914, Esad Pasha secretly returned to his manor in Rreh, near Pazar Shijak. After a while, word spread about an armed uprising in Shijak and Kruja. It was clear to Vid and to the Dutch officers that Esad Pasha was behind the insurgents.

Cannons and machine guns arrived from Austria to defend Durrës, and Essadi, who returned on May 18, wanted more in hand to hand over to the Italian military attachés, Muricchio and Moltedo. Johan Sluys, who viewed the Italians with suspicion, insisted that the cannons be used by officers Klingspor and Tomjenović who had come specially to instruct the troops in their use. Esad Pasha requested a meeting with the King and pressured him to remove Major Sluys. As a result, the command of the military corps in Durrës temporarily passed to Roelfsema. At that time, there were rumors that Esad Pasha was harboring 200 men and ammunition in his house in Durrës in preparation for a coup d'état. On the morning of May 19, 1914, Sluys surrounded Esad's house and tried to disarm the guards.

When the Klingspor fired a cannon, damaging the roof and then Assad's bedroom, the insolent war minister surrendered and was exiled to the Austro-Hungarian ship Szigetvar, which lay in Durrës Bay. The next day, De Veer and Thomson arrived from Vlora with material evidence – several coded telegrams – of Esad Pasha's betrayal and his collaboration with the Italians. However, the Italian ambassador, Baron Carlo Alberto Aliotti, intervened and convinced Vidi not to press charges. So Esad Pasha left for Italy, where he was received as a hero of the Italian cause. Esad Pasha was no longer present, but the uprising in central Albania continued. In the area of ​​Pazar Shijak between Durrës and Tirana, after the occupation of Bosnia by Austria in 1878, Bosnian Muslims were settled. These people were concerned about the decline of Ottoman power and did not want a Christian king appointed by the West.

Whatever the causes of the insurrectionary movement in Pazar Shijak and Kavaje, which began on May 17, 1914 (and of course the intervention of Esad Pasha in exile is not excluded), it became a direct threat to Vidi's power in Durrës. General De Veer ordered Roelfsema to take Rrashbulli, a few kilometers from Durrës, a point more important for the defense of the city. Roelfsema and his troops, mostly volunteers from Kosovo with their leader, Isa Boletini (1864-1916), took the hill in question on May 20 and encountered no resistance. The victory was followed by looting, and Roelfsema – fearful of the reaction of the conquered population – retreated with his troops. The small Dutch gendarmerie was no match for the large insurgent forces approaching Durrës. However, Vidi's condition improved when a ship arrived from the north with 150 volunteers from Mirdita and Malësia under the command of Simon Doda, Prenk Bibë Doda's nephew.

To secure the support of the captain of Mirdita, the King had appointed Prenku the new minister of foreign affairs. On May 22, 1914, Jan Sar augmented his corps of 65 fighters with new troops and headed for Tirana with a punitive force to restore order. On May 23, they crossed Rrashbulli and encountered Muslim insurgents. However, the northern volunteers refused to attack the insurgents because of an alliance related to the arrival of King Vid. They abandoned their commander and fled. Sar and forty of his men were surrounded and taken prisoner. Edith Durham later wrote about this event: “A group of armed men led by Dutch officers went out to talk to the insurgents, and took with them a machine gun.

Unfortunately, Captain Sar did not know the customs of the Albanians. He was worried in vain because when the Albanian gives you his trust, he keeps it. Terrified, he ordered his men to open fire on the other group of 300 armed men. One of them ran away, went to Shijak and spread the word that the King had started massacring Muslims. A group of men rushed to the aid of the Shijakas and a fight broke out." When news reached Durrës of Sar's capture, Dutch forces prepared an expedition to free him, but meanwhile the rebels had occupied Rrashbulli and were shelling Durrës with light weapons. Roelfsema came out with his unit, was surrounded and taken prisoner as well.

There was panic in Durrës and the royal family sought refuge on an Italian ship in the bay. Ambassador Aliotti had convinced Vidi to send his family on the ship, but when they boarded the ship, Aliotti ordered the captain to leave the coast, thus preventing Vidi's immediate return to land. This "escape" on Vidi's part severely damaged the king's image among the Albanians. The rebels released Jan Sar that evening and took him to Durrës to present their demands, which included a general amnesty and the return of the sultan. Vidi appointed Colonel Thomson as commander of Durrës and - in the absence of the minister of war - as "directeur de la force armée" (director of the armed forces). Thus Thomson became the king's closest military adviser. De Veer reluctantly accepted and retreated to Vlora on June 4, from where he returned to the Netherlands.

The newly established Albanian kingdom had shrunk considerably. Now it included only Durrës and a few kilometers around. Thomson began building fortifications to protect the city and gathered all Albanian and foreign fighters under his strict control. An artillery unit was created under the command of Captain Fabius, who returned from Shkodra occupied by international troops. The Italians were secretly supporting the rebels. Vidi described the current situation as follows: "The first days of June brought us irrefutable evidence of the long-established suspicion that the Italians were collaborating with the rebels. When I spoke sharply to him, the Italian ambassador Aliotti suspended his daily car trips to the insurgents. But instead, we could see the Italians' flaming signal lights for communication with the rebels. Finally, Thomson managed to catch three Italians (Captain Muricchio, Captain Moltedo and the redoubtable Professor Chinigo) in the act. During the body check, incriminating documents were found. We had a lot of problems with the Italians because it was said that the immunities and privileges agreement was violated when we forcibly entered the Italian embassy to arrest them.

Relying on these agreements, Aliotti insisted that the detainees be released, and they were released. But Thomson repeatedly rejected Aliotti's other request that he publicly apologize for newspaper reports alleging that the Italians had exchanged signals with the rebels and were constantly in close contact with them. He protested that the request was wrong and that complying with it would be an insult to his honor as an officer: "Volontiers je donnerais ma vie au Roi, mais jamais mon honneur (I would freely give my life for the King, but never my honor ).” Aliotti demanded that Thomson return to Holland, thus leaving the city of Durrës without its most zealous and energetic defender. This riot came to a tragic end shortly afterwards on 15 June 1914 when Thomson died during a fierce enemy attack.”

That day, the rebels attacked and took Rrashbulli and two days later they were getting ready to attack Durrës. Early on the morning of June 17, Jan Fabius, whom the King's personal secretary Duncan Heaton-Armstrong (1886-1969) called the most daring and hard-headed Dutch officer, was on guard duty and, when he heard about the attack, woke the defenders of the city with a cannon shot. Sar was sent to hold the hills north of the city, while Roelfsema commanded the istikami in the western part where the main attack was expected. Thomson inspected the artillery and went to Roelfsema who was near the oil depot, less than three hundred yards from the enemy's line. He was killed there. Later word circulated that he had been shot by an Italian sniper. It is not known for sure.

Either way, King Vid had lost his most ardent supporter. Surprisingly, the city's defensive lines held. The next day, June 16, 1914, Thomson was buried in a grand funeral ceremony. Even some insurgents, according to Albanian tradition, entered the city to escort the dead body of their Dutch opponent. In early July, Thomson's body was returned to Amsterdam on the troopship Noord-Brabant and, after a grand ceremony on 18 July 1914, the renowned hero was finally laid to rest in Groningen. The political situation was also difficult for the Dutch officers in the other provinces of Albania. Verhulst tried to come to Tirana from Elbasan, but was caught. Reimers was also captured in Elbasan. De Iongh in Fier hoped to use the troops of the Vlora family and the Vrioni family in Berat, but Aziz saw that Vrioni preferred to keep his own men to defend the country from the Greeks.

De Iongh crossed the river Seman, and stayed in Fier three weeks. On June 17, Major Kroon, who had come from Lezha to take the post of the late Thomson, attacked Rrashbulli once more, but without success. The situation was so serious that, on June 21, 1914, Aqif Pash Biçak requested a truce with the Muslim insurgents, led by the melam dervish Haxhi Qamili, by the mufti of Tirana Musa Qazimi, by the sheikh of Pazar Shijakut Hamdi Rubejka, by Mustafa Ndroqi and from the former Ottoman officer Qamil Haxhi Fejza of Elbasan. The Dutch officers disagreed and declared that they would henceforth leave military matters to others to concentrate on their real mission – the organization of the gendarmerie. However, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (1863-1914) in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914 and the declaration of the First World War overshadowed the turbulent events in Albania.

The Dutch officers were gradually replaced by a corps of about 150 German and Austrian volunteer officers who arrived in Durrës on 4 July, organized by the Austrian sculptor Gustav Gurschner (1873-1970), who had created the uniforms and medals of King Vid, as well as from a unit of Romanian volunteers who came to Durrës on July 7 and 17. Berat fell into the hands of the insurgents on July 12 and Vlora was taken without a fight on August 21. Thus, by the middle of the summer of 1914, with most of Central Albania falling, public opinion in the Netherlands was clear that the further presence of the Dutch military mission in Albania would only bring more death and, as as a result, General De Veer was pressured to resign for himself and his troops. This was officially realized on July 27, 1914, the day before the declaration of war against Serbia by Austria-Hungary.

On 4 August most of the officers left and returned to the Netherlands as quickly as possible, some of them encountering obstacles along the way. Verhulst and Reimers were released in Pazar Shijak on September 19 and left for the Netherlands the next day. Thus ended the Dutch adventure in the Balkans, which lasted less than a year.