Albania exposes the limits of Italian war readiness

The 1939 Albanian campaign assembled battleships, cruisers, destroyers, torpedo boats, aircraft, and tens of thousands of troops against a much smaller and poorly positioned defender. Albania's government had relied heavily on Italy, and much of its small army was not placed to contest the landings, so the result was largely foregone. Reported casualties diverge sharply, and the passage treats each side's claims with caution. The invasion of Abyssinia had been more demanding, but it still did not amount to a peer conflict. Mussolini therefore sought time to complete the Littorio class, improve the armed forces, and accumulate the resources required for a major war. His later decision to enter the conflict for a share of apparent German victory ignored the sustainment limits that the easy Albanian campaign had concealed.