Xhemal Aranitasi
Xhemal Araniti | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Xhemal Aranitasi | |
| Born | 25 January 1886 Aranitas, Mallakastër District, Fier County, Albania, then Ottoman Empire |
| Died | March 13, 1961 (aged 75) Turkey |
| Allegiance | Royal Albanian Army |
| Service | Staff |
| Years of service | 19 |
| Rank | General |
| Unit | Royal Albanian Staff |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Order of Skanderbeg |
Xhemal Aranitasi (aka Xhemal Araniti; 1886 in Aranitas, Mallakastër District, Fier County, Ottoman Empire, modern Albania, then — 1961 in Turkey) was a general and commander in chief of the Royal Albanian Army.[1]
He was the son of Ibrahim Aranitasi, an army colonel of the Ottoman Empire and Esma Jahobegaj. He graduated from the Monastir Military High School (now in modern North Macedonia), and then at the military academy in Istanbul, Turkey.
During the Balkan wars, he fought in the Ottoman army as the leader of a machine gun unit.
During World War I, when most of the territory of Albania was invaded by the Austro-Hungarian Army, he served in the Aranitas municipality as a commander of the gendarmerie.
In 1920 he joined the Royal Albanian Army, and four years later, he was a battalion commander. In 1925, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, he became the general commander of the Royal Albanian Army. Although significant decisions on the Army were taken by officers of foreign origins, such as Gustav von Myrdacz and Leon Ghilardi, Aranitasi was the only native Albanian nominally on the staff. In 1929 he was promoted to general. He served as aide-de-camp of Zog I of Albania before this task was taken by Mehmed Konica.
In 1939, as minister of war, in the face of war with the Kingdom of Italy, Xhemal Aranitasi forbade the press publication of popular mobilization and prohibited issuing weapons to the civilian population. On April 6, 1939, on the eve of the invasion of Albania by the Royal Italian Army, Aranitasi left the country and settled in Turkey, where he lived until the end of his life.
He was awarded the Grand Ribbon of the Order of Skanderbeg.[2]
See also
Sources
- ^ Kujtim Halili: Fjalor biografik ushtarak . Tirana: 2006, p. 16 ISBN 99943-849-2-9 . ( alb. )
- ^ Stephen Taylor, ed.: Who's Who in Central and East Europe 1933/1934 . Zurich: 1935.
- 1886 births
- 1961 deaths
- 19th-century Albanian people
- 20th-century Albanian military personnel
- Albanian generals
- Monastir Military High School alumni
- Ottoman Military Academy alumni
- Ottoman military personnel of the Balkan Wars
- People from Janina vilayet
- People from Mallakastër
- Recipients of the Order of Skanderbeg (1925–45)
- Royal Albanian Army