How to prevent Italian invasion of Albania?

So, planning a rough timeline for the 1900s and different things that could lead to more monarchies surviving within Europe. A point I'm stuck on is this, how could one prevent Italy invading Albania?

Was there anyway to turn Mussolini's attention from Albania to another area?

If not, when is the earliest time Albania could restore Zog to the throne?
 
I'm not sure if this is the kind of POD you want, but you could easily avert the OTL invasion of Albania by having Zog's wife, Queen Geraldine go into labour a day or so earlier than OTL.

Bernd Fischer, one of the major historians on 20th century of Albania posits that given Zog's concern over his wife and the continuation of his line, had Geraldine been in labour when Mussolini issued the ultimatum that preceded the Italian invasion Zog would have given in and accepted it. Accepting this ultimatum would satisfy the wording of the OP, but probably not the spirit as it would have greatly reduced Albanian autonomy and reduced it to little more than a satellite state. Zog would have likely been forced to declare war on the Allies alongside Italy during World War II and been offered Kosovo and Northern Epirus/Chameria as compensation. However, doing so would make it incredibly unlikely that the monarchy survives following the war.

As for turning Mussolini's attentions away from Albania, I find this highly unlikely given the folliwing:
A) Control of Albania had been an Italian strategic aim since the late 19th century
B) The sheer sunk costs the Italians had put into economically and politically colonizing the region
C) The international community's recognition of Albania as part of Italy's sphere of influence
and D) Mussolini's obsession with rectifying past Italian humiliations such as the defeat at the Battle of Vlora/Valona in 1920.
In short: Interwar Albania was in a really tough spot.

As for Albania restoring Zog, if he flees the country in 1939 as he did in OTL I find this incredibly unlikely. Zog succeeded in through equal parts selling the country to Italy and pursuing a strategy of "divide and rule" that left him tolerated but not loved. When combined with the corruption of his regime, the lack of development under his rule, and his antidemocratic actions these strategies made him incredibly unpopular. It is a testament to the failures of the Communist regime that Zog of all people is so highly thought of by some Albanians today.

Zog's son Leka, on the other hand is another matter. Most observers in the 1990s maintained that had Leka not shown up in post-communist Albania and acted like a complete thug/PR disaster he may very well have won the 1997 referendum to restore the Albanian monarchy.
 
I'm not sure if this is the kind of POD you want, but you could easily avert the OTL invasion of Albania by having Zog's wife, Queen Geraldine go into labour a day or so earlier than OTL.

Bernd Fischer, one of the major historians on 20th century of Albania posits that given Zog's concern over his wife and the continuation of his line, had Geraldine been in labour when Mussolini issued the ultimatum that preceded the Italian invasion Zog would have given in and accepted it. Accepting this ultimatum would satisfy the wording of the OP, but probably not the spirit as it would have greatly reduced Albanian autonomy and reduced it to little more than a satellite state. Zog would have likely been forced to declare war on the Allies alongside Italy during World War II and been offered Kosovo and Northern Epirus/Chameria as compensation. However, doing so would make it incredibly unlikely that the monarchy survives following the war.

As for turning Mussolini's attentions away from Albania, I find this highly unlikely given the folliwing:
A) Control of Albania had been an Italian strategic aim since the late 19th century
B) The sheer sunk costs the Italians had put into economically and politically colonizing the region
C) The international community's recognition of Albania as part of Italy's sphere of influence
and D) Mussolini's obsession with rectifying past Italian humiliations such as the defeat at the Battle of Vlora/Valona in 1920.
In short: Interwar Albania was in a really tough spot.

As for Albania restoring Zog, if he flees the country in 1939 as he did in OTL I find this incredibly unlikely. Zog succeeded in through equal parts selling the country to Italy and pursuing a strategy of "divide and rule" that left him tolerated but not loved. When combined with the corruption of his regime, the lack of development under his rule, and his antidemocratic actions these strategies made him incredibly unpopular. It is a testament to the failures of the Communist regime that Zog of all people is so highly thought of by some Albanians today.

Zog's son Leka, on the other hand is another matter. Most observers in the 1990s maintained that had Leka not shown up in post-communist Albania and acted like a complete thug/PR disaster he may very well have won the 1997 referendum to restore the Albanian monarchy.

Okay interesting, so the two courses of action are, from what I can see, his wife goes into labour earlier thus he gives into the ultimatum potentially losing in the longer term, or things go as otl, but one changes his son's personality/ behaviour and the monarchy could be restored in the 1997 referendum.

If one goes with the latter, does this improve or worsen Albania in the 1990s and 2000s? Would the people of Albania accept Leka ruling as his father did, or would he need to act as a Parliamentarian monarchy?
 
So, planning a rough timeline for the 1900s and different things that could lead to more monarchies surviving within Europe. A point I'm stuck on is this, how could one prevent Italy invading Albania?

Was there anyway to turn Mussolini's attention from Albania to another area?

If not, when is the earliest time Albania could restore Zog to the throne?
Perhaps Albania turns fascist and the new dictator denounces imperialism in general, particularly. Then more Albanians could be 'encouraged' to enlist in the army and defend Albania's coastline. It worked in Hearts of Iron IV. I doubt this will deter Mussolini and he'll still try to invade, but Italy will have a much harder time fighting Albania. Italian troops were pitiful and only succeeded against Albania OTL because of having more troops and morale. This battle will no doubt do severe damage to Mussolini's reputation and make Hitler lose confidence in Italy. As for King Zog, he'd still be king of Albania and the fascist dictator would be his prime minister (like King Victor Emmanuel III and Mussolini). So technically the monarchy would still exist, in a way.
 
Perhaps Albania turns fascist and the new dictator denounces imperialism in general, particularly. Then more Albanians could be 'encouraged' to enlist in the army and defend Albania's coastline. It worked in Hearts of Iron IV. I doubt this will deter Mussolini and he'll still try to invade, but Italy will have a much harder time fighting Albania. Italian troops were pitiful and only succeeded against Albania OTL because of having more troops and morale. This battle will no doubt do severe damage to Mussolini's reputation and make Hitler lose confidence in Italy. As for King Zog, he'd still be king of Albania and the fascist dictator would be his prime minister (like King Victor Emmanuel III and Mussolini). So technically the monarchy would still exist, in a way.

That would be fascinating to see, and might give Mussolini a headache, and make Hitler piss himself laughing.
 
Okay interesting, so the two courses of action are, from what I can see, his wife goes into labour earlier thus he gives into the ultimatum potentially losing in the longer term, or things go as otl, but one changes his son's personality/ behaviour and the monarchy could be restored in the 1997 referendum.

If one goes with the latter, does this improve or worsen Albania in the 1990s and 2000s? Would the people of Albania accept Leka ruling as his father did, or would he need to act as a Parliamentarian monarchy?

There's no way that the people of Albania as a whole would accept Leka ruling as his father did as the communists had managed to completely transform the country since 1945. If he's going to stick around it's going to be as a constitutional monarch and nothing more.

As for improving or worsening Albania in the 1990s/2000s, it depends on how much you change Leka's personality. If he opted to be apolitical and help Fatos Nano orient Albania towards Europe I think he could be a net positive on Albanian society. However if you're keeping his personality closer to OTL, I think that he'd jump at the opportunity to cooperate with the more violent elements of the PD in trying to overthrow the Socialists in 1998 in order to gain more power. This could very well be the spark that ignites the tensions in Albania that almost resulted in civil war in 1997. Leka's support would come primarily from the North while the South would break away and remain a republic.

Perhaps Albania turns fascist and the new dictator denounces imperialism in general, particularly. Then more Albanians could be 'encouraged' to enlist in the army and defend Albania's coastline. It worked in Hearts of Iron IV. I doubt this will deter Mussolini and he'll still try to invade, but Italy will have a much harder time fighting Albania. Italian troops were pitiful and only succeeded against Albania OTL because of having more troops and morale. This battle will no doubt do severe damage to Mussolini's reputation and make Hitler lose confidence in Italy. As for King Zog, he'd still be king of Albania and the fascist dictator would be his prime minister (like King Victor Emmanuel III and Mussolini). So technically the monarchy would still exist, in a way.

Wow...I didn't know HoI's strayed so far from historical realism in it's latest incarnation. Makes me glad I've stopped playing. Unfortunately, Albania and Zog in particular was so dependent on foreign finance they didn't have the resources to pursue such a course. The only reason Hoxha was able to persuade a similar policy in OTL is because he had a series of sponsors (not unlike Zog ironically!) in Yugoslavia, the USSR, and China respectively to pay for all of his projects, the gargantuan Albanian armed forces, and hundreds of thousands of bunkers.
 
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