On january 3, 1914 on page, 21, the Dutch newspaper “Historische Kranten, Erfgoed Leiden en Omstreken Leidsch Dagblad” writes:

“He (William Howard) was an eyewitness to the battle on November 19, 1914, at Vulaj, when 300 Montenegrin soldiers who had raided were driven out of the Hoti and Gruda districts by 200 shepherds. Howard sent a message to Colonel Philips, the British military governor of Scutari, which resulted in the Montenegrin troops being recalled from Albania.”

Serbian troops never left Albania in 1914

“William Howard, the man who gives his best to the struggle for the betterment of the Albanians, has now made a trip through Albania to see what the situation has become there. Albania is now an independent empire, no longer suffers under the Turkish yoke, as people tend to say, so things should look much better now than they did a few years ago. How deceived Howard turned out. There is no peace. Civil war islooming. The troops of Essad-pasha and those of Ismal Kemal bey move in all parts of the country.There is also no question that Albania has been cleared of Serbian troops, according to Mr Howard. Serbia may explain this to Austria, but it is not true. Even a day’s march from the border, Serbian soldiers are in Albanian territory.Through out his journey, Howard was followed everywhere by spies employed by foreign states. On his way from Medua to Durazzo his luggage was left on Italian steamship, Molfetta” broken open and partly stolen.”

Serbian atrocities in Albania in 1913-14

“In northern and central Albania the condition of the population is deplorable. Over the past ten weeks, Serbian forces have burned down 100 Albanian villages, destroyed 12,000 houses, killed or burned 4,000 men, women and children, and made more than 100,000 homeless. Cold and privation prevail, and Mr. Howard expects that a large number of persons will die of want. There are 9,000 refugees in Tirana, 5,000 in Shkoder, 3,000 in Elbasan. A large number of refugees wander from village to village, looking for food and shelter. Their clothes hang around their bodies like rags; some have made coarse cloaks from cornsacks. As he passed through, Howard was unable to obtainfood in several places. Since the provisional government has no money, it is unable to provide aid. Prince Wilhelm von Wied will still do so have to wait a while before he will be able to ascend the throne.”

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