This information is valuable, as it shows that the Serbian army’s invasion of Albanian territories met very little resistance from Albanian defensive forces. Strange decisions among Albanian officers led to the road being clear for Serbian attacks, and massacres of prisoners and civilians.
Cited from the “Österreich-Ungarns Außenpolitik von der Bosnischen Krise 1908 bis zum Kriegsausbruch 1914. 4 Band”.
“The Serbian successes can be explained by the absence of an enemy and the army’s very poor condition: it is ill-equipped for a winter campaign, *opanci* (traditional leather shoes) are impractical in the snow, and provisioning poses enormous difficulties; even troops remaining in Prizren have gone days without bread and are begging from house to house. Committees armed with bombs (!) are completely plundering Albanian villages and massacring prisoners as well as harmless civilians.”
“On the evening of the 27th, Jahia Aga—for absolutely no reason—ordered the evacuation of the Cerna Leva position; consequently, everyone returned home, and the road was left open. The Redif division and Mustafiz units disbanded.
On the same day, Bakhtiar Pasha arrived with three battalions and four mountain guns. Instead of proceeding to Cerna Leva, he moved westward, stayed in Hoca for a few days, and then marched through Luma toward Dibre. The reason for the general failure of the authorities, troops, and population remains a mystery to this day.”
“No one did their duty. All the Muslims—notables, hodjas, and the common people of Prizren and Djakova—beseeched me to arrange for an Austro-Hungarian occupation”.
“Following the fall of Peć (Ipek), Djakovica (Đakovica) was captured on the 4th by other Serbian troops from the Drina Division after fierce fighting; the former Metropolitan Nikifor was present there as a komitadji. At the same time, Montenegrins under Prince Mirko entered the town. This was only possible because Djavid Pasha—who had never put up a serious fight—had withdrawn toward Debar (Dibre) via Has and Luma on November 1st for unknown reasons.”
Source
No. 4646 . Tel. from Consul Mary to von Heimroth from Üsküb, 26.a) Nov. 1912. No. 104 (by post from Belgrade received on 29.Nov.11. U.a.m.).b) Entzijf. (Österreich-Ungarns Außenpolitik von der Bosnischen Krise 1908 bis zum Kriegsausbruch 1914 4. Band (19. Februar_30. November 1912))
