1950 Albanian coastline ambushes

1950 Albanian coastline ambushes
	Part of Operation Valuable
Date	September and Novemeber, 1950
Location	Albania, Albanian Coastline
Result	Communist Albanian victory
Belligerents
Communist Albania	United Kingdom; Supported by:; CIA; United States Air Force
Commanders and leaders
Kadri Hazbiu	Peter Dwyer; Air Support:; Roman Rudkowski
Units involved
Sigurimi	MI6;
Strength
Unknown	three British teams
Casualties and losses
none	All British troops were captured or killed

The 1950 Albanian coastline ambushes or Raids on the Albanian coastline in 1950 unfolded, involving a conflict between Albanian Hoxhaist secret forces (Sigurimi), and multiple British teams supported by MI6.^[1]^[2]^[3] These British teams had originally landed on the Albanian coast during Operation Valuable.

Preparation

In preparation for the landing of British SIS troops, several C-47 aircraft and boats were used, the planes were piloted by CIA and ex-Polish Air Force colonels. The British Chief Peter Dwyer was in charge of the British SIS during the raids.^[4]^[5]

Aftermath

The incidents serve as a reminder of the challenges and risks associated with covert operations and intelligence gathering. The failures of these attempts underline the complexities involved in such endeavors, where success often hinges on a delicate balance of timing, planning, and the ability to navigate unpredictable circumstances. It was one of the most disastrous cases during the covert operation as all of the British agents were killed or even captured.^[2]

References

^ Dorril, Stephen (2002). MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-1778-1. During November, James Blackburn's boat landed two more British-backed teams on the Albanian coast
^ ^a ^b The Journal of Intelligence History. LIT Verlag Münster. ISBN 978-3-8258-0650-7. Despite the above development, in September and November 1950 three more British teams landed on the Albanian beach. The results were disastrous. The Albanian Security Service, Sigurimi, ambushed the SIS agents and almost all of them were killed or captured.
^ Prados 2006, p. 63.
^ Trahair, Richard C. S.; Trahair, R. C. S. (2004). Encyclopedia of Cold War espionage, spies, and secret operations (1. publ ed.). Westport, CT London: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-31955-6.
^ Trahair, R. C. S. (2004). Encyclopedia of Cold War Espionage, Spies, and Secret Operations. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313319556. Retrieved 28 March 2023.

Works cited

Prados, John (2006). Safe for democracy : the secret wars of the CIA. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee. ISBN 978-1-61578-011-2. OCLC 812925034.

[:0-1] Dorril, Stephen (2002). MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-1778-1. During November, James Blackburn's boat landed two more British-backed teams on the Albanian coast

[:1-2] The Journal of Intelligence History. LIT Verlag Münster. ISBN 978-3-8258-0650-7. Despite the above development, in September and November 1950 three more British teams landed on the Albanian beach. The results were disastrous. The Albanian Security Service, Sigurimi, ambushed the SIS agents and almost all of them were killed or captured.

[FOOTNOTEPrados200663-3] Prados 2006, p. 63.

[4] Trahair, Richard C. S.; Trahair, R. C. S. (2004). Encyclopedia of Cold War espionage, spies, and secret operations (1. publ ed.). Westport, CT London: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-31955-6.

[5] Trahair, R. C. S. (2004). Encyclopedia of Cold War Espionage, Spies, and Secret Operations. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313319556. Retrieved 28 March 2023.

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