Albanian Commemorative Medal taken to retreat southwards, through the mountains of Albania toward the Adriatic coast. From there, the Army was transported to safety on the Greek island of Corfu. King Petar I and Prince-Regent Aleksandar I shared the terrible ordeal of their Army. Albanian Commemorative Medal The Commemorative Medal for the withdrawal of the Serbian army through Albania (), known as the Albanian Commemorative Medal (Албанска споменица) is a single-classed military medal awarded to all Serbian military personnel and civilians who retreated through Albania in the winter of 1915/16 during World War I. It was instituted on 5 April 1920 by the
Massacre of the Albanian Beys after the Greek War of Independence the Albanian mercenaries, who were employed during the struggles by the Ottomans, pillaged a large number of villages, while the bey families tried to restore and regain their rule. Their efforts included the organization of the assembly of Berat in December 1828, led by Ismail bey Qemali of the Vlora family, grandfather of Ismail Qemali, founder of the modern Albanian state in 1912. In this Convention, the leaders were Qemali, Zylyftar Poda and Shahin bej Delvina. The Ottoman Empire tried to prevent the rise of local beys, which presented a menace to centralized power.