Italian naval forces in the Adriatic, at the outbreak of the war, included the destroyers Carlo Mirabello and Augusto Riboty and the 7th Torpedo Boat Squadron ( Angelo Bassini, Nicola Fabrizi, Enrico Cosenz and Giacomo Medici) in Brindisi, the 15th Torpedo Boat Squadron ( Palestro, Confienza, San Martino and Solferino) in Venice, the gunboat Ernesto Giovannini in Pola, the 2nd MAS Squadron (four boats) in Pola, the 3rd MAS Squadron (two boats) in Brindisi, and several minelayers (the relatively shallow waters of the Adriatic Sea were particularly favourable for mine warfare). Naval commands also existed in Pola (home of the Italian Navy's submarine school) and Lussino. Vice Admiral Vittorio Tur was the naval commander of Albania, with headquarters in Durres. The northern Adriatic was under the jurisdiction of the Northern Adriatic Autonomous Naval Command, headquartered in Venice and commanded by Vice Admiral Ferdinando of Savoy (replaced by Admiral Emilio Brenta shortly before the armistice with the Allies) the southern Adriatic was under the jurisdiction of the Southern Adriatic Naval Command, headquartered in Brindisi and commanded by Admiral Luigi Spalice. When Italy entered World War II, on 10 June 1940, the Italian Navy's main naval bases in the Adriatic Sea were Venice, Brindisi, and Pola. The ships were divided into four groups, which carried out landings at Vlore, Durres, Sarande and Shengjin. The Italian naval forces involved in the invasion of Albania included the battleships Giulio Cesare and Conte di Cavour, three heavy cruisers, three light cruisers, nine destroyers, fourteen torpedo boats, one minelayer, ten auxiliary ships and nine transport ships. Naval operations in the Adriatic consisted mostly of transport organisation through the ports of Taranto, as well as coastal bombardment in support of the landings on the Albanian coast. On 7 April 1939, Mussolini's troops occupied Albania, overthrew King Zog, and annexed the country to the Italian Empire. Main article: Italian invasion of Albania
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