Face to face, the importance of a movie….(Part 2)!

Face to face, the importance of a heavy film and the truths of that time. Collected, prepared, Arian Muraj Part two Circumstances and historical truths. Pashaliman base, submarines. It was something that took a long time to learn and remained in the people's memory mainly through the fantastic interpretation of the role of commander Dashamir Ohrit by Bujar Lako in the film "Face to Face" addressed to his Russian counterpart "Zheleznov: If you will try to escape secretly or by force, then I will consider a deserter and strike!"…but what does it matter? The meaning was the same! If only a few people had experienced the confrontation between Dashamir Ohri and the Russian commander of the Yegorov Base, without hesitation every Albanian who watched the film "Face to Face" still remembers the climactic phrase of the film and just as much as 34 years ago first hit emotionally! Reading this description of the historical circumstances that brought about the destruction of a brotherhood, some truths that have to do with the reality of those dramatic moments of the military-naval base but also of the submarines that passed under the flag of the Albanian Naval Fleet, then you will to have a complete vision of the extremely high value of the film "Face to Face". The great division officially began with Khrushchev's well-known irony addressed to the Albanian delegation led by the ideological secretary at the time, Ramiz Alia, in the summer of 1961, "Soon, Comrade Enver Hoxha, instead of the ideological secretary, I would send us his pants we hang you on the chair"! At the same time, at the Pashaliman military-naval base in Vlora, after the incidents between the Russian and Albanian military had reached their peak, the Albanian commander of the joint base Dashamir Ohri, addresses his Russian counterpart Riballko, without diplomacy, at last. Comrade Admiral, your people have ruined everything for us. This is intentional, but we also won't give you the chance to play so easily. I, as the Albanian commander of the base, which you know is located in Albania, am declaring that within 30 minutes, if you do not take measures to restore the situation, then you will answer for what will happen here"! It was 11:00 p.m. on June 4, 1961, and the Albanian army was separated from its Soviet sister in the worst way, precisely at the largest and most important naval base in the Mediterranean, Pashaliman of Vlora! From that day Pashalimani would be synonymous with pride whenever the separation from the Soviet Union was remembered in that long winter of 1961! The four remaining submarines from the Soviet-Albanian brotherhood would be the main weapon that would make Albanians proud in the continuation of loneliness! We had inherited from that collapse, an extraordinary army with its entire arsenal of skilled personnel, weapons and tools of the best and latest technology, warships, pilots as skilled as the Soviets, Mig 15-17 aircraft -19 but…the pride of Albania were and remained the submarines! For two reasons. By the way they were kept in the Albanian territory and remained with our army as well as by the second reason that was never recognized until the last breath of the dictatorship… The 22-day secret voyage under the nose of NATO and through the waters Greek, Italian and Yugoslav, of one of them during a military readiness test which remained unknown to the Albanian public! So, let's shed some light as a tribute on the history of the submarine brigade of the Albanian Navy, of which today only one will remain as a museum and the other three, after knowing the abandonment, the shame of possession and the complete destruction from the hands of ordinary thieves, then they were given for scrap! A story that began without glory, with the torture journey and the offensive reception of the nine main cadres of the Albanian Fleet in the Soviet Union in 1958 and ended with their scrapping in 2012. November 1958 Nine Albanian military men leave for the Soviet Union to appear in the the Kaliningrad naval base in the Baltic Sea. They arrive in Moscow and although according to the protocol, they were supposed to be the representatives of the tenth directorate as the special directorate of the Soviet Foreign Ministry was called, they find no one they expected! Tired, uneaten, penniless and penniless, they remain for six hours at the airport at the mercy of its employees, who gave them a coin to talk to the Albanian embassy or the tenth directorate! So at the beginning of the history of submarines, I believe that the expression "What a shame!" goes a long way. as expressed in the movie "Face to Face" actor Stavri Shkurti in the role of archaeologist. It was a shame not only for them but for the whole country as the Soviets insulted them, he says in his memoirs. The next day, they leave Moscow for Kaliningrad on a three-day train journey. Completely hungry, exhausted from fatigue and starving, they stayed for three days, sleeping on the floor of the train because they were penniless and could not pay for the cabin! But even the money for the tickets had been collected from what the people who worked at the airport had kindly given them! their only food… a glass of tea without sugar that they gave as a gift to the train workers… This is how our soldiers were embarrassed, while the incredible thing according to Commander Ohri was that they were in 1958 when relations had not yet cooled down and we to take delivery of four submarines and the modern floating base that accompanied them! Be that as it may, even a delegation of enemies could not be received in that way, making it possible for them to sit at the table next to food after four days! The voyage of the submarines to Albania took a full 18 days! At the top was the floating base "Nemchinov", later renamed "Tomorri". The submarines followed at 10 knots per hour. It was a difficult journey according to the route that the Russians had set by first obtaining approvals from the respective country. Initially, the departure was made with two groups, which followed different routes and finally met in the North Sea. There was also the point of differentiation of submarines differently, the balance. The first group was led by the commander of the Soviet brigade, Yegorov, whose character is given through the figure of Zheleznov, so skillfully played by the well-known actor Suleiman Pitarka. That group consisted of the first and fourth submarines, as well as the floating base. They passed from the Baltic to Kiel-Kanal and came to the meeting point in the North Sea. The second group consisted of the second and third submarines and was commanded by the Soviet Chief of Staff, Captain Second Rank Kastromov. Dashamir Ohri was also in this group. After two or three days, they pass to the south of Bërholm island, between Sweden – Denmark, Kadigad – Skadigad, and reach the meeting point. There, according to the previously prepared plan, the four submarines and floating bases, which took their way to Albania, are sailing in a single column. It was a trip at a very bad time! In addition, they were forced to sail on the surface otherwise it would be classified as a military maneuver. It was such a bad time that according to the memories of Commander Ohrid, the submarines could not see each other and the waves gave the impression that a mountain was falling on their heads! The itinerary was; Bay of London, English Channel, Atlantic, Bay of Biscay, Gibraltar, Mediterranean, return straight from Sicily, exit to the Ionian Sea to then enter the Gulf of Vlora ending after 16 days in Pashaliman. But… According to a plan well thought out by the Russians, the submarines remain completely in the hands of the Russians! The Albanians are considered incompetent and thus they are forced to accept the role of a backup that had more to do with opening trenches, cleaning, digging canals or maintaining flower beds on the basis of gaining practical experience in submarines! The Russian plan started with the training of Albanian students! Students who had graduated from the naval school in Baku, Azerbaijan in 1957, were assigned to the newly created submarine brigade, and of course they were faced with the urgent need to develop special courses related to the military art of underwater. Thus, the entire submarine brigade leaves for the special course in Sevastopol. It was 1957 when they had just returned from Azerbaijan. In the brigade, there were soldiers not only from the river specialty, but also infantrymen and other specialties, and they would all have to prepare for submarines. According to the compulsory school program, they had to undergo studies in two preparatory stages. The first phase lasted 8.4 months, while the second phase would last 9.8 months. So the Albanian trainees were prepared to stay for a full 18.2 months. But what happened there from the fifth to sixth month of the course…? They are ordered to return to their homeland. So, without even finishing the first phase, they still needed 2.4 months, let alone the second phase… The arrival of submarines in Albania is trumpeted as an increase in defense power, but the truth is that Albania paid a lot expensive presence of submarines in Pashaliman! While they were in Soviet hands, they were also used for Soviet military interests such as reconnaissance patrols of the territory that would later interest you due to its proximity to Greece. The fuel used was Albanian and each submarine had a starting reserve of 124 tons of oil and 14 tons of oil, 9 tons of water… A regional water protection brigade was created to protect the submarines. While the submarines are sailing outside the base and even in the Mediterranean for their own interests, everything is Soviet and only the flag is Albanian! So the cost of a mistake or a possible confrontation without the presence of any Albanian military would fall immediately on the government and the Albanian people!   The Soviet plan worked wonderfully! In principle, Pashalimani was the joint Naval Base as well as the Warsaw Treaty Base! Submarines or even demonstrations were presented to foreign visitors, but with Soviet crews, and Pashaliman, as the largest naval military base of the Warsaw Treaty, has almost turned into a pilgrimage point for Eastern European military and leaders! In practice, it completely served the Soviet interests for an exit to the Mediterranean. It is enough to remember that from their territory, Turkish hair prevented them! It would continue to function like this for four years! During these four years, never military, Albanian sailors were found in the journey of any submarine. No one could complain about anything, even at the time when the Russian provocations and the resulting incidents between the military kept increasing! As soon as something fell into Yegorov's ears (the Russian base commander played by Sulejman Pitarka in "Face to Face"), he was fired immediately! At the time when the "winter" of Soviet-Albanian relations became colder and colder, the incidents of provocations extinguished more and more by the Russians are not enough only in the ranks of ordinary soldiers. The central figure of this time was Admiral Zagrebe, who led from the Soviet embassy in Tirana. He was the biggest instigator of the incidents. The climax comes at a moment when he addresses Pashaliman's Soviet troops in a loud voice deliberately to be heard by the Albanians: "You must know that no matter how close the professor and the student are, they cannot be the same! That's why you I advise you to be careful in dealing with them." The Albanian soldiers, among them, had baptized him with the epithet "Lightning" for reasons that are easily understood! He never came to Pashaliman for good! Each of his escapes brought provocations from the Soviets with expressions such as, "the submarines are ours and you must stay calm" or "We support you with bread and whatever, where do you have the opportunity to go without us, etc., etc. ."! The Russians feel like masters of the house, even Yegorov openly states that he receives orders only from his own command of the Black Sea Fleet! A little later he is replaced by Riballko and the countdown in favor of the Albanians will start from the day of the joint visit of Nikita Khrushchev and Enver Hoxha. It seems obvious that relations between them have cooled. They are accommodated in the floating base "Tomorri" formerly "Nemčinov" as well as the companions of this visit such as Liri Belishova. Among other things, it is understood how luxurious the floating base was. Enver Hoxha in the morning, lunch or dinner, as the case may be, simply sent the invitation to Khrushchev as the master of the house that he was… After this visit, Commander Dashamir Ohri, began frequent military meetings with his counterpart Riballko, on the subject of complaints against Soviet provocation-incidents. The continuation was simple, bureaucratic, sloppy on Riballko's part to exonerate his people and accuse the Albanian military. The end of the 2nd part