Their first choice was Sweden, but that country was already busy with a similar mission in Persia, they chose the Netherlands for its neutrality, lack of direct interest in Albania and extensive colonial experience in the Dutch East Indies.

[9] Others included irregular bands of southerners led by local leaders; native outlaws; Bulgarian outlaw Komitadjis; Greek rebels from the Northern Epirus; peasant rebels in central Albania; Essad Pasha's gendarmerie; volunteers from Kosovo led by Isa Boletini;[10] and Mirdita Catholic volunteers from the northern mountains under the command of Prênk Bibë Doda.

[11] A plot by the Young Turk government and led by Bekir Fikri to restore Ottoman control over Albania through the installment of an Ottoman-Albanian officer Ahmed Izzet Pasha as monarch was uncovered by the Serbs and reported to the ICC.

[13][12][17] During Fikri's trial the plot emerged and an ICC military court under Colonel Willem de Veer condemned him to death[17] and later commuted to life imprisonment,[13] while Qemali and his cabinet resigned.

[18] One of the first tasks of the new gendarmerie was to train Albanian recruits in order to take control of southern Albania after the Northern Epirote Declaration of Independence of 28 February 1914.

When thousands of rebels surrounded Shijak on 17 May, only 10 km (6.2 mi) from Durrës, Essad Pasha was accused of fomenting the revolt against William of Wied.

[26] In order to gain support from the 1,000 Mirdita Catholic paid volunteers[27] from the northern mountains, Prince of Wied appointed their leader, Prênk Bibë Doda, as foreign minister.

Captain Sar did not know that the northern Catholic tribes refused to fight the rebels because General Besa was agreed when the Prince of Wied took over the throne.

Therefore, he travelled to Niš, Kingdom of Serbia, where he and Serbian prime minister Pašić signed a secret treaty of Serbian-Albanian alliance on 17 September.

With Italian and Serbian financial backing he established armed forces in Dibër and captured the interior and Durrës at the beginning of October, without a fight.

[40] Dutch officers ... were gradually replaced by... German and Austrian officers who arrived in Durrës on 4 Julydecision, reached at the fifty-fourth meeting of the conference on 29 July 1913...Albania is constituted as an autonomous, sovereign and hereditary principality by right of primogeniture, guaranteed by the six Powers.In July 1913, the newly recognized principality of Albania needed not only a sovereign, but also fixed borders, a government and – what was of no small significance – a military police force to guarantee the prince’s rule and to ensure law and order in the country.

Swedish army... was, however, busy with a similar mission in Persia, so the choice then fell upon the Netherlands, in particular because the country was neutral, had no direct interests in Albania, and no doubt because it had a good deal of colonial experience in the Dutch East Indies Lodewijk Thomson ... Before his appointment as head of the Dutch mission to Albania could be finalized... the choice was finally made, by a Royal Decree of 20 October 1913, it fell upon Colonel Willem De VeerThomson and De Veer .. investigate how a gendarmerie could be set up.

Southerners, whose local leaders... irregular bands ..native and Bulgarian “Komitadjis” (an outlaw or brigand)...“Royal” (Essad Pasha’s Own) mounted gendarmes.. Epirotes...troops... peasants...insurgents volunteers from Kosova under their leader Isa Boletini volunteers from Catholic Mirdita and the northern mountains under Simon Doda, nephew of Prenk Bibë DodaWied’s first order of business was to restore order in South Albania.

... they had to train Albanian gendarmes and non-commissioned officers Essad Pasha, as Minister for War, was opposed to any compromise with the insurgents and assured the Mbret that the rebellion could easily be put down by force of arms; .The Government had purchased several thousand modern military rifles in Italy, machine and mountain guns in Austria and now thought itself strong enough to conquer the greater part of the world.

...Berat fell to the rebels on 12 July and Vlora was occupied without a struggle on 21 August.Verhulst and Reimers were released in Shijak on 19 September and departed for Holland the next day.The senate of free towns in central Albania invited Essad to take over power.