Evening star., 1943-10-08
Aegean Mystery Battle

current war picture is the struggle
now being waged between the Brit
ish and the Germans by sea, land
and air athwart the island studded
approaches to the Aegean. From the
southern shores of Greece an archi-
pelago stretches like stepping stones
to the coast of Asia Minor, thus con-
Meeting the two land masses and also
masking the Aegean Sea from the
open Mediterranean. The western
portion of this island belt has long
been Greek territory. The eastern
part, close to Turkish Asia Minor,
belongs to Italy. Known as the
Dodecanese, this island group is of
great strategic Importance The
chief stronghold is the large island
of Rhodes. Next in military value
are Kos and Leros-the former as a
light naval and submarine base, the
latter having several good airhelds
on its level surface. All three were
strongly fortified and heavily gar
risoned by Mussolini. They thus
constituted vital advanced base for
the Axis in the Near East, and their
possession facilitated the Axis con-
quest of Greece and Crete in the
spring of 194l. At that time all the
other Greek islands in the Aegean
fell into Axis hands, thus absolutely
blocking Allied access to the Aegean,
the waterway to the Dardanelles and
the Black Sea.
The shattering of the Axis by the
collapse of the Fascist regime in
Italy last summer disrupted the
strategic situation in the Aegean,
where most of the Axis garrisons and
naval units were Italian. Only on
Crete and Rhodes were there strong
German forces. Taking advantage
Of this disorganization, an expedi-
tionary force from Britains army in
the Near East made daring stroke.
By-passing Rhodes, the British occu-
pied Kos and Leros, together with
the Greek island of Samos, still
farther to the northward. Appar-
emily there were no Germans on
those islands, and the Italian garri-
sons either welcomed the British
or gave in after perfunctory re-
sistance. This occurred early in
September.
The Germans, however, reacted
vigorously. increasingly strong at
tempts are being made to eject the
British from their footholds, with
the British doing their best to re-
inforce the defenders and maintain
themselves. The upshot is an intense
and complex struggle, in which air.
planes and air-borne paratroops are
playing an important role. The area
of conflict has rapidly spread, espe-
cially in the air, with British fighter
and bomber squadrons repeatedly
attacking German bases on Rhodes,
Crete and in Greece itself Though
the numerical strength Of the antag-
onists is not large, the fighting is
intense and the strategic stakes are
high. Should the Germans lose con-
troll of the Aegean, the Allies would
clear the road not only to an in
vasion of the Central Balkans via
Salonika and the Vardar Valley, as
in the last war, but would also have
access to the straits and the Black
Sea for merchant shipping, which
could legally pass through to Russian
Black Sea ports, even though Turkey
maintained its neutrality. That is
why the Germans are straining every
nerve to keep the Aegean island
gateway shut to the Allies.
Just what is going on remains
mystery. The Germans claim to
have virtually retaken Kos. Turkish
observers on the nearby mainland
report that most of the Dodecanese
islands except Rhodes are in British
hands, though under German coun-
terattack. The British high COM
mand says almost nothing, and has
clamped down a severe censorship
on press dispatches from Cairo and
other Near Eastern vantage points
All we know is that the battle RACES
f1ercely and that the Germans are
able to exert heavy pressure despite