Dodecanese Campaign The Dodecanese Campaign of World War II was an attempt by Allied forces , mostly British , to capture the Italian - held Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea following the surrender of Italy in September 1943 , and use them as bases against the German - controlled Balkans . The Allied effort failed , with the whole of the Dodecanese falling to the Germans within two months , and the Allies suffering heavy losses in men and ships . The operations in the Dodecanese , lasting from 8 September to 22 November 1943 , resulted in one of the last major German victories in the war . Background . The Dodecanese island group lies in the south - eastern Aegean Sea , and had been under Italian occupation since the Italo - Turkish War . During Italian rule , the strategically well - placed islands became a focus of Italian colonial ambitions in the Eastern Mediterranean . Rhodes , the largest of the islands , was a major military and aerial base . The island of Leros , with its excellent deep - water port of Lakki ( Portolago ) , was transformed into a heavily fortified aeronautical base , " the Corregidor of the Mediterranean " , as Mussolini boasted . After the fall of Greece in April 1941 and the Allied loss of the island of Crete in May , Greece and its many islands were occupied by German and Italian forces . With the ultimate defeat of Axis forces in North Africa in spring 1943 , Winston Churchill , who at least as far back as the Gallipoli Campaign had a deep interest in the region , turned his sights on the islands . The British envisaged an operation to capture the Dodecanese and Crete , and thus not only deprive the Axis of excellent forward bases in the Mediterranean , but also apply pressure on neutral Turkey to join the war . This would serve a favourite idea of Churchill ' s , of a " route through the Dardanelles to Russia as an alternative to the Arctic Convoy s . " In the Casablanca Conference , the initial go - ahead was given , and Churchill ordered his commanders to lay out relevant plans on 27 January 1943 . The plans , codenamed " Operation Accolade " , called for a direct attack on Rhodes and Karpathos , with forces totaling three infantry divisions , an armoured brigade , and relevant support units . Landings at Crete , which was too well fortified and had a strong German garrison , were dropped . The main problem faced by the planners was the difficulty of countering the 10th Flying Corps ( " X Fliegerkorps " ) of the German Air Force ( " Luftwaffe " ) because of a lack of air cover , since the American and British aircraft were based in Cyprus and the Middle East . This challenge was further exacerbated by the demands of the upcoming invasion of Sicily . The Americans were skeptical about the operation , which they regarded as aiming mostly at post - war political benefits for Britain , and an unnecessary diversion from the main front in Italy . They refused to support it , warning the British that they would have to go on alone . As an Italian surrender became increasingly possible , in August 1943 the British started preparations to quickly take advantage of a possible Italian - German split , in the form of a scaled - down " Accolade " . A force based on 8th Indian Division started being assembled , and American assistance in the form of P - 38 Lightning long - range fighter squadrons was requested . As a result of the Quebec Conference , however , and the American refusal to assent to the British plans , the forces and ships earmarked for " Accolade " were diverted to other fronts , barely a week before the surrender of Italy on 8 September . Initial Allied and German moves — The Fall of Rhodes . On the announcement of the Armistice , the Italian garrisons on most of the Dodecanese Islands either wanted to change sides and fight with the Allies or just return to their homes . However , in anticipation of the Italian surrender , German forces , based largely in mainland Greece , had been rushed to many of the islands to gain control . The German forces were part of Army Group E commanded by " Luftwaffe " General Alexander Löhr . The most important German force in the Dodecanese was the 7 , 500 - strong Assault Division " Rhodes " ( " Sturm - Division Rhodos " ) commanded by " Generalleutnant " Ulrich Kleemann . This division had been formed during the summer in the island of Rhodes , which was the administrative center of the Dodecanese Islands and possessed three military airfields . Because of this , Rhodes was the principal military objective for both the Allies and the Germans . On 8 September , the Italian garrison on the island of Kastelorizo surrendered to a British detachment , which was reinforced during the following days by ships of the Allied navies . The next day , a British delegation , headed by Lord Jellicoe , was dropped by parachute on Rhodes , in order to persuade the Italian commander , Admiral Inigo Campioni , to join the Allies . The swift action of the German forces , however , preempted the Allies . Without waiting for the Italians to decide , Kleemann attacked the 40 , 000 - strong Italian garrison on 9 September , and forced it to surrender by 11 September . The loss of Rhodes dealt a heavy and critical blow to Allied hopes . While the government of the Kingdom of Italy surrendered and many Italian soldiers in the Aegean were tired of the war and had become opposed to Mussolini , Italian Fascist loyalists remained allied to Germany in the Greek campaign , with General Mario Soldarelli rallying Fascist Blackshirts and Italian soldiers loyal to Mussolini to continue the war in support of Mussolini ' s aims , and German forces in Greece convinced 10 , 000 Italians in the Aegean to continue to support their war effort . Despite this setback , however , the British High Command pressed ahead with the occupation of the other islands , especially the three larger ones , Kos , Samos and Leros . The Germans were known to be overstretched in the Aegean , while the Allies enjoyed definite superiority at sea and the air cover provided by two Spitfire squadrons ( 7 Squadron , SAAF and 74 Squadron , RAF ) at Kos was deemed sufficient . It was hoped that from these islands , with Italian cooperation , an assault against Rhodes could be eventually launched . Thus , from 10 to 17 September , the British 234th Infantry Brigade under Major General F . G . R . Brittorous coming from Malta , together with 160 men from the SBS , 130 men from the LRDG , A Company , 11th Bn , Parachute Regiment and Greek Sacred Band detachments had secured the islands of Kos , Kalymnos , Samos , Leros , Symi and Astypalaia , supported by ships of the British and Greek navies . The Germans quickly mobilized in response . By 19 September , Karpathos , Kasos and the Italian - occupied islands of the Sporades and the Cyclades were in German hands . On 23 September , Lieutenant - General Friedrich - Wilhelm Müller was ordered to take Kos and Leros . Müller was the commander of the 22nd Infantry Division garrisoning " Fortress Crete " . Battle of Kos . Having identified the vital role of the Allies ' only airfield at Kos , " X Fliegerkorps " started carrying out bombing raids on it and the Allied positions of the island , from 18 September . At the same time , reinforcements in aircraft started arriving , giving the Germans 362 operational aircraft in the area of the Aegean by 1 October . The British forces on Kos numbered about 1 , 500 men , 680 of whom where from the 1st Bn , Durham Light Infantry , the rest being mainly RAF personnel , and ca . 3 , 500 Italians of the 10th Regiment of the 50th " Regina " Infantry Division . On 3 October , the Germans effected amphibious and airborne landings known as Operation " Eisbär " ( " Polar Bear " ) and reached the outskirts of the island ' s capital later that day . The British withdrew under cover of night . They surrendered the next day . The fall of Kos was a major blow to the Allies , since it deprived them of vital air cover . The Germans captured 1388 British and 3145 Italian prisoners . On 3 October , German troops executed the captured Italian commander of the island , Colonel Felice Leggio , and 101 of his officers . This was done in accordance with Adolf Hitler ' s order of 11 September to execute captured Italian officers . Battle of Leros . In the aftermath of the fall of Kos , the Italian garrison of Kalymnos surrendered , providing the Germans with a valuable base for operations against their next target , Leros . The operation , codenamed Operation " Leopard " , was originally scheduled for 9 October , but on 7 October , the Royal Navy intercepted and destroyed the German convoy headed for Kos . In addition to the loss of several hundred men , the Germans also lost most of their few heavy landing craft . The Germans were forced to bring in new ones by rail , and it was not until 5 November that they had assembled a fleet of 24 such light infantry landing craft . To avoid interception by the Allied navies , they were dispersed among several Aegean islands and camouflaged . Despite Allied efforts to locate and sink the invasion fleet , as well as repeated shelling of the ports of German - held islands ( see naval operations section below ) , the Germans suffered little losses and were able to assemble their invasion force , under " Generalleutnant " Müller , for Operation " Taifun " ( " Typhoon " ) on 12 November . The German invasion force consisted of personnel from all branches of the " Wehrmacht " , including veterans from the 22nd Infantry Division , a " Fallschirmjäger " ( paratroop ) battalion , and an amphibious operations company ( coastal raider , " Küstenjäger " ) from the Brandenburger special operation units . The Allied garrison of Leros consisted of most of the 234th Infantry Brigade , ca . 3 , 000 men of the 2nd Bn , The Royal Irish Fusiliers , under Lieutenant Colonel Maurice French , the 4th Bn , The Buffs ( The Royal East Kent Regiment ) , the 1st Bn , The King ' s Own Royal Regiment ( Lancaster ) , and the 2nd company of the 2nd Bn , Queen ' s Own Royal West Kent Regiment , under Brigadier Robert Tilney , who assumed command on 5 November . There were also ca . 8 , 500 regular Italian soldiers , mostly naval personnel , under Admiral Luigi Mascherpa . Leros had been subjected by the " Luftwaffe " to a prolonged aerial bombardment , starting on 26 September , which had already caused significant casualties and damage , both among the defenders of the island and amongst the supporting naval forces . In the early hours of 12 November , the invasion force in two groups approached the island from east and west . Despite failures in some areas , the Germans established a bridgehead , while airborne forces landed on Mt . Rachi , in the middle of the island . After repulsing the Allied counterattacks and being reinforced the following night , the Germans quickly cut the island in two and the Allies surrendered on 16 November . The Germans suffered 520 casualties and captured 3 , 200 British and 5 , 350 Italian soldiers . Naval operations . Since the operational theater was dominated by a multitude of islands and the Allies and Germans had to rely on naval vessels for reinforcements and supplies , the naval component of the campaign was especially pronounced . Initially , naval presence on both sides was low , most of the Allied shipping and warships had been transferred to the central Mediterranean , in support of the operations in Italy , while the Germans did not have a large naval force in the Aegean . The Germans had air superiority , which caused the Allies many losses in ships . Vice Admiral Werner Lange , German Naval Commander - in - Chief of the Aegean , tried to reinforce the isolated German garrisons and carry out operations against Allied garrisons , while transporting the Italian prisoners of war to the mainland . Allied ships tried to intercept these , resulting in several tragic losses . On 23 September , sank the torpedo - boat " TA 10 " and the steamer " Donizetti " , which had 1 , 576 Italian captives on board . Another tragedy occurred a month later , when USAAF B - 25 s and RAF Beaufighter s sank the cargo ship " Sinfra " , which had 2 , 389 Italian POWs , 71 Greek POWs and 204 German guards on board , of whom only 539 were saved . On 14 September the first Allied loss occurred , when RHN " Katsonis " , was rammed and sunk by U - boat hunter " UJ 2101 " . The " Luftwaffe " also intervened in force : On 26 September , 25 Junkers 88 s sank the RHN " Vasilissa Olga " and the at Lakki Bay , Leros , followed on 1 October by the Italian " Euro " and and " Carlisle " ( heavily damaged ) on 9 October . At the same time , the short range of Hunt class destroyer s HMS " Aldenham " and RHN " Pindos " and RHN " Themistoklis " prevented them from intercepting the German invasion convoy headed for Kos . Further losses on both sides followed ; after the loss of Kos and friendly air cover , the Allied navies concentrated on supply missions to the threatened islands of Leros and Samos , mostly under the cover of night . On 22 – 24 October , a German minefield east of Kalymnos caused the sinking of HMS " Hurworth " and , while RHN " Adrias " lost its prow ; the ship managed to escape to the Turkish coast and after makeshift repairs , sailed to Alexandria . On the night of 10 – 11 November , a group consisting of the destroyers HMS " Petard " , HMS " Rockwood " and ORP " Krakowiak " bombarded Kalymnos and HMS " Faulknor " Kos , where German forces were assembling for the attack on Leros . Nonetheless , the German convoy reached Leros on 12 November , escorted by over 25 ships , mostly U - boat hunters , torpedo boats and mine sweepers . During the subsequent nights , Allied destroyers tried to find and destroy the German vessels without success , limiting themselves to bombarding the German positions on Leros . With the fall of Leros on 16 November , the Allied ships were withdrawn , evacuating the remaining British garrisons . By that time , the Germans had also started employing the Dornier Do 217 s of " KG . 100 " , with their novel Henschel Hs 293 radio - controlled missile , scoring two hits : causing severe damage to HMS " Rockwood " on 11 November and sinking HMS " Dulverton " two days later . The Allies lost six destroyers sunk and two cruisers and two destroyers damaged , between 7 September and 28 November 1943 . Aftermath . After the fall of Leros , Samos and the other smaller islands were evacuated . The Germans bombed Samos with Stuka s ( I . Group Stuka Wing 3 in Megara ) , prompting the 2 , 500 - strong Italian garrison to surrender on 22 November . Along with the occupation of the smaller islands of Patmos , Fournoi and Ikaria on 18 November , the Germans thus completed their conquest of the Dodecanese , which they were to continue to hold until the end of the war . The Dodecanese Campaign is one of the last great defeats of the British Army in World War II , and one of the last German victories . The German victory was predominantly due to their possession of complete air superiority , which caused great losses to the Allies , especially in ships , and enabled the Germans to supply and support their forces . The operation was criticized by many at the time as another useless Gallipoli - like disaster and laid the blame at Churchill ' s door ; perhaps unfairly so , since he had pushed for these efforts to be made far sooner , before the Germans were prepared . In the context of the Holocaust , the British failure to capture the Dodecanese sealed the fate of the Jews living there . Although Italy had passed the anti - Jewish law of the Manifesto of Race in 1938 , Jews living on the Dodecanese islands ( and Italian - occupied Greece ) experienced much less antisemitism than in the German and Bulgarian occupied zones of Greece , where harsher and harsher policies were implemented over time against the Jews , culminating in March 1943 with deportations to the death camps in occupied Poland . The Italian surrender , the subsequent German takeover and the failure of the Allied offensive meant that the safe haven disappeared and most of the Dodecanese Jews were eventually murdered by the Germans . In particular , 1 , 700 members of the ancient Jewish community of Rhodes ( of a population of about 2000 ) were rounded up by the Gestapo in July 1944 and only some 160 of them survived the camps . The Italian prisoners of war were transferred to the mainland by the Germans in overcrowded unseaworthy vessels , which led to several accidents , of which the sinking of the SS " Oria " on February 12 , 1944 was the most deadly . More than 4 , 000 Italians died when the ship sank in a storm . In popular culture . The failed campaign , and in particular the Battle of Leros , inspired the 1957 novel " The Guns of Navarone " and the successful 1961 movie of the same name . Louis de Bernières ' 1994 novel " Captain Corelli ' s Mandolin " depicts the massacre of the Acqui Division in Cephallonia . John Madden released a film version of the novel in 2001 , starring Nicolas Cage .