Dodecanese Campaign

The British Dodecanese Campaign of September 8, 1943 to October 22, 1943 was an operation in World War II and aimed at a conquest of the Italian Aegean Islands.

Target

The aim of this landing operation was to occupy the Dodecanese Islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea after the capitulation of Italy as soon as possible in order to use them as a base for operations against the controlled Germany Balkans, in particular for air attacks on the Romanian oil fields of Ploiesti.

Course

Through the Allied preparations most Italian soldiers wanted to either return to their home or switch sides, which is why German forces of Army Group E were moved from the mainland to the Dodecanese Islands. The greatest importance here was the 7,500 -strong Rhodes Assault Division under the command of Lieutenant General Ulrich Kleemann.

On 8 September, the Italian garrison surrendered on Kastelorizo ​​against British troops. This prompted the division commander Kleemann, to give the order to attack on September 9 against the 40,000 -strong Italian contingent, which capitulated on 11 September.

In response to the Allied conquest of the islands of Kos, Kalymnos, Samos, Leros, Symi and Astypalia the German army mobilized the 22nd Infantry Division under the command of Lieutenant-General Friedrich- Wilhelm Müller, who on September 19 already Karpathos, Kasos and the Italian-occupied islands of the Sporades and Cyclades controlled.

In October, the German Air Force discovered the bases of the English forces on Kos and tried this first by air raids, then to fight with an amphibious landing operation. This operation was code-named company Polar bear and forced the British troops to retreat overnight. During this battle British in 1388 and 3145 still remaining Italian prisoners were taken.

As a result of the surrender of the Italian forces on Kos, the Italian garrison of Kalymnos, which is a major relief for operations against the next destination Leros under the code name Leopard companies. Revealed When the attack began October 9 was set, but this was delayed due to the sinking of the German convoys of troops ( steamer Olympos with 5 Fährprähmen ) by the Royal Navy until November 12.

By landings divided into two invasion groups, one from the east and from the west, could quickly be established a bridgehead across the coastal hunter Department of Brandenburg Division. The following night, landed German paratroopers in the middle of the island and the Allied forces were quickly cut into two parts. In response, the Allied troops were on November 16. The losses during this operation amounted to 520 man on the German side and 3200 British and 5350 Italian prisoners.

Follow

The Allied attacks hit on all three contested islands, Rhodes, Leros and Kos will fail. Under heavy losses in men and material, the British had to withdraw again from the islands of Dodekanesgruppe. The islands were subsequently occupied by German troops of the 22nd Infantry Division under the command of Lieutenant-General Friedrich- Wilhelm Müller from Crete and held until the German capitulation of the German Wehrmacht on 8 May 1945.