The Dodecanese are a group of over 160 islands between the southeastern Aegean Sea and the
Eastern Mediterranean that don’t even total 1,100 square miles.
And yet, this was the location of the last great battle in which the Nazis beat the Allies
during World War II.
The archipelago was one of the most coveted strategic points for both sides, and the Greek
island Leros took the bulk of the conflict.
After Italy surrendered in September of 1943, the British sent reinforcements to support
the Italian troops stationed in Greece, but the incessant German attacks that followed
proved too much for the Allied forces.
The Battle of Leros would end up becoming the central event of the Dodecanese campaign,
and gave the Germans one last victory.
The Corregidor of the Mediterranean
The Dodecanese archipelago is a group of 15 larger and 150 smaller Greek islands located
in the southeastern Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean.
Twenty-six of them are inhabited, and they came under the rule of the Italian government
after the Italo-Turkish war broke out in 1911.
For three decades, these islands became a coveted strategic objective of colonial ambitions
in the Eastern Mediterranean.
When Italy joined the Axis powers in World War II, many of the Dodecanese islands became
an essential naval staging area for the invasion of Crete in 1941.
The largest of the islands, Rhodes, became a tactical military and aerial base, while
the island of Leros was transformed into a fortified aeronautical base due to its deep-water
port of Lakki.
Benito Mussolini once referred to Leros as the ‘Corregidor of the Mediterranean.’
He was convinced of the island’s potential in the path to Italy’s domination of the
eastern Aegean Sea.
During the Casablanca conference in January of 1943, Allied commander Winston Churchill
proposed to capture Crete and the Dodecanese archipelago.
The objective was to deprive the Nazis of their prime forward bases in the Mediterranean
and pressure neutral Turkey to join the conflict.
He also believed that departing from the Dodecanese would make a solid ploy to attack German troops
stationed in the Balkan Peninsula.
The Americans were skeptical and refused to support Churchill's plan, as they were convinced
the operation would only benefit Britain.
Still, that same month, Churchill was given the go-ahead to prepare the invasion.
The Dodecanese Campaign
Operation Accolade called for a direct amphibious attack on the islands of Rhodes and Karpathos.
The objective of launching an offensive on Crete was ultimately dropped because the area
was highly fortified and supported by a strong German garrison.
But complications soon followed.
The main issue became the difficulty to counter the Luftwaffe troops on Rhodes and Karpathos
without air cover.
In addition, Italy’s surrender was becoming likelier as the months went by.
And by August, Britain started preparing for a potential joint operation between the Italians
and the Allied forces on a smaller scale than Operation Accolade.
Still, Churchill assembled a force to fight in the Dodecanese, and when the German Army
found out, they decided to anticipate their enemy and also sent troops to the islands.
Italy finally surrendered with the Armistice of Cassibile on September 3, 1943.
By then, the Allies were ready to fight for the Dodecanese archipelago.
And so were the Nazis.
Taking the Islands
As soon as the Armistice was signed, German forces were rushed to many of the major Greek
islands like Kos and Rhodes to take control over the Allies.
From September 9 to 11, the Nazis neutralized the garrison stationed on the island of Rhodes
and took over its three airfields.
This proved a critical blow to the Allies.
Despite the setback, the British High command gave orders to move forward with the occupation
of other significant islands such as Kos, Samos, and particularly Leros, the most critical
aeronautical base.
However, the Nazis were aware of the importance of the Kos airfield and bombarded the island
on September 18.
The British withdrew and surrendered the next day.
Without crucial air cover, the Allies’ last chance at victory now hinged on Leros.
Troops
After the Armistice, most Italian garrisons stationed in the Dodecanese wanted to fight
alongside the Allies.
Around 3,000 British soldiers led by Brigadier Robert Tinley joined the 8,000 Italian soldiers
led by Luigi Mascherpa in Leros.
The island’s defenses included 13 coastal batteries, 12 anti-aircraft and dual-purpose
batteries, and several machine guns.
The Italian and Greek vessels stationed in Leros included the Turbine-class destroyer
Euro, MAS torpedo boats, and several other auxiliary ships.
Air support was not significant, with 144 fighters and 116 bombers designated to protect
the area.
Meanwhile, the Germans rolled out Operation Leopard, commanded by General Friedrich-Wilhelm
Müller.
They would lead with a unit composed of an amphibious commando company and dozens of
parachutists, totaling 2,800 soldiers.
They also had two groups with JU-87 dive bombers for close air support and several JU-88s that
would depart from their bases and launch separate airstrikes.
The Battle
On November 12, at 4:45 am, the Germans took advantage of the calm seas and approached
Leros from the North.
This tactic caught the Allies by surprise, and the Germans gained control of several
small areas surrounding the island.
Ten hours later, hundreds of German parachuters flew over Leros, catching the Allies by surprise
once again.
They had previously believed that the archipelago was not a suitable location for this type
of arrival.
The Allied scenario became even more complicated when the Germans cut off the communication
systems in the area.
The radios stopped working, which added another layer of confusion and miscommunication between
the British and the Italians.
The Allies needed to do something drastic if they wanted to successfully defend the
island and performed a series of coordinated attacks on the recently occupied German territories,
especially Aptiki Island.
The maneuver seemed to be working, but then something went terribly wrong: Lieutenant
Colonel Maurice French, a crucial member of the Allied Forces in Leros, was seized by
the Germans.
Weakened Allied squads continued to approach the German-occupied Arkoi Island, but couldn't
penetrate the area.
By November 14, the Allies had lost all hope.
But suddenly a reinforcement infantry battalion entered through Porto Lago, a deep-water port
in Leros.
The British attacked from all possible fronts with their destroyers, airships, and cannons.
They then tried to enter from the South to connect both sides of the island, but their
forces didn’t seem to be enough against the relentless German troops.
The next day the Allies moved to seize Mount Maraviglia and connect the island.
The troops bravely fought for hours until another misfortune halted their plans.
Commander Robert Tilney was the man giving the orders during the battle, but the Nazi
forces surrounded his post.
The Germans continued their dominance over the entire area and launched several offensives
in different island sectors.
The Dodecanese islands were now in their hands.
Surrender
By 5:30 pm on November 16, Brigadier Tilney waved the white flag at the Germans approaching
his post.
Mascherpa and his men resisted for a few hours, but Tinley insisted that he surrender too.
By 10 pm, the Italian officer was captured, interrogated, and forced to order his remaining
forces to surrender.
On November 21, Mascherpa was transferred to mainland Greece and was then moved around
prison camps all over Europe.
Six months later, he was tried along with admiral Inigo Campioni by a Fascist kangaroo
court on treason charges for having resisted the German invasion of the Dodecanese.
While returning to prison during a pause in the trial, their vehicle was caught in the
middle of an air alarm.
A young officer in the escort told them to run away, but they refused.
Both men were eventually found guilty and sentenced to death on May 24.
Mascherpa’s last words were: [QUOTE] "Long live Italy."
Aftermath
After the defeat in the Dodecanese islands, the Commander-in-Chief of the British Ninth
Army, General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, reported to the Prime Minister that: [QUOTE] "Leros
has fallen, after a very gallant struggle against overwhelming air attack.
It was a near thing between success and failure.
Very little was needed to turn the scale in our favour and to bring off a triumph."
The lack of air support and poor communication between the Italians and the British cost
the lives of over 800 Allies and lost them the entire Dodecanese archipelago.
The Germans held onto the islands until the end of the war.
The Battle of Leros was Germany's last great victory over the British Army during World
War II.
The entire campaign was referred to by many as a useless Gallipoli-like disaster, and
they blamed it on Churchill.
Luigi Mascherpa and Inigo Campioni were posthumously awarded Italy’s Gold Medal of Military Valor
for their outstanding gallantry in war.
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