Battle of Kos
| Battle of Kos | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Dodecanese Campaign of World War II | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Italy United Kingdom South Africa
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 Germany
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Col. Felice Leggio  Col. L.R.F. Kenyon (POW)
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Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller
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| Strength | |||||||||
| ca. 3,500 Italians 1,388 British |
4,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 3,145 Italians & 1,388 British POWs 91 Italian officers executed |
15 dead, 70 wounded | ||||||||
The Battle of Kos (Greek: Μάχη της Κω) was a brief battle between British, Italian and German forces for the control of the Greek island of Kos, in the then Italian-held Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea.
With the capitulation of Italy in September 1943, German forces in the Balkans and the Mediterranean moved to take over the Italian-held areas. At the same time, the Allies, under the instigation of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, endeavoured to occupy the Dodecanese island chain. The Dodecanese islands, under Italian control since 1912, were strategically located in the southeastern Aegean Sea, and Churchill hoped to use them as a base against German positions in the Balkans, and as a means to pressure neutral Turkey into the war on the Allied side.
The main prize, the island of Rhodes, fell to a swift attack by a German mechanized brigade. Nevertheless, British forces landed on several islands, most notably Kos and Leros, and together with the Italian forces located there, there were hopes of eventually regaining Rhodes. On 13 September 1943 thirty-eight Liberators from North Africa bombed the three airfields on the island of Rhodes effectively grounding the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) aircraft, while SBS units landed on Kos, occupying the port and the airfield near the village of Antimachia. On 14 September two Beaufighters and a number of Spitfires from 7 Squadron, SAAF flew on to the airfield. On the night of the 14/15 September 120 paratroopers from 11th Parachute Battalion were dropped by Dakotas of No. 216 Squadron RAF on the island. The paratroopers were welcomed by the Italian garrison who laid straw on the landing zone.
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Wikipedia