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 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 t...
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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 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 island, 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 armoured 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...
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