KOS AND LEROS 1943 The German Conquest of the Dodecanese ANTHONY ROGERS ILLUSTRATED BY DARREN TAN CAMPAIGN 339 KOS AND LEROS 1943 The German Conquest of the Dodecanese ANTHONY ROGERS ILLUSTRATED BY DARREN TAN Series Editor Marcus Cowper CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 4 The strategic setting CHRONOLOGY 8 OPPOSING COMMANDERS 9 German commanders British commanders Italian commanders n n OPPOSING FORCES 13 German forces British forces Italian forces Order of battle n n n OPPOSING PLANS 20 German plans British plans n THE CAMPAIGN 25 Prelude Operation Eisbär War at sea and on land: 4–11 October n n War at sea: 12–21 October Levitha War at sea: 22–31 October n n Change of command at Leros War at sea and in the air: 1 – 11 November n Enigma and Ultra Operation Taifun 12 November 13 November n n 14 November 15 November 16 November n n THE AFTERMATH 90 THE BATTLEFIELDS TODAY 92 BIBLIOGRAPHY 93 INDEX 95 INTRODUCTION During World War I, Winston Churchill had been forced to resign as First Sea Lord of the Admiralty as a result of his role in the disastrous Allied effort in the Dardanelles. Twenty-eight years on, his apparent fixation with the region would resurface with dire consequence. The Italian armistice of September 1943 provided Churchill, now Britain’s prime minister, with an opportunity to conduct a major operation in the eastern Mediterranean. It was argued that a new front in the Aegean would increase pressure against a faltering Wehrmacht and might even persuade Turkey to join the Allies. In spite of American opposition, Churchill proceeded. Spearheaded by the Special Boat Squadron and the Long Range Desert Group, British-led forces were sent to occupy the Italian-administered Dodecanese. Three months later, Kastellorizo was the only island remaining in British hands. The cost was an entire infantry brigade, some 100 aircraft and 20 naval vessels. THE STRATEGIC SETTING The Aegean Sea is part of the eastern Mediterranean and provides access via the Dardanelles to the Sea of Marmara. This, in turn, is linked by The Germans were quick to react in the wake of the Italian armistice. Generalleutnant Ulrich Kleeman’s Sturmdivision Rhodos seized control of Rhodes on 11 September 1943, taking prisoner some 35,000–40,000 Italians. A vast quantity of Italian weapons was also seized. (Author’s collection) 4 the Bosporus to the Black Sea. The Aegean is characterized by its many On Monday morning, islands, with two main archipelagos forming the Cyclades in the south, 13 September, an advance and the Dodecanese in the south-east. The Dodecanese, populated party of the Special Boat Squadron arrived by sea at mainly by those of Greek extraction, comprise 14 principal islands (not Kos. These are members of ‘S’ 12 as the name implies). These are: Patmos, Lipsi, Leros, Kalymnos, Detachment SBS and crew of Kos, Astipalaea, Nisyros, Tilos, Halki, Symi, Rhodes, Karpathos, Kasos ML 349 at Kos port. (Kostas and Kastellorizo. Kogiopoulos) In the early 16th century, after more than 200 years under the Knights of St John, Rhodes, soon followed by the rest of the Dodecanese, fell to the Ottomans. The situation prevailed until the Italo-Turkish war of 1911–12, from which Italy would emerge triumphant, having seized Libya and most of the Dodecanese. An agreement that Italy would relinquish control in the Dodecanese was delayed by the outbreak of the Balkan Wars (1912–13) and further complicated as a result of World War I, when, as an inducement for the Italians to come on side, the Allies accorded Italy full possession of the Dodecanese. After the Armistice, the future of the region continued to be a subject for debate, but was still under Italian occupation at the start of World War II. When, in September 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany, Turkey refrained from taking sides, preferring instead to maintain cordial relations with the warring factions. Il Duce Benito Mussolini also opted for neutrality, until the time seemed right to join what looked like being the winning side. On 10 June 1940, Italy entered the war as Germany’s ally against Britain and France. The Greeks did not wish to precipitate a German invasion by allowing Britain to establish a military presence in their country. But, after meeting 5 with the British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden in February 1941, Greek government ministers were persuaded that Germany intended in any event to subjugate their homeland. The Royal Navy had already been granted the use of port facilities on the island of Crete and soon British forces began to arrive in mainland Greece. The Germans invaded a few weeks later and by the end of April they had overrun the country. Surviving British and Greek forces withdrew to Crete, which fell to a German airborne assault in May 1941. Farther south, German forces had recently arrived in Libya in support of their Italian allies. In the central Mediterranean, Malta continued to provide the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy with a base from which to disrupt Axis supply routes, but was proving expensive to maintain. The situation in North Africa might have developed very differently had Malta not held out. As it was, the outcome of the desert war remained in the balance until mid- 1942, by which time British forces had been pushed back towards Alexandria before the line was eventually stabilized at El Alamein. On 18 October, the final Italo-German air offensive against Malta ended in an Allied victory. On the night of the 23rd, the British Eighth Army launched a major offensive against Axis forces in the Western Desert. It Officers of the Kos Allied was the beginning of the end for the Deutsches Afrikakorps. October 1942 landing party, probably on heralded a welcome reversal of British fortunes in the Mediterranean and the their way to meet the Italian commander, Colonello Felice Middle East. By November, the Afrikakorps was retreating westward and on Leggio: Second from left is SBS the 8th the Allies landed in Algeria and Morocco. Major David Sutherland; to his Now that they were in a position to do so, the commanders-in-chief in left is Lieutenant Commander the Middle East began to consider action in the eastern Mediterranean. Frank Ramseyer, RNVR. (Kostas Kogiopoulos) If they could re-occupy Crete and take possession of the Dodecanese, the 6 British would be ideally placed to restrict Axis movements in the region. Such a development was bound to inspire Turkish confidence and might even persuade Turkey to declare openly for the Allies. This would allow the use of Turkish airbases from which to strike at Greece, Romania and Bulgaria; it would open the way through the Dardanelles and Bosporus and, controversially, could even lead to action in the Balkans. After reconsidering, it was concluded that the defences in Crete were such that it was unlikely that the island could be taken. The possibility of capturing Rhodes and the Dodecanese with the object of opening the Aegean as far as Izmir in Turkey was seen as feasible, but only if the Luftwaffe was pre-occupied elsewhere. There would also be a requirement for additional resources: two auxiliary aircraft carriers, 88 assorted landing craft and ten aircraft squadrons. A proposal was referred to Winston Churchill, then in Morocco attending the Casablanca Conference with America’s President Roosevelt. The idea appealed to the Prime Minister, who decided to seek the opinions of the Chiefs of Staff. They needed time to respond. The whole question of Allied strategy for 1943 was still under consideration and depended largely on available resources. But just six days later, on 27 January 1943, Churchill instructed the commanders-in-chief to plan and prepare for the capture of the Dodecanese employing the utmost ‘ingenuity and resource’. The Americans were less than enthusiastic about opening another front. The United States Military Command considered that there was really only one way to defeat Hitler: by striking at Germany itself. Operations in the Aegean, codename ‘Accolade’, would therefore be almost exclusively a British affair. On 25 July 1943, following the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) Benito Mussolini was ousted and replaced by Maresciallo Pietro Badoglio. Suddenly, it seemed, Italy had no interest in continuing the war as an Axis partner. While Badoglio’s government negotiated surrender terms with the Allies, Adolf Hitler and his Staff prepared for the inevitable. Having anticipated Italy’s volte-face the Germans responded with countermeasures under the codename Achse (Axis). Sturmdivision Rhodos quickly seized control of Rhodes, the largest and strategically most important island in the Dodecanese, disarming and taking prisoner tens of thousands of Italians. British plans to secure Rhodes with the cooperation of resident Italian forces were thus pre-empted. Rhodes was the key, without which, any attempt to seize and hold the rest of the Dodecanese was likely to fail. Winston Churchill was undeterred. Operation Accolade would proceed regardless and British forces were hurriedly deployed to occupy remaining islands. For some time, Adolf Hitler had expected such an occurrence, his fears reinforced prior to Husky with a strategy of deception by the British and Americans. German forces in Greece and the Balkans were formidable. The German war effort was partly reliant on natural resources imported from the region. Greece, in particular, was a valuable source of ore, including chrome (used in armoured steel production) and bauxite (from which aluminium was extracted). But more importantly, if Allied air bases were established in the Aegean, the all-important Ploesti oilfields in Romania would be well within reach of bombers and long-range fighters. A British presence in the Aegean could hardly be ignored, therefore, and German forces were tasked with taking immediate action. 7 CHRONOLOGY 8 September Italian armistice announced. 5 November Brigadier Robert Tilney takes over command on Leros. 9 September Three-man liaison team parachutes into Rhodes. 12 November Germans begin Operation Taifun with sea landings on the northern coast 10 September Two-man liaison team parachutes into of Leros and a parachute drop in the Kos. Kastellorizo occupied by Special centre of the island. Leros is effectively Boat Squadron (SBS). Unofficial divided in two by German forces. mission arrives at Samos. 13 November More German forces are landed at 11 September German Sturmdivision Rhodos takes Leros. German assault takes Appetici. control of Rhodes. Fighting at Quirico. 13 September SBS arrives at Kos. 13–14 November Unsuccessful night counter-attack by British at Appetici. 15 September Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) spearheads occupation of Leros. First 14 November Clidi is retaken by the Buffs. Fighting of Durham Light Infantry reaches Kos. resumes at Rachi and at Quirico. Both sides land reinforcements. 16 September SBS arrives at Samos. 15 November Fighting continues on Rachi 17 September Royal Irish Fusiliers (first of four Ridge. More British and German infantry battalions) begin to arrive at reinforcements arrive at Leros. Leros. SBS sent to Symi. 16 November Brigadier Tilney is taken prisoner at 22 September Germans prepare to take Kos and Meraviglia and surrenders British Leros. At about this time, the first forces on Leros. contingent of the Royal West Kents lands at Samos. 19 November Allies begin evacuation of Samos. 25 September LRDG sets up base at Kalymnos. 22 November Samos is occupied by German forces. With the exception of Kastellorizo, the 3 October Operation Eisbär (German invasion Dodecanese are in German hands. of Kos) begins. German forces push swiftly inland. 4 October Kos in German hands. British evacuate Kalymnos. 7 October Kalymnos occupied by German forces. 11 October Symi evacuated by British forces. 22 October Astipalaea invaded by German forces. 24 October LRDG detachment overwhelmed in battle at Levitha. 8 OPPOSING COMMANDERS GERMAN COMMANDERS Generaloberst Alexander Löhr was Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) Heeresgruppe E (Army Group E), which controlled the Wehrmacht (German armed forces) in the Aegean area. The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) in the eastern Mediterranean was nowhere near as powerful as the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean Fleet, but nonetheless crucial to German operations in the region. Senior naval officer Aegean was Vizeadmiral Werner Lange. Air operations fell to General der Flieger Martin Fiebig of Luftwaffenkommando Südost (Air Force Command South-East). Land forces were the responsibility of Generalleutnant Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller, a Prussian officer who, like many of his generation, had fought in World War I. Since 1939, he had served on the Western and Eastern Fronts. In autumn 1943 he was Commanding Officer (CO) of 22. Infanteriedivision, from which the majority of troops were drawn for forthcoming operations in the Dodecanese. Land forces were organized into several Kampfgruppen (battle groups). For the taking of Kos, there would be two such groups. Each was named LEFT Generalleutnant Friedrich- Wilhelm Müller commanded 22. Infanteriedivision, whose troops comprised the majority of land forces tasked with seizing the Dodecanese. During operations to take Kos and Leros, Müller’s assault force was organized into several Kampfgruppen (battle groups). For Operation Eisbär there were two such groups, each named after its respective commander. (Author’s collection) FAR LEFT Major Sylvester von Saldern officer commanding II./Gren.- Rgt. 65 was responsible for Kampfgruppe von Saldern during Operations Eisbär and Taifun. (Author’s collection) 9 RIGHT Hauptmann Armin Kuhlmann OC 1./Küstenjäger-Abt. ‘Brandenburg’ commanded Kampfgruppe Kuhlmann. (Author’s collection) FAR RIGHT During Operation Taifun there were five battle groups. After Hauptmann Kuhlmann was severely wounded in an air raid at Kalymnos, he was replaced as OC Küstenjäger by Leutnant Hans Schädlich, also responsible for Kampfgruppe Schädlich. (Author’s collection) after its respective commander. Major Sylvester von Saldern was the experienced CO of II. Bataillon/Grenadierregiment 65 (II./Gren.Rgt. 65) and Kampfgruppe von Saldern. (In the Wehrmacht, Roman numerals were used to indicate battalions, and Arabic numerals other unit formations.) Hauptmann Armin Kuhlmann was born in Namibia, a dual German and British national. He is thought to have served in an infantry unit in Poland in 1939 and, later, in North Africa. He was officer commanding (OC) 1. Kompanie/Küstenjägerabteilung ‘Brandenburg’ (1./Küstenjäger-Abt. ‘Brandenburg’) and Kampfgruppe Kuhlmann. Five battle groups were created for the seizure of Leros. Tasked once again was Kampfgruppe von Saldern, as well as Brandenburg Küstenjäger. This time, however, the latter would land as Kampfgruppe Schädlich under RIGHT Hauptmann Helmut Dörr OC III./Gren.Rgt. 440 headed Kampfgruppe Dörr. (Author’s collection) FAR RIGHT Hauptmann Martin Kühne OC I./Fallschirmjäger-Rgt. 2 led the airborne element, Kampfgruppe Kühne. Kühne is shown here shortly after the award of the Ritterkreuz (Knight’s Cross) on 29 February 1944. (Author’s collection) 10