Battle of Rhodes (1943)

The Battle of Rhodes (Μάχη της Ρόδου) was a brief battle between Italian and German forces for the control of the Greek island of Rhodes, in the then Italian-held Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea.

Background
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 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.