Churchill's Folly - Clay's Ltd. 9780304361519

Leros and the Aegean. The Last Great British Defeat of World War Two.

Pre-owned Book. Hardcover. 288 Page. Book and Cover in Good Condition.

By Anthony Rogers

Foreword by The RT. HON. The Earl Jellicoe KBE. DSO. MC. FRS.

ISBN 0304361518

Today many of the Greek islands of the Dodecanese are popular tourist resorts. However in 1943 they were the scene of the last successful German invasion of World War II. The islands had been occupied by the Italians since 1912 but this was to change with the Italian Armistice of September 1943. With the downfall of Il Duce, Benito Mussolini, Winston Churchill seized the opportunity to open a new front in the eastern Mediterranean, thereby adding to the pressure being applied against Germany by the Soviets and at the same time providing encouragement for Turkey to join the Alliance. Rejected by the Americans, it was a proposal fraught with difficulties and, ultimately, one that was doomed to failure. Spearheaded by the Long Range Desert Group and Special Boat Squadron, British garrison troops occupied territory with the assistance of naval forces, but with little or no air cover. They were opposed by some of Germany's finest, including units of the esteemed Division Brandenburg, with ample air and sea support. Men and material were sacrificed in three months of operations which ended in a British defeat and with the Aegean under German occupation until the end of the war.