Since the beginning of the war in the Mediterranean, the Italian-owned Dodecanese Islands had drawn the British, and Churchill in particular, toward them. With the surrender of Italy, the draw proved irresistible and the British embarked on a round of adventurism for which they would pay dearly.

The Players

Wilson. When there are Allied operations with a whiff of the extraordinary, General Henry Maitland "Jumbo" Wilson always seems to be involved. The Dodecanese are no exception, and Wilson, Allied C-in-C Middle East, as always operating on a shoestring, can only make the best of a difficult situation.

Eisenhower. Although the Allied Middle East staff controls actual operations in the Aegean, the Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Theater is General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who is superior to the Middle East Command. He steadfastly refuses to release for use in the Aegean any unit - ground, sea, or air even remotely involved in the Italian campaign. He is backed in his opinion by Roosevelt, who, in this instance, cannot be swayed by Churchill.

Von Weichs. Generalfeldmarschall Maximillian Maria Joseph von Weichs commands of Heeresgruppe F (Army Group F) and also serves as Oberbefehlshaber Sudost. A former Bavarian cavalry officer and an early pioneer of the panzertruppen, von Weichs has extensive upper command experience gained in southern Russia. A devout Catholic, he has never been enamoured with nor trusted by Hitler. In the Aegean he will react with calm and efficiency to thwart the Allied moves.

The Allied Plan

Plans for the invasion of Rhodes have existed since 1941, when that island was isolated from Italy by Allied Greece. The 1941 operation was delayed until German intervention rendered it impossible, but the idea of seizing Rhodes has lingered on. Now, the time finally feels right.

In early September, British officers parachute onto Rhodes and other Italian occupied islands and begin exhorting their former enemies to resist the Germans. On Rhodes, 35,000 Italian occupation troops outnumber the 7,000 Germans, but many of the Italians are administration troops and morale is low. The small German force, organized and aggressive as always, takes control of the island using bluff and boldness. The Allies do not have the strength to succeed in an opposed landing and the plan for Rhodes, Operation ACCOLADE, is cancelled.

Not willing to give up on the Aegean, however, the British replace ACCOLADE with a smaller plan of landing a reinforced brigade on the smaller Dodecanese islands. There are no German forces on these islands and surely the Italians will fight when bolstered by their new allies. Small parties of British continue infiltrating the various islands of the Dodecanese, following soon by leading elements of the 2334" Infantry Brigade, formerly of the Malta garrison. They will occupy and expand the Italian airbase on Coo and attempt to make the Aegean untenable for the Germans.

The German Plan

When news comes of the Allied movements, the German commanders begin preparing from a withdrawal from Crete, the Aegean, and southern Greece. Hitler, however, will brook no withdrawal, and states that the Dodecanese will be retaken. Field Marshal von Weichs begins mustering forces from all over the Southeast Theater to strike back at the small Allied force.

The Game

Sep I

Over several days the small Allied force sails to the various islands of the Dodecanese, transported by a motley variety of craft, such as the 3rd Levant Schooner squadron equipped with caiques. The Allies can travel by NT, since the ports of the Dodecanese are Italian- owned and therefore friendly.

Coo: 1x 1-8* Inf II Z
Lero: 1x 1-8* Inf II Z and 1x 1-5* Mar Cdo II RFME
Samos: 1x 1-8* Inf II Z

The Spitfire unit flies a transfer mission to the newly occupied airfield at Coo. An Allied strategic air unit mission against German airfields fails to inflict significant damage.

The Germans roll on the success table for the ability to attack Allied units in Turkish waters, but fail.

Sep II

The Germans plan a combined airborne and amphibious operation for Oct I turn against Coo.

A Beaufighter from Cyprus flies CAP over Coo. The Germans launch air raids against the airfield on Coo, abort the intercepting Spit 5 (South African) and Beatifighter in air-to-air combat, then destroy the airfield with a hit.

Allied attempts to repair the airfield on Coo fail. Allied naval units bring in supply points to all the islands. Axis aircraft sink the destroyer Intrepid and the Greek destroyer Queen Olga at Portolago in Leros.

Oct I

The Germans land on Coo. The Brandenburger parachute unit lands undisrupted.

Coo Combat Summary (1511: 1902)
Axis	Allies
1x 2-6 Inf III A 1x 1-5 Par II BFJ 6 GS points (Ju 87D, Ju88 A4)	1x 0-1-6 Cons III Any (it) 1-8* Inf II Z (Br)
Axis inf unit quartered for amphibious assault, all are halved for lack of support	Italian unit is halved for lack of support.
Odds: 6.75:1.5 or 4: 1. Modifiers: None.
Die roll: '3' for a DR result.
Losses: The British battalion and Italian construction III are eliminated

Oct II

The Germans make their plans for a Nov I combined amphibious / airborne operation against Lero.

The Germans sail their NT units to Coo with a supply point, but are intercepted by the Allied TF using reaction movement from Turkish waters and an NT is sunk. [ The British, led by the cruisers Sirius and Penelope sank the ammunition ship Olympus, an armed trawler, and six motor ferry barges. The next day the submarine Unruly sank the minelayer Bulgaria]. Although the NT is sunk, the German LC takes the Brandenburger parachute unit off Coo and back to Athenai. A German infantry regiment stages to Calino (1513: 180 1).

German air units score a hit on the Allied TF. [ In addition to the destroyers lost the previous turn, the Luftwaffe damages cruiser Carlisle beyond repair, damages Penelope less heavily, and sinks destroyer Panther. Also, mines sink destroyers Eclipse and Hurlworth] In return, US P-38s on an extended CAP mission abort a Ju 88.

With German air units focusing on the Allied TF, the Allies are able to transfer Royal West Kents (0-1-8*) from Samos to Lero, concentrating their defenses on the island closer to their nearest bases.

RAF strategic air forces attack Axis airfields but do little damage.

Nov I

Having received air reinforcements, the Germans launch their main assault on Lero. The rebuilt Beaufighter is again aborted from its CAP.

The British TF fails in its reaction roll and the German LCs reach Lero. The Brandenburger unit drops undisrupted.

Lero Combat Summary (1511: 1902)
Axis	Allies
2x 2-6 Inf III A, B 1x 1-5 Para II BKJ 9 GS points (Ju 87D, Ju88 A4, Me 109G)	0-1-8* Inf II Z 5-1-8* Inf II Z 1-5* Marine Cdo II RFME
Axis inf unit quartered for amphibious assault, all are halved for lack of support	Allied units are halved for lack of support.
Odds: 10:3 or 3:1. Modifiers: None.
Die roll: '5' for a DR result.
Losses: The British units are eliminated.

Victory determination

2 uses of British strategic bomber wing -2
1 use of US strategic bomber wing -3
1 hit on Allied TF -2
4 British strength points lost -8
1 German NT sunk 1
1 German air unit aborted 1.5

Note that although Samos is Allied held, it is not occupied by a British unit, and so gives the Allied player no VPs.

This yields a final victory total of -12.5 and an Axis substantial victory.