An Illustrated Look at German Operations in the Aegean after the Italian Armistice

Anthony Rogers’s Leros and the Aegean offers a trove of photographs for those interested in the relatively obscure campaign in the Dodecanese Islands from September to November 1943 and beyond. German forces effectively used joint operations with multiple services represented to embarrass the Allies, although the Luftwaffe proved critical, especially given the paucity of the Kriegsmarine’s contribution.

Rogers divides the work, part of the Greenhill “Images of War” series, into chapters organized chronologically with brief historical notes to lead off and then a series of images covering a range of topics. The author acts as curator, providing captions and context so that the reader can make the most of the rich imagery this collection affords. The focus of the book are Operations “Polar Bear” and “Typhoon” that wrested the islands of Kos and Leros respectively from the British and Italian garrisons at a time when German fortunes were fading. Arguably this book’s images chronicle the last German victories in the Mediterranean.

The initial chapter deals with the Italian armistice of September 1943. This key development heralded the end of Mussolini’s fascist Italy and provided the Germans with a large amount of captured war material and prisoners. The first image in the book shows a Panzer IV, part of Sturmdivision Rhodos (Assault Division Rhodes) which managed to secure the key island in just days, taking a large number of Italians prisoner at a time when the British also tried to intervene there. Holding Rhodes proved critical for the upcoming Dodecanese campaign as a key air base location. There are other images of surrendered Italians, Special Boat Service (SBS) and Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) personnel sent as improvised garrison troops, and even one of German R-Boote (motor mine-sweepers) transiting the Corinth Canal. (pp. 11-18]

The second chapter covers the Kos invasion of September 1943. The accompanying images show not only the German commanders involved from the Crete-based 22nd Infantry Division (22.Infanterie Division), a number of glimpses of the convoy actions, the captured British Hunt-class minesweeper HMS Widnes, now under German control as UJ-2109, escorting the invaders, air attacks by British Beaufighters, German Marinefährprahm landing craft (naval ferry barge), a damaged Spitfire V captured at Tigaki, British and Italian prisoners and even German troops sightseeing. (pp. 20-42]

The Luftwaffe had sunk HMS Widnes in May 1941, during the Crete fighting, repaired and returned it to action for the ship-starved Kriegsmarine as UJ-2109. The Germans called such vessels a Beuteschiff (or roughly “captured vessel”). In the eastern Mediterranean these originated typically with the French, Greek, or Italian navies. It was with this shoestring fleet that the Germans invaded the Dodecanese and successfully secured their targets under Luftwaffe air superiority, highlighting German joint warfare skills.

The third chapter covers the interim period from post-Kos to November 1943. In this span of time the Royal Navy (RN) suffered damage at sea from Luftwaffe attacks, such as the light cruiser HMS Carlisle, so damaged by air attack it was forced to withdraw to Alexandria and later declared a base ship while sinking destroyer HMS Panther. The Luftwaffe’s attempts to clear the RN from the region facilitated passage of German light craft, transports and logistics support. Accordingly, there are images of German Ju87 “Stuka” dive bombers and the equally dangerous Ju88s, the burning HMS Carlisle and American pilots of the 37th Fighter Squadron (based in Libya) whose P-38 Lightnings scored multiple Ju87 kills in early October while assisting the defense. (pp. 45-56)

The fourth chapter covers the Leros invasion in November 1943, the longest chapter in terms of the available images. Images this time include coastal gun batteries or similar defenses from both before and after the battle, British officers, German specialized coastal raiders (Küstenjäger) drawn from the Brandenburg Division, Ju52 transports surrounded by blossoming parachutes, German Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers) along with their supply canisters, a number of ship and landing craft photos, a captured Willys jeep, TA15 (one of the German-manned ships, formerly Sella-class destroyer Francesco Crispi) loading troops for transport back to the Greek mainland and multiple shots of British, Italian and even Indian POWs. (pp. 57-132)

The fifth chapter covers Samos, which was taken without actual combat action so much as German naval forces, especially Schnellboote S-54 and S-55 (fast torpedo-armed craft, the British called them “E-boats”) along with other lighter craft landed German troops which occupied the island after discussions with the British and Italians present. Images include the two S-boots, negotiations, German troops landing from light craft like Pionierlandungsboot (engineer landing craft) ‘H’ and R-Boote along with nice panorama shots showing the nearby terrain and infrastructure. (134-144)

The final chapter covers the period 1944-45 as the German garrisons were increasingly isolated from the mainland, due to enemy air / sea dominance or evacuated. The images cover everything from the final surrender of German forces in the Dodecanese, to ship attacks from Allied planes, German and British naval craft, and further panorama-style views of various islands. (pp. 147-160)

Anthony Rogers’s Leros and the Aegean represents not merely a photo album but a valuable look at often unseen images that teach about the forgotten 1943 Dodecanese campaign, Allied overreach and the German experience in the isolated islands to the end of the war.

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Our Reviewer: Professor Schultz (Luzerne CC) has taught history and political science to community college undergraduates for over 20 years. Specializing in military history, particularly World War II and the Cold War-era, he has presented papers at the McMullen Naval History Symposium, the Society for Military History Annual Meetings, the Midwestern History Conference, and other venues. He contributed Chapter 12 “The Reich Strikes Back: German Victory in the Dodecanese, October-November 1943” to On Contested Shores: The Evolving Role of Amphibious Operations in the History of Warfare, edited by Timothy Heck and B.A. Friedman (2020). His previous reviews for us include Warrior Spirit: The Story of Native American Patriotism and Heroism, Home Run: Allied Escape and Evasion in World War II, The Spanish Blue Division on the Eastern Front, 1941-1945, The ‘Blue Squadrons’: The Spanish in the Luftwaffe, Malta’s Savior: Operation Pedestal, Flawed Commanders and Strategy in the Battles for Italy, Lawrence of Arabia on War, Dogwood: A National Guard Unit's War in Iraq, German Breakthrough in Greece: The 1941 Battle of the Pineios Gorge, The Armed Forces of North Korea, Volume 1 - Korean People's Army Ground Forces Organisation, Strategy and Infantry, and Storm Proofing: Preparing Armies for a Future War

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Note: Leros and the Aegean is also available in e-editions 

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