The
Dodecanese Campaign of
World War II was an attempt by
Allied forces to capture the
Italian-held
Dodecanese islands in the
Aegean Sea following the
surrender of Italy in September 1943, and use them as bases against the
German-controlled
Balkans. Operating without air cover, the Allied effort failed, with the whole of the Dodecanese falling to the Germans within two months, and the Allies suffering heavy losses in men and ships. The Dodecanese Campaign, lasting from 8 September to 22 November 1943, resulted in one of the last major German victories in the war.