I - 43 : Dodecanese - The 115 Years Wait

On 15th of May, Locals enthusiastically receive the Officers of the Greek Battleship "Averof" which just had arrived in Rhodes - it was still under British Command though

On the 31st March of 1947, the day had arrived. British Flags were hauled down from Government Buildings all over the Dodecanese and replaced with Greek Flags. What people had hoped for 115 years, finally happened. The Dodecanese islands joined Greece, something its people had dreamt of since Greece became independent in 1832.

9th of May 1945 - People from Rhodes welcome the British Soldiers after Germany's unconditional Capitulation on the 7th of May 1945

It was not for lack of trying. From the beginning of the insurrection on 25 March 1821, Greek people of the Dodecanese actively participated in the fighting. Most prominent were the 7’000 Greeks from Kasos (we travel there in our first week this summer) who devoted their fleet of 100 ships to fighting the Ottomans. The retaliation was brutal. After Crete, Kasos was the second target of Mohammed Ali's army, the Mamluk ruler of Egypt and Vassal to the Ottoman Sultan. All male islanders of fighting age were executed, women and children sold into slavery, the old left behind for dying. By 1824, the island was an uninhabited desert.

Almost nothing except a few Memorials reminds today of the Massacre of Kasos in 1824

The three European Powers, England, France and Russia, who defeated the Turco-Egyptian Fleet in October 1827 at Navarino (where our sailing ends this year), were fully aware of the aspirations of the Dodecanese people. But for geopolitical reasons they decided to leave these islands under Ottoman control. Crete and the Dodecanese sat strategically astride the Ottoman Empire’s line of communication with the Levant, Egypt and North Africa.

Specifically Great Britain, after the Napoleonic Wars the Mediterranean's dominant naval power, feared that Greek pirates would use Crete and the Dodecanese to pray on Ottoman merchant ships. Asymmetric warfare against the hated Turks would be inevitable for decades to come. But Great Britain wanted peace to protect its valuable row cotton imports from southern Anatolia and Egypt.

So neither Crete nor the Dodecanese made it into the first Greek state. As to be expected, regular rebellions shook these islands – all of them suppressed by heavy handed Turkish interventions. I will cover the developments in Crete in a separate blog to give the Cretans the place they deserve. On the smaller Dodecanese islands, rebelling was difficult. They were small with few hiding places. A single Turkish Brigade (around 2’000 men) was large enough to snuff out any resistance.

The Italian Landing on Rhodes in 1912 was unopposed - a fact that misled the British Army innbeliefing that the Gallipoli Operations in 1915 would be similarly easy

The Dodecanese came into play again in 1912 during the Italo – Turkish war which was fought over control of Libya. The Italian High Command decided to cut Turkish supply lines by invading the Dodecanese. Not surprisingly, the locals saw it as liberation and hoped to finally join Greece. At first, the Italian Army encouraged the establishment of local Greek councils and allowed people to visit Athens. Italy needed the islanders’ help.

The Italian Dodecanese from 1912 - 1947 - liberated in 1945 though

The honeymoon did not last though. By 1914, with the outbreak of World War I, Italy’s imperial ambitions increased. Rome seriously planned to colonize the southern part of Anatolia. The Dodecanese became an important stepping stone. Italy began talking about “its” Mare Nostrum, a Mediterranean under Italian control. Mussolini happily made it his policy  when he became Italy’s dictator in 1922.

Italy's Zone of Influence as negotiated with England (pink) and France (blue) in 1916 

The end of the First World War provided another glimpse of hope . France and Great Britain “convinced” Italy in the Treaty of Sevres (1920) to transfer all Dodecanese islands, except Rhodes, to Greece. The Treaty’s provisions for Turkey were so severe however that Turkish Nationalists led by Kemal Ataturk rebelled. They won the following Greco – Turkish War in 1923 decisively. The infamous people exchange followed. 1.5 million Greek people had to leave Istanbul and Anatolia. Half a million Turks were kicked out from Greece. In 1922, Italy gave us its claims on Anatolia for the Turkish promise to let them keep the Dodecanese. The Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 confirmed Italy’s possession – defeated Greece had to accept.

The Treaty of Sevres (1920) stipulated that Italy had to transfer the Dodecanese to Greece except the Islands of Kastellorizzio and Rhodes

The years after 1923 saw first Italian initiatives to modernize the Dodecanese and lift the population from poverty. But as Mussolini’s grip on power increased, so did his imperial policies. By the 1930s, Italy brought Italian settlers to the Dodecanese. Eventually 12’000 Italians came and made up 10% of the population. Public institutions and schools were all Italianized. Leros became a naval base for the Regia Marina (Italian Navy). Rhodes – with two new airfields – the airbase for the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Airforce). It drew these islands into the front line of the Second World War.

As early as 1940, the British Forces hatched plans to occupy the Dodecanese. A regimental Task Force was assembled in Alexandria but a few days before sailing, the plans were cancelled. The situation in North Africa was too serious and required the troops previously allocated to the Dodecanese invasion. The Task Force was disbanded.

German Panzer IV outside the Old Town of Rhodes in Summer 1943. The Wehrmacht stayed on the Island until its Surrender to British Forces on 9 May 1945

The summer 1943, when the Italian Government capitulated, provided another opportunity. Churchill wanted the airstrips of Rhodes and Kos to bombard Romania’s oil fields which supplied 60% of the Wehrmacht’s fuel. The Germans were well aware of Rhodes' strategic position and reinforced the island with air-defense and combat units. More than 7’000 Germans were on Rhodes when the English launched their attack. The British Forces captured Kos and Leros. Lacking air cover, however, the British invasion failed. By Sept 1943, the Germans controlled all Dodecanese islands. Thousands of Italian and British soldiers had been taken prisoners and walked into captivity.

English Prisoners of War captured in Leros in September 1943

The German Wehrmacht continued to rule the islands until 7th of May 1945, the day of the unconditional German surrender. Under Major-General Wagener the Germans had held out despite being cut off since autumn 1944 when the Soviet Union “liberated” the Balkan.

Major-General Wagener, the Commanding Officer on the Dodecanese, surrenders his Units to British Forces on the 9th of May 1945

The islanders long hoped dream eventually became true on 8 Feb 1947. In the Paris Peace Conference, Italy ceded the Dodecanese and paid reparations of USD 105 million (about 1bn in today's money) to Greece. The British Flag was lowered. 6'000 Italian colonists had to pack their bags. The Greek Flag went up. 115 years after Greek independence, the islanders were allowed to join the country they always wanted to be with. 

The Paris Peace Conference in 1947 settled the Peace Terms for Italy who had to cede territory to Greece, Yugoslavia and France