At the same time, the Allies, under the instigation of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, endeavoured to occupy the Dodecanese island chain.

The Dodecanese islands, under Italian control since 1912, were strategically located in the southeastern Aegean Sea, and Churchill hoped to use them as a base against German positions in the Balkans, and as a means to pressure neutral Turkey into the war on the Allied side.

The Messerschmitt Bf 109s and Junkers Ju 88s involved met at first with varying success, because of the RAF gunners on the ground and the South African Spitfires in the air.

However, "Butterfly Bombs" made Antimachia temporarily unserviceable and damaged the Douglas C-47 Skytrains, but the first detachments of the Durham Light Infantry were landed.

While the German air cover improved, the Allies could only rely on a limited number of aircraft due to decisions made by General Eisenhower concerning the British involvement in the Balkan theatre: The three Commanders-in-Chief, Middle East were responsible for the Aegean operation, but the disposition of forces was decided upon by Eisenhower, as Middle East command was part of the greater Mediterranean theatre.

This meant that Middle East command could not look for permanent help from the Italian war theatre, but must be prepared to improvise when temporary naval and air forces could be spared.

Eisenhower's decision, in which he had the loyal backing of his deputy, Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, was a corollary of the beliefs of the United States Chiefs-of-Staff that the Dodecanese operation typified British diversionary strategy which might well lead to some form of Balkan adventure.

Over the weeks from 13 September to 3 October the Allied aircraft defending Kos suffered many losses from bombardment of the airfield and in air combat.

To add to their troubles, the area round the airfield they had to protect was too rocky to permit digging in, and there was no time to build blast walls before the enemy was upon them.

[1] On 1 October 1943, a concentration of shipping was observed in the ports of Crete, and early on the following morning a convoy steaming in a north-north-easterly direction south-east of Melos was sighted by British aircraft.

At about 13.30 hours a further small German paratroop landing of a company from the Brandenburg Division was made in the centre of the island, and more troops arrived by sea.

The Durham Light Infantry, SBS, RAF Regiment, and paratroopers fought gallantly but in the face of superior numbers and heavier equipment were forced to withdraw to positions covering the town and port of Kos and the airfield.

The RAF Regiment personnel having expended all their 20mm ammunition and then destroyed their guns took up defend positions with the Durham Light Infantry, withdrawing to the hills when the DLI were beaten back.

Deprived of air cover, the Allies were in the long run unable to hold the other islands, while the Germans pressed their advantage, capturing Leros a month later and completing their conquest of the Dodecanese by the end of November.