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| Battle of Kos | |||||||||
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| Part of the Dodecanese Campaign of World War II | |||||||||
.jpg) British POWs taken in Kos | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Italy United KingdomAviation Support:  South Africa |
 Germany | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Felice Leggio  L.R.F. Kenyon (POW) |
F.W. Müller | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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ca. 3,500 Italians 1,388 British | 4,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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3,145 Italians & 1,388 British POWs 103 Italian officers executed | 15 dead, 70 wounded | ||||||||
The Battle of Kos (Greek: Μάχη της Κω) was a brief battle in World War II between British/Italian and German forces for control of the Greek island of Kos, in the then Italian-held Dodecanese Islands of the Aegean Sea. The battle was precipitated by the Allied Armistice with Italy. German forces with strong air support quickly overwhelmed the Italian garrison and the recent British reinforcements, denying the Allies a base to attack the German presence in the Balkans and leading to the expulsion and death of the island's Jewish population.