Battle of Kos

Battle of Kos
Part of the Dodecanese Campaign of World War II

British POWs taken in Kos
Date3–4 October 1943
Location
Kos Island, Aegean Sea
36°47′27″N 27°04′16″E / 36.7909°N 27.0712°E / 36.7909; 27.0712
Result German victory
Territorial
changes
German occupation of Kos
Belligerents
Kingdom of Italy Italy
 United Kingdom
Aviation Support:
 South Africa
 Germany
Commanders and leaders
Kingdom of Italy Felice Leggio Executed
United Kingdom L.R.F. Kenyon (POW)
Nazi Germany F.W. Müller
Strength
ca. 3,500 Italians
1,388 British
4,000
Casualties and losses
3,145 Italians &
1,388 British POWs
103 Italian officers executed
15 dead, 70 wounded
Location of Kos in the Aegean Sea

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.