War in the Aegean: The Campaign for the Eastern Mediterranean in World War II

by Peter C. Smith

Overview

First complete retelling of an important but little-known campaignEyewitness accounts from a colorful cast of German SS troops, British commandos, partisans, spies, Greek pirates, and moreBoth Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler wanted the Aegean Sea in 1943. The British prime minister saw an opportunity to force neutral Turkey into the Allied camp and tie up German forces as the war in Europe gained speed, while the Nazi leader wanted to keep Turkey neutral and maintain Germany's foothold in the Mediterranean and Greece. The conflict came to a head with British naval and amphibious assaults, primarily on the islands of Cos and Leros, and culminated in a German victory.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780811735193
Publisher:	Stackpole Books
Publication date:	07/07/2008
Series:	Stackpole Military History Series
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Peter C. Smith is a well-known authority on the history of dive-bombing and is the author of over sixty naval history books that are published on four continents. He currently lives with his wife and two Labradors in Bedfordshire, England.

Table of Contents

Introduction to the 1974 Edition     vii
Introduction to the Revised American Edition     xi
Note on the Dodecanese Islands     xiii
A Lesson Learned?     1
Strategy, Plans, and Preparations     15
The Commitment Made     31
Point and Counterpoint     51
Cos Occupied     67
Cos Overrun     93
Simi Lost; Leros Reprieved     131
"The Wine Dark Sea"     151
Prelude to Disaster     181
Battle in the Balance     209
Typhoon Triumphant     227
The End of the Campaign     249
Epilogue     255
Ships under Royal Navy Control     271
British and Allied Ships Sunk and Damaged     274
Store-Carrying to Leros by Submarines     276
Allied Air Forces     277
Order of Battle of X Fliegerkorps on September 30, 1943     278
Air Attacks on Leros, September 26 to October 31     280
Italian Army Units in Place on September 8, 1943     281
Notes     283
Glossary     287
Bibliography     289
Index     291