Dettagli
Leros is a Greek island in the southern Aegean Sea, nearly 320km from Athens. Leros was the site of a fierce but brief battle in late 1943, which formed the central part of the Dodecanese Campaign. British forces had occupied Leros on 15 September 1943 in the wake of the Italian capitulation. This attracted German air attacks and a combined amphibious/airborne invasion codenamed Operation Leopard initiated on 12 November. Among the assault troops were Fallschirmjäger and an amphibious assault company from the Brandenburg Division (1./Küstenjäger-Abteilung). The Brandenburgers were an elite German special forces unit and altogether, some 500 Brandenburg parachutists dropped onto Leros. With German forces enjoying air superiority, the battle was over within four days and 3,200 British and 5,350 Italian troops surrendered. The Battle of Leros is widely regarded as being the last great defeat of the British Army in WWII.