Dodecanese islands were occupied by the French and British, but Rhodes remained under Italian occupation. In 1915, the French also occupied Kastellorizo. Following the war, the Tittoni–Venizelos agreement, signed on July 29, 1919, called for the smaller islands to join with Greece, while Italy maintained control of Rhodes. The treaty further outlined an exchange where Italy would receive Antalya for southwest Anatolia. The Greek defeat in the Greco-Turkish War and the foundation of modern Turkey prevented the exchange. Italy formally annexed the Dodecanese as the "Possedimenti Italiani dell'Egeo" under the terms of the Treaty of Lausanne. Mussolini embarked on a program
Battle of Kos Battle of Kos The Battle of Kos () was a brief battle between British, Italian and German forces for the control of the Greek island of Kos, in the then Italian-held Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea. With the capitulation of Italy in September 1943, German forces in the Balkans and the Mediterranean moved to take over the Italian-held areas. 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