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
Dodecanese Regiment front, Lt. General Georgios Tsolakoglou, signed with the LSSAH an unauthorized ceasefire protocol, and next day the regiment was ordered to surrender whatever firearms and ammunition they had to the president of Ardomitsa community and then march to Metsovo. On the 24th they reached Metsovo and received new orders to march to Malakasi. Next day they were informed that by a new ceasefire protocol the Greek officers were considered prisoners of war and the Germans were arresting them on sight. On the 26th, one day before Germans entered Athens, the Dodecanese Regiment’s commander succeeded in making contact with the TSKM