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 the Dodecanese Islands. Led by the Dodecanesian Youth organization, the community organized impressive rallies in Athens and at the same time pressed the Greek Government to allow Dodecanesian volunteers with Italian citizenship to enlist in the Hellenic Army. The request was accepted, and on November 13, 1940, the general headquarters issued the order for the formation of the "Dodecanese Regiment". The true reason for this order was that the Albanian Front had absorbed all the reserves, and the GHQ was in a desperate need for additional forces that would counter the impending German offensive from the Bulgarian border. More than