Dodecanese of the major islands under Italian rule back to twelve. Thus, when the Greek press began agitating for the cession of the islands to Greece in 1913, the term used was still the "Dodecanese". The Italian occupation authorities helped to establish the term when they named the islands under their control "Rhodes and the Dodecanese" ("Rodi e Dodecaneso"), adding Leipsoi to the list of the major islands to make up for considering Rhodes separately. By 1920, the name had become firmly established for the entire island group, a fact acknowledged by the Italian government when it appointed the islands' first
Greek Armed Forces in the Middle East the second-largest Allied Navy in the Mediterranean after the RN, accounting for 80% of all non-RN operations. Greek ships served in convoy escort duties in the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean (where it succeeded in destroying a few enemy submarines), the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. RHN ships also participated in the landing operations in Sicily, Anzio and Normandy, as well as at the ill-fated Dodecanese Campaign. A significant moment in the RHN's history was the acceptance of the Italian Fleet's surrender in September 1943, alongside the British Royal Navy. Two of the most notable Greek warships of the war were the