⚔ Battlefields of the World

Battle of Rhodes (1912) 1912

Battle of Rhodes (1912): Rhodes Italian landing
Image: Italian Army, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.

Key facts

Date4 May 1912 – 16 May 1912Wikidata
Year1912Wikidata P580 (start time)
Era19th century (1800–1913)derived from year
Nearest landmassAt sea (nearest continent: Europe)Natural Earth (modern borders)
ContinentEuropeNatural Earth
War / conflictItalo-Turkish WarWikidata P361
ParticipantsKingdom of Italy, Ottoman EmpireWikidata P710
Coordinates36.3730, 27.2180Wikidata P625

About the battle

The Battle of Rhodes or Invasion of Rhodes was fought in May 1912 as part of the Italo-Turkish War. Italian troops under Lieutenant General Giovanni Ameglio landed on the Turkish-held island and took control after 13 days of fighting, ending nearly 400 years of Ottoman rule. The battle became the major engagement during the Italian operations in the Aegean Sea.

Italian forces numbered about 9,000 to 10,400 men supported by a fleet of Regia Marina ("Royal Navy") warships. Many of the Italian troops were veterans of the campaigns in Ottoman Libya, having been shipped from Benghazi and Tobruk. The Regia Marina began operating off the island a few days prior to the invasion. On 1 May, the Regia Marina cut the communications cable linking Rhodes with the Anatolian mainland. The Italian landing forces consisted of the 4th Bersaglieri Regiment, the 34th Infantry Regiment (Brigade "Livorno"), the 57th Infantry Regiment (Brigade "Abruzzi"), the Alpini Battalion "Fenestrelle" of the 3rd Alpini Regiment, four artillery batteries, and various support units. An unopposed landing in Kalithea Bay began at 4:00 am on 4 May and lasted until 2:00 pm when the Italians began their march north towards the city of Rhodes.

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Rhodes (1912) (revision 1370587456), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.

Location

36.3730, 27.2180 · At sea

Google Maps OpenStreetMap

Nearby battles

Other battles of the Italo-Turkish War

All 10 battles of the Italo-Turkish War →

Browse more: battles at sea · Europe · 19th century battles

Further reading