Jensen broke the silence.
«Eighteen months ago, you remember, after the fall of Greece, the Germans had taken over nearly all the islands of the Sporades: the Italians, of course, already held most of the Dodecanese. Then, gradually, we began to establish missions on these islands, usually spear-headed by your people, the Long Range Desert Group or the Special Boat Service. By last September we had retaken nearly all the larger islands except Navarone — it was too damned hard a nut, so we just by-passed it — and brought some of the garrisons up to, and beyond, battalion strength.» He grinned at Mallory. «You were lurking in your cave somewhere in the White Mountains at the time, but you'll remember how the Germans reacted?»
«Violently?»
Jensen nodded.
«Exactly. Very violently indeed. The political importance of Turkey in this part of the world is impossible to over-estimate — and she's always been a potential partner for either Axis or Allies. Most of these islands are only a few miles off the Turkish coast. The question of prestige, of restoring confidence in Germany, was urgent.»
«So?»
«So they flung in everything — paratroopers, airborne troops, crack mountain brigades, hordes of Stukas — I'm told they stripped the Italian front of dive-bombers for these operations. Anyway, they flung everything in — the lot. In a few weeks we'd lost over ten thousand troops and every island we'd ever recaptured — except Kheros.»