The Circumstances of the German withdrawal from Greece in 1944

Abstract

The relative ease with which the German forces were able to withdraw
from the Aegean Islands and the Greek mainland in the late summer
of 1944 has been the subject of much speculation. It has been suggested
that there may have been «tacit connivance» on the part of
Churchill to allow an unhindered withdrawal by the Germans with
a view to confronting the Red Army advancing from the East. The
present article examines evidence relating to this subject advanced by
Dr. Hagen Fleischer and Dr. Lars Baerentzen.
It is pointed out that such a decision by Churchill could not have
been made effective without the knowledge of many subordinate officers.
Of this there is no evidence, either anecdotal or in writing. Military
operations against the retreating Germans were in fact ordered
to be carried out both by allied forces based in Italy under Gerenal
Maitland Wilson and by guerrilla forces in Greece, reinforced by allied
teams. These operations were of limited effect, but were never deliberately
discouraged or countermanded.
Naval operations in the Aegean were also of limited effect. In
some cases British ships and aircraft were reported to have witheld
fire on German convoys, but it is not known why. The main purpose
of the British high command seems to have been to compel the surrender
of the entire German force once it was concentrated on the
German mainland. Contacts with the Germans took place for this purpose,
but the object of the latter was to secure agreement to an unhindered
withdrawal. Both sides failed to achieve their object. The
Germans were nevertheless able to force a successful retreat, but without
any connivance — so far as the evidence goes — on the part of the British.