The Italians in the Aegean Islands 1912

The Italians in the Aegean Islands 1912 - 1943 (Exhibit)

Introduction

This web page contains links to the content of the exhibit pages for the exhibit 'The Italians in the Aegean Islands 1912 - 1943' by the late Al Kugel.

Italy was a latecomer to the hunt for colonies, and by the beginning of the 20th Century, the pickings were getting very slim. Sensing that the Ottoman Empire held some outlying areas that might be obtained with modest effort, the Italo-Turkish War was undertaken in 1911. The first step was the invasion of the Turkish territory of Libya, thus creating the first Italian colony in North Africa.

In the spring of 1912, the Italians decided to open a second front against the obviously weak Turks, sending a naval squadron to the Dodecanese (“twelve islands" in Greek -- actually thirteen if Stampalia is counted, although it is one of the Cyclades) in the eastern part of the Aegean Sea. The first landing was by marines from the warships at Stampalia on 26 April, followed by the main force -- the Sixth Army Division -- at Rhodes on 5 May. By the end of that month, all of the islands had been seized, with the Italian occupation being confirmed when the Turks signed the Treaty of Ouchy on 15 August 1912.

The exhibit starts with a few covers from the early occupation period, mostly military, but the bulk of the presentation is divided into two sections. The first is geographical and shows covers with postmarks from each individual island, whether franked with its own overprints, normal Italian stamps or those issued for use generally in the Aegean Islands. The second section is chronological and shows the various Commemoratives and definitive stamps that were issued for the Aegean and used on Rhodes.

This exhibit was created by, and is the property of the late Al Kugel, and is being supplied by his heirs as a courtesy to the Military Postal History Society. (See the MPHS webpage) The Military Postal History Society (MPHS) is a non-profit organization for philatelists and stamp collectors interested in the collecting and studying of the postal aspects of all wars and military actions of all countries, including soldiers' campaign covers, naval mail, occupation and internment covers, patriotics, propaganda, V-mail, censorship and similar related material.

Historical Note

These exhibit page scans were made from black and white photocopies of the original exhibits. Those exhibits were created by Al Kugel many years ago, and are presented here for historical and research purposes. As far as the MPHS is aware, there are no color scans available of these older exhibit pages, nor for any of the illustrated postal history items.

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Web Format

Web Pages of the Exhibit of Italy in the Aegean

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Updated 4 September 2026