1940, during the Greco-Italian War, two companies of the I Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment expelled Greek sailors, which had captured Agathonisi island the previous day. On 25 February 1941 British forces landed on Kastelorizo in Operation Abstention. The islands was recaptured on 28 February 1941 by the IV Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment. In early May 1941, in the aftermath of the Battle of Greece, the 10th Infantry Regiment on Kos, moved to capture the islands of Amorgos, Anafi, Ios, Naxos, Paros, Andros, Tinos, Kythnos, Kea, Serifos, Skyros, Mykonos, Samos, and Ikaria. The operation concluded without encountering Greek resistance. On 27 May 1941 the Regina formed a tactical group for the planned invasion of Crete. This tactical group consisted of the I Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment; II Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment; an artillery battery; and the 9th Infantry Regiment's support weapon company. The tactical group landed near Sitia on 28 May 1941 and rendezvoused with German forces at Ierapetra on 1 June 1941, fighting in minor clashes along the way. On 15 May 1942 the Regina was reinforced in Rhodes by the newly formed 309th Infantry Regiment "Regina", and on 24 October 1942 the 331st Infantry Regiment "Brennero" from the 11th Infantry Division "Brennero" joined the Regina. Armistice of Cassibile After the announcement of the Armistice of Cassibile on 8 September 1943 the garrison of Kastelorizo surrendered to British forces in the early moves of the Dodecanese Campaign. Part of the CC.NN. legion on Rhodes sided with the Germans during the Battle of Rhodes (1943) on 9–11 September 1943. On 11 September 1943 the commander of the Armed Forces Command Italian Islands of the Aegean Admiral Inigo Campioni ordered the Italian units on Rhodes to surrender. The Regina, with the exception of the 10th Infantry Regiment "Regina" on Kos and Leros, therefore laid down its arms on that date. On 1–4 October 1943 the 10th Infantry Regiment "Regina", together with the British 1st Battalion, Durham Light Infantry and some RAF personnel fought the Germans in the Battle of Kos. Most of 3,500 men of the 10th Infantry Regiment "Regina" surrendered to the Germans without a fight. The Germans captured 1,388 British and 3,145 Italian prisoners on Kos. Between 4-6 October German troops executed the captured Italian commander of the island Colonel Felice Leggio and 101 of his officers, an event known as the Massacre of Kos. This was done in accordance