I still come down on the side of Roosevelt and Marshall on this one. Winnie is right that the Dodecanese were long hanging fruit at this time. But we really couldn’t afford to divert manpower for a side show when the Germans are reinforcing Kesselring from the north. Also, with the spectacular success of the Russian summer offensive, it should be painfully obvious in London that we need boots on the ground in France pointed at Germany before Uncle Joe can get there and swallow it himself.