Operation Abstention

Operation Abstention
	Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of the Second World War
	; Italian destroyer Francesco Crispi
Date	25–28 February 1941
Location	Island of Kastelorizo, eastern Aegean Sea36°09′00″N 29°35′24″E / 36.15000°N 29.59000°E
Result	Italian victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom; Australia	Italy
Commanders and leaders
Andrew Cunningham; Edward Renouf; Henry Egerton	Luigi Biancheri; Francesco Mimbelli
Strength
2 light cruisers; 7 destroyers; 1 gunboat; 1 submarine; 1 armed yacht; 200 commandos; 200 soldiers and marines	2 destroyers; 2 torpedo boats; 2 MAS boats; SM.79 bombers; SM.81 bombers; 280 soldiers; 88 marines
Casualties and losses
5 killed; 10 wounded; 20 captured or interned; 7 missing; 1 destroyer damaged; 1 gunboat damaged	14 killed; 12 captured

Operation Abstention (25–28 February 1941) was the code name of a British invasion of the Italian island of Kastelorizo (Castellorizo) off the Turkish Aegean coast, during the Second World War. The goal was to establish a motor torpedo-boat base to challenge Italian naval and air supremacy on the Greek Dodecanese islands. The British landings were opposed by Italian land, air and naval forces, which forced the British troops to re-embark amidst some confusion and led to recriminations between the British commanders for underestimating the Italians.