 Complete the following phrase:  The Germans swiftly mobilised to expel the Allied forces and launched heavy air assaults on Kos and Leros. Without fighter support, the islands defence was soon precarious; the LRDG and the rest of the troops on Kalymnos were withdrawn to Leros on 4 October after the Germans won the Battle of Kos. German air assaults on Leros intensified during late October, and at dawn on 12 November 1943 the Germans attacked Leros by sea and air. During the ensuing 