Turning the Tide: the Path to World War Two Victory in Malta

6 The Malta Independent I Saturday 8 September 2018 The Malta Independent I Saturday 8 September 2018 7 News News Turning the tide: The I•at]J. to World War Two victoqr in Malta • Albert Galea ning out. Medicine was also in Portcullis, were now arriving in sympathised with Hitler's cause. extremely low supply; to the Malta without losses, ~o much so Historian F. H. Hinsley later The Great Siege of 1565, where point that when Royal Air Force that supply ships began to be sent wrote that the deception was are the Knights of St. John and the pilots fell sick, they were given a without escort. The island was sounding success and that the Maltese beat off an invading choice of medicine from either a truly on the offensive as 1943 Germans had moved a substan army of Ottoman soldiers, as blue, green, or brown bottle - all dawned and with victory loom tial part of their forces from Sicily chronicled in The Malta Independ of which were filled with water ing on the African front, all eyes to Greece, until the invasion of ent on Sunday on 2 September, is as opposed to medicine (in psy turned to Italy. Pantelleria later diverted their at one of the two military victories chology this is called the Placebo The Axis surrendered in North tention back to the western that Malta commemorates on Effect). Fuel supplies were also Africa on 13 May 1943, and in the Mediterranean. Still, when the 'Victory Day' on 8 September. dwindling, and the island's new same months operations had · real Operation Husky was The second victory, much like Air Commander Air Vice-Mar begun in preparation for Opera launched against Sicily ou the that of 1565, was part of a conflict shal Keith Park warned in midst tion Husky; the invasion of Sicily. night of 9 July 1943, the island that could have potentially of the 1942 blitz that there was Islands like Pantelleria and was liberated more quickly than changed the very make-up of Eu only a few weeks supply left. Linosa were neutralised, whilst anticipated·and losses were lower rope. The loss of Malta could well bombings on Sicilian airfields in than predicted. By the end of World War Two was a world have resulted in the entire loss of creased into July. In the same July in fact, it was clear that the defining conflict, and Malta . the North African front. Over month, .American General only option for the Axis forces found itself right in the thick of it. there the British, led by Lieu Dwight Eisenhower, Admiral was evacuation through Messina With France invaded and Great tenant-General Bernard Mont Andrew Cunningham, the now to mainland Italy and the contin Britain on the ropes, Benito Mus gomery, were engaged in a long General Bernard Montgomery, uing of the fight there. solini interpreted events as clear to-and-fro conflict with the Ger and RAF Air Marshal Arthur Unrest was rife within the fascist enough evidence that victory for man Afrika Korps, led by The Tedder occupied the Lascaris Italian regime meanwhile, and Adolf Hitler's Germany was only Desert Fox Erwin Rommel, and it War Rooms in Valletta. The un Mussolini had been dismissed as a matter of time. Hoping to be was key that Malta was rein derground chambers were used Prime Minister and spirited off to able to get a good deal when the forced so that it could continue to as an advanced headquarters for the island of l?onza under arrest. Allies eventually surrendered, carry out naval attacks on Ger~ the i:tnpending invasion. He was replaced by Pietro Mussolini' s Italy entered the war man supply convoys to the front The planning was exhaustive Badoglio, who begun to try find on Hitler's side on 10 June 1940. as it had being doing so in the and brought together British, ways to seek peace terms with the Malta became n Duce' s first tar second half of 1941 when allied French, Canadian and American Allies. Indeed, an agreement was get. attacks sank 60% of Axis supply forces which sailed from various reached in ~arly September, and The ensuing two years saw ships going to North Africa, places such as Malta, Tunisia and the Armistice of Cassibile was Malta became the most bombed meaning that a large-scale British even the United Kingdom itself. signed. By this armistice, Ita1y place on the planet to date and counter-attack, Operation Cru Air support also came from was to defect to the Allies, and all saw the Maltese people endure sader, was a resolinding success. King George VI salutes Malta in 1943 (Royal Collection Trust) Malta, but bombings on Greece naval ships were to make their near starvation. The Italians flew With the intense bombing cam from the Middle East were also way from port to Malta. just over 35,000 ?Orties over paign against Malta in 1942 how arrive in Malta between 13 and 15 a British force, among which tober in what became known as used to make it seem like an in The surrender of Italy was offi Malta; whilst the German Luft ever, the supply lines were once August were key to turning the were five merchant vessels, from the Second Battle of El Alamein. vasion was to take place'there in cially announced on Allied radio waffe flew over 30,000 sorties again open. Britain saw the des tide of the war, and as a result the reaching Valetta [... ) Thanks to Meanwhile, an air-submarine stead. In fact, the preparation for on 8 September. Incidentally, on themselves in 1942, when the perate need for a resupply effort, operation as considered a suc these new supplies Malta was raid launched from Malta sank Operation Husky involved one of that same day in Senglea, the blitz truly intensified, alone. In and as a result a huge convoy cess. now capable of fighting for sev what was effectively the last ef the most perfectly executed acts statue of Mary, known as Il-Bam fact by mid-1942, the average was put together. This convoy be Admiral Eberhard Weichold, eral weeks, or, at a pinch, for sev fort at re-supplying Rommel at El of deception in the whole war; bina, had been taken back to its Maltese worker was consuming came known as Operation who headed the German naval eral months. The main issue, the Alamein. The three fuel tankers Operation Mincemeat. A corpse home locality from Birkirkara - just 1,500 calories a day. By com Pedestal, and it was to be a turn attache in Rome, summed up the danger of air attack on the supply in the convoy were sunk at the was disguised as a British Royal where it had been held for safe parison, the consumption of an ing point for the war effort in impact of Operation Pedestal on route to North Africa, remained. cost of seven British bombers and Marine Officer and deposited it keeping since January 1941- for average worker in Britain never Malta. the dynamics of the North To achieve this objective no price fighter-bombers. Montgomery's into the sea with a briefcase full the city's feast. As the procession went under the 2,800 calorie The convoy sustained heavy African front; "To the continental was too high, and from this point commonwealth forces succeeded of fake invasion plans. The idea reached the still devastated mark at any point during the losses, with nine of the fourteen observer, the British losses of view the British operation, in at El Alamein, and the tables had was that the corpse, which was wharf, shortly after leaving St war. One could live with such a merchant ships sunk along with seemed to represent a big victory spite of all the losses, was not a truly turned on Rommel and the actually that of Glyndwr Michael Philip's church, destroyers in calorie intake; but it would lead several destroyers, cruisers and for the Axis, but in reality the defeat, but a strategical failure of Afrika Korps. -a Welsh homeless man who had Dockyard Creek aimed their to rapid )"eight loss and fatigue. the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle. facts were quite different, since it the first order by the Axis, the With victory at El Alamein. and died after eating rat poison, searchlights onto the statue of Il Food wasn't the only thing run- However, the supplies that did had not been possible to prevent repercussions of which will one Operation Torch landing in Mo would drift into Spain and that Bambina, while a loudspeaker day be felt." rocco in November 1942, Allied the fake plans, which indicated from one of the ships broadcasted In fact, in August - the same forces closed in on £ull control of that Operation Husky was actu the news of the Italian surrender month the convoy arrived in the North African front. This ally an invasion of Greece and across the port. Malta - 35% of all Axis shipping couldn't have been done without not Sicily, would be passed onto The tears of joy on the faces of to North Africa was lost. Histo the work of the RAF and Royal the Germans by Spain's General all'those present symbolised that rian Tony Spooner writes that the · Navy forces· stationed on Malta. Franco, who despite being neu as of S September 1943, the war following month, Rommel's The naval base at Manoel Island tral in the conflict somewhat for Malta truly was over.

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