Siege of Malta (1940)
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The Siege of Malta was a significant military event in the Mediterranean Theatre of World War II that occurred between 1940 and 1943 on the island of Malta. Due to the strategic position of Malta (see map) it was a key fortress for either the axis or allied powers – notably, the island is in the middle of the Mediterranean near Africa, Italy and Turkey. It had been, since 1814, after two years of Napoleonic occupation, a part of the British Empire – and its geographical importance had been noted by Britain for the entirety of the occupation. It was hence used as a significant military and naval fortress during this time – it happened to be the only military base between Gibraltar and Alexandria, Egypt. Despite its position, the British had moved the headquarters of the Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet from Valletta, Malta in the mid-1930s to Alexandria, Egypt, as such, it was under-resourced when Italy declared war on Britain on 10 June 1940. This was due to the strategic decision that the island, far from Britain and near Italy, could not be defended, and resources should not be wasted in the attempt. Only 4,000 soldiers were stationed on the island, with 5 weeks' worth of food.
The island was a strategic threat to Italy and the Axis powers, potentially interfering with communications between Europe and North Africa, and near to Italy. The day after declaring war on Britain (the 11 June 1940), Italy began bombing the island. Most of the Axis land forces had been committed to the invasion of Crete, hence bombing was the chosen method of Italy to dilute the threat of Malta. On the first day there were 6 attacks. There were few aircraft on Malta, obsolete Gloster Sea Gladiator biplanes which became immortalized as Faith, Hope and Charity. They were initially unable to fly as Luqa Airfield was unfinished, but they operated out of Hal Far[1]. Initially, the Italians flew at around 5,500 m; later they dropped to 3,000 m to improve bombing accuracy. Major Paine later stated that "[after they dropped down], we bagged one or two every other day, so they started coming in at [6,000 m]. Their bombing was never very accurate. As they flew higher it became quite indiscriminate." Mabel Strickland also stated, "The Italians decided they didn't like [the Gladiators and AA guns], so they dropped their bombs [30 km] off Malta and went back."
When the British government saw the success of the early defence in spite of the pitiful resources, they rapidly revised their decision that Malta was indefensible and decided to defend and reinforce the island, a policy which was steadfastly maintained. By the start of July, the Gladiators had been reinforced by Hawker Hurricanes. Twelve were delivered by HMS Argus. During the first five months of combat, the island's aircraft destroyed or damaged around 37 Italian aircraft and resulted in Italian fighter plane pilot Francisco Cavalera saying, "Malta was really a big problem for us— very well defended." On Malta, 330 people had been killed and 297 were seriously wounded.
In January 1941, the German Fliegerkorps X arrived in Sicily as the Afrika Korps arrived in Libya. The presence of the German Luftwaffe led to a notable increase in the bombing campaigns over Malta. A slight dip occurred later that year as German resources were diverted to fighting the Red Army on the Eastern Front. In December 1941 the German forces turned their attention back to Malta and continued bombing intensively. Due to the bombing raids 31 Allied ships were sunk, making resupply very difficult and expensive in resources—the island was effectively cut off.
During the whole period of the siege Allied convoys with naval escorts were engaged in resupplying the island. Both sides were aware of the strategic importance of Malta, and large forces were committed with desperate fighting and massive losses[2].
By this time the island appeared to the Axis forces to be neutralised, and they decided that there was no need for such intensive bombing raids, and diverted their resources to other areas. Britain took advantage of the respite to fly in 61 Spitfire aircraft from HMS Furious, which very much improved the defensive situation, although food, ammunition, and fuel were still critically short. Operation Pedestal was a major attempt to resupply Malta with a convoy of 14 merchant ships supported by 44 major warships, including battleships and aircraft carriers, and diversionary naval attacks by the Mediterranean Fleet at the other end of the Mediterranean[3]. On 13 August the surviving merchant ships start arriving at Malta, ending on 15 August 1942, the feast of Santa Marija (St Mary), a public holiday on Malta, with the British-crewed U.S. tanker SS Ohio; she had been hit by torpedoes, bombs, and a crashed dive bomber, but survived with her vital but highly explosive aircraft fuel. The cost: 5 transports survived out of 14; 1 aircraft carrier, 2 cruisers and a destroyer were sunk, and a carrier and 2 cruisers badly damaged.
The Luftwaffe responded with a renewed wave of attacks in October, but the Allied efforts in the Middle East were beginning to pay off, and supplies were reaching Malta. As the Axis forces were progressively defeated in North Africa, the siege of Malta was lifted.
It is agreed by many military historians that Malta was one of the most intensively bombed areas during the second world war – a total of 3,000 raids occurring during the 2 years of the siege. In the first six months of 1942, there was only one 24-hour period without air raids. During the greatest times of starvation it is said that foods were rationed to three boiled sweets, half a sardine and a spoonful of jam a day.
Over the two years of the siege 1,493 non-military persons died and 3,674 were wounded. On 15 April 1942, King George VI awarded the George Cross (the highest civilian award for gallantry in the Commonwealth and the first of only two joint awards) "To honour her brave people, I award the George Cross to the Island Fortress of Malta to bear witness to a heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history". President Franklin Roosevelt, describing the wartime period, called Malta "one tiny bright flame in the darkness."
[edit] Further reading
- Attard, Joseph. The Battle of Malta (London, 1980)
- Bradford, Ernle. Siege: Malta 1940-1943 (New York, 1986)
- Hogan, George. Malta: The Triumphant Years, 1940-1943 (London, 1978)
- Jellison, Charles A. Besieged: The World War II Ordeal of Malta, 1940-1942 (Hanover, NH, 1984)
- McAulay, Lex. Against All Odds: RAAF Pilots in the Battle for Malta, 1942 (Milsons Point, Australia, 1989)
- Shores, Christopher and Brian Cull. Malta: The Hurricane Years, 1940-41 (London, 1987)
- Smith, Peter C. The Battles of the Malta Striking Forces (London, 1974)
- Spooner, Tony. Supreme Gallantry : Malta's Role in the Allied Victory, 1939-1945 (London, 1996)
- Caroline Vernon. Our Name Wasn't Written - A Malta Memoir (Canberra, Australia, 1992)
- Wingate, John. The Fighting Tenth: The Tenth Submarine Flotilla and the Siege of Malta (London, 1991)
