Siege of Malta (1940)

The Siege of Malta was a significant military event during World War II that occurred between 1940 and 1942 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 1800, after two years of Napoleonic occupation, a colony 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. It contained only 4 000 soldiers and 5 weeks worth of food.

Between the island's vulnerability, its proximity with Italy, and its importance to the British Empire it was a logical asset for the axis powers. Just one day after Italy's declaration of war (the 11 June 1940) they began running bombing raids on the island. Most of the land forces of the axis had been thrown into invading Crete, hence bombing was the chosen method of Italy to dilute the threat of Malta. On this first day of bombing there were 6 attacks. The island's Fairey Swordfish biplanes were unable to defend due to the Luqa Airfield being unfinished; however, the airfield was ready by the seventh attack. Initially, the Italians flew at around 5 500 m, after which they dropped down to 3 000 m in order to improve the accuracy of their bombs. 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."

By the end of August, the Gladiators were reinforced by 12 Hawker Hurricanes which which had arrived via the 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 due to the Red Army on the Eastern Front taking military and fiscal precedence when it came to Nazi resources. In December of the same year the German forces turned their attentions back to Malta and continued with a significant intensity of bombing. Due to the bombing raids 31 allied ships were sunk, making the supply of resources incredibly difficult - the forces eventually gave up trying to supply the island and cut it off.

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. It should further be noted that in the first six months of 1942 only one 24 hour period lapsed between 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.

The island, having suffered so significantly, appeared to the axis forces to be neutralised - and hence it was decided that there was little point in continuing such intensive bombing raids and rediverted their efforts to other areas. This allowed the allied forces to take advantage and move 61 Spitfire aircrafts to the island. With improved defenses in the area resources were soon returned to the people of the island on 15th August 1942 (feast of St.Mary which is a public holiday in Malta) the last (a tanker) of five ships from a total of a fourteen ship convoy which where sailing in Operation Pedestal, arrived in Malta with the waited food, ammunitions and much waited fuels, quelling the starvation and army shortages. The German forces soon attempted a coup de main in October. The increased defence in the area soon led the axis forces to lose control of North Africa.

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) "to the island fortress of Malta--its people and defenders." President Franklin Roosevelt, describing the wartime period, called Malta "one tiny bright flame in the darkness."

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)