大象传媒

Much is written of the famous achievements and tenacity of struggling people of World War II. The Pacific and European Theaters have shown us the Bataan death march, the Warsaw ghetto uprising, German concentration camps and the London Blitz. Civilians and soldiers alike have displayed a rare spirit to overcome the pathos of their present human condition. This report is about a less publicized but equally tragic episode in the history of Western Civilization; the bombing of Malta by the Axis Alliance.

The basis of this report is primarily from an English language Maltese published book titled "Malta: Blitzed but not Beaten" by Philip Vella. It is also based on recitations from several of the survivors, my parents and a close aunt. Although some of the attacks originated from the sea, the preferred method of attack was the infamous air raid. The first air raid took place on June 11, 1940 and the last on August 28, 1944. The explosive disturbance of an ancient and tranquil island lasted for 4 years and 2 months. The final tally eventually came to 3,340 air raid alerts claiming over 2600 civilians and servicemen.

The boisterous Benito Mussolini in an attempt to appear credible to his people and to align himself with Hitler decided to toss his hat into the ring on June 10, 1940. The classic adage "history repeats itself" certainly applied to the ambitious Mussolini. The economic shambles that befell Italy was catching up to the Fascist dictator. With France and Britain up against the ropes, he grabbed an opportunity to fulfill his expansionist plans that included Gibraltar, Suez, Tunisia and Malta. France was close to total defeat and London was reeling from their own air blitz. Although Malta is only 144 square miles and 60 miles southeast of Sicily, it seemed to be an easy prize worth taking.

The Italian attacks by Stormo bombers, Maachi and Fiat fighters and E-boats came immediately and ferociously. It wasn't long until the Luftwaffe arrived in Sicily with their bombers and dreaded Stuka fighter/bombers. Maltas air support consisted of four slow moving Gladiator biplanes. One was kept in reserve, the active aircraft were ironically named "Faith", "Hope" and "Charity". Due to the proximity of Malta to Italian airfields, Britain kept their aircraft off the island. They sent their Wellington bombers and Hurricane and Spitfire fighters on sorties from nearby carrier groups. The stage for an inescapable, unfolding drama was set.

The air raids were incessant facts of life, The peak of the raids occurred during the first half of 1942 with more then 250 raids per month. Greater aircraft numbers and superior equipment guaranteed the Axis almost unchallenged air superiority. The method of attack was by dropping conventional impact and time delay explosive charges, incinerary (incinerate) bombs and butterfly bombs. The butterfly bombs were small anti-personnel devices that were dropped over the island. They were cleverly disguised as fountain pens and thermos flasks. Numerous children and adults were killed or mutilated handling these devices. As terrifying as the bombers were, the Stuka's were just as terrifying. The pride of the Luftwaffe had for its arsenal: machine guns, dive bomb capability and psychology. The aircraft was fitted with an exterior siren, designed to emit a high pitched wailing sound whenever it went into a nose dive to deliver its bombs. Psychological terror before possible death, sort of an audio Russian roulette! Maltese anti-aircraft defenses were minimal at best. Many civilians resorted to seeking refuge in old railway tunnels, a prehistoric ancient burial place in a small town, the Catacombs of another, and a few caves. In order to protect it's churches and historic structures, blast walls made of sand bags and locally mined limestone blocks were erected.

Just as in ancient times, great naval battles were fought in the Mediterranean Sea. These battles were substantial, especially when the Nazi's were driven from North Africa to retreat back to Sicily. With Malta's strategic naval position, it stood in the middle of the Mediterranean and their retreat path.

In Operation "Excess", Britain's carrier groups headed by the carrier Illustrious was sent to Malta with needed supplies. Italian bombers in the vicinity of Malta had attacked the Royal Navy's newest carrier. The naval battle that occurred sent the Illustrious crippled and aflame to the safety of Malta's Grand Harbour. With German bombers in pursuit, the ship was attacked while in harbor and was soon given a temporary reprieve, weather conditions being the likely reason. Six days later on Jan. 16, 1941, German Stukas with sirens wailing, nosedive bombed the ship and four surrounding cities. Surprisingly, the Illustrious survived.

Another intense naval battle involved Operation "Pedestal". This five day supply run to help the besieged island included the carrier groups Victorious, Indomitable, and Eagle. This convoy of three aircraft carriers included 32 destroyers, 6 cruisers, 2 battleships, 6 corvettes and 16 support ships. During this battle, several ships were lost. Also, the American freighter Ohio was crippled and escorted into the Grand Harbour with the British battleships Branham and Penn physically supporting her on each side. In the end, 32,000 tons out of 85,000 tons of supplies made it to port, the remaining went to the bottom of the sea.

Aerial battles were becoming increasingly intense as well in the later stages of the war. Plans by the Allies for the invasion of Sicily and support for General George Patton's North Africa Seventh Army. These plans were code named Operation "Husky". With the need for aerial support, an underground war headquarters and new airfield was built on the island. General Dwight Eisenhower, then Supreme Commander of Mediterranean Allied Forces chose Malta because of it's excellent naval communications for the initial stages of the operation.

As the Allies came close to victory, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin and Franklin Roosevelt made plans to meet at Yalta in February 1945. However, this was preceded by Churchill and Roosevelt meeting in Malta on the deck of the HMS Orion. On May 7, V-E Day arrived. In the capital city of Valletta bands played and church bells rang. On August 14, V-J Day arrived. Ironically, the news did not arrive in Malta until the next day. August 15 was the third anniversary of the arrival of the SS Ohio to relieve the besieged island. Once again the island celebrated with the ringing of church bells, the sounds of sirens and bellowing of ships in the Grand Harbour.

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