MALTA STILL DEFIES ALL AXIS ATTACKS

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23536, 14 January 1942, Page 4

MALTA STILL DEFIES ALL AXIS ATTACKS

mediterranean outpost

Malta was the first place in the Empire to be attacked from the air and assaulted by sea. Hardly 12 hours had elapsed after Mussolini’s declaration of war when Italian aircraft dropped bombs on the island, and on July Jo, after nearly 14 months’ systematic raiding, Italian E : boats tried unsuccessfully to force their way into the Grana Harbour. On every occasion Malta has justified Mr Churchill’s reference to the island as one of the strongest fortresses in the Empire; a description which echoes Napoleon’s la place plus forte de I’Europe." Both Italy and Germany have experienced this truth. They have raided the small British bulwark in the Mediterranean more than _ 1000 times but the scars they have inflicted have not detracted one whit from the strength of the fortress nor affected the morale, toughness, and fighting spirit of its garrison and inhabitants and their determination to make the defence of the island glorious not only in British military history but in . the history of Malta itself. On paper and the air Rome and Berlin have on many an occasion spoken of Malta as reduced to i m P° ten .9®; Once they graphically related the wrecking of an inexistent coal mine and a strategical railway. Such enemy airmen as returned to their base had a different tale to tell. So impressed were they with the defences which invariably replied like one vast gun that—so say the prisoners—they nicknamed Malta ‘Tisola del diavolo (Old Nick’s island). . .. Malta has been a member of tne British Empire for nearly a century and a half, during which time it has been not only the headquarters of the Mediterranean Fleet, but the symbol of Britain’s supremacy in the Middle oea. In 1913 it was decided that, if Britain found herself single-handed against the whole Triple Alliance, she would abandon the Mediterranean and concentrate at Gibraltar. If the situation envisaged in these war orders had materialised, Malta would have been left to its fate, but luckily it did not, and throughout the last War Malta was both a first-class naval station (the headquarters of the British, French, American, and Japanese squadrons) and the nurse of thousands of warriors brought to her hospitals from Gallipoli and the Near East. Decision to Defend When the 1914-18 war was over, a great change came over the Mediterranean. From its headquarters in Malta—the sentry post between Italy and Africa and the gateway to the Levant—the Royal Navy watched the shifting scene and, when necessary, slid out of harbour to show the flag at the centre of trouble. The intimacy between Malta and the silent service was increased. After the Abyssinian war had sent our ships to Alexandria, both officers and men looked forward to their return to the Navys Mediterranean home. And in due course they came back. Tne development of the air offensive, however, changed the situation. Italy’s propagandja persuaded some people of her invincibility in the air; there were advocates for the abandonment of the island in case of hostilities. Better counsels prevailed, and when the spectre of war rose again on the horizon the land defence of Malta was taken seriously in hand. By Empire Day, 1938, Sir Charles Bonham Carter, the popular Governor of the time, was in a position to state that Malta was safe and would soon be so strong as to make attack an undertaking of the greatest; risk. During the two succeeding years every step was taken to fulfil his words and, far from abandoning Malta, His Majesty’s Government determined to defend it at all costs. Their plans, indeed, presupposed active French cooperation and the linking up of Malta with the strong base of Bizerta. It is said that the air defence of Malta depended so much on the air squadrons of Bizerta that, when war was declared, there were only three serviceable Royal Air Force aeroplanes- in Malta, jocularly dubbed Faith, Hope, and Charity. Whatever the truth of this story, it is certain that, on the fall of France, the strength of the Royal Air Force was increased day by day, as is shown by the number of aircraft they destroyed, by the evident reluctance of the enemy to meet them in battle, and by the arrival of convoys which poured food and ammunition into Malta. By January last Maltese life was nearly normal. Then the Germans appeared on the scene. They occupied Sicily and prepared for an assault on shipping and for a Anal - attack on Malta, which, they said, could be destroyed in a few hours. On January

(From the correspondent of “The Times” in Malta.) (Published by Special Arrangement.)

10 and subsequent days German divebombers and the British Navy participated in a trial of strength. Although the Southampton was sunk and the Illustrious and the Gallant damaged, the convoy which accompanied them reached its destination and the two damaged vessels succeeded in putting into Malta harbour, where an epic battle was fought on January 16. The utmost recklessness of the German bombers, who dived* tnrough a wall of fire, did not enable them to hit their main objective, the aircraft-car-rier; and the destruction of so many of their machines showed the Germans that their estimate of the strength of the fortress was wide of the mark. On the following Sunday they returned to the charge, but did not dive so low into the barrage. At the end of the battle the Illustrious was still untouched and the German losses brought their own lesson. The Malta dockyard was enabled to repair the ship, which steamed away unmolested. The Boasts of Italy On behalf of the War Cabinet Mr Churchill sent congratulations "upon the magnificent and ever memorable defence of the heroic garrison and citi. Zens against the German and Italian attacks.’’ The island itself was scarred;the people were proud of their victory. For five months the Germans hammered day and night, causing widespread civilian damage, but in vain. On June 8, the Italians announced that their allies had left Sicily, and, four days later, made an attack on Malta with the evident object of outdoing them. They called it, indeed, the greatest raid on the island since the war began (which it was not). Instead of making the splash they hoped, they were mown down by a withering fire, and during the day lost nine fighters and a bomber. Fortune has frowned upon them ever since. In practically every daylight raid they suffer losses of machines and pilots: only at night can they drop bombs on a fairly extensive scaleanywhere and anyhow. As shown by our continuous and effective raids on Sicily, southern Italy, and Tripoli, the air initiative in the Central Mediterranean in October passed into our hands. The morale of the Italians, already low, must have become very low indeed. This must be the explanation of the astounding version of their attack on a British convoy in the Sicilian Channel on July 28. That convoy got through without the loss of a single merchant ship, only the destroyer Fearless being sunk. The Italian account, however, gloated over a dazzling victory in which most of our ships, both naval and mercantile, were sent to the bottom. Fairy-tale descriptions and fulsome praise of heroes who brought Britain to her knees did not cease even when the Italian E-boats attempted to attack the convoy in Malta harbour, and failed miserably. Again the enemy radio exulted, declaring that the exploit would be one of the brightest pages in the history of th» war. Tribute to Fortitude The people of Malta are proud of the part they are playing. They have lost much since they have been in the front line, but, as was asked by Sir Edwani Jackson, the Lieutenant-Governor, m recent broadcast:— . • /. “Is It not a very great thing. th*HR many hundreds of men and ;■ wgS*| have proved to themselves thawKaS can look in the face of danger RidP'' mayed, that they can have them in an instant all that they po»: sessed in the world, except the courage to get up opt of the dust and begin all over again? And is it not something to have shown the world that the people of Malta have that courage? And who shall say that in the M#l account, material loss is not outweigh- \ ed by spiritual gains?" ; In their determination to resist in* enemy to the bitter end the Malttfs are greatly encouraged by tMtt brothers overseas, whose love fOrtMir home has led them to contribute handsomely to the Malta Relief Fum. Thousands of pounds are comltttf ffjltt the United Kingdom, the UnitedStatM, Egypt, Australia, and other parts of tM world. Another source of encouragement is the appreciation of IDs MW* esty’s Government, who have pEpyidW a grant-in-aid of £1,000,000. AUpirtt. of the Empire have been M generosity. The large donation! dent by the Navy, especially by the bfflottl and men of the Mediterranean Flaw* who (to quote Sir Andrew Cunnmjp ham) “have , Malta much in tMtr thoughts and are much concerned J# the well-being of the people, the least welcome of these many OB«p “gs. .