STORY OF MALTA

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 March 1942, Page 7

STORY OF MALTA

BRITAIN’S STRONG BULWARK

An outstanding feature of the war is how the island of Malta has stood up against ’ strong and repeated attack.by the Italians and Germans. Malta was the first place in the British Cornmonealth to be attacked from the air and assaulted by sea. Hardly 12 hours had elapsed after Signor Benito Mussolini’s declaration of war when Italian aircraft dropped bombs on the island, and on July 26, after nearly 14 months’ systematicraiding, Italian E-boats tried unsuccessfully to force their way into the Grand Harbour.

On every occasion Malta has justified Mr Winston 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. So strong are the defences that Italian airmen are reported to have nick; named Malta “I’isola del diavolo” (Old Nick’s Island). Malta has been a member of the British Commonwealth for nearly a century and a-nalf, during which lime it has been the headquarters of the Mediterarnean Fleet, as well as a symbol of Britain’s supremacy in the Middle Sea. In 1913 it was decided that, if Britain found herself singlehanded 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 Great 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. The Abyssinian War sent British ships to Alexandria, but it was still realised that Malta was the sentry post between Italy and Africa and the gateway to the Levant and the land and air defence of Malta was taken seriously in band. 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. The British Government determined to defend the island at all costs. Its plans presupposed active French co-operation 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 Bizcrta that, who.", war was declared, there were only throe serviceable Royal Air Force aeroplanes in Malta, jocularly dubbed ■‘Faith,” "Hope” and “Charity.” Whatever thq 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. NAZI AIR RAIDS.

In 1941 the Germans appeared on the scene. They occupied Sicily and prepared for an assault on shipping and for a final attack on Malta, which, they said, could be destroyed in a few hours. On January 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. 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 trie evident object of outdoing them. Now we have further reports of renewed enemy attacks, with anything from a dozen to a score of alerts daily in Malta. There is no evidence that the enemy raids on the island have not been carried out with daring and skill. Reports of the attacks have spoken of “the utmost recklessness” of the raiders “diving through a curtain of fire.” These reports also say, however, that, the defence has been too strong for the attack—that raiders are mown down by a withering fire, and particularly during the day lose many lighters and bombers. In. practically every daylight raid they suffer losses of machines and pilots: only at night can they drop bombs on a fairly extensive scale —anywhere and anyhow.