The Turning of the Tide and Victory
The Luftwaffe returned to Sicily in late 1941, redeploying many of its squadrons from the Eastern Front, where winter had ground most aerial operations to a halt. By then, the British in Malta had been reinforced with better fighters such as the Spitfire, which were more of a match for the German Me 109s. Experience and better training had also improved the quality of Allied pilots, whose numbers now included Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans, and Americans.
The difference in the rematch was remarkable. Whereas the British had trouble during the first half of 1941 in downing a single German fighter over Malta, Allied fighters now downed Luftwaffe planes in droves. Allied aces, and then aces of aces, emerged as they notched up kills over the skies of Malta and the surrounding seas. One pilot, Royal Canadian Air Force flight lieutenant George Beurling, who came to be known as “The Knight of Malta”, shot down 27 Axis planes during a two week stretch in July of 1942.
From a threatened island, Malta was transformed into a base for offensive operations against the Axis. By the fall of 1942, two thirds of the Italian merchant fleet had been sunk by planes, ships, and submarines, mostly operating out of Malta, and Axis forces in North Africa were gradually starved of supplies and reinforcements. That precarious condition played a key role in setting the stage for the decisive British victory in the Battle of El Alamein, October 23rd – November 11th, 1942. The surviving Germans and Italians were forced into a headlong retreat, hotly pursued by the victors. They eventually ended up in Tunisia, sandwiched between British forces advancing from the south and east, and Americans, advancing from the west.
With their forces cornered in Tunisia, the Germans and Italians were forced to abandon the Siege of Malta in November of 1942, and focus their efforts on saving their last enclave in North Africa. That was when Malta demonstrated its full potential as a sword thrust into the Axis’ vitals. In December of 1942, Allied air and sea forces operating out of Maltese airfields and ports went on the offensive, and over the next five months, they sank 230 Axis ships – the highest Allied sinking rate during WWII. Cut off from supplies and reinforcements, and under intense pressure on the ground, Axis forces in Tunisia capitulated in May of 1943, netting the Allies a haul of over 230,000 German and Italian POWs. Allied success in Malta ended up playing a key role in ultimate Allied success in the North African Campaign.
Victory had been won in Malta, but it came at a cost. During a campaign that lasted 2 years and 5 months, the Allies lost 716 airplanes, 1 battleship, 2 aircraft carriers, 4 cruisers, 19 destroyers, 38 submarines, and about 2300 airmen killed or wounded. The Maltese lost 1300 civilians killed, thousands more wounded, and 30,000 buildings destroyed or damaged. In 1942, King George VI awarded the George Cross – the civilian equivalent of the Victoria Cross, awarded for acts of the greatest heroism or most conspicuous courage in the face of extreme danger – to the people of Malta.
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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources & Further Reading
BBC History, February 17th, 2011 – The Siege of Malta in World War Two
Imperial War Museum – How Malta Survived the Second World War