Malta's critical yet unsung role in WWII

Malta is an island nation, located 50 mi south of the Italian island of Sicily. Only the three largest islands – Malta, Gozo, and Comino are inhabited.  Malta is 9 miles wide and 17 miles long. In comparison, Torch Lake is 2 miles wide and 18 miles long.  The islands lie on the Malta plateau, and are the high points of a land bridge between Sicily and North Africa.  The archipelago became isolated as sea levels rose after the last Ice Age. Malta has a strategic location between North Africa and Italy.  Additionally, Malta is located near the two East-West Mediterranean shipping routes. We often see numerous freighters motoring on the horizon beyond the harbor.

Malta located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.

Malta is the smallest nation in the European Union with a population of 410,000. Malta is unique as it is a conglomeration of Arabic, Sicilian, British and Roman Catholic influences. The Maltese language, Malti, is the prime example of this taking bits from others (conquerors) to create a national identity. Malti, one of two official languages (English is the other, not Italian as might be expected) is taught in the free but compulsory (ages 5-16) state and church schools (church schools are subsidized by the government).
 Malti has an Arabic base but uses Latin symbols. This reminds me of the Irish Gaelic language.  But, in Ireland, Gaelic is spoken primarily in the Western Counties. The Maltese language is spoken in all the villages including on the island of Gozo (with an accent that I have yet to pick up on). The Maltese will quickly convert to English, when spoken to in that language. By maintaining their own unique language, it demonstrates to me a strong independent culture. 
This pride in national heritage is personified in one woman, Astrid Vella, a controversial (she is not soft spoken) and energetic woman who heads the preservationist group, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar. (I feel certain you will hear more about Astrid as she has an idea that Andrew should meet with the Prime Minister of Malta to give an economist's rationalized support for historic preservation.) We had the pleasure to meet her as she attended Andrew’s talk on Historical Housing in California and implications for Malta.  Now this is a bit of a joke as the California preservation discussed goes back 100 years.  That is a blink of the eye in the time span of Maltese history, as there are prehistoric sites on the islands that give evidence of human occupation 5000 BC (dates similar for bee hive structures in Ireland). The first written evidence in Malta occurred in 700 BC by the Phoenicians, master sailors based in present day Lebanon.  But, since arriving and looking out over the natural harbor, I was first drawn to the unsung stories about Malta in the early 1940s during World War II.

The natural harbor around the peninsula of Valletta.

One rainy day, Andrew and I took the bus around the harbor to Birgu, disembarking almost directly across the water from our flat. We toured the Malta at War Museum and had the place to ourselves.  The exhibits included films often with original footage from war reels showing bombed out Valletta and the Grand Harbour.  The highlight (lowlight?) was touring an extensive underground air raid tunnel complete with labor/delivery room—not much but a basin and pitcher in a private chamber. I find this to be an incredible unsung story of hardship.   I am waiting for the remake of the 1953 movie Malta Story,  a British film detailing the story about Malta during the Second World War including a love story between a British pilot and a Maltese girl. Let me give a few details on how the Maltese endured fierce bombardment, often underground from both Italian and German attacks.

Checking out a chamber in an air raid tunnel.

From June 11, 1940 until September 8, 1943, 3 years and 3 months, 3,340 air raids were made on Malta. At 7am, June 11, 1940 Mussolini began Italy’s war against Britain and France with 8 air raids on Valletta and it’s Grand Harbour on that first day.  The bombers were based in Sicily, just a 20 minute flight away.  The Italian Bombers would make a run in the morning, return to Sicily for lunch, then take off and bomb again before dinner. In 1942, Hilter’s German forces began bombing Malta.  In March and April of 1942 more bombs rained down on Malta than in a whole year at the height of London’s Blitz. There were 154 days of continuous day and night raids on the Grand Harbour. Fortunately, when bombed the limestone houses do not catch on fire but are left in rubble. 

Bombed out streets in Malta.

Malta basically acted as a fortressed aircraft carrier, allowing bombing attacks on enemy shipping lanes between Sicily and Northern Africa. Both, Churchill and Hitler realized Malta’s location was of strategic importance.  The Axis set up blockades that prevented food and supplies from reaching the islands. With diminishing supplies, the Maltese began to suffer from malnutrition, so the British Government set up Victory kitchens, a communal feeding program.  One of these kitchens was located a block away from our flat.
The country was close to starvation and surrender by midyear 1942.  American troops arrived in Malta in April 1942 with the aircraft carrier Wasp.  On board were 47 Spitfire planes to assist the British forces in Malta.   In May 1942, a convoy of 14 supply ships, including the oil tanker, Ohio, protected by 3 air craft carriers, 2 battleships, 7 cruisers and 24 destroyers headed towards Malta. Only 5 of the supply ships finally reached Malta on August 13, 1942.  The oil tanker, Ohio, limped in to the harbor 2 days later. With the supplies, air craft and submarines based in Malta were able to continue to disrupt enemy supply lines. Interference of supply lines played a crucial role in Ally victories and the demise of German presence in North Africa. By July 1943, Malta was the operational headquarters including air base for the Allied invasion of Sicily.
The population on Malta at the time was 275,000, by the end of the war, 1,486 Maltese civilians (not including the Maltese military) were killed and 3,720 injured from the raids and 50,000 were homeless as 35,000 homes were destroyed.  King George VI awarded the George Cross, Britain’s highest honor for civilian bravery to the entire population of Malta.  It is the George Cross not the Maltese Cross that embellishes the nation’s flag.  From our balcony, we would have had front row seats on the raids and Allies naval activity.  Below our flat,  400 feet underground is the war room that housed the British Operations Room. It is amazing to daily pass structures that in the films were decimated to rubble.  The Maltese were able to rebuild with funds from the British.  In downtown Valletta this was done to all but one building, The Opera House, which is two blocks up the hill from our flat.  The Opera House is an open (roofless) venue with the war damaged columns standing guard as a reminder of the devastation.  

Bombed out Opera House in Valletta, Malta.

 Our flat (to the right of the two dark brown balconies)as viewed from Birgu.