By the middle of the Nineteen-Thirties, it was clear that the democracies of Britain and France were on a collision course with the totalitarianism of Germany and Italy. The German re-occupation of the demilitarised Rhineland in March 1936, followed by the signing of the military pact between Berlin and Rome in November of that year, were clear indications of the ambitions of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The feeble policy of appeasement adopted by the British and the French was itself contributing to the increasing militancy of the dictators in Europe. Clearly, it was doomed to failure. Sooner or later, the expected blow-up would have to come. War in Europe was inevitable.

Malta had long been a pivot in the strategy for the defence of British interests in the Mediterranean. Despite the near-certainty of war in Europe, Britain was slow to re-arm. Malta's defences were largely neglected in the pre-war years. Her role within the modern concept of war, in which air power would be a telling factor, was still most unclear. Malta was singularly ill-equipped and inadequately armed to deter any potential aggressor. Her anti-aircraft defences were minimal, air cover in the form of modern fighter aircraft was ' non-existent and her coastal defences were primitive and out-dated. Moreover, her reserves of food, supplies and other essential commodities were meagre and most inadequate to sustain her through an indefinite period of siege and blockade.

With the commencement of the war with Germany in 1939, it was immediately clear that, should Italy also declare war against Britain and, France, Malta would be totally isolated in the central Mediterranean. For supplies and support, she would have to rely on Gibraltar, 1 000 miles to the west and on Alexandria, an equal distance to the east. Should France be overwhelmed, the western Mediterranean would be seriously jeopardised. French bases in North Africa would be neutralised. Malta's isolation would be complete. She would be at the mercy of the Italians, thirty minutes away in Sicily.

All these events would come to pass. Mussolini declared war against Britain and France on 10 June, 1940. The next morning, Italian bombers quickly attacked Malta. The first casualties were six Maltese gunners of the Royal Malta Artillery, killed outright by a high explosive bomb as they manned their guns at Fort St Elmo. With that first bomb, the Italians lost all their credibility and former goodwill amongst the Maltese. The Islanders now rallied to the Allied cause, promptly gathered their resources of fortitude and courage and immediately prepared themselves for a long and painful siege.

Much would have to be done, since Malta was clearly defenceless at this stage. The immediate priority was to provide shelter for the civilian population. A gigantic program to excavate underground shelters in all towns and villages was quickly mounted. The old railway tunnels and historic catacombs were soon converted for this purpose. With the help of experienced miners from South Wales and Yorkshire, serving with the Royal Engineers in Malta, the authorities were successful in providing adequate protection for the population within a year. The early completion of this crash 'building' program greatly contributed to the relatively low figure of civilian casualties registered in Malta during the war. However, with some foresight, more lives would have been saved.

The Italians continued their bombing raids over Malta. Initially, the 200 odd aircraft of the Regia Aeronautica were only opposed by four Gloster Gladiators. Soon depleted to three, the Glosters put up a spirited fight in the air. Nicknamed Faith, Hope and Charity, they battled alone, day and night for three weeks. But soon, four Hurricanes were at last diverted to Malta to join them in their ordeal. By the end of July, a further dozen Hurricanes arrived. Against this stronger opposition, the Italian raids became noticeably less effective. Italy thus failed to subdue Malta in time. This would ultimately be most detrimental to the Axis effort in North Africa.

It was becoming increasingly clear that the Battle for Malta was also the battle for control over the 'waist' of the central Mediterranean. With the build-up of Axis forces in North Africa, their supply lines from Sicily were assuming more importance. The singular failure of the Italians to silence Malta and effectively blockade her supply lines, despite little or no opposition, proved to be of great concern to the German High Command. Clearly, Malta-based aircraft, shipping and submarines had to be prevented from ever taking to the offensive since the Axis lifeline from Sicily to North Africa would otherwise be jeopardised. For this reason, it was decided that the German Luftwaffe should move in, take over from the Italians and 'finish' the job in Malta once and for all.

With the Germans installed in Sicilian airfields by December 1940, the siege of Malta commenced in earnest. Soon, they gained air supremacy over most of the Mediterranean. Their bombing raids over Malta intensified. Mercilessly, German dive-bombers now attacked Malta's installations, dockyards and airfields. The 'box barrages' of the Maltese artillery would not deter them. The high-level aerial bombardment techniques which the Italians had previously adopted were immediately discarded. The Germans preferred to swoop down on to their targets. Their brave tactics yielded impressive results. In January, 1941, after a sustained attack on the British Fleet, as it escorted a convoy on its way to Malta and Greece, the Luftwaffe badly damaged the aircraft carrier, HMS Illustrious. Seriously on fire and crippled, the managed to make her way to Malta for repairs. But the Germans soon struck again. The next day, over 70 dive-bombers appeared over Malta. The Illustrious bore the brunt of their fury as she lay in dock. The surrounding areas of the dockyards and the Three Cities were also badly mauled.

During the month of January 1941, the Germans made 57 raids on Malta. With Rommel now preparing to redress Italian reverses in North Africa, German raids on Malta were intensified. This greatly assisted the Afrika Korps to win control of Cyrenaica. In no time, Rommel was knocking on the gates of Egypt. By the spring of 1941, Greece and Crete also fell to the Germans. These gains now posed a serious threat to Malta's supply line from Alexandria. German strategy to strangle Malta to submission was clearly bearing fruit. But suddenly, a reversal of German policy saved Malta.

In June 1941, Hitter committed his all important blunder by attacking Russia. He was thus compelled to substantially reduce the German strike force in Sicily and redeploy it to that new front. In the circumstances, Malta received a temporary respite and, for a while, raids became fewer. At last too, the British were now awakened to the importance of Maita's strategic role in the battle for the control of supply lines in the Mediterranean. Allied reverses in North Africa had been largely caused by Rommel's ability to keep his supply links with Italy and Sicily secure. That relative security had depended on the Luftwaffe's air superiority over Malta. As this started to fade, the British promptly took to the offensive from Malta for the first time. With the arrival of reinforcements, Malta was soon in a position to fulfil her new defined strategic role. The Axis powers in North Africa would be blockaded and deprived of their supplies. From Malta, the British now launched their offensive against Axis shipping. Blenheim aircraft and Wellington bombers commenced their raids on Naples and other Italian ports. Hurricanes and Beaufighters systematically attacked targets in Sicily and Sardinia. Tripoli in Libya, also came in for a heavy pounding. At sea, Malta-based submarines preyed on Axis shipping with remarkable success. The combined results of this fresh allied offensive in the Mediterranean brought Rommel's progress in North Africa to a halt.

It was about this time that the Italian Navy, inspired by its recent success against British shipping in Crete, made a bold attempt to breach the defences of the Grand Harbour and attack the submarine base and a recently arrived convoy. It was a singularly brave bid which, although ending in total disaster, aroused the admiration of Maltese and British alike for its daring, and for the courage and heroism of the Italians. The plan had called for two ‘manned’ torpedoes to blast an entry through the steel netting of a gap in the breakwater at the entrance to the Harbour. Coming up from the rear, nine explosive boats were then to career through the opening, enter the Grand Harbour and finally home in to their selected targets. In the early hours of the appointed day for the attack - 26 July, 1941 - the Italians approached Malta from Sicily. However, well before the assault craft commenced their final perilous route in the direction of the Grand Harbour, the escorting flotilla was detected by Maltese radar and the coastal defences were immediately alerted. The timing for the explosion of the 'human' torpedoes, once they reached their target, did not go off quite as planned. The outcome was that the Italian crews bravely persevered on their collision course till the moment of impact with the netting and thus blew themselves up with the explosion. But the damage caused to the steel net was minimal. Coming up from the rear, the leading E-boat, equally bravely, pursued another collision course in the hope of breaching the obstruction and thus blast an entry for the other E-boats. However, the next explosion only caused the iron bridge which lay over the netting to collapse and further obstruct the desired opening. Immediately, the coastal searchlights now came on and the guns of the Royal Malta Artillery at Forts St Elmo and Ricasoli opened fire on the stranded E-boats. Within six minutes, they were all wiped out.

With the Allies making sweeping gains in North Africa in the autumn of 1941, the Germans came to realise their earlier mistake in allowing Malta to take to the offensive when their fighter aircraft were withdrawn from the Sicilian airfields. It was now clear that Malta was the chief menace and she had to be neutralised once and for all. By December 1941, the Luftwaffe was restored in strength in Sicily and the bombing of Malta re-commenced with a vengeance. At the same time, plans were also laid for a German invasion.

Because of Rommel's desperate need for supplies to get through to him in North Africa, the Luftwaffe now concentrated all its resources on Malta. The Island's offensive capacity had to be subdued. During the month of December, the Germans subjected Malta to intensive bombardment with a total of 169 raids. Their success was immediately apparent since supplies to Rommel now started to get through and by January 1942 he would again be in a position to stage a brilliant come-back and re-conquer Cyrenaica. The tables were thus turned again. Again, Malta's supply route from Alexandria was in jeopardy. Again, Malta was isolated and on the defensive.

From now on, the defence of Malta would be crucial to the Allies. Time and again it had been proved that Malta was the key to success or failure in North Africa. In a message to Malta, Winston Churchill tried to raise the Island's morale.

"The eyes of all Britain and, indeed, of the British Empire are watching Malta in her struggle day by day, and we are sure that her success as well as glory will reward your efforts."

That success was very much in doubt in the early months of 1942 since, day by day, Malta was being pounded and blitzed incessantly by the Luftwaffe. In January, the Germans carried out 263 raids over Malta. In February, 1000 tons of bombs were dropped. March saw a further intensification of the bombing raids. By April, a peak of 282 bombing raids was reached and a total of 6700 tons of bombs were unloaded onto the Island.

The situation in Malta was now precarious and even desperate. The airfields came under constant attack. There were severe losses of aircraft trapped on the ground, despite round the clock efforts to repair the holed runways. Soon, the blockade of Malta began to have a telling effect on the Island's reserves of stores, munitions and fuel. In time, the acute shortage of anti-aircraft shells for Malta's gunners would cause some guns to remain idle. With food in short supply, rations had to be drastically reduced. Government-run Victory Kitchens were introduced to feed the now starving population. The necessities of life were all hard to come by. Sugar was unobtainable, edible oil became a rarity and even soap and matches had to be rationed.

As buildings collapsed everywhere, many urban areas were reduced to a heap of masonry and rubble. In April 1942 alone, more than 11 000 buildings were destroyed or damaged. Because of their proximity to the Naval Dockyards, the Three Cities were particularly badly hit. In Valletta too, many historic buildings received direct hits. The Royal Opera House, the law Courts and some of the old Auberges were totally destroyed.

People were now forced to abandon their homes in the major towns and seek the comparative safety of the countryside - away from the more vulnerable urban areas. Families would spend days and nights huddled up in damp under-ground shelters. Soon, hygienic conditions in them became unbearable. The endurance of the Maltese through this harrowing ordeal was quite remarkable. The incessant bombing, the screeching of dive-bombers, the roar of the barrage, the desolation of destruction everywhere, the choking dust of crumbling masonry, the horror of violent death, the misery of the old, the consternation of the young, the panic of the very young, the pain of hunger, the confusion, the chaos and the general helplessness as convoys failed to get through, were somehow all borne with a determination to win through these uncertain times.

On 15 April, 1942 the people's sagging morale received a welcome boost. The following message arrived from
King George VI:

But Malta's position was steadily deteriorating. Thankfully, because of Allied pressure on Rommel's forces in North Africa, the planned German invasion of Malta, scheduled for June 1942, had to be scrapped. Troops were diverted to strengthen the Afrika Korps, now coming to a grinding halt at El Alamein. Part of the German bomber force based on Sicily was also withdrawn. Although two supply ships, out of a total of six, managed to reach Malta in July 1942, the situation remained desperate. With barely a fortnight's supply of vital provisions and fuel left for survival in Malta, Operation Pedestal was mounted on 10 August. Its specific aim was to force a convoy through to Malta. Fourteen merchant ships, with an escort of three aircraft carriers, two battleships, seven cruisers, and twenty four destroyers left Gibraltar for their important destination. For five momentous days, the convoy was flayed asunder by enemy aircraft and submarines. Soon, nine of the merchant-men were sunk, along with the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, two cruisers and one destroyer. By the 14th, four of the remaining supply ships reached Malta. The fifth, the tanker Ohio was torpedoed at sea. Completely disabled and sinking, she was lashed between two destroyers and dragged into Malta. With her precious cargo, she managed to enter the Grand Harbour on 15 August; the Feast of the Assumption. For this reason, this memorable convoy is still referred to as the ‘Santa Marija Convoy’ to this day. Its epic story is now legend in the Islands.

The safe arrival of the Santa Marija convoy in Malta marked a turning point in the Island's fortunes. Although still under siege, Malta was now in a better position to hit back. With a stronger fighting force in the air, which soon included 100 Spitfires, air superiority was achieved by October 1942. This would also coincide with Montgomery's victory over Rommel at El Alarnein. With North Africa in Allied hands, the siege of Malta was finally lifted. Soon after, she became the operational launching pad for the Allied invasion of Sicily.

In June 1943, King George VI visited the Islands and received a tumultuous welcome from the Maltese. As Malta basked in her glory, the final irony perhaps arrived in September of that year when, with the Italian Fleet meekly assembled in Maltese harbours, Marshall Badoglio signed Italy’s final surrender document in Malta.

In November 1943, Winston Churchill visited Malta and saw for himself the devastation inflicted by the enemy. Three weeks later, Franklin D Roosevelt arrived and delivered the following message:

The second siege of Malta, like the first, four centuries earlier, won the admiration of the world. Out of both sieges, Malta emerged in a state of utter devastation but totally unscathed in spirit and honour. From the last siege. Malta also emerged with the firm resolve to become at last the mistress of her own destiny.