How Malta Saved The Allies’ Campaigns In North Africa

If Malta had fallen, the war could have looked very different

(By I.S.O. Playfair — Chapter 14, Playfair, I.S.O. (1956). The Mediterranean and Middle East: “The Germans come to the Help of their Ally” (1941). HISTORY OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR. II. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54685605)

Much has been made about the campaigns in North Africa during World War II. The wide open spaces, unique terrain, and prevalence of tank warfare have made it a favorite topic of armchair generals and historians ever since. From General Rommel’s rugged and effective Afrika Korps to General Montgomery’s daring in the desert to the arrival of American boys in Europe during Operation Torch, the theater is well documented and much studied. But there is one piece of the North Africa puzzle that often remains unexplored — the Island of Malta.

Malta played a crucial role in the events unfolding in North Africa. While the tanks were duking it out in the sands of Tripolitania, there was a concerted siege taking place at Malta.

Malta was the last British stronghold in the eastern Mediterranean. It was a crucial lifeline linking Gibraltar to British Egypt. Without it, the Axis would have had free rein in the Central Mediterranean. This would have allowed them to maintain strong supply lines between Italy, Sicily, and North Africa. Malta sat right in the middle of those supply lines.

With Sardinia, Sicily, Greece, and large portions of North Africa under Axis control, there were few places…