The defense of Malta in the last war and truth 
The island was fortified against us
The Malta that was not occupied by the British
Despite detailed plans and preparations for major, Italian and German governments would not make the occupation of the island - The determination of the Maltese heroic, awarded by King George -
When is reflected by comparing the documents of the time in order to understand, beyond the past, even the nebulae of the future, on the grounds that they cast serious defeat of Italy in World War II, one can not ignore the problem in Malta. The island, or rather the archipelago, in the middle of the Mediterranean, is known as colony and pearl of His Britannic Majesty in those years, unable to defend herself from the fierce and powerful attacks of the first Italian and German air forces then, as a result of a plan to invade. That there was, and was the most tragic mistake, as was also recently established by Government officers, the high command of the Axis. Actually that was clear even to the British Government in those critical periods, led by Winston Churchill.
Che Malta fosse indifendibile, proprio per la sopravvalutazione che delle FF.AA. italiane si faceva oltre Manica sin dagli anni Trenta, secondo l’interpretazione dei governi inglesi, come per evidente difficoltà pratica di rifornire l’isola in tempo di guerra, risultò chiaro sin dal confilitto italo-etiopico del 1935-36, che vide contrapposte, allora solo politicamente, la Gran Bretagna e l’Italia; temendo una guerra, Londra sgomberò le forze aeronavali da Malta nell’agosto 1935, trasferendole ad Alessandria d’Egitto. Anche dopo pochi mesi dalla guerra dichiarata da Hitler a Francia ed Inghilterra, i memorandum dell’alto comando britannico proclamavano indifendibile l’isola mediterranea, pur fortificata from Nature, and equipped with cyclopean walls constructs by the Knights of St. John. Pure Italian commands to draw up the time of the occupation of the island projects, since the thirties, the state remained theoretical. It was in 1940 that became evident after our declaration, improvident is nothing short of war the British Empire and France already defeated by the Germans tanks, the mandatory nature of the military occupation of the island, as everyone knows half-Mail our way between Sicily and the then colony of Libya, so vital crossroads for the transport of trains, arms and ammunition, provisions for the African front was about to become hot. Even the Germans, in the testimony of the chief of counterintelligence Admiral Canaris, who said, quote "the Italians know better than we keep their secrets", the communications dell'addetto German ship to Rome which he judged, by the propaganda of Mussolini, safe and aggressive action to Corsica Tunisia and Malta, could not understand the inaction in the early weeks of the conflict that had pervaded the political leaders, about the lack of decisive action against Malta, which everyone was aware of the vital strategic importance for the island. Not so inert British interests, which now, taking care to decorate the island of many other devices that only three planes Gladiator (one, the Faith, is now in the Museum Valletta, proud to witness that time), ships and fuel, were aware of its security. But Churchill, who in past years had been an admirer of fascism and Mussolini himself, going to support (in the twenties) the anti-Bolshevik policies, the Duce could not understand how limited the bombing that our Royal Air Force carried out, since days after the entry into the war, on Malta, with demonstrated success, but without decisive effects. The action
massive bombing of our Navy, docked in the bay of Taranto, the November 11 of that fateful 1940, by the British units called 'Swordfish', preceded and non-hindered- reconnaissance by Glenn Martin, who stood on his flight from Malta to check the status of the Italian battleships in port in Puglia, was the consecration of the scent was in the British War Cabinet, the lack of will-not to mention gangrene of treason, which also there were, and defeatist feelings, such as those widely reported in the now famous diary of Galeazzo Ciano, who nevertheless was able to redeem the honor of death-negative behavior by the Italian high command, to fight the enemy (see the battle called 'off Calabria'), given the lack of initiative to take Malta, continuously, albeit at high prices given the continued attacks on our by air, supplied at that first period of the Spitfire and Hurricane appliances, as well as food. Italian initiative that would finally realize after that, tragically ended by 1940 with the Italian disaster in Greece in which forced Hitler to come help him in Africa, Germany decided to send in Sicily, the German X Air Corps (whose effects were stationed in Catania, was published in a newspaper even Teutonic language for them, "Der Adler from Aetna"), between February and May 1941, as carried out massive bombing raids on Malta with the famous Stuka, without restraint and low altitude. Epper the occupation of Crete, between May and June of 1941 with body of paratroopers Germans from Norway, where he was a great success for the Fuhrer, impressed him greatly for the huge losses (122,000 men and 5 000 drowned) suffered, discouraged from, as was first thought, the occupation by German Malta. That was so meticulously, and finally also in practice, not only designed but also well prepared by Italian forces elite, the "Thunderbolt" and the battalion "San Marco", between February and the summer of 1942. Meanwhile, in November 1941, the naval force stationed in Malta had been destroyed by mines besides the incessant air raids, and the daring of the X MAS were blown up by the English port fitted Alexandria, Egypt (December 18, 1941), the battleships Valiant and Queen Elizabeth, with legendary action. It was now time, sanctioned by a meeting in April in Berchtesgaden with the Fuhrer of the Italian leaders, to occupy the first Malta and then sink the 'bulk' of the Italian-German armored forces in Cyrenaica and then to Egypt.
The most acute phase of defense, therefore, for the Maltese people tried very hard by air strikes that have, as you know, a tremendous psychological effect too, and the attack on Malta, came in the spring of 1942, almost completely dismantled the Mediterranean by the British Fleet (Churchill demanded and obtained an American aircraft carrier to send fighter su Malta, oramai rifornita solo attraverso due sommergibili) e spazzato dagli aerosiluranti italo tedeschi. Ma anche sul fronte britannico non si comprendeva la necessità di difendere Malta ad ogni costo, poiché dalla sua esistenza sarebbe dipesa tutta la guerra, l’intiero apparato dell’Impero inglese. Così Churchill fu costretto ad inviare per telegramma al comandante Auchinleck in Egitto il 10 maggio, allorché questi non si decideva all’offensiva: "Siamo decisi a non lasciar cadere Malta senza che la vostra armata si impegni a combattere con tutte le sue forze per evitarlo. La mancanza di rifornimenti per questa fortezza comporterebbe la perdita di più di trentamila uomini… il nemico, occupandola, disporrebbe di un comfortable and safe bridge to Africa with all the consequences that inevitably would result from it ... compared to the certainty of such disasters, the risks about the safety of Egypt are much lower .... "The last sentence on the understanding that it is illuminating to London was the situation. Not so in Berlin captured Tobruk in June, the postponement of the occupation of the island (Operation Hercules) and the flight to El Alamein, Rommel, the euphoria generated by this, except Malta, which was at last legs, literally. "It is now surpassed the limits of human endurance," wrote the governor of the island in those days, "and it is obvious that the worst may happen if we can not meet our vital needs, especially flour and ammunition .... "His Majesty King George VI, he was so impressed by April 15 to give the people of Malta's highest honor, the George Cross," to bear witness to heroism and devotion .... "The ignorance of German and Italian leaders, their blindness to the illusion that Hitler himself called" the goddess of fortune that passes only once, but perhaps it was inevitable, he created the 'unthinkable: Malta was not invaded, and resisted, beyond all limits.
The defeat of the Axis in November 1942 by becoming a complete end to the bombings on the island was that the eleven September 1943 in accordance with the armistice of three days earlier, received at the port of Valletta, the seeds intact Italian naval fleet, "which is anchored under the supervision of the guns of the fortress," he wrote proudly Admiral Cunningham. It was the glorious sunset of our Navy, but also the reality of an absurd situation that could not exist if the human will too, made this possible.
Baron of Sealand, or Francesco Giordano
(published on Sicily Sera No. 318, June 5, 2009, in the photo, a British submarine in the port of Valletta)
In the 152 th anniversary of the Marian apparitions in Lourdes, we present an excerpt from the prayer March 25, 1958, the then Patriarch of Venice, Cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, elected a few months after the papal throne under the name of John XXIII, addressed to the Virgin Mother, in a speech at the dedication of the temple dedicated to St. Pius X. There is particularly dear to worship and pray to the Creator of the universe, in the words of a man own unique and truly he proclaimed the universal brotherhood of nations. 
