During the first four years of the Second World War, Churchill and
his military advisers were constantly concerned with the defence and sustenance
of Malta. From 11th
June 1940, the island, only sixty miles from Italian and German airfields in
Sicily,
suffered intense and prolonged air attack, but Churchill refused to consider the
abandonment of the island. He gave orders that every effort be made to provide
the supplies needed to maintain a base from which Rommel's supply convoys to
North Africa, and other enemy targets, could be
attacked. Despite the hazards and severe losses, Malta pulled through and made a unique
contribution to Allied victory in the Mediterranean. This was recognised in April 1942 when King
George VI awarded the George Cross to the island and its people.
In this deeply researched volume, the story of Malta's heroic
struggle is told through Churchill's official Malta Papers. These documents
reveal the events as they unfolded and the top-level discussions and decisions
which were necessary for the maintenance of Malta. They are
also supplemented by extracts from letters, diaries and memoirs which shed
additional light on these dramatic events.
