On May 7th right before midnight, German Chief of the Operations Staff, Alfred Jodl, accompanied by his aide and Grand Admiral Hans Georg von Friedeburg, signed the unconditional surrender of all German forces in Europe at General Eisenhower’s HQ in Reims, France.
The surrender came into force on May 8th, officially ending World War II: the most brutal and deadly war in history, which also brought down German Nazi regime and the most criminal regime in history. The Nazis were the first ever (fascist) military regime in history to conduct a genocide on an industrial scale, killing up to 6 million Jews and another 5 million people of mostly of European descent.
The total death toll of the war is estimated at around 20 million military deaths and up to 50 million civilian deaths, with the Soviet Union suffering the highest number of casualties with approximately 20 million people killed.
Malta played a crucial role in the War as a naval base in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea. It served to break the German shipping lines to Africa, halting much needed supplies for the German military campaign in north Africa. Malta was also surrounded by mines and Axis naval forces, making entry to its harbours a deadly risk. The Germans bombed Malta heavily and tried to blockade it with constant air attacks in order to force it to capitulate. The Germans also had a plan to invade the Islands called “Operation Hercules” which was never executed.
Up to 4,000 Maltese were killed as a result of the German and Italian bombings on Malta. The Italians started bombing Malta for the first time on 11 June 1940, but the bombings escalated in Spring 1941 after the German elite air squadron, the Fliegerkorps X had arrived in Sicily in January of 1941.
The elite Nazi-air squadron bombed Malta on a daily basis escalating the bombings in Summer 1942 as they turned Malta into the most bombed place on earth. Up to 357 German Luftwaffe pilots, mostly of the Fliegerkorps X were killed by Maltese and British air-defence, mostly aided with the Bofors manufactured anti-air guns. The Dockyard Defence Battery, composed of Maltese Dockyard workers and British officers, saw some of the most intense action during the war given that the Dockyard was one of the most favourite targets of the Germans.
During the worst year of the bombing campaign on Malta in 1942, Malta was on t he brink of famine until an aid convoy, known as the “Santa Marija” convoy arrived in Malta on August 15th 1942. Operation Pedestal intended to save the Maltese Islands from collapsing into a catastrophic defeat after having sustained the worst bombing campaign in the War. On 3 August 1942, up to fifty ships left Great Britain and passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, heading to Malta with fuel, ammunition and food. The Nazis and the Italians tried to stop the convoy with relentless air and sea attacks destroying most of the convoy in the process. Only five of the fourteen merchant ships of the convoy successfully arrived to Malta with up to 500 British seamen killed in the operation. The arrival of the oil-tanker “Ohio”, enabled the refueling of British warplanes and submarines that continued their defence of the Islands and their offensive against the Axis powers in the Mediterranean.
Following the Allied victories in the Mediterranean and the uplifting of the Siege of Malta in November 1942 the Allies used Malta as a base to invade Sicily in what was called Operation Husky. In July 1943, General Eisenhower, Admiral Cunningham, General Montgomery, and Air Marshal Tedder used the Lascaris War Rooms in Valletta to plan the invasion of Sicily. Operation Husky involved more than 150,000 Allied troops, around 2,600 ships and up to 4,000 aircraft and began on the 10th of July before sunrise. Following the swift success of the Allies in Sicily, the Nazis entered Rome in September but by June of the following year, the Allies had captured the Italian capital.
Malta was collectively awarded the George Cross on April 15, 1942, by King George VI (father of Queen Elizabeth II) for its bravery and gallantry: an honour unique to the Maltese, who remain the only national group to have received it. The George Cross is featured on the Maltese flag.
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