Editing History of Malta (section)

=== British Malta during the Second World War ===
{{main|Siege of Malta (World War II)}}
{{further| Operation Herkules}}
[[File:BombDamageMalta.jpg|right|thumb|Service personnel and civilians clear up debris on the heavily bomb-damaged [[Strada Reale]] in [[Valletta]] on 1&nbsp;May 1942]]

Before World War&nbsp;II, Valletta was the location of the [[Royal Navy]]'s [[British Mediterranean Fleet|Mediterranean Fleet]]'s headquarters. However, despite [[Winston Churchill]]'s objections,{{refn|name=BJandCS-p36|Bierman & Smith (2002)<ref name=Bierman-Smith-2002>{{cite book |last1=Bierman |first1=John |first2=Colin |last2=Smith |year=2002 |title=The Battle of Alamein: Turning Point, World War II |publisher=Viking |isbn=978-0-670-03040-8 |via=Internet Archive (archive.org) |url=https://archive.org/details/battleofalameint00bier |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{rp|page=[https://archive.org/details/battleofalameint00bier/page/36 36]}} {{cite book |title=page&nbsp;36 online |year=2002 |publisher=Viking |isbn=9780670030408 |url=https://archive.org/details/battleofalameint00bier/page/36 |url-access=registration}} }} the command was moved to [[Alexandria]], [[Egypt]], in April 1937 fearing it was too susceptible to air attacks from Europe.{{refn|name=BJandCS-p36}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Titterton |first=G.A. |year=2002 |title=The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean |volume=2 |page={{mvar|xiii}} |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-7146-5179-8}}</ref><ref name=ElliottP--pxx>{{cite book |last=Elliott |first=Peter |year=1980 |title=The Cross and the Ensign: A Naval History of Malta, 1798-1979 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=978-0-87021-926-9}}</ref>{{page needed|date=December 2011}} At the time of the Italian declaration of war (10&nbsp;June 1940), Malta had a garrison of less than four thousand soldiers and about five weeks of food supplies for the population of about three hundred thousand. In addition, Malta's air defences consisted of about forty-two [[anti-aircraft]] guns (thirty-four "heavy" and eight "light") and four [[Gloster Gladiator]]s, for which three pilots were available.

Being a British colony, situated close to Sicily and the [[Axis Powers|Axis]] shipping lanes, Malta was bombarded by the Italian and German air forces. Malta was used by the British to launch attacks on the Italian navy and had a submarine base. It was also used as a listening post, reading German radio messages including [[Enigma (machine)|Enigma]] traffic.<ref name=CP-p42-44>{{cite book |last=Calvocoressi |first=Peter |title=Top Secret Ultra |volume=10 |series=Ballantine Espionage Intelligence Library |year=1981|edition=reprint |publisher=Ballantine Books |isbn=978-0-345-30069-0 |pages=42, 44}}</ref>

The first air raids against Malta occurred on 11&nbsp;June 1940; there were six attacks that day. The island's [[biplane]]s ability to defend the island was limited due to the [[RAF Luqa|Luqa Airfield]] being unfinished;{{how|date=June 2024}} however, the airfield was ready by the seventh attack. Initially, the Italians would fly at about 5,500&nbsp;m, then they dropped down to three thousand metres (in order to improve the accuracy of their bomb-aiming). [[Journalism|Journalist]] [[Mabel Strickland]] spoke of the Italian bombing efforts as such: "The Italians decided they didn't like [the [[Gloster Gladiator|Gladiators]] and [[Anti-aircraft warfare|AA]] guns], so they dropped their bombs twenty miles off Malta and went back."{{refn|name=BJandCS-p38|Bierman & Smith (2002)<ref name=Bierman-Smith-2002/>{{rp|page=38}} }} Despite these words, the accuracy of Italian bombers improved after repeated attempts, causing a great deal of devastation to both military and civilian infrastructure in Malta. However, these raids proved ineffective to the Axis siege efforts, as any damage incurred was eventually repaired before a new wave of bombers could launch bombing runs over the islands.<ref name=Walker-2003>{{cite book |last=Walker |first=Ian W. |year=2003 |title=Iron Hulls, Iron Hearts; Mussolini's elite armoured divisions in North Africa |place=Ramsbury, UK |publisher=The Crowood Press |isbn=1-86126-646-4}}</ref>

By the end of August, the Gladiators were reinforced by twelve [[Hawker Hurricane]]s which had arrived via [[HMS Argus (1917)|HMS ''Argus'']].<ref name=BJandCS-p38/> During the first five months of combat, the island's aircraft destroyed or damaged about thirty-seven Italian aircraft, while suffering even greater losses than the Italians. Italian [[fighter plane|fighter]] pilot [[Francisco Cavalera]] observed, "Malta was really a big problem for us—very well-defended.".<ref name=BJandCS-p38/> Nevertheless, the Italian bombing campaign was causing serious damage to the island's infrastructure and the ability of the [[Royal Navy]] to operate effectively in the Mediterranean.<ref name=Walker-2003/>{{rp|style=ama|pp= 60–67}}

On Malta, 330&nbsp;people had been killed and 297 were seriously wounded from the war's inception until December&nbsp;1941. In January&nbsp;1941, the German [[10th Air Corps (Germany)|X. ''Fliegerkorps'']] arrived in Sicily as the [[Afrika Korps]] arrived in [[Libya]]. Over the next four months 820&nbsp;people were killed and 915 seriously wounded.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Shankland, Peter |author2=Hunter, Anthony |year=1961 |title=Malta Convoy |publisher=I. Washburn |page=60}}</ref>

[[File:Malta- the Harbour Barrage from the Upper Barracca Art.IWMARTLD3551.jpg|thumb|Illustration of the bomb-damaged [[Upper Barrakka Gardens]] in 1943]]
On 15&nbsp;April 1942, [[George VI of the United Kingdom|King George&nbsp;VI]] awarded the [[George Cross (Malta)|George Cross]] (the highest civilian award for gallantry) "to the island fortress of Malta — its people and defenders".<ref name=BJandCS-p38/> [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] arrived on 8&nbsp;December 1943, and presented a United States Presidential Citation to the people of Malta on behalf of the people of United States. He presented the scroll on 8&nbsp;December but dated it 7&nbsp;December for symbolic reasons. In part it read: "Under repeated fire from the skies, Malta stood alone and unafraid in the centre of the sea, one tiny bright flame in the darkness – a beacon of hope for the clearer days which have come."<ref>{{cite news |title=Mr.&nbsp;Roosevelt gives scroll to people on isle Of Malta |pages=1, 4 |newspaper=[[The Gettysburg Times]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=10 December 1943 }}</ref> (The complete citation now stands on a plaque on the wall of the Grand Master's Palace on Republic Street, in the town square of Valletta.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Rudolf, Uwe Jens |author2=Berg, Warren G. |title=Historical Dictionary of Malta |year=2010 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-5317-1 |pages=197–198}}</ref>)

In 1942, a convoy code-named [[Operation Pedestal]] was sent to relieve Malta. Five ships, including the tanker [[SS Ohio|SS ''Ohio'']], managed to arrive in the Grand Harbour, with enough supplies for Malta to survive. In the following year Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill visited Malta. George VI also arrived in Grand Harbour for a visit.

During the Second World War, [[Ugo Mifsud]] and [[George Borg Olivier]] were the only remaining Nationalist members of parliament of Malta. Mifsud fainted after delivering a very passionate defence against the deportation to concentration camps in [[Uganda Protectorate|Uganda]] of [[Enrico Mizzi]] and 49&nbsp;other [[Italian Maltese]] accused of pro-Italian political activities. He died a few days later.

In 1943, the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] coordinated the [[Allied invasion of Sicily|invasion of Sicily]] from the [[Lascaris War Rooms]] in Valletta. Following the [[Armistice of Cassibile]] later in 1943, a large part of the [[Regia Marina|Italian Navy]] surrendered to the British in Malta.

The [[Malta Conference (1945)|Malta Conference]] was held in 1945, in which Churchill and Roosevelt met prior to the [[Yalta Conference]] with [[Joseph Stalin]].

The 1946 National Assembly resulted in a new constitution in 1947. This restored Malta's self-government, with [[Paul Boffa]] as Prime Minister. On 5&nbsp;September 1947, universal suffrage for [[women in Malta]] was granted. That year, [[Agatha Barbara]] was the [[Women in Maltese General Elections|first woman elected]] as a Maltese Member of Parliament.