Word: maltas
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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Hitler Now? If the Allies took the road to Russia, they might have to leave other roads open-Japan's roads to Australia and India; Germany's beckoning roads beyond the Balkans and Turkey to the oil of the Near East, her road through Malta, Cyprus and Libya to Suez and Mediterranean mastery. Britain still had a creeping fear that the Germans might attempt a blow at the home island. The Chinese in Chungking, skilled at reading Japanese plans and strength, predicted an imminent Japanese assault on Russia's Siberian rear-a drive which could...
...convoy was two days out of Alexandria, with supplies for unconquered Malta. So far the only enemy had been the choppy Mediterranean waves, making life miserable for the correspondents on one of Rear Admiral Philip L. Vian's light cruisers. Then, at dusk of the second day, birds of death appeared in the sky. Five swastikaed transport planes and a Messerschmitt flew overhead, winging from the Libyan front to German bases in Crete. They had sighted the convoy, and the British knew that the next dawn would bring enemy planes and warships...
...came first. Heavy fire and Italian caution kept the planes well away, too high and too far for good aiming. Then came bombers, some high and some diving on the five light cruisers, the destroyers and the supply ships in the British convoy. Unscathed, the convoy pushed on toward Malta...
...that the Italians have sometimes called "ours" was anybody's lake last week. But 60 miles south of Sicily, 225 miles north of Tripoli, the spongy little island of Malta was definitely Britain's. Malta is the most heavily and frequently bombed stronghold of World War II-and therefore in the history of the world-and from the impatient Axis last week it got its heaviest raids...
...Axis offensive was getting under way, Malta on the western flank and Cyprus on the east were shields to ward off the first blows. Malta's metal was well tested. So far in World War II, Malta has had nearly 2,000 air raids and is still unconquered. Attacks last week sometimes lasted from dawn to dark, but the raid-toughened Maltese, using the caverns which honeycomb the island as air-raid shelters, carried on much as usual. Even the goats were so learned in raids that they flounced into ditches when the sirens wailed...