Brandenburgers: The Third Reich's Special Forces (Spearhead, No. 13)

Situated between Sicily and the North African Coast, the Mediterranean island of Malta was, from the early 19th century, a British territory. Malta's importance to the British Empire and to the cause of freedom was never greater than during World War 2, when its location made it of vital strategic importance to both Britain and to the Axis forces. Located ideally for the British to disrupt German and Italian convoys to North Africa, the loss of the island would have fundamentally altered Britain's chances of victory. Both Allied and Axis powers realized the importance of Malta, with the result that it became a life and death struggle between the stretched defensive forces and the might of the Axis powers. Constantly threatened by blockade and by diminishing numbers of fighting men and material, Malta's survival against the odds was a beacon of hope to war ravaged Britain. The author draws upon accounts from both the Allied and Axis viewpoints, as well as from those residents of Malta who lived through the critical years.