107-580: 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Operation Herkules ( German : Unternehmen Herkules ; Italian : Operazione C3 ) was the German code-name given to an abortive plan for the invasion of Malta during the Second World War . Through air and sea landings, the Italians and Germans hoped to eliminate Malta as a British air and naval base and secure an uninterrupted flow of supplies across
214-465: A de facto official language of Namibia after the end of German colonial rule alongside English and Afrikaans , and had de jure co-official status from 1984 until its independence from South Africa in 1990. However, the Namibian government perceived Afrikaans and German as symbols of apartheid and colonialism, and decided English would be the sole official language upon independence, stating that it
321-560: A power station complex towards Delimara, and a small ship-repair facility for fishermen. Marsaxlokk is sometimes referred to as Portus Herculis , due to the association of Marsaxlokk Bay with the Roman and Punic remains at Tas-Silġ . The name Marsaxlokk comes from the Arabic word marsa , which means port and xlokk , which is the Maltese word for south-east . The word is related to
428-402: A second language , and 75–100 million as a foreign language . This would imply the existence of approximately 175–220 million German speakers worldwide. German sociolinguist Ulrich Ammon estimated a number of 289 million German foreign language speakers without clarifying the criteria by which he classified a speaker. As of 2012 , about 90 million people, or 16% of
535-612: A "commonly used" language and the Pan South African Language Board is obligated to promote and ensure respect for it. Cameroon was also a colony of the German Empire from the same period (1884 to 1916). However, German was replaced by French and English, the languages of the two successor colonial powers, after its loss in World War I . Nevertheless, since the 21st century, German has become
642-477: A collection of other naval craft to transport the amphibious forces. These included two former Strait of Messina railway ferries (converted to carry four to eight tanks each); ten passenger ships (800–1,400 men each), six former passenger ferries (400 men each), six cargo ships (3,000 long tons (3,000 t) of supplies each), 30 ex-trawlers (300 men each); five converted minelayers (500 men each) and 74 assorted motorboats (30–75 men each). The Italians also requested
749-726: A drop-down bow ramp. Sixty-five of these motozattere (MZs) were completed by July 1942 and about fifty were available for the invasion. Twenty German MFPs were transferred to the Mediterranean via the river Rhone to make up for an expected shortfall of Italian-built landing craft. German-operated landing craft were sent to Italy via rail for the invasion, including twelve Siebel ferries (catamaran rafts powered by automobile engines driving water screws and armed with 88 mm and 20 mm flak guns), six Type 39 Pionierlandungsboote (carrying 20 long tons (20 t) of cargo, two light vehicles or 45 infantry, unloaded via clamshell doors at
856-559: A greater need for regularity in written conventions. While the major changes of the MHG period were socio-cultural, High German was still undergoing significant linguistic changes in syntax, phonetics, and morphology as well (e.g. diphthongization of certain vowel sounds: hus (OHG & MHG "house") → haus (regionally in later MHG)→ Haus (NHG), and weakening of unstressed short vowels to schwa [ə]: taga (OHG "days")→ tage (MHG)). A great wealth of texts survives from
963-584: A landing in the bay by Ottoman forces in 1614 . Napoleon 's navy entered Marsaxlokk, and landed an army on the coast during the French invasion of 1798 . During the Maltese uprising - British, Neapolitan and Portuguese forces operated from here. Horatio Nelson and his lover Emma Hamilton also stayed here from April to June 1800, visiting parts of the island. Most of the fishermen who worked out of Marsaxlokk bay hailed from Żejtun, commuting back and forth from
1070-537: A light vehicle/gun). Also to be included were two dozen Messerschmitt Me 321 Gigant gliders capable of carrying up to 200 fully equipped paratroopers or a 25 long tons (25 t) tank. These were to be towed by new He 111Z ( Zwilling ) five-engined versions of the He 111 medium bomber. The Regia Aeronautica would contribute 180 to 220 transport aircraft, mostly three-engined SM.75s (carrying 24–28 men each), SM.81s (12–14 men each) and SM.82s (30–34 men each). Given
1177-474: A meandering road linking the bay to the Żejtun Roman Villa . While the bay could only have been used as a temporary anchorage without human intervention, a simple sea wall may have enabled the harbour to be used as an all-weather anchorage. In antiquity, its main function would have been to serve the agricultural sites in the surrounding areas. It may also have enjoyed links with the Tas-Silġ sanctuary overlooking
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#17327837646681284-534: A more recent Byzantine basilica and monastery. Little is known about the area during the Middle Ages, with all the casalia of the south-eastern side of the island being exposed to frequent raids and attacks by Saracen pirates and, later, raiders from the Barbary coast . Modern historical studies and topology confirm that the area between Żejtun and Marsaxlokk was covered in vegetation and pasture land. In
1391-458: A native tongue today, mostly descendants of German colonial settlers . The period of German colonialism in Namibia also led to the evolution of a Standard German-based pidgin language called " Namibian Black German ", which became a second language for parts of the indigenous population. Although it is nearly extinct today, some older Namibians still have some knowledge of it. German remained
1498-435: A part of the city of Żejtun , the fishing village became a separate parish in the late nineteenth century. Traditional luzzi and other larger and more modern vessels line the sheltered inner harbour. The village is also popular among locals and tourists alike for its walks around the coast and harbour, its restaurants, as well as for its swimming zones. Marsaxlokk Bay also includes a container freeport towards Birżebbuġa,
1605-696: A popular foreign language among pupils and students, with 300,000 people learning or speaking German in Cameroon in 2010 and over 230,000 in 2020. Today Cameroon is one of the African countries outside Namibia with the highest number of people learning German. In the United States, German is the fifth most spoken language in terms of native and second language speakers after English, Spanish , French , and Chinese (with figures for Cantonese and Mandarin combined), with over 1 million total speakers. In
1712-489: A range of 6.8 mi (11 km) and covering most of the island while remaining in protected static positions. Malta's fixed defences included nineteen heavy coastal guns (varying in size from 12-inch to 16-inch, although these Victorian era weapons were all decommissioned), 130 smaller coastal guns (6-pounder to 9.2-inch) and 112 heavy and 144 light anti-aircraft guns. The smaller coastal guns comprised [Data in this section taken from Hogg (2002)] A date near mid-July 1942
1819-796: A recognized national language in Namibia . There are also notable German-speaking communities in France ( Alsace ), the Czech Republic ( North Bohemia ), Poland ( Upper Silesia ), Slovakia ( Košice Region , Spiš , and Hauerland ), Denmark ( North Schleswig ), Romania and Hungary ( Sopron ). Overseas, sizeable communities of German-speakers are found in Brazil ( Blumenau and Pomerode ), South Africa ( Kroondal ), Namibia , among others, some communities have decidedly Austrian German or Swiss German characters (e.g. Pozuzo , Peru). German
1926-483: A result, the surviving texts are written in highly disparate regional dialects and exhibit significant Latin influence, particularly in vocabulary. At this point monasteries, where most written works were produced, were dominated by Latin, and German saw only occasional use in official and ecclesiastical writing. While there is no complete agreement over the dates of the Middle High German (MHG) period, it
2033-411: A small marsh survives at the head of the bay, named Tal-Magħluq . This may indicate that the bay may have been larger in the past and gradually silted up since antiquity. Although there are no sources from the medieval and early modern period to prove the existence of marshes in the area, a marshy environment survives at the head of the fishing harbour. Sediment deposition over recent century has silted
2140-601: Is a recognized minority language in the following countries: In France, the High German varieties of Alsatian and Moselle Franconian are identified as " regional languages ", but the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of 1998 has not yet been ratified by the government. Namibia also was a colony of the German Empire, from 1884 to 1915. About 30,000 people still speak German as
2247-612: Is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects , with many varieties existing in Europe and other parts of the world. Some of these non-standard varieties have become recognized and protected by regional or national governments. Since 2004, heads of state of the German-speaking countries have met every year, and the Council for German Orthography has been the main international body regulating German orthography . German
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#17327837646682354-558: Is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages . The Germanic languages are traditionally subdivided into three branches: North Germanic , East Germanic , and West Germanic . The first of these branches survives in modern Danish , Swedish , Norwegian , Faroese , and Icelandic , all of which are descended from Old Norse . The East Germanic languages are now extinct, and Gothic
2461-478: Is called the "German Sprachraum ". German is the official language of the following countries: German is a co-official language of the following countries: Although expulsions and (forced) assimilation after the two World wars greatly diminished them, minority communities of mostly bilingual German native speakers exist in areas both adjacent to and detached from the Sprachraum. Within Europe, German
2568-430: Is complicated by the existence of several varieties whose status as separate "languages" or "dialects" is disputed for political and linguistic reasons, including quantitatively strong varieties like certain forms of Alemannic and Low German . With the inclusion or exclusion of certain varieties, it is estimated that approximately 90–95 million people speak German as a first language , 10–25 million speak it as
2675-535: Is generally seen as ending when the 1346–53 Black Death decimated Europe's population. Modern High German begins with the Early New High German (ENHG) period, which Wilhelm Scherer dates 1350–1650, terminating with the end of the Thirty Years' War . This period saw the further displacement of Latin by German as the primary language of courtly proceedings and, increasingly, of literature in
2782-611: Is generally seen as lasting from 1050 to 1350. This was a period of significant expansion of the geographical territory occupied by Germanic tribes, and consequently of the number of German speakers. Whereas during the Old High German period the Germanic tribes extended only as far east as the Elbe and Saale rivers, the MHG period saw a number of these tribes expanding beyond this eastern boundary into Slavic territory (known as
2889-565: Is less closely related to languages based on Low Franconian dialects (e.g., Dutch and Afrikaans), Low German or Low Saxon dialects (spoken in northern Germany and southern Denmark ), neither of which underwent the High German consonant shift. As has been noted, the former of these dialect types is Istvaeonic and the latter Ingvaeonic, whereas the High German dialects are all Irminonic; the differences between these languages and standard German are therefore considerable. Also related to German are
2996-435: Is one of the major languages of the world . German is the second-most widely spoken Germanic language , after English, both as a first and as a second language . German is also widely taught as a foreign language , especially in continental Europe (where it is the third most taught foreign language after English and French), and in the United States. Overall, German is the fourth most commonly learned second language, and
3103-597: Is one of the three biggest newspapers in Namibia and the only German-language daily in Africa. An estimated 12,000 people speak German or a German variety as a first language in South Africa, mostly originating from different waves of immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the largest communities consists of the speakers of "Nataler Deutsch", a variety of Low German concentrated in and around Wartburg . The South African constitution identifies German as
3210-401: Is partly derived from Latin and Greek , along with fewer words borrowed from French and Modern English . English, however, is the main source of more recent loanwords . German is a pluricentric language ; the three standardized variants are German , Austrian , and Swiss Standard German . Standard German is sometimes called High German , which refers to its regional origin. German
3317-525: Is the Sachsenspiegel , the first book of laws written in Middle Low German ( c. 1220 ). The abundance and especially the secular character of the literature of the MHG period demonstrate the beginnings of a standardized written form of German, as well as the desire of poets and authors to be understood by individuals on supra-dialectal terms. The Middle High German period
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3424-578: Is the only language in this branch which survives in written texts. The West Germanic languages, however, have undergone extensive dialectal subdivision and are now represented in modern languages such as English, German, Dutch , Yiddish , Afrikaans , and others. Within the West Germanic language dialect continuum, the Benrath and Uerdingen lines (running through Düsseldorf - Benrath and Krefeld - Uerdingen , respectively) serve to distinguish
3531-485: Is understood in all areas where German is spoken. Approximate distribution of native German speakers (assuming a rounded total of 95 million) worldwide: As a result of the German diaspora , as well as the popularity of German taught as a foreign language , the geographical distribution of German speakers (or "Germanophones") spans all inhabited continents. However, an exact, global number of native German speakers
3638-689: The Ostsiedlung ). With the increasing wealth and geographic spread of the Germanic groups came greater use of German in the courts of nobles as the standard language of official proceedings and literature. A clear example of this is the mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache employed in the Hohenstaufen court in Swabia as a standardized supra-dialectal written language. While these efforts were still regionally bound, German began to be used in place of Latin for certain official purposes, leading to
3745-552: The 54th Infantry Division "Napoli" (8,900 men), artillery units (3,200 men) and the remainder of the 10th Armoured Regiment (3,800 men). The 1st Infantry Division "Superga" (9,200 men) plus a battalion of Blackshirts and 1,000 San Marco Marines were to be in position to land on the smaller island of Gozo in the early hours of the second day. Armoured support for the invasion comprised sixty-four Italian Semovente 47/32 and eight heavier Semovente 75/18 self-propelled guns plus thirty L3 tankettes (comparable in size and armament to
3852-549: The 7th Royal Tank Regiment and the 3rd The King's Own Hussars ). These were reinforced in January 1942 by four Cruiser Mk I and three Cruiser Mk IV tanks and a Vickers Mk.VIC light tank, with the cruisers armed with 2-pounder (40 mm) guns (part of a detachment from the 6th Royal Tank Regiment ). Artillery support came from the 12th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery with twenty-four 25-pounder [3.45 in (88 mm)] field guns, capable of providing fire support out to
3959-639: The Alamanni , Bavarian, and Thuringian groups, all belonging to the Elbe Germanic group ( Irminones ), which had settled in what is now southern-central Germany and Austria between the second and sixth centuries, during the great migration. In general, the surviving texts of Old High German (OHG) show a wide range of dialectal diversity with very little written uniformity. The early written tradition of OHG survived mostly through monasteries and scriptoria as local translations of Latin originals; as
4066-537: The Early Middle Ages . German is an inflected language , with four cases for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative); three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two numbers (singular, plural). It has strong and weak verbs . The majority of its vocabulary derives from the ancient Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, while a smaller share
4173-480: The European Union 's population, spoke German as their mother tongue, making it the second most widely spoken language on the continent after Russian and the second biggest language in terms of overall speakers (after English), as well as the most spoken native language. The area in central Europe where the majority of the population speaks German as a first language and has German as a (co-)official language
4280-522: The German states . While these states were still part of the Holy Roman Empire , and far from any form of unification, the desire for a cohesive written language that would be understandable across the many German-speaking principalities and kingdoms was stronger than ever. As a spoken language German remained highly fractured throughout this period, with a vast number of often mutually incomprehensible regional dialects being spoken throughout
4387-746: The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I , and the other being Meißner Deutsch , used in the Electorate of Saxony in the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg . Alongside these courtly written standards, the invention of the printing press led to the development of a number of printers' languages ( Druckersprachen ) aimed at making printed material readable and understandable across as many diverse dialects of German as possible. The greater ease of production and increased availability of written texts brought about increased standardisation in
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4494-690: The Indo-European language family , mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe . It is the most spoken native language within the European Union . It is the most widely spoken and official (or co-official) language in Germany , Austria , Switzerland , Liechtenstein , and the Italian autonomous province of South Tyrol . It is also an official language of Luxembourg , Belgium and the Italian autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia , as well as
4601-804: The Mediterranean Sea to Axis forces in Libya and Egypt. Extensive preparations were made for the invasion but the success of other Axis operations – including the Battle of Gazala (26 May to 21 June 1942), the Axis capture of Tobruk on 21 June and Operation Aïda , the pursuit of the Allies into Egypt – led to Herkules being postponed and then cancelled in November 1942. The Axis plan to invade Malta had its origin in Italian military studies conducted during
4708-666: The Old High German language in several Elder Futhark inscriptions from as early as the sixth century AD (such as the Pforzen buckle ), the Old High German period is generally seen as beginning with the Abrogans (written c. 765–775 ), a Latin-German glossary supplying over 3,000 Old High German words with their Latin equivalents. After the Abrogans , the first coherent works written in Old High German appear in
4815-536: The Regia Aeronautica ) two battalions of San Marco Marines (2,000 men) three battalions of Blackshirts (1,900 men General Santi Quasimodo ) and 300 Nuotatori (a commando unit of San Marco Marines specially trained in ocean swimming and beach assault). A follow-up convoy would be mainly made up of troops from the Italian XVI Corps: the 26th Infantry Division "Assietta" (9,000 men),
4922-587: The Regia Marina requested from the Kriegsmarine a FuMO 24/40 G DeTe unit for the new destroyer, Legionario (under construction). DeTe units could detect surface ships up to 14 nmi (16 mi; 26 km) away. By March 1942, the set had been delivered and installed and a small group of Italian ratings had been trained in Germany on its use. Operational testing began that spring and by May,
5029-575: The Second Italo-Abyssinian War in the mid-1930s. By 1938, Comando Supremo , the Italian army general staff, had estimated the amount of sea transport it would require to move military forces into North Africa, and identified the seizure of Malta as a prerequisite. An outline plan for a seaborne assault was drawn up and periodically revised; the Regia Marina initially showed little interest in it. The concept of an invasion
5136-676: The Sprachraum in Europe. German is used in a wide variety of spheres throughout the country, especially in business, tourism, and public signage, as well as in education, churches (most notably the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (GELK) ), other cultural spheres such as music, and media (such as German language radio programs by the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation ). The Allgemeine Zeitung
5243-550: The Standard German language in its written form, and the Duden Handbook was declared its standard definition. Punctuation and compound spelling (joined or isolated compounds) were not standardized in the process. The Deutsche Bühnensprache ( lit. ' German stage language ' ) by Theodor Siebs had established conventions for German pronunciation in theatres , three years earlier; however, this
5350-513: The Upper German dialects spoken in the southern German-speaking countries , such as Swiss German ( Alemannic dialects ) and the various Germanic dialects spoken in the French region of Grand Est , such as Alsatian (mainly Alemannic, but also Central–and Upper Franconian dialects) and Lorraine Franconian (Central Franconian). After these High German dialects, standard German
5457-469: The pagan Germanic tradition. Of particular interest to scholars, however, has been the Hildebrandslied , a secular epic poem telling the tale of an estranged father and son unknowingly meeting each other in battle. Linguistically, this text is highly interesting due to the mixed use of Old Saxon and Old High German dialects in its composition. The written works of this period stem mainly from
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#17327837646685564-621: The 1930s, Marsaxlokk bay was used as a staging post by four-engined Short C-Class flying boats of Britain 's Imperial Airways as they pioneered long-distance air travel to across the British Empire . During the Second World War , Marsaxlokk Bay was the base for the Fleet Air Arm with a base at Kalafrana. In 1989, the famous summit meeting between Soviet and US leaders Mikhail Gorbachev and George H.W. Bush
5671-483: The 90 mi (140 km) distance between Axis airfields on Sicily and the dropping zones over Malta, it was possible for the transport aircraft to make four round trips per day. The aircraft were to drop an Italian and a German airborne division onto the southern side of the island. The paratroopers had to secure the high ground behind the invasion beaches and seize a nearby airfield for Axis transport aircraft to land another division and supplies. Airborne units for
5778-473: The Axis drive into Egypt, diminishing any chance of success. With Hitler lacking faith in the parachute divisions after Crete and in the ability of the Italian navy to protect the invasion fleet from British naval attacks, the plan was cancelled. Books Journals Theses German language German (German: Deutsch , pronounced [dɔʏtʃ] ) is a West Germanic language in
5885-595: The British Bren Gun Carrier ). Additional armour intended for Herkules included 2.Kompanie/Panzerabteilung z.b.V.66 ( zur besonderen Verwendung [for special use]), a German unit commanded by Hans Bethke and partly equipped with captured Russian tanks. Ten assorted KV-1 [46 long tons (47 t)] and KV-2 [53 long tons (54 t)] heavy tanks were available. At least ten Italian motozattere (landing craft) were modified with reinforced flooring and internal ramps to carry these vehicles. Other tanks in
5992-565: The British attacked at night. Lacking ship-borne radar and having neglected night-fighting training and equipment, the Regia Marina had been defeated at the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941. A similar encounter off Malta might wreak havoc on the slow-moving Axis invasion convoys, leaving the airborne forces cut off and imperilling Axis chances of taking the island. The Regia Marina had made some efforts to rectify this situation by equipping
6099-723: The Empire. Its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Prague (German: Prag ) and Budapest ( Buda , German: Ofen ), to name two examples, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain; others, like Pressburg ( Pozsony , now Bratislava), were originally settled during the Habsburg period and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, and cities like Zagreb (German: Agram ) or Ljubljana (German: Laibach ), contained significant German minorities. In
6206-414: The Frisian languages— North Frisian (spoken in Nordfriesland ), Saterland Frisian (spoken in Saterland ), and West Frisian (spoken in Friesland )—as well as the Anglic languages of English and Scots. These Anglo-Frisian dialects did not take part in the High German consonant shift, and the Anglic languages also adopted much vocabulary from both Old Norse and the Norman language . The history of
6313-417: The German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the Migration Period , which separated Old High German dialects from Old Saxon . This sound shift involved a drastic change in the pronunciation of both voiced and voiceless stop consonants ( b , d , g , and p , t , k , respectively). The primary effects of the shift were the following below. While there is written evidence of
6420-399: The German states; the invention of the printing press c. 1440 and the publication of Luther's vernacular translation of the Bible in 1534, however, had an immense effect on standardizing German as a supra-dialectal written language. The ENHG period saw the rise of several important cross-regional forms of chancery German, one being gemeine tiutsch , used in the court of
6527-623: The Germanic dialects that were affected by the High German consonant shift (south of Benrath) from those that were not (north of Uerdingen). The various regional dialects spoken south of these lines are grouped as High German dialects, while those spoken to the north comprise the Low German and Low Franconian dialects. As members of the West Germanic language family, High German, Low German, and Low Franconian have been proposed to be further distinguished historically as Irminonic , Ingvaeonic , and Istvaeonic , respectively. This classification indicates their historical descent from dialects spoken by
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#17327837646686634-547: The Irminones (also known as the Elbe group), Ingvaeones (or North Sea Germanic group), and Istvaeones (or Weser–Rhine group). Standard German is based on a combination of Thuringian - Upper Saxon and Upper Franconian dialects, which are Central German and Upper German dialects belonging to the High German dialect group. German is therefore closely related to the other languages based on High German dialects, such as Luxembourgish (based on Central Franconian dialects ) and Yiddish . Also closely related to Standard German are
6741-408: The MHG period. Significantly, these texts include a number of impressive secular works, such as the Nibelungenlied , an epic poem telling the story of the dragon -slayer Siegfried ( c. thirteenth century ), and the Iwein , an Arthurian verse poem by Hartmann von Aue ( c. 1203 ), lyric poems , and courtly romances such as Parzival and Tristan . Also noteworthy
6848-501: The attack to such an extent that he was willing to move units from his front for the attack. The head of the Luftwaffe , Hermann Göring , opposed the invasion, fearing it would turn into another near-disaster for his paratroops, as had happened in the airborne assault on Crete . Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring tirelessly promoted Unternehmen Herkules but even he was eventually dissuaded when it became apparent that too many air and ground units had been siphoned off to support
6955-501: The battleship Littorio with an experimental E.C.-3/bis Gufo (Owl) radar apparatus in August 1941, but the unit was considered unreliable (not until September 1942 did Littorio receive a standardised production-version Gufo with better performance; this set could detect surface ships at a range of 17 nmi (20 mi; 31 km) and aircraft out to a range of 45 nmi (83 km; 52 mi)). In September 1941, while awaiting production of Italian-made radar units in quantity,
7062-447: The bay, making it significantly more shallow than in antiquity. Researchers hypothesize that vessels of all sizes could once have sought shelter here. A sandy beach may have provided a landing place for small boats. A freshwater supply exists in the valley that lies between two of the three hills dominating the bay - namely to the north-east, north and north-west. Access to plains around Żejtun would have been easy via this same valley, with
7169-470: The bay. To the north-east of the village, on the rounded hilltop of Tas-Silġ , there is a multi-period sanctuary site covering all eras from the Neolithic to the fourth century AD. The Tas-Silġ site includes megalithic remains, scattered edifices belonging to three distinct temples. Cicero describes the temple of Juno in Malta in his In Verrem . The temple, long associated with the remains at Tas-Silġ, contained "a large number of ornaments among which
7276-506: The bow), six Type 40 Pionierlandungsboote (a larger version of the Type 39, carrying 40 long tons (41 t) of cargo, three or four light vehicles or 80–90 fully equipped infantry), a company of eighty-one Sturmboote (Type 39 Stormboats, small plywood boats carrying up to six infantrymen and powered by 30 outboard motors) plus an assortment of large inflatable rafts (carrying 25 troops each). Some rafts were powered by outboard motors and others had to be rowed. The Italians assembled
7383-430: The development of non-local forms of language and exposed all speakers to forms of German from outside their own area. With Luther's rendering of the Bible in the vernacular, German asserted itself against the dominance of Latin as a legitimate language for courtly, literary, and now ecclesiastical subject-matter. His Bible was ubiquitous in the German states: nearly every household possessed a copy. Nevertheless, even with
7490-404: The dialect so as to make the work as natural and accessible to German speakers as possible. Copies of Luther's Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region, translating words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Luther said the following concerning his translation method: One who would talk German does not ask the Latin how he shall do it; he must ask the mother in
7597-435: The eastern provinces of Banat , Bukovina , and Transylvania (German: Banat, Buchenland, Siebenbürgen ), German was the predominant language not only in the larger towns—like Temeschburg ( Timișoara ), Hermannstadt ( Sibiu ), and Kronstadt ( Brașov )—but also in many smaller localities in the surrounding areas. In 1901, the Second Orthographic Conference ended with a (nearly) complete standardization of
7704-632: The fleet commander Vice-Admiral Angelo Iachino had submitted a report praising its performance. In 1942 the garrison of Malta consisted of 15 infantry battalions (11 Commonwealth, 4 Maltese) organised into four brigades totalling 26,000 men. Tank support was provided by the 1st Independent Troop of the Royal Tank Regiment, disembarked in November 1940, which was initially equipped with four Matilda II Infantry Tanks , armed with 2-pounder (40 mm) guns, and two Vickers Mk.VIC light tanks, armed with two machine guns (part of detachments from
7811-435: The home, the children on the streets, the common man in the market-place and note carefully how they talk, then translate accordingly. They will then understand what is said to them because it is German. When Christ says ' ex abundantia cordis os loquitur ,' I would translate, if I followed the papists, aus dem Überflusz des Herzens redet der Mund . But tell me is this talking German? What German understands such stuff? No,
7918-481: The influence of Luther's Bible as an unofficial written standard, a widely accepted standard for written German did not appear until the middle of the eighteenth century. German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire , which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe . Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of
8025-559: The invasion comprised the German Fliegerdivision 7 (11,000 men), the Italian 185th Infantry Division "Folgore" (7,500 men) and the airlanding 80th Infantry Division "La Spezia" (10,500 men), about 29,000 airborne troops. Preparations for the airborne assault included construction of three glider strips 25 mi (40 km) south of Mount Etna on Sicily. The seaborne assault force comprised 70,000 Italian troops who were to make amphibious landings at two points on
8132-724: The invasion convoys from attacks by the British Mediterranean Fleet and provide gunfire support during the landings. The force assigned to accomplish this included four battleships ( Littorio , Vittorio Veneto , Duilio , and Andrea Doria ), four heavy cruisers, eight light cruisers and 21 destroyers. These ships would assemble and sortie from the ports of Messina, Reggio Calabria, Augusta and Cagliari. The two older Andrea Doria -class battleships would carry approximately 200 rounds each for shore bombardment. Italian and German submarines were to scout for and intercept British naval forces attempting to interfere with
8239-525: The largest concentrations of German speakers are in the states of Rio Grande do Sul (where Riograndenser Hunsrückisch developed), Santa Catarina , and Espírito Santo . Marsaxlokk Marsaxlokk ( Maltese pronunciation: [marsaʃˈlɔk] ) is a small, traditional fishing village in the South Eastern Region of Malta . It has a harbour, and is a tourist attraction known for its views, fishing and history. As of March 2014,
8346-495: The later Middle Ages, Marsaxlokk was included in medieval portolani . At least three of these medieval sailing instructions, dating as far back as the 13th century mention, Marsaxlokk (as marza sinocho , Marsa silocco and marza per sirocho ). The Rizo portolan of 1490 gives sailing distances from Marsaxlokk to a variety of other ports in the Mediterranean including Tunis , Cephalonia and Tripoli in Libya . This reflects
8453-467: The luzzu and the kajjik . They serve the fisherman on fishing near the shore and for fishing away from the shore they use another type of boat. Tourists also can take boat trips from Marsaxlokk to Delimara and Birzebbuġa. Most of Malta's fish supplies are caught by fishermen coming from this port as about 70% of the Maltese fishing fleet is based there. Swordfish , tuna , and ' lampuki ' are caught in abundance between spring and late autumn. On weekdays,
8560-454: The mother in the home and the plain man would say, Wesz das Herz voll ist, des gehet der Mund über . Luther's translation of the Bible into High German was also decisive for the German language and its evolution from Early New High German to modern Standard German. The publication of Luther's Bible was a decisive moment in the spread of literacy in early modern Germany , and promoted
8667-594: The name for the dry sirocco wind that blows from the Sahara, comparable to the equivalent Catalan word, xaloc . The inhabitants of the village are called the Xlukkajri and are, traditionally, fishermen by trade. Situated in the south-east end of the main island of Malta, Marsaxlokk bay is fed by a valley that drains the Marnisi and Ħal Ġinwi areas. The Marsaxlokk floodplain is one of the smaller ones on Malta. Today,
8774-653: The ninth century, chief among them being the Muspilli , Merseburg charms , and Hildebrandslied , and other religious texts (the Georgslied , Ludwigslied , Evangelienbuch , and translated hymns and prayers). The Muspilli is a Christian poem written in a Bavarian dialect offering an account of the soul after the Last Judgment , and the Merseburg charms are transcriptions of spells and charms from
8881-466: The port's connectivity with other parts of the medieval Mediterranean. The invading Ottoman navy anchored at Marsaxlokk during the Great Siege of 1565 , before they completed the attack on Fort Saint Elmo . The whole harbour area was systematically fortified over successive centuries, with towers, batteries and fortresses ringing Marsaxlokk bay. This chain of fortifications was intended to protect
8988-462: The pronunciation of the ending -ig as [ɪk] instead of [ɪç]. In Northern Germany, High German was a foreign language to most inhabitants, whose native dialects were subsets of Low German. It was usually encountered only in writing or formal speech; in fact, most of High German was a written language, not identical to any spoken dialect, throughout the German-speaking area until well into the 19th century. However, wider standardization of pronunciation
9095-561: The seaborne landings. One submarine was to be stationed midway between Sicily and Malta, to act as a guide beacon for the transport aircraft on their way to and from the drop zones. The Italians were confident they could defeat any daylight incursions by the Mediterranean Fleet, especially given the Luftwaffe 's ability to dominate the daytime skies, but there were concerns the Italian fleet would face serious difficulties if
9202-492: The shore. Around 1846, the first houses began to be built in Marsaxlokk, as fishermen from Żejtun settled there permanently. At the end of the nineteenth century, a church was built to minister to the spiritual needs of the fishermen and their families. Eventually, the fishing village of Marsaxlokk was separated from Żejtun and became a distinct parish in January 1897. The construction of the parish church started in 1890. It
9309-500: The south-eastern side of the island, in Marsaxlokk bay, the main effort falling upon a site named "Famagosta beach" and a smaller secondary landing at "Larnaca beach". Also to be seized were the lesser islands of Gozo and Comino. Amphibious feints would be directed at St. Paul's Bay, Mellieħa Bay and north-west of Valletta near the old Victoria Lines , to draw British attention away from the real landing sites. The main assault convoy
9416-546: The states of North Dakota and South Dakota , German is the most common language spoken at home after English. As a legacy of significant German immigration to the country , German geographical names can be found throughout the Midwest region , such as New Ulm and Bismarck (North Dakota's state capital), plus many other regions. A number of German varieties have developed in the country and are still spoken today, such as Pennsylvania Dutch and Texas German . In Brazil,
9523-500: The third most commonly learned second language in the United States in K-12 education. The language has been influential in the fields of philosophy, theology, science, and technology. It is the second most commonly used language in science and the third most widely used language on websites . The German-speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of annual publication of new books, with one-tenth of all books (including e-books) in
9630-421: The unit included captured Russian T-34 medium tanks, up-armoured German light tanks (five VK 1601s and five VK 1801s ) plus twelve German Panzer IV Gs armed with 75 mm guns. Twenty German Panzer III tanks were also offered for use in the invasion but it is not known what unit these were to be drawn from. Plans to use the captured Russian tanks were at some point abandoned and all armour transported to Malta
9737-609: The use of 200 additional German Sturmboote to quickly transfer men from ship to shore. The Italian landing flotilla and the supporting ships formed the Special Naval Force ( Forza Navale Speciale Admiral Vittorio Tur ). Specialised landing equipment for Herkules included the Seeschlange (Sea Snake), a floating ship-to-shore bridge originally developed by the German Army for Operation Sea Lion . It
9844-470: The village had a population of 3,534. The village is also known for the Marsaxlokk Market, which is mainly a large fish market which takes place along the seafront on Sundays, and a tourist market during all other days of the week. Inhabited and well-known since antiquity, Marsaxlokk was used as a port by Phoenicians , Carthaginians and also has the remains of a Roman-era harbour. Originally
9951-486: The vulnerable harbour, and included Vendôme Tower , Fort Delimara , Delimara Tower , Ta' Bettina Tower , and Fort Tas-Silġ on Delimara point, on the north arm of Marsaxlokk Bay, Fort San Lucian on Kbira point in the middle of the bay, and the Pinto and Ferretti batteries on the shores of the bay towards Birżebbuġa. The most prominent fortification of this chain, Fort San Lucian was built by 1611 and may have prevented
10058-555: The world being published in German. German is most closely related to other West Germanic languages, namely Afrikaans , Dutch , English , the Frisian languages , and Scots . It also contains close similarities in vocabulary to some languages in the North Germanic group , such as Danish , Norwegian , and Swedish . Modern German gradually developed from Old High German , which in turn developed from Proto-Germanic during
10165-600: The written form of German. One of the central events in the development of ENHG was the publication of Luther's translation of the Bible into High German (the New Testament was published in 1522; the Old Testament was published in parts and completed in 1534). Luther based his translation primarily on the Meißner Deutsch of Saxony , spending much time among the population of Saxony researching
10272-429: Was a "neutral" language as there were virtually no English native speakers in Namibia at that time. German, Afrikaans, and several indigenous languages thus became "national languages" by law, identifying them as elements of the cultural heritage of the nation and ensuring that the state acknowledged and supported their presence in the country. Today, Namibia is considered to be the only German-speaking country outside of
10379-403: Was a carefully and supremely crafted ancient ivory statue of Victory." The presence of such ornaments is a clear indication of the importance of this temple not just locally but also on a Mediterranean scale. Recent studies of the ceramics from Tas-Silġ led to conclusions that the sanctuary was used as a centre of exchange for both local and imported goods. The remains atop the hill also include
10486-547: Was an artificial standard that did not correspond to any traditional spoken dialect. Rather, it was based on the pronunciation of German in Northern Germany, although it was subsequently regarded often as a general prescriptive norm, despite differing pronunciation traditions especially in the Upper-German-speaking regions that still characterise the dialect of the area today – especially
10593-486: Was approved at a meeting between Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini from 29 to 30 April 1942. Command of the airborne component of Herkules was given to Generalmajor Kurt Student and Fliegerkorps XI . Student had commanded the German airborne assault in the Battle of Crete in May 1941. This time, Student had months to prepare and learn from the mistakes made on Crete. Knowledge of British defensive positions on Malta
10700-419: Was built as a fulfillment of a promise made by Marquess Rosalia Apap Viani Testaferrata after she was saved from a violent storm at sea. The church was originally built in a rectangular form with the designs attributed to Dun Ġużepp Diacono. Marsaxlokk became an independent parish in 1897. The feast of our lady is held on the last Sunday of July. It includes a procession with the statue and a firework display. In
10807-492: Was established on the basis of public speaking in theatres and the media during the 20th century and documented in pronouncing dictionaries. Official revisions of some of the rules from 1901 were not issued until the controversial German orthography reform of 1996 was made the official standard by governments of all German-speaking countries. Media and written works are now almost all produced in Standard German which
10914-502: Was extensive, thanks to meticulous aerial mapping by the Italians. Every fortification, artillery emplacement and AA battery was carefully scrutinised. Student claimed later that "We even knew the calibre of the coastal guns, and how many degrees they could be turned inland". Ten Gruppen of Junkers Ju 52 transports, with 500 aircraft, were allocated for the air landings, along with 300 DFS 230 gliders (carrying ten men each) and 200 larger Go 242 gliders (each carrying twenty-three men or
11021-482: Was formed from a series of joined modules that could be towed into place and act as a temporary jetty. Moored ships could then unload their cargo either directly onto the "roadway" or lower it down onto the Seeschlange via their cranes. The Seeschlange had been tested by the Army Training Unit at Le Havre in the fall of 1941 and was easily transportable by rail. The Regia Marina had to protect
11128-504: Was held on board a ship anchored in the bay . Today, the village is framed by the fuel tanks and chimneys of the 537.8-megawatt Delimara Power Station , and the huge cranes of the Malta Freeport Container Terminal . In recent years, Marsaxlokk has also developed as a modern seaside resort. The village includes a natural park at Xrobb l-Għaġin. Marsaxlokk is also famous for the national boats which are
11235-532: Was scheduled to begin landing on Malta just before midnight on the first day, after the airborne forces had landed in the afternoon and secured the heights above the beaches. The bulk of the first-wave assault troops would come from the 20th Infantry Division "Friuli" (10,000 men) and the 4th Infantry Division "Livorno" (9,850 men) of the Italian XXX Corps. Also included were 1,200 men from the 1st Assault Battalion and Loreto Battalion (both drawn from
11342-601: Was set for the invasion, partly to allow time to bring troops from other front line positions. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel supported the Malta plan and asked Hitler for command of the invasion forces. His reasons for supporting an invasion were to hinder the Allied troops fighting in Africa, as well as to remove the threat to the convoys heading to Italian-German forces with supplies, oil and men, all of which they lacked. He prioritised
11449-790: Was to be Italian only. Two days were allowed for the amphibious assault and landing of the follow-up convoy, though this was dependent on quickly securing Marsaxlokk Bay to land heavier artillery pieces and a much higher tonnage of supplies. Lacking enough landing craft for an amphibious assault, the Regia Marina secured plans from the German Kriegsmarine to build copies of the Marinefährprahm Type A (MFP) in Italian shipyards. These 220-long-ton (220 t) shallow-draught vessels, were capable of transporting up to 200 equipped infantry, 2–3 medium tanks or an equivalent weight in cargo and could unload onto an open beach via
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