115-451: Marsalforn (Pronounced: Mars al-Forn, | Maltese : Marsalforn ), also written as M'Forn for shortcut purposes, is a town on the north coast of Gozo , the second largest island of the Maltese archipelago. The town lies between the hilltop towns of Xagħra and Żebbuġ . Associated with this town there is also the bay of Qbajjar . The town is part of the Żebbuġ local council. Marsalforn
230-761: A 94% success rate for convoy safety running the British interdiction. Of the 73,991 men sent by sea, 71,881 (97%), arrived in Africa. On 10 December 1940, Fliegerkorps X , under the command of Hans Ferdinand Geisler , and with support of his chief of staff Major Martin Harlinghausen , was ordered to Sicily to attack Allied shipping in the Mediterranean. By the start of the first German operation, Geisler had 95 aircraft and 14,389 men in Sicily. Geisler persuaded
345-568: A dangerous threat to Axis logistical concerns. In response, the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL or Air Force High Command) sent Fliegerkorps X (Flying Corps Ten) to Sicily, which arrived in January 1941, to strike at naval forces in and around Malta, and RAF positions on the island, to ease the passage of supplies. The British submarines failed to interdict the German ships transporting
460-532: A determined effort against Tiger and Malta without result. The Axis air forces maintained air superiority; Hitler ordered Fliegerkorps X to protect Axis shipping, prevent Allied shipping passing through the central Mediterranean and neutralise Malta as an Allied base. Around 180 German and 300 Italian aircraft carried out the operation, and the RAF struggled to fly more than six or eight fighter sorties. Occasionally, 12 Hurricanes were flown in from British carriers but
575-466: A few British submarines were still based at the island. When the Maltese government questioned British reasoning, they were told that the island could be defended just as adequately from Alexandria as from Grand Harbour, which was untrue. This led the Maltese to doubt the British commitment to defend the island. Despite concerns that the island, far from Britain and close to Italy, could not be defended,
690-618: A force of 40,000 men would capture the island. Nearly all 80 purpose-built sea craft that would land the Italian Army ashore were expected to be lost but landings would be made in the north, with an attack upon the Victoria Lines , across the centre of the island. A secondary landing would be made on Gozo , north-west of Malta and the islet of Comino , between the two. All of the Italian navy and 500 aircraft would be involved, but
805-581: A forward base for offensive action against Axis shipping and land targets in the central Mediterranean. Owing to its exposed position close to Italy, the British had moved the headquarters of the Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet from Valletta , Malta in the mid-1930s to Alexandria in October 1939. Malta is 27 km × 14 km (17 mi × 9 mi) with an area of just under 250 km (97 sq mi). It had
920-564: A history which dates back to Roman times. Until the sixteenth century, the port was the most important in Gozo. Imported food supplies from Sicily were unloaded at Marsalforn, and it was from there that passengers boarded to travel to Licata in Sicily and other continental ports. By the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries the Knights of the Order of Saint John , the rulers of Malta at
1035-416: A large number of borrowings from Romance sources ( Sicilian , Italian , and French ) and, more recently, Germanic ones (from English ). The historical source of modern Maltese vocabulary is 52% Italian/Sicilian, 32% Arabic/Siculo-Arabic, and 6% English, with some of the remainder being French. Today, most function words are Arabic, so despite only making up about a third of the vocabulary, they are
1150-533: A notable increase in the bombing of Malta. A Stabsstaffel of Sturzkampfgeschwader 3 (StG 3) arrived. Oberstleutnant Karl Christ , Geschwaderkommodore of StG 3 gave orders to intercept heavy units. One particular target was aircraft carriers . Days later, he ordered the Ju 87 gruppen to sink the new carrier HMS Illustrious . It had played the key role in the Battle of Taranto, handing naval supremacy to
1265-490: A number of Italian heavy units during the battle. The withdrawal of the Italian fleet to Naples , out of reach of British aircraft, was a strategic victory which handed naval supremacy to the British for the time being. The Royal Navy's submarines also began a period of offensive operations. British U-class submarines began operations as early as June. Larger submarines also began operations, but after 50% losses per mission, they were withdrawn. U-class submarines operated from
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#17327806798061380-632: A part of Mountbatten's fleet. The cruisers HMS Dido and Gloucester accompanied the ships as part of the force. The strike force had considerable success, which justified basing it at Malta despite the danger from air attack. On 21 May, the force was sent to join the Battle of Crete . It was several months before the depleted strike force returned. Further success was had by the Malta Convoys . An urgent supply convoy from Gibraltar to Alexandria (Operation Tiger) coincided with reinforcements for
1495-423: A percentage of the total population in Gozo. It is also very likely that the tourists who come during the summer season, who are predominantly foreign, can form a significant majority of the town's total temporary and permanent population between the months of June and September, as Marsalforn's population can increase by hundreds in a matter of hours during the day. The town is predominantly Roman Catholic , like
1610-546: A population of around 250,000 in June 1940, all but 3% or 4% of them native Maltese. According to the 1937 census, most of the inhabitants lived within 6.4 kilometres (4 mi) of Grand Harbour, where the population density was more than six times that of the island average. Amongst the most congested spots was Valletta, the capital and political, military and commercial centre, where 23,000 people lived in an area of around 0.65 km (0.25 sq mi). Across Grand Harbour, in
1725-1369: A sample of 1,821 Quranic Arabic roots were found in Maltese, considerably lower than that found in Moroccan (58%) and Lebanese (72%) varieties of Arabic. An analysis of the etymology of the 41,000 words in Aquilina's Maltese–English Dictionary shows that 32% of the Maltese vocabulary is of Arabic origin, although another source claims 40%. Usually, words expressing basic concepts and ideas, such as raġel (man), mara (woman), tifel (boy), dar (house), xemx (sun), sajf (summer), are of Arabic origin. Moreover, belles-lettres in Maltese aim to maximise their use of vocabulary belonging to this group. Notes: * from Arabic استقصى ( istaqṣā ) "to investigate", ** from Arabic اشتاق ( ištāqa ) "to yearn for ". Siege of Malta (World War II) [REDACTED] United Kingdom [REDACTED] Canada [REDACTED] South Africa [REDACTED] Australia [REDACTED] New Zealand Naval support: Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 The siege of Malta in World War II
1840-457: A variety of historical Arabic that has no diglossic relationship with Classical or Modern Standard Arabic . Maltese is thus classified separately from the 30 varieties constituting the modern Arabic macrolanguage . Maltese is also distinguished from Arabic and other Semitic languages since its morphology has been deeply influenced by Romance languages , namely Italian and Sicilian . The original Arabic base comprises around one-third of
1955-423: A viper. The town church of 'Saint Paul Shipwreck' is also dedicated to the memory of Saint Paul departure from Marsalforn. The church, originally raised in the fourteenth century, has been rebuilt and enlarged many times. The foundation stone of the present church was laid in 1730. The feast is celebrated on 10 February every year. To the west, over a small headland , lies a smaller bay, Qbajjar . Marsalforn has
2070-459: A word used by Gozitan fishermen to refer to "a cave hollowed out by the sea". There are several of these in Marsalforn, the best known being Għar Qawqla ‘the cave at the steep hill’. The emblem of Marsalforn consists of a blue shield representing Marsalforn harbour, encircled by a golden border. Saint Paul , according to tradition, left for Rome , after his shipwreck, from Marsalforn; hence
2185-524: A year. The Luftwaffe had failed to sink the carrier. However, their losses were few—three aircraft on 10 January and four Ju 87s over several weeks—and the Germans had impressed the British with the effectiveness of land-based air power. They withdrew their fleet's heavy units from the central Mediterranean and risked no more than trying to send cruisers through the Sicilian Narrows. Both
2300-469: A ḡ fir lanā ḏ unūbanā , kamā na ḡ firu na ḥ nu ʔ ay ḍ an lil-muḏnibīn ʔ ilaynā. wa lā tud ḵ ilna fī tajāriba , lākin najjinā min a š-š irrīr. ʔā mīn hab lan lahmo d-sunqonan yowmono washbuq lan hawbayn wahtohayn aykano doph hnan shbaqan l-hayobayn lo ta`lan l-nesyuno elo paso lan men bisho Amin Although the original vocabulary of Maltese was Siculo-Arabic , it has incorporated
2415-489: Is a Semitic language derived from late medieval Sicilian Arabic with Romance superstrata . It is spoken by the Maltese people and is the national language of Malta , and the only official Semitic and Afroasiatic language of the European Union . Maltese is considered a North African dialect of Colloquial Arabic that was brought to Malta by Arab and Berber ( Aghlabids ), who in 869/870 CE seized control of
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#17327806798062530-587: Is descended from Siculo-Arabic, a Semitic language within the Afroasiatic family . In the course of its history , Maltese has been influenced by Sicilian, Italian, to a lesser extent by French , and more recently by English. Today, the core vocabulary (including both the most commonly used vocabulary and function words ) is Semitic, with a large number of loanwords . Due to the Sicilian influence on Siculo-Arabic, Maltese has many language contact features and
2645-849: Is distinctive word-medially and word-finally in Maltese. The distinction is most rigid intervocalically after a stressed vowel. Stressed, word-final closed syllables with short vowels end in a long consonant, and those with a long vowel in a single consonant; the only exception is where historic *ʕ and *ɣ meant the compensatory lengthening of the succeeding vowel. Some speakers have lost length distinction in clusters. The two nasals /m/ and /n/ assimilate for place of articulation in clusters. /t/ and /d/ are usually dental , whereas /t͡s d͡z s z n r l/ are all alveolar. /t͡s d͡z/ are found mostly in words of Italian origin, retaining length (if not word-initial). /d͡z/ and /ʒ/ are only found in loanwords, e.g. /ɡad͡zd͡zɛtta/ "newspaper" and /tɛlɛˈviʒin/ "television". The pharyngeal fricative /ħ/
2760-654: Is less distant from its Siculo-Arabic ancestor than is Standard Maltese. Voiceless stops are only lightly aspirated and voiced stops are fully voiced. Voicing is carried over from the last segment in obstruent clusters ; thus, two- and three-obstruent clusters are either voiceless or voiced throughout, e.g. /niktbu/ is realised [ˈniɡdbu] "we write" (similar assimilation phenomena occur in languages like French or Czech). Maltese has final-obstruent devoicing of voiced obstruents and word-final voiceless stops have no audible release , making voiceless–voiced pairs phonetically indistinguishable in word-final position. Gemination
2875-747: Is most commonly described as a language with a large number of loanwords. Maltese has historically been classified in various ways, with some claiming that it was derived from ancient Punic (another Semitic language) instead of Siculo-Arabic, and others claiming it is one of the Berber languages (another language family within Afroasiatic). Less plausibly, Fascist Italy classified it as regional Italian . Urban varieties of Maltese are closer to Standard Maltese than rural varieties, which have some characteristics that distinguish them from Standard Maltese. They tend to show some archaic features such as
2990-403: Is one of the most popular tourist resorts on Gozo. It is well served by hotels, guest houses, restaurants, bars, and beaches. There is only a small sandy beach in Marsalforn. However, along the rocky coastline there are a number of interesting swimming spots. Marsalforn is a composite word. "Marsa" is an Arabic word meaning ‘port’ or ‘bay’. There is disagreement on the origin of the second part of
3105-404: Is part of the supercontinent of Eurasia'), while not understanding a single word of a basic sentence such as Ir-raġel qiegħed fid-dar ('The man is in the house'), which would be easily understood by any Arabic speaker. At that time Malta was thoroughly Arabized. The conquerors brought to the island the vulgar (colloquial) variation of Arabic, not the classical one (Classical Arabic), Therefore
3220-510: Is said to them in Maltese. This reported level of asymmetric intelligibility is considerably lower than the mutual intelligibility found between other varieties of Arabic. Maltese has always been written in the Latin script , the earliest surviving example dating from the late Middle Ages . It is the only standardised Semitic language written exclusively in the Latin script. The origins of
3335-860: Is the Lord's Prayer in Maltese compared to other Semitic languages ( Arabic and Syriac ) with cognates highlighted: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen Ħobżna ta' kuljum agħtina llum . Aħfrilna dnubietna , bħal ma naħfru lil min hu ħati għalina . U la ddaħħalniex fit-tiġrib , iżda eħlisna mid-deni. Ammen ʔabāna , alla ḏ i fī as-samāwāt , li- yataqaddas ismuka , li- yaʔti malakūtuka, li-takun ma šī ʔatuka, kamā fī as-samāʔi ka ḏ ālika ʕa lā al-ar ḍ . ḵ ubzana kafāfanā ʔaʕṭi nā alyawm , wa
3450-425: Is velar ( [ x ] ), uvular ( [ χ ] ), or glottal ( [ h ] ) for some speakers. Maltese has five short vowels, /ɐ ɛ ɪ ɔ ʊ/ , written a e i o u; six long vowels, /ɐː ɛː ɪː iː ɔː ʊː/ , written a, e, ie, i, o, u, all of which (with the exception of ie /ɪː/ ) can be known to represent long vowels in writing only if they are followed by an orthographic għ or h (otherwise, one needs to know
3565-685: The Greco-Italian War . When it became clear to the British that the Italian air forces were limited and having little impact on the population, which could endure, a steady stream of reinforcements arrived. The potential of the base was realised and Whitehall ordered further aircraft into the island; including Hurricane fighters, Martin Marylands , Sunderlands, Vickers Wellingtons , more Swordfish and submarines. It provided an increasingly potent offensive arm. The Wellingtons arrived in October 1940, from No. 148 Squadron RAF . Meanwhile,
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3680-499: The Hal Far Fighter Flight . Ten Gladiators in crates for transit were assembled and as no more than three aircraft flew at once, were called 'Faith', 'Hope' and 'Charity'. The pilots were flying boat aircrew and other fliers with no experience of fighter operations. One Gladiator was shot down but the rest managed to shoot down several Italian aircraft. The Italians flew at around 6,100 metres (20,000 ft) and
3795-666: The Italo-Normans ended Arab rule of the islands, a written form of the language was not developed for a long time after the Arabs' expulsion in the middle of the thirteenth century. Under the rule of the Knights Hospitaller , both French and Italian were used for official documents and correspondence. During the British colonial period , the use of English was encouraged through education, with Italian being regarded as
3910-431: The Maltese people being the largest ethnic group, although no official statistics are provided as Marsalforn forms part of the locality of Żebbuġ . The town is one of the most multicultural spots in Gozo, with foreigners likely to form nearly half of all the town's residents. The main foreign groups include Britons , Italians , Serbs , Germans and Libyans . The town is also home to the largest African community as
4025-637: The Manoel Island Base known as HMS Talbot . Unfortunately no bomb-proof pens were available as the building project had been scrapped before the war, owing to cost-cutting policies. The new force was named the Tenth Submarine Flotilla and was placed under Flag Officer Submarines , Admiral Max Horton , who appointed Commander G.W.G. Simpson to command the unit. Administratively, the Tenth Flotilla operated under
4140-494: The aerial bombardment of the island from airbases in Sicily . On the first day, 55 Italian bombers and 21 fighters flew over Malta and dropped 142 bombs on the three airfields at Luqa, Hal Far and Ta Qali. Later, 10 Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.79s and 20 Macchi C.200s flew over the island, with no air opposition. At the time of these first air raids, the defending fighters on Malta consisted of obsolete Gloster Sea Gladiators, in
4255-527: The diaspora . Most speakers also use English. The largest diaspora community of Maltese speakers is in Australia , with 36,000 speakers reported in 2006 (down from 45,000 in 1996, and expected to decline further). The Maltese linguistic community in Tunisia originated in the 18th century. Numbering several thousand in the 19th century, it was reported to be only 100 to 200 people as of 2017. Maltese
4370-502: The 1980s, together with a grammar, the Regole per la Lingua Maltese , attributed to a French knight named Thezan. The first systematic lexicon is that of Giovanni Pietro Francesco Agius de Soldanis , who also wrote the first systematic grammar of the language and proposed a standard orthography . Ethnologue reports a total of 530,000 Maltese speakers: 450,000 in Malta and 79,000 in
4485-788: The Axis and capture Gibraltar, which would close the Mediterranean to the British from the west. The reluctance of the Italian Admiralty ( Supermarina ) to act was also due to other considerations. The Italians believed they could keep the Royal Navy's fleet of ageing battleships bottled up in Alexandria. Another factor was the lack of crude oil (the Italians did not discover the large reserves in Libya during their occupation of
4600-499: The Axis defensive success was due to naval mines. The Italians deployed 54,000 mines around Malta to prevent it being supplied. These mines were the bane of the Royal Navy's submarines. Around 3,000 mines were laid off Tunisia's coast by Italian naval forces as well. The failure to intercept Axis shipping was evident in the figures which extended far beyond February 1941. From January–April, the Axis sent 321,259 tons to Libya and all but 18,777 tons reached port. This amounted to
4715-439: The Axis supply line to North Africa and both sides recognised the importance of Malta in controlling the central Mediterranean. In 1940, an Italian assault on Malta stood a reasonable chance of gaining control of the island, an action giving the Italians naval and air supremacy in the central Mediterranean. The Mediterranean would have been split in two, separating the British bases at Gibraltar and Alexandria. The reluctance of
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4830-880: The Bf ;109E-7, deteriorated. Five Hurricanes arrived at Malta in early March, another six on 18 March. but five Hurricanes and five pilots were lost. On 1 March, the Luftwaffe attacks on airfields destroyed all of the Wellingtons brought in in October. Royal Navy warships and Sunderland flying boats could not use the island for offensive operations, and the main fighter squadrons, Nos. 261 and 274, were put under severe pressure. There were several raids per day and over 107 Axis attacks took place in February and 105 in March, with Bf 109 fighters strafing any signs of movement on
4945-545: The British War Cabinet that no concessions should be made. With the British home islands in danger, the defence of Malta was not the priority and it was lightly protected. Only six obsolete Gloster Sea Gladiator biplanes were stationed on the island, with another six in crates when, on 10 June 1940, Mussolini declared war on the United Kingdom and France. In the 1930s, Italy had sought to expand in
5060-548: The British across the Mediterranean Sea. On 10 January they were within range of the Ju ;87 bases. II./StG 2 sent 43 Ju 87s with support from I./StG 1. Ten Italian SM 79s had drawn off the carrier's Fairey Fulmar fighters while the escorting cruiser HMS Bonaventure sank the Italian torpedo boat Vega . Some 10 Ju 87s attacked the carrier unopposed. Witnessed by Andrew Cunningham, C-in-C of
5175-796: The British and Italian navies digested their experiences over Taranto and Malta. The appearance in February of Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-7 fighters of 7. Staffel (squadron) Jagdgeschwader 26 (26th Fighter Wing or JG 26), led by Oberleutnant Joachim Müncheberg , quickly led to a rise in RAF losses; the German fighter pilots were experienced, confident, tactically astute, better-equipped and well-trained. The Allied pilots on Malta had little combat experience and their Hawker Hurricanes were worn-out and for four months, JG 26 had few losses. The Luftwaffe claimed 42 air victories, 20 of them (including one over Yugoslavia) credited to Müncheberg. The RAF Hurricanes were kept operational by being patched up and cannibalised and their performance, already inferior to
5290-646: The British decided in July 1939 to increase the number of anti-aircraft guns and fighter aircraft on Malta. The British leadership had further doubts about whether to hold the island in May 1940, when during the Battle of France the French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud suggested that the Italian prime minister and dictator Benito Mussolini might be appeased by concessions, including Malta. After some discussion, Winston Churchill convinced
5405-419: The British, hence it became top of the Axis' target list. The Luftwaffe crews believed four direct hits would sink the ship and began practice operations on floating mock-ups off the Sicilian coast. The vast flight deck offered a target of 6,500 square metres. An opportunity to attack the vessel came on 6 January. The British Operation Excess was launched, which included a series of convoy operations by
5520-482: The First Submarine Flotilla at Alexandria, itself under Cunningham. In reality, Cunningham gave Simpson and his unit a free hand. Until U-class vessels could be made available in numbers, British T-class submarines were used. They had some successes, but suffered heavy losses when they began operations on 20 September 1940. Owing to a shortage of torpedoes , enemy ships could not be attacked unless
5635-508: The Fleet from the battleship HMS Warspite , the Ju 87s scored six hits. One destroyed a gun, another hit near her bow, a third demolished another gun, while two hit the lift, wrecking the aircraft below deck, causing explosions of fuel and ammunition. Another went through the armoured deck and exploded deep inside the ship. Two further attacks were made without result. Badly damaged, but with her main engines still intact, she steered for
5750-407: The German forces to Libya. The damaging of the 7,889-ton German ship Duisburg was the only noteworthy attack. On 9 February 1941, three submarines missed the same convoy bringing supplies to Tripoli , the principal Italian port in Libya. The port facilities could unload six ships at a time, making the port the best facility west of Alexandria, 1,600 km (990 mi) to the east. A large part of
5865-546: The Italian invasion of Egypt had failed to achieve its goals and the British counter-offensive, Operation Compass, destroyed several divisions of the Italian army at Cyrenaica . The diversion of the North African Campaign drew away significant Italian air units which were rushed from Italy and Sicily to deal with the disasters and support the Italian ground forces embattled in Egypt and Libya. The relief on Malta
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#17327806798065980-616: The Italian siege. Civilian casualties were low, and after the bombing of HMS Illustrious most civilians moved to safer surroundings in the countryside; by May 1941, nearly 60,000 people had left the cities, some 11,000 people ( 2 ⁄ 3 or 66% of the population) leaving Valletta. To illustrate the scale of the damage, by the close of 1941 approximately 70% of churches on the island had been reduced to rubble. The British had concentrated on protecting military targets and few shelters were available for civilians. Eventually, 2,000 miners and stonemasons were recruited to build public shelters but
6095-532: The Italians to act directly against Malta throughout 1940 was strengthened by the Battle of Taranto , in which much of the Italian surface fleet was put out of action by Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm (FAA) torpedo bombers . The Italians adopted an indirect approach and cut off the island. To the Italians (and later the Germans), air power was the key weapon against Malta. Air power was the method chosen to attack Malta. The Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force) began
6210-604: The Levant. The Norman conquest in 1091 , followed by the expulsion of the Muslims , complete by 1249, permanently isolated the vernacular from its Arabic source, creating the conditions for its evolution into a distinct language. In contrast to Sicily, where Siculo-Arabic became extinct and was replaced by Sicilian , the vernacular in Malta continued to develop alongside Italian, eventually replacing it as official language in 1934, alongside English. The first written reference to
6325-508: The Maltese language are attributed to the arrival, early in the 11th century, of settlers from neighbouring Sicily, where Siculo-Arabic was spoken, reversing the Fatimid Caliphate 's conquest of the island at the end of the 9th century. This claim has been corroborated by genetic studies, which show that contemporary Maltese people share common ancestry with Sicilians and Calabrians , with little genetic input from North Africa and
6440-508: The Maltese language differs from Classical Arabic in the same way as the Arabic dialects differ from Classical Arabic. the Maltese language also comprises a considerable number of Maghrebi features, in other ways it can be closer to other Arabic dialects, or closer to Classical Arabic than to the other dialects as in the word ra ('to see'). Arabic supplies between 32% and 40% of the language's vocabulary. Żammit (2000) found that 40% of
6555-485: The Maltese language is in a will of 1436, where it is called lingua maltensi . The oldest known document in Maltese, Il-Kantilena ( Xidew il-Qada ) by Pietru Caxaro , dates from the 15th century. The earliest known Maltese dictionary was a 16th-century manuscript entitled "Maltese-Italiano"; it was included in the Biblioteca Maltese of Mifsud in 1764, but is now lost. A list of Maltese words
6670-645: The Maltese vocabulary, especially words that denote basic ideas and the function words , but about half of the vocabulary is derived from standard Italian and Sicilian; and English words make up between 6% and 20% of the vocabulary. A 2016 study shows that, in terms of basic everyday language, speakers of Maltese are able to understand around a third of what is said to them in Tunisian Arabic and Libyan Arabic , which are Maghrebi Arabic dialects related to Siculo-Arabic, whereas speakers of Tunisian Arabic and Libyan Arabic are able to understand about 40% of what
6785-725: The Mediterranean Fleet, two small convoys from Egypt to Malta and 48 more Hurricanes flew off HMS Ark Royal and Furious in Operation Splice, with only the loss of the SS Empire Song , which hit a mine and sank with 10 Hurricane fighters and 57 tanks on board. Convoy Tiger transported 295 Matilda II tanks, new Crusader tanks and 24,000 tons of oil for operations in North Africa. They were completed on 12 May. I., II., and III.; StG 1 made
6900-726: The Mediterranean and Africa, regions dominated by the British and French. The Allied defeat in France from May–June 1940 removed the French Navy from the Allied order of battle and tilted the balance of naval and air power in Italy's favour. Upon declaring war, Mussolini called for an offensive throughout the Mediterranean and within hours, the first bombs were dropped on Malta. After the French surrender on 25 June, Mussolini tried to exploit
7015-660: The Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail. L-Unjoni hija bbażata fuq il-valuri tar-rispett għad-dinjità tal-bniedem, il-libertà, id-demokrazija, l-ugwaljanza, l-istat tad-dritt u r-rispett għad-drittijiet tal-bniedem, inklużi d-drittijiet ta' persuni li jagħmlu parti minn minoranzi. Dawn il-valuri huma komuni għall-Istati Membri f'soċjetà fejn jipprevalu l-pluraliżmu, in-non-diskriminazzjoni, it-tolleranza, il-ġustizzja, is-solidarjetà u l-ugwaljanza bejn in-nisa u l-irġiel. Below
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#17327806798067130-565: The OKL to give him four more dive-bomber gruppen (Groups). On 10 January, he could muster 255 (179 serviceable) aircraft including 209 dive and medium bombers. By 2 January 1941, the first German units reached Trapani on Sicily's southern coast. The Luftwaffe ' s two units were both Junkers Ju 87 Stuka Gruppen (Groups). The first was I./ Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 and II./ Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 (I and II Group Dive Bomber Wings 1 and 2). The units numbered some 80 Ju 87s. This led to
7245-693: The RAF defended its airspace, though at great cost in materiel and lives. In November 1942 the Axis lost the Second Battle of El Alamein and the Allies landed forces in Morocco and Algeria in Operation Torch . The Axis diverted forces to the Tunisia campaign and reduced attacks on Malta, ending the siege. In December 1942, air and sea forces operating from Malta went over to the offensive. By May 1943, they had sunk 230 Axis ships in 164 days,
7360-622: The Three Cities, where the Malta Dockyard and the Admiralty headquarters were located, 28,000 people were packed into 1.3 km (0.50 sq mi). It was these small areas that suffered the heaviest, most sustained and concentrated aerial bombing in history. There were hardly any defences on Malta because of a pre-war conclusion that the island was indefensible. The Italian and British surface fleets were evenly matched in
7475-422: The airfields at Hal Far and Luqa in an attempt to win air superiority before returning to Illustrious . On 20 January, two near misses breached the hull below the water line and hurled her hull against the wharf. Nevertheless, the engineers won the battle. On 23 January, she slipped out of Grand Harbour, and arrived in Alexandria two days later. The carrier later sailed to America where she was kept out of action for
7590-437: The attack on Marsalforn on 3 March 1942. The growth in the twentieth century of tourism on the Maltese island has led to a redirection of the town's economic function away from fishing. Today, although fishing remains an important industry, increasingly tourism is becoming the dominant source of employment for the local people. In the last thirty years the town has seen considerable urban expansion and has gradually extended along
7705-435: The battle was inconclusive, and everyone returned to their bases as soon as possible. It confirmed to the Maltese people that the British still controlled the seas, if not from the Grand Harbour. This was confirmed again in March 1941, when the Royal Navy decisively defeated the Italian Navy in the Battle of Cape Matapan . The Italians had been heading to intercept the British convoys transporting reinforcements to aid Greece in
7820-428: The country). The Germans took most of the oil from Romania and left few resources for Italy to pursue large-scale operations in the Mediterranean. Not only did this preclude any large-scale naval operations, it also left the Italians without adequate fuel for combat training at sea. By the start of 1941, a limited petroleum stockpile meant only seven months of fuel could be guaranteed. On the other hand, British confidence
7935-429: The crescent-shaped rocky bay towards Qbajjar . This expansion has been spurred by the growth in tourism in Gozo which has meant that several hotels, guesthouses and apartments have been built in the town. Moreover, the desire by wealthy Maltese and Gozitans for second homes in the town, combined with the increasingly large presence of foreign investors in the local housing market, has fuelled high demand for property in
8050-421: The dry-docks could only be operated by hand. Efficiency of most workshops was reduced to 25% – 50%. During the first four months of German operations, the Luftwaffe dropped 2,500 tons of high explosives on Malta. It was many more times the tonnage dropped by the Italians, but far short of the amount dropped the following year. More than 2,000 civilian buildings were destroyed as opposed to only 300 during
8165-471: The emblem of Saint Paul: a viper encircling the sword. The viper refers to the episode involving Saint Paul just after his shipwreck on Malta as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. To the south of Marsalforn is a fertile valley named after the town. The valley is bounded by several hillocks and used to be known as the "haven of hillocks". The most famous of these is tas-Salvatur (Our Saviours Hill) also referred locally as Tal-Merzuq Hill (Ray of Light) due to
8280-416: The first of several batches ferried to the island by the carrier. A further attempt ( Operation White ) to fly 12 Hurricanes into Malta on 17 November, led by a FAA Blackburn Skua , ended in disaster with the loss of eight Hurricanes; they took off too far west of the island due to the presence of the Italian fleet and ran out of fuel, and several pilots were lost. A further two Hurricanes crashed, with one of
8395-449: The ground and in the air, failed to impede the Italian force. On 12 June an Italian aircraft on a reconnaissance flight over Malta was shot down. Twelve Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers escaped from southern France following the French capitulation and flew to the French colony of Tunisia . They then flew on arriving at the FAA base at Hal Far, 767 (Training) NAS , on 19 June. They formed
8510-640: The ground. By February around 14,600 men, 1 ⁄ 6 of the island's work force, had volunteered, rationing began reducing morale even more, and all males from ages 16 to 56 were conscripted to join the volunteers, the Royal Malta Artillery guarding Grand Harbour. The Allies had a success in April, with victory in the Battle of the Tarigo Convoy . Allied surface forces managed to sink only one small Axis convoy in daylight hours during
8625-536: The highest Allied sinking rate of the war. The Allied victory in Malta played a major role in the eventual Allied success in North Africa. Malta was a military and naval fortress, being the only Allied base between Gibraltar and Alexandria , Egypt. In peacetime it was a way station along the British trade route to Egypt and the Suez Canal to India and the Far East . When the route was closed Malta remained
8740-566: The hill, which remains to this day. As recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, Paul the Apostle was shipwrecked in Malta, but legend maintains that it was from Marsalforn that he embarked for Sicily and Rome. Today, this legend is symbolised by the town's emblem, which consists of a viper encircling a sword. This refers to an episode involving Saint Paul when he remained unharmed after being bit by
8855-527: The increasing influence of Romance and English words. In 1992 the academy issued the Aġġornament tat-Tagħrif fuq il-Kitba Maltija , which updated the previous works. The National Council for the Maltese Language (KNM) is the main regulator of the Maltese language (see Maltese Language Act, below). However, the academy's orthography rules are still valid and official. Since Maltese evolved after
8970-511: The intelligence to the Admiralty, who probably would not have sailed within range of the Ju 87s if they had known. The RAF was in no condition to prevent a major German air attack, with only 16 Hurricanes and a couple of Gladiator aircraft serviceable. On 11 January 1941, 10 more Ju 87s were sent to sink Illustrious . They chanced upon the light cruisers HMS Southampton and Gloucester . Hits were scored on both; Southampton
9085-530: The island could attack Axis ships transporting supplies and reinforcements from Europe. General Erwin Rommel , de facto field commander of Panzerarmee Afrika in North Africa, recognised its importance quickly. In May 1941, he warned that "Without Malta the Axis will end by losing control of North Africa". The Axis resolved to bomb or starve Malta into submission, to soften it up for invasion, by attacking its ports, towns, cities, and Allied shipping supplying
9200-587: The island from the Byzantine Empire. It is also said that it descents from Siculo-Arabic, which developed as a Maghrebi Arabic dialect in the Emirate of Sicily between 831 and 1091. As a result of the Norman invasion of Malta and the subsequent re-Christianization of the islands , Maltese evolved independently of Classical Arabic in a gradual process of latinisation. It is therefore exceptional as
9315-570: The island. Malta was one of the most intensively bombed areas during the war. The German Luftwaffe and Italian Regia Aeronautica flew a total of 3,000 bombing raids over two years, dropping 6,700 tons of bombs on the Grand Harbour area alone. Their success would have allowed a combined German–Italian amphibious landing ( Operation Herkules ) supported by German airborne forces ( Fallschirmjäger ) but this did not happen. Allied convoys were able to supply and reinforce Malta, while
9430-495: The lack of supplies led the planners to believe that the operation could not be carried out. With the German success in the Battle of France from May–June 1940, the plan was reduced to 20,000 men with the addition of tanks. The Allied defeat in France gave the Italians an opportunity to seize Malta but Italian intelligence overestimated the Maltese defences and Mussolini thought that an invasion would be unnecessary once Britain made peace. Mussolini also expected Francoist Spain to join
9545-466: The legends surrounding it, recorded by Giovanni Abela in the seventeenth century. This volcano like hill has acquired the attention of the people since 1901, when a large wooden cross was erected on its peak. Three years later, when Gozo was consecrated to Christ the Saviour, a stone statue of Christ replaced the cross. This was in turn replaced by a gigantic concrete statue towering twelve metres above
9660-418: The loss of Mohawk . The flotilla had been officially formed on 8 April 1941, in response to the need for a Malta Strike Force. This formation was to interdict Axis convoys. Commander Lord Louis Mountbatten 's 5th Destroyer Flotilla was later ordered to merge with Mack's fleet to increase its striking power. The destroyers HMS Jackal , Kashmir , Kipling , Kelly , Kelvin and Jersey were
9775-446: The monitor Terror and gunboats HMS Aphis and Ladybird opened fire. In the afternoon, another 38 bombers escorted by 12 fighters raided the capital. The raids were designed to affect the morale of the population rather than inflict damage to dockyards and installations. A total of eight raids were flown on that first day. The bombing did not cause much damage and most of the casualties suffered were civilian. No interception of
9890-466: The most used when speaking the language. In this way, Maltese is similar to English , a Germanic language that has been strongly influenced by Norman French and Latin (58% of English vocabulary). As a result of this, Romance language-speakers (and to a lesser extent English speakers) can often easily understand more technical ideas expressed in Maltese, such as Ġeografikament, l-Ewropa hi parti tas-superkontinent ta' l-Ewrasja ('Geographically, Europe
10005-405: The next-most important language. In the late 18th century and throughout the 19th century, philologists and academics such as Mikiel Anton Vassalli made a concerted effort to standardise written Maltese. Many examples of written Maltese exist from before this period, always in the Latin alphabet, Il-Kantilena from the 15th century being the earliest example of written Maltese. In 1934, Maltese
10120-479: The now dubious haven of Malta. The attack lasted six minutes; killed 126 crew members and wounded 91. Within sight of Malta, Italian torpedo bombers also attacked the carrier, but were driven off by intense anti-aircraft fire. The British operation should not have been launched: Ultra had informed the Air Ministry of Fliegerkorps X ' s presence on Sicily as early as 4 January. They did not pass on
10235-586: The nucleus of what was to become 830 Naval Air Squadron , providing Malta with its first offensive strike aircraft. Before June was out, they raided Sicily and sank one Italian destroyer, damaged a cruiser and destroyed oil storage tanks in the port of Augusta. By the start of July, the Gladiators had been reinforced by Hawker Hurricanes and the defences organised into No. 261 Squadron RAF in August. Twelve aircraft were delivered by HMS Argus in August,
10350-531: The pilots rescued by a Short Sunderland flying boat. The arrival of more fighters was welcome. After eight weeks, the original force of Hurricane units was grounded owing to a lack of spare parts. By the year's end, the RAF claimed 45 Italian aircraft had been shot down. The Italians admitted the loss of 23 bombers and 12 fighters, with a further 187 bombers and seven fighters having suffered damage, mainly to anti-aircraft artillery. In 1938 Mussolini had considered an invasion of Malta under Plan DG10/42, in which
10465-486: The pronunciation; e.g. nar (fire) is pronounced /nɐːr/ ); and seven diphthongs , /ɐɪ ɐʊ ɛɪ ɛʊ ɪʊ ɔɪ ɔʊ/ , written aj or għi, aw or għu, ej or għi, ew, iw, oj, and ow or għu. The original Arabic consonant system has undergone partial collapse under European influence, with many Classical Arabic consonants having undergone mergers and modifications in Maltese: The modern system of Maltese orthography
10580-413: The raiders was made because there was no RAF force ready to meet them. No RAF airfield on Malta was operational at that time; one, at Luqa , was near to completion. Despite the absence of any operational airfields, at least one RAF Gladiator flew against a raid of 55 Savoia Marchetti SM 79 and their 20 escorting fighters on 11 June. It surprised the Italians, but the defences, almost non-existent on
10695-570: The realisation of ⟨kh⟩ and ⟨gh⟩ and the imāla of Arabic ā into ē (or ī especially in Gozo), considered archaic because they are reminiscent of 15th-century transcriptions of this sound. Another archaic feature is the realisation of Standard Maltese ā as ō in rural dialects. There is also a tendency to diphthongise simple vowels, e.g., ū becomes eo or eu. Rural dialects also tend to employ more Semitic roots and broken plurals than Standard Maltese. In general, rural Maltese
10810-462: The region but the Italians had far more submarines and aircraft. The Admiralty had to protect the Suez Canal with the Mediterranean Fleet ( Admiral Andrew Cunningham ) and Gibraltar with Force H ( Vice-Admiral James Somerville ). In October 1939, the Mediterranean Fleet was transferred eastwards to Egypt, stripping the island of its naval protection. Only the monitor HMS Terror and
10925-515: The replacements were soon used up. By mid-May, the central Mediterranean was again closed to Allied shipping and the DAK in North Africa was able to receive reinforcements, only 3% of its supplies, personnel and equipment being lost en route. From 11 April – 10 May, 111 Axis raids were carried out against military installations on Malta. Most of the heavy equipment in Grand Harbour was destroyed and
11040-559: The rest of the towns in Gozo, although no official statistics are provided. The town might also have a significant immigrant Muslim community. The Committee Members of Marsalforn are responsible for all administrative matters regarding Marsalforn. [REDACTED] Media related to Marsalforn at Wikimedia Commons Coordinates : 36°4′19″N 14°15′30″E / 36.07194°N 14.25833°E / 36.07194; 14.25833 Maltese language Maltese (Maltese: Malti , also L-Ilsien Malti or Lingwa Maltija )
11155-728: The situation, conducting Operazione E , the Italian invasion of Egypt , in September. The 10th Army was crushed in Operation Compass , a British counter-stroke, and Adolf Hitler decided to come to the aid of his ally. In February 1941, the Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK, German Africa Corps under General Erwin Rommel ) was sent to North Africa as a blocking detachment ( Sperrverband ). RAF and Royal Navy anti-shipping squadrons and submarines on Malta threatened
11270-479: The structure of the Maltese language are recorded in the official guidebook Tagħrif fuq il-Kitba Maltija (English: Knowledge on Writing in Maltese ) issued by the Akkademja tal-Malti (Academy of the Maltese language). The first edition of this book was printed in 1924 by the Maltese government's printing press. The rules were further expanded in the 1984 book, iż-Żieda mat-Tagħrif , which focused mainly on
11385-423: The target in question was a warship, tanker or other "significant vessel". The performance of the fleet was mixed at first. They sank 37,000 long tons (38,000 t ) of Italian shipping, half of which was claimed by one vessel, HMS Truant . It accounted for one Italian submarine, nine merchant vessels and one motor torpedo boat (MTB). The loss of nine submarines and their trained crews and commanders
11500-489: The time, considered abandoning the old Citadel in the centre of the island and building a new town overlooking the port. Hostility from the Gozitan people meant that the plans were never realised. They protested that they were too poor to pay the extra tax needed to finance the move and the disruption caused by the transfer of their homes from Victoria to Marsalforn would be too great. Marsalforn's church, St Paul's Church,
11615-606: The town is a busy, vibrant place, teeming with both local and foreign visitors. The town has also become the premiere diving centre in Gozo, with several scuba diving schools located on the sea front. Historically, the town might have always had less than a thousand residents, due to historical invasions occurring in the town and the migration of locals to other towns in Gozo and Malta in search of better job opportunities, while eventually settling in those towns. The town might currently have around 500 to 1,000 permanent residents, with
11730-416: The town. It has also meant that the old palazzini that Marsalforn was noted for have been sacrificed and in their stead apartment blocks have been built. One effect of tourism has been the establishment of clear tangible seasonal changes in the town's character. During the winter months, when tourist numbers are low and second homes are frequently not used, the town gains a quiet, peaceful feel. During summer,
11845-540: The using Romance loanwords (from the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe Archived 2015-12-29 at the Wayback Machine , see p. 17 Archived 2020-08-04 at the Wayback Machine ): The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to
11960-433: The whole North African Campaign but on the night of 15/16 April, Axis ships were intercepted by Commander P. J. Mack's 14th Destroyer Flotilla, comprising HMS Janus , Jervis , Mohawk , Juno and Nubian . The destroyers sank Sabaudia (1,500 tons), Aegina (2,447 tons), Adana (4,205 tons), Isetlhon (3,704 tons) and Arta . The Italian destroyers Tarigo , Lampo and Baleno were sunk for
12075-554: The word - ‘forn’. Forn means "a bakery" in Maltese and Arabic , but it is highly improbable that this has anything to do with Marsalforn, for it is unlikely that a bakery would be built in an area with a small population. It is quite likely that this name, like that of other Gozitan ports, might refer to a type of ship. In that case it would derive from Liburna , an Illyrian type of a ship, which became livurna in Greek, and lifurna in Arabic. The name might also have been derived from forna,
12190-720: Was a military campaign in the Mediterranean theatre . From June 1940 to November 1942, the fight for the control of the strategically important island of the British Crown Colony of Malta pitted the air and naval forces of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany against the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Navy . The opening of a new front in North Africa in June 1940 increased Malta's already considerable value. British air and sea forces based on
12305-465: Was built in 1730. It was restored in 1939. With the development of Mġarr harbour , Marsalforn lost its importance and for several centuries, it remained a quiet fishing town inhabited by a small community of fishermen and their families. During the siege of Malta , on 12 April 1942, Marsalforn was hit by several bombs. On 19 May 2019, the Ministry for Gozo installed a WWII memorial commemorating
12420-405: Was dispatched to secure the Axis front in Africa in February 1941. Operation Colossus signalled a dramatic turn around. The Germans launched Operation Sonnenblume , which reinforced the Italians in North Africa. They then began a counter-offensive and drove the British back into Egypt. But operating overseas in Africa meant most of the supplies to Axis forces would come via the sea. This made Malta
12535-548: Was eroded when aircraft began to dominate the actions at sea later on in 1941 and 1942, as the Royal Navy had long been expected to be the principal defender of the island. Cunningham brought to light the reluctance of the Italian Navy to engage by probing their defences. On 9 July 1940, the Battle of Calabria was the only time the main Italian and British (with supporting Royal Australian Navy [RAN] vessels) fleets engaged each other. Both sides claimed victory, but in fact
12650-606: Was included in both the Thesaurus Polyglottus (1603) and Propugnaculum Europae (1606) of Hieronymus Megiser , who had visited Malta in 1588–1589; Domenico Magri gave the etymologies of some Maltese words in his Hierolexicon, sive sacrum dictionarium (1677). An early manuscript dictionary, Dizionario Italiano e Maltese , was discovered in the Biblioteca Vallicelliana in Rome in
12765-404: Was introduced in 1924. Below is the Maltese alphabet, with IPA symbols and approximate English pronunciation: Final vowels with grave accents (à, è, ì, ò, ù) are also found in some Maltese words of Italian origin, such as libertà ' freedom ' , sigurtà (old Italian: sicurtà ' security ' ), or soċjetà (Italian: società ' society ' ). The official rules governing
12880-500: Was recognised as an official language. Maltese has both Semitic vocabulary and words derived from Romance languages , primarily Italian . Words such as tweġiba (Arabic origin) and risposta (Italian origin) have the same meaning ('answer') but are both used in Maltese (rather like 'answer' and 'response' in English. Below are two versions of the same translations, one with vocabulary mostly derived from Semitic root words and
12995-602: Was serious. Most of the losses were due to mines. On 14 January 1941, U-class submarines arrived, and the submarine offensive began in earnest. German intervention over Malta was more a result of the Italian defeats in North Africa than Italian failures to deal with the island. Hitler had little choice other than to rescue his Italian ally or lose the chance of taking the Middle Eastern oilfields in Arabia. The Deutsche Afrika Korps (DAK or Africa Corps) under Erwin Rommel
13110-424: Was significant as the British could now concentrate their forces on offensive, rather than defensive operations. In November 1940, after months of poorly coordinated Italian air strikes, the FAA and Royal Navy struck at Italian naval forces in the Battle of Taranto, a victory for sea-air power and definite proof that aircraft could wreak havoc on naval vessels without air cover. Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers disabled
13225-423: Was so badly damaged her navy escorts scuttled her. Over the next 12 days, the workers at the shipyard in the Grand Harbour repaired the carrier under determined air attack so that she might make Alexandria. On 13 January, the Ju 87s, now equipped with SC 1000 bombs, failed to achieve a hit. On 14 January, 44 Ju 87s scored a hit on the ill-fated after lift. On 18 January, the Germans switched to attacking
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