a Attack From Malta THE view that Malta wasas1 unsinkable
aircraft-carrier did not, we are told by Sir Hugh Lloyd, commend itself to the bomber crews on the island ; it was impossible, they pointed out, to maintain a steady bomber offensive from an aircraft-carrier. Both the view criticised and the bomber crews, however, remind us that the part played by Malta in the war was largely offensive. In retrospect we arc inclined to remember only the miracle by which Malta escaped the fate of Crete and the incredible sufferings of the island under enemy air bombardment. Both these points are dealt with in Sir Hugh Lloyd's book. He realised that he must retain the mastery of the air if Malta was to survive as a base, although he is critical of the undue prominence given to the defence of the island by the Press. There arc also good accounts of the damage wrought by enemy air attacks, not only on the geheral life of the island but on the aerodromes and airstrips which were vital for its function in the war.
The greater part of th0 bbok, however, as its title would imply,
is devoted to the positive contribution which Malta made to victory. When Sir Hugh Lloyd was appointed Air Officer Commanding Mediterranean in May, 1941, Lord Portal's parting instruction to him was: "Your main task at Malta is to sink Axis shipping sailing from Europe to Africa." ...This book is chiefly the record of how that task was carried out during the period of just over a year that he remained on the island. The difficulties in the way were tremendous. The island was short of aircraft and supplies of all kinds. The construction and enlargement of aerodromes presented special problems ; there were no concrete-mixers, because there was no concrete, and the only steam-rollers were old-fashioned and too light to make a runway that would hold a Wellington bomber. Even without enemy air attacks the task would have been a hard one. Its performance in spite of the enemy's fury amounted to almost a superhuman achievement. Sir Hugh Lloyd employs the metaphor of the sword and the shield. With one hand Malta struck at Axis shipping ; with the other she protected the sites and material which were essential for offensive tasks. There were never enough men, aeroplanes and supplies, and the allocation of resources between attack and defence was always a matter of delicate balance.
Sir Hugh Lloyd demonstrates how near Malta came to surrender. In the spring of 1942 shortage of food was having an effect on men's fighting energy. But morale never suffered, and the author attributes this maintenance of morale to the fact that Malta's rale in the war was not passive. The attacks on Rommel's lines of communications helped to stiffen Malta's resistance to Kesselring's attacks just as the defence of the island kept it usable as an offensive base. - Sir Hugh Lloyd in this book analyses clearly the way in which these attacks on shipping were planned and the important results they achieved. While he pays special tribute to the men of his own service, he is fair and generous to thc others. If the RAF. was undoubtedly the dominant arm, it was ably tatked by sailors and soldiers and civilians. The reward of their efforts was the Axis surrender in Tunisia.
S. H. F. JOHNSTON.
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