Hitler and Mussolini Discuss the Fate of Malta
The fate of Malta was in the balance today at a summit conference between Hitler and Mussolini with their military Chiefs of Staff in Berchtesgaden, Germany. Two days of talks sealed plans for Operation HERKULES, an invasion of the Island using paratroops, followed by a seaborne landing of infantry forces.
Believing Malta has now been neutralized as a base for offensive operations against the Axis, 'Il Duce' and Air Field Marshall Kesselring proposed the time is right to take the Island. However, Field Marshall Rommel argued that this new freedom for Axis supply convoys to operate through the Mediterranean provides an opportunity to secure Egypt and the Suez Canal.
With Hitler hesitating, anxious to avoid heavy paratroop losses on a par with Crete in 1942, Rommel won the day. Plans for the invasion of Malta have been approved but placed on hold, pending the outcome of offensives in North Africa.