Battestelli, Pier Paolo Operazione C 3

I piani per l’invasione di Malta nel 1942. Studi e Documenti

Malta was an important port in the Mediterranean. From the island, the British were able to use their air and naval forces to attack Italian ships on their way to Libya, thus blocking supplies to North Africa. The possibility of attacking and occupying the island of Malta was considered before the war, but was later rejected. It was only after the supply crisis in the autumn and winter of 1941/42 that the possibility of occupying the island was reconsidered, this time as a joint Italian-German operation. The plans, which had been developed since spring 1942, were finally abandoned the following autumn when the possibility of invading the island had completely disappeared. Operation C-3 (the Italians' code name; the Germans used the code name Hercules) was never completed, leaving historians with a series of questions that remain unanswered to this day. Could the occupation of Malta have changed the course of the war in the Mediterranean and, conversely, in North Africa? According to some historians, Rommel's decision to continue the offensive in Egypt and abandon Operation C-3 was a glaring mistake, referred to as the Mediterranean decision, the consequences of which are well known. Even more doubtful is the actual prospect of success if the attack had been carried out, given Italy's limited combat strength and the lack of German support. This book examines the history of the plans for Operation C-3/Hercules from their development to their abandonment and describes them in detail so that readers can form their own opinions.