![]() If Malta was taken out of the equation, then the Royal Navy only had Gibraltar as a major base right at the western tip of the Mediterranean Sea and the Axis powers could transport supplies to North Africa with much greater ease. The mere presence of the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean Sea also gave the impression that Axis power in that area was not complete – which, indeed, it was not. While the Royal Navy had a major base on the island, the German and Italian supply routes to North Africa were always under threat. By the end of the year, Field Marshal Kesselring took over command of the Luftwaffe in Italy and he made his plans for Malta very clear and public – that he wanted the island to be taken and that his ‘Fliegerkorps II was more than capable of achieving this. The raids that they made were merely to test out the island’s defences. The Luftwaffe made no major raids on Malta up to the end of the year. ![]() In September 1941, German bombers flew into Sicily and a gradual build-up continued. ![]()
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