The Most Bombed Place on Earth - Operation Herkules vs. the Undefeated WW2 Island
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- Pictured: A Savoia Marchetti SM.79 torpedo bombers attacks a convoy bound for Malta.
During the grimmest period of World War II, the small island of Malta in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea had become a beacon of hope for Allied Forces. Hitler had to act.
A massive strike plan codenamed Operation Herkules, concocted by Mussolini and Hitler, intended to capture Malta. In anticipation, the Italians assembled an impressive array of troops, armament, ships, and aircraft. By storming the island fortress of Malta, the Axis powers would deal a massive blow to Allied forces while also showing their collective military might. It could invariably shore up a German and Italian victory.
The Axis powers devised waves of extensive air and sea landings. Their aim was not only to eliminate their enemies but to secure a solid supply line and transport between Europe and the Middle East. Still, the operation, along with its potential horrors, would fade into historical archives until now.
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Dark Docs brings you cinematic short military history documentaries featuring the greatest battles and most heroic stories of modern warfare, covering World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and special forces operations in between.
As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Docs sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.
All content on Dark Docs is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.
Interesting fact: the top Canadian fighter pilot of WW2, Buzz Beurling, obtained 27 of his official 31 kills in the defense of Malta where earned the nickname "The Falcon of Malta"
Maltese Falcon?
Nice
Canadians aren’t real
THE GHOST OF KIEV!
But yet the gladiators
hope, faith and charity are well known defending the skys until spitfires and hurricanes could arrive and even after that
My parents lived on Malta andwere children when war broke out. My dad would watch the dogfights with binoculars. My mother had an older brother who was a mechanic for RAF and worked on Spitfires hurricanes and Lancasters. Sadly they are all gone but I remember the stories they told
My father in law worked on Spitfires too as an electrician - Ernesto Farugia. He emigrated to Canada after the war and my wife was born here. Wonderful people and pastizzi .... :)
do you wanna write down the stories and share them with us all before they are gone forever? please and thank you:) obviously here on youtube is hard to write a story but i encourage you to make a thread and tell us all here how we can find it.
Yea please put your stories down it would be amazing to hear
Lies
Josh Cassell Youu must be very good at telling them given your uncanny ability at spotting them.
Proud to be Maltese, My great grandpa was a soldier in the King's Own Malta Regiment. His role was on a AA Gun. Fortunately he survived the siege of Malta. Keep up the great work 🔝
Grazzi
As you should be. Had the pleasure to visit your beautiful island, and knowing the WW2 history of the island better makes me respect it even more. Malta has every reason to be proud.
We hear so much about Malta from a British perspective, but relatively little from that of the Maltese. I'd like to hear more.
Top man ❤
Where was his AA bunker?
My dad was there for almost the whole war, he was an electronics engineer and maintained the radar.
He never threw any food away for the rest of his life.
Wow, he must of been cool talking and hearing his story's of the war.
@@cherryrunner7205 veterans rarely talk about these experiences with civilians, it is difficult, imagine trying to talk with someone and their mindset and seemingly language is entirely alien and unable to comprehend the experiences and emotions. It can be very frustrating, if you do speak with a vet do be considerate with your questions and start of easily, and listen closely, and they might open up.
Greetings vet.
@@INSANESUICIDE true dat....
Fauerholm that may be true, but it is different with their children. I speak from experience. My grandfather talked about his Vietnam experiences a lot.
@@INSANESUICIDE Very, very true. My uncle was a U.S. Marine who participated in heavy action in the Pacific theatre of WW2. Very, very nasty battles, sometimes hand to hand. He came home with a good dose of the then not understood PTSD. You can imagine. Once home, he had to go off by himself for over a year until he got as straight as he could. We talked some but not much as when we did it was the years of Vietnam, which he didn't think we should have been involved in. Imagine.
Fun Fact: Malta is the only place that has received the George Cross, the second highest award for bravery, for their service during WW2.
The George Cross is the equivalent of the Victoria Cross but for civilians not the military.
@@sindento1942 Yes. The George cross was given to the People of Malta for their brave resiliency during the war. Malta currently uses the George Cross on its flag.
Fun fact the British fucked it up 40 years later
Carlos Danger , even more fun fact ! The world is almost completely fucked up ! Go so called humans
@@carlosdanger4648 No they fucked it up in 1956 when Malta voted to join the UK but were reject by the British government. UK would now have a wonderful tourist resort and strategic naval and air bases in the Mediterranean.
As a Maltese citizen i appreciate this video.
My grandfather used to tell me the bombing by the Italian's were usually ineffective due to flying too high for accurate bombings,
the Germans pilots on the other hand were relentless and would dive down for precise attacks.
Malta is still an inspiration for resilience and stoicism. It holds a special place in the Queens heart. And its beautiful.
I visited Malta a couple of years and I can highly recommend it. I visited a few of the ww2 related sights including the underground fighter control centre which was fascinating. The young chap acting as guide told us that the link between Italy and Malta was very strong and there were many Italians living in and around the harbour and the Italian bomber crews were very reluctant to bomb their relations so didn’t try to hard, however as you say, the Germans hammered the island.
So , what's the story behind ; " Cart tracks on Malta "?
My mother-in-law has a different slant on that as her best friend was killed by an Italian bomb in the countryside. The Germans went for defined targets (my father-in-law worked in the docks) The Italians, because they stayed high and away from anti aircraft guns killed many civilians away from strategic targets at random. That's terror.
Italians didnt want to destróy the Island thats why
I am Maltese, my grandfather served as a Major on the navy vessels. I remember him telling me when I was a child that the horror he saw in our seas, pieces of humans and animals floating on the surface put him off from eating meat for years. Those who survived all were effected and traumatized by the war some way or another. The experience of hunger that most of us do not know effected our family mentality not to waste anything and to eat everything while there is still food on the plate. It is a carried on trauma. On the other hand my grandmother from my mother's side had a townhouse in Rudolph street Sliema, she witnessed dogfights and bombings falling on Valetta harbor from her roof. She also bombing on the streets of Sliema and the nearby English church. I always remember her mentioning that she witnessed a lady running for the shelter during bombing , while running she was struck by a shard, decapitated her head but her body kept on running on its own for a distance. Dead bodies were seen everywhere, pieces of humans, people who were known and loved. That is war ! But every Maltese gave their part and joined as a community. My grandmother was of the Mifsud family who back then owned a family business importing goods such as Milk, nappies etc also assisted families who lost literally everything. So at least that is the only good part of it, people joining together in disastrous situations.
God bless your family, then, and now, friend.
I visited Malta a few years ago on Holiday. I found all kinds of shrapnel damage in buildings still visible, and loved the museums and forts. My hotel overlooked the British sub pens that were heavily bombed.
My mom and uncle were kids during the war. They often spoke of the air raids and running to the bomb shelters in the middle of the night. What was worse was the extreme hunger. Food was rationed and ships were unable to come to port to bring supplies. My dad was a young soldier during the war. He was nearly shot when he stole figs off of a farmers tree. I have nothing but the deepest respect and admiration for my parents and all who suffered in Malta during this time. What amazing, resiliant and brave people.
About 20 years ago I went on holiday to Malta, I found it very nice and interesting, when I got back from holiday I read many books about the island, found it’s history amazing, for the next few years I returned each year, love the place, the history, going back over 1000years , is unbelievable, the historic architecture is also amazing,
Thank you for that . My Father was there , Malta made the greatest impression of his 1939 -45 army service . This helped me see why .
My dad is maltese. He'd always tell me about his family and the siege of Malta, how they were hungry and had nothing to eat, how they all ran to the docks to welcome the British, my great grandfather was a brave man.
My grandfather was 1st battalion 22nd Cheshire regiment, sent there from North Africa... So many great stories as a child from him. Visited valleta Harbour with him which he defended with his buddies..
Respect to the people of Malta, a George Cross well deserved.
Thanks
Thank you my friend
Thank-you most appreciated
You know a place is utterly chad when you have to give the whole island a medal
Voice speed is PERFECT!
With short pauses in between sentences...like a proper documentary you would see on TV.
Been a longtime fan of the channel, and the works you put into your videos is recognised.
Again, thanks for listening.. keep up the awesome work!
well said
The voice is perfect for this too
You must be joking
Proud to be Maltese ... The Luftwaffe (German Air Force) and the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) flew a total of 3,000 bombing raids, dropping 6,700 tons of bombs on the Grand Harbour area alone, over a period of two years and neither of the two couldn't even touch or take down Malta
My grandmother who has recently passed away, lived on the island through all of this. And her family were bombed out of their home on three separate occasions. As mentioned in one of the previous comments she also never throw away any food.
Because you have only 3 likes, I reply to you. My father was a child in Germany during the war, and my comment is similar, how the war changes someone for the rest of the their life.
@@cmonkey63 Appreciated, we have it easy compared to our parents and grandparents.
Interrupted 7 times by ads. YT is becoming unwatchable.
No ads for me, I use google adblock, free app to use on the chrome browser.
Okay don't use ad block. Start the video fast forward to 5 seconds left let it finish. Once finished restart video no ads will appear the second time
@@BobbyIronsights That was with AdBlocker.
Don’t use the YT app. Adblock doesn’t work on the TH-cam app.
Don't let the ads break you down mate. They absolutely hate it when we "skip" them. Together we will collectively ignore their attempts to corrupt our minds with their phony marketing tactics. Let's purposely ignore them together
Finally, a video on Malta.
You mean, half a video?
Check out Mark Felton Productions. He is a brilliant war historian. I'm sure he's done the battle for Malta. He's got loads of obscure stories from the second world war.
@@anthonygreen2662 he
My grandfather was born in Malta under there family's kitchen table during one of the bombing raids. Still alive and well in the United States
I also know how important Malta was for the Allies, all the soldiers and pilots that died defending it. Rest in peace to all those people that died for Malta during world war 2.
P.S. If anyone wants also a good documentary about Malta during world war 2 search up Battlefield Mysteries Siege of Malta. Its a very interesting documentary and tells accounts of pilots and citizen's of the island during the bombing raids.
Malta was the key to the whole war. In possesion of Malta Hitler would have uncontestable control of the Mediterranean and Black Sea, and be able to supply Rommel enough to take Alexandria, Suez, then the Middle East, then the Iranian oilfields. And so his invasion of Russia would not have had to split south for the Baku oilfields, diluting the other offensives. But he allowed Malta to continue to be the base for the very effective British submarine and air attacks that crippled Rommels supply line.
Thanks for the tip.
Greetings from Glasgow Scotland, The brave people of Malta suffered so much during ww2, being such a small Island and having been the most bombed place in ww2 must have been hellish for the population, it was very sad when the Maltese were refused to be allowed to become part of the UK which I thought that was a kick in the teeth to all the brave Maltese who sacrificed so much during wartime. Visit Malta every year, it is a beautiful Island and the nicest people.
My great-grandfather used to operate search lights in the grand harbour. He lived on the smaller island of Gozo and whenever he was on recess he would return to his family in Gozo. He had gotten so used to the air raids that whenever an air raid siren went off, his wife and children would seek a shelter but he would stay at home. What a man.
My grandpa was one of the only survivors of his school in Malta when it was bombed in ww2
The Germans didn’t use B17s, especially ones marked as American.
That’s what the Germans want you to think...
I can't stand how these "dark docs" firstly talk about something that's well-known as if it was just declassified yesterday, and secondly how they just throw video images up there that have nothing to do with the narration.
331SVTCobra I watched this one but I unsubscribed because of it. They will be yapping about some WW2 subject and show a tiny snippet of modern jet fighters. You cant get good help now-a-days.
@@PenDragonsPig-Jam_on_Top Cheers man! Saved me from wathing it.
Nor did Malta's defenders wear German "coal scuttle" helmets.
Nor did they have lots of Spitfires or Hurricanes. At the start of the Battle of Britain they had just Gloster Gladiator biplane fighters. (There is, I suppose, an irony that the might of Rome was held off by a handful of Gladiators!). It is true that modern fighters reached Malta later but to say they were put there ready is utter nonsense.
Dark Docs? Well I sppose everything is dark if you keep your eyes shut.
I will stick with Mark Felton's documentaries, I think.
I wish there were more Italian ww2 aircraft still air worthy today. Truly beautiful designs
Malta has been fought over by the Greeks, Roman's ( possibly the Egyptian Pharaoh's) all through the Crusades, Napoleon and the British for 24 centuries. It has several Castles and fortifications that have thick walls and basements carved into the stone and over caves. Even the houses and apartments had thick walls and deep basements. Caves criss cross the Island with many sea passageways. An island used to sieges and wars. Malta has a fascinating history and the people a blend of different cultures that developed into a very unique country.
*Knights of St.John* :"That´s the spirit."
My grandfather,Sydney Rayfield RN,DCM,he was on HMS Nigeria a colony class cruiser ,in the med they hit a mine and he saved some of his mates,he always cried about it when I enquired.RIP Grandad.
All you need is Faith, Hope and Charity.
Sure, this channel is successful but it’s still criminally underrated. There should be millions of subscribers for this content. Fortunate to have been a subscriber since nearly the start of things here. Keep it up!!
unfortunately loads of small mistakes which could be avoided.
My great grandfather was commander of the air defence of Malta during 1940. Rest In Peace.
Definitely a hero
My uncle is from Malta and had told me about this. Very interesting
Was he funny?
@@grrmonkey more importantly, did he like tea?
Gabriel Bloch 8
There's plenty of mistakes in the narrated material and it's quite hard to list them all. What I will say is that the information you mentioned is certainly not archival material. Indeed it's very easily obtained from tertiary sources, including websites and a number of basic secondary sources that do not specifically concern the invasion of Malta. The most notable mistakes:
- The British defensive complement of 26,000+ men was not in effect from November 1940 but only finalised by the first months of 1942. In 1940 Malta was notoriously poorly defended. The same can be said of its coastal, field and AA artillery inventory.
- There were 112 Heavy AA and 144+ Light AA guns by 1942, but certainly not 130 "coastal" guns. Indeed, Outer Fire Command consisted merely of seven 9.2-inch Mk. X guns, whilst Inner Fire Command consisted of ten 6-inch Mk. VII guns and nine twin QF 6-pounder 10 cwt turrets.
- The field guns were both interwar 18-pounders (on hydro-pneumatic carriages with rubber tyres) and wartime 25-pounders. The latter, though close to 88mm in calibre (the cartridge is measured as such), were technically 87.6mm in calibre and were never referred-to as 88mm's. The latter were typically deployed as field artillery batteries - the former were in places confined individually first in camouflaged fieldworks then in underground or heavily camouflaged gun bunkers for direct fire against amphibious forces.
- The invasion, contrary to a recurring general consensus, was never entirely entrusted to the German Obelbefehlshaber Sud (Kesselring in 1942) but always the brainchild of the Italian Comando Supremo (Marshal Ugo Cavallero). Herkules was the German codename - the real name of the invasion plans was predominantly "Operazione C3" and the issue of the occupation of Malta had indeed been named "Esigenza C3".
- Marsaxlokk Bay is indeed Zona Larnaca, not Zona Famagosta, whilst Zona Famagosta, the intended primary amphibious landing zone, was neither Marsaxlokk nor Gozo and Comino (Gozo was codenamed Zona Cipro). Famagosta was a stretch of coastline south of the villages of Siġġiewi, Qrendi and Zurrieq.
- Unternehmen Herkules literally translates into 'Operation Hercules'. It does not refer to the head of the operation, who in any case, certainly wasn't Kesselring, although Kesselring was heavily involved and was a major supporter of an invasion of Malta.
- Contrary to the general consensus, Kesselring was not 'content' with the bombing of Malta on 10 May 1942. The Axis, Italians included, had in hand explicit data showing that i) Malta had been effectively reinforced with a substantial force of updated fighter aircraft and that these had put up a very efficient defence; and ii) That Malta's AA defence and fieldworks (hinting towards invasion objectives) were still in effective order. Kesselring's claim of a supposed 'neutralisation' of Malta was misconstrued - this claim came a few weeks earlier when he remarked to Hitler that Malta had ceased to exist as a NAVAL base, which was almost correct. With regards to its fighting spirit and preparation for invasion, however, OBS (Kesselring) never said that he felt satisfied with the performance of the concerned Fliegerkorps, and following after-action reports on 10 May he issued updated directives for a renewed blitz against Malta.
All in all a valid effort, but evidently insufficiently well-researched, certainly not at an archival level.
Absolute dilettantes...........anachronistic unrelated film clips.
Dude, you need to go somewhere.
Well, those were the more blatant mistakes. There were a number of shortcomings that became apparent during the banter in the narration and listing all of those would really have been pushing it.
The uploader is only in it for the money. He can care less about factual history. Had he done extensive research, other than just glossing over Wikipedia, he wouldn’t be pumping out videos like he has been. Sad part is that other subscribers of this channel keep defending him, inaccuracies and all.
@@christianclark2763 So you are in favour of false/fake information wanker
The resilience of the Maltese population really stands out during this phase of WW2. Proud to be Maltese.
The role played by the Maltese during the Second World War cannot be overstated. The awarded of the George Cross to Malta and the heroic Maltese people was wholly justified. Here are some titles you might find interesting.
Attard, J (1988) The Battle of Malta Valletta Progress Press
Attard, J (1995) Britain and Malta San Gwan Malta Publishers Enterprises Group
Brennan, P Hesselyn, R and Bateson, H (nd) Spitfires Over Malta London Jarrold Publshers
Douglas-Hamilton, J (2000) The Air Battle for Malta Shrewsbury Airlife Publishing
Galea, M (1992) Malta Diary of a War San Gwan Malta Publishers Enterprises Group
Gibbs, P (2002) Torpedo Leader On Malta London Grub Street
Hogan, G (1978) Malta The Triumphant Years 1940 - 43 London Robert Hale
Holland, J (2003) Fortress Malta London Phoenix/Orion Books
Nolan, B (1982) Hero The Falcon of Malta Edinburgh William Blackwood
Dixon, F (2005) ed. Malta GC Remembered Bognor Regis Woodfield
Spooner, T (1996) Supreme Gallantry London John Murray
Vella, P (1985) Malta: Blitzed But Not Beaten Valletta Progress Press / National War Museum
@ 6:43 The scene where IL Duce meets Hitler gave me goosebumps....
Good video, I'm glad i found these channels.
2:40 I was unaware that the United States bombed Malta. You learn something new everyday.
Good eye!!!! Ha ha ha!
The US strategy is to bomb first, identify later
Though I think it is actually a pic of a B-17, it is a very short clip. It could possibly be a Piaggio P.108, which was superficially similar to the Boeing.
If anyone is doing a double take at the part where he's saying the British artillery arming the island were 88mm, he's not referring to the German gun but to the 25pdr artillery howitzers that are 87.6mm or 88mm when rounded. Not sure why he used the caliber instead of the normal British name, given the confusion that this could pose unless you really know about British arms.
Side note, it's ironic that both sides had to press their "88s" into antitank use. 25pdrs were used against German armor, quite successfully, usually over open sites when their 2pdr dedicated AT failed.
Tanks got bigger and thicker armor. Makes sense both sides would need a bigger gun. 88MM seems like a random number makes me think the 25LBer part was more important in it's design.
thanks for that explanation.
@Sean m WW2 Is way out of his wheel house. His main channel is talking about creepy stories and creepy pastas. I'm happy for him to Cover WW2 but so many people like myself have been balls deep into the subject for 20 years he's going to make small mistakes we will catch. I still want videos like these warts and all.
I loved my visit to Malta, not only for the sets from Game of Thrones season 1 & 2, but mostly because I'm a huge history nerd, specifically Ww2.
My partner at the time didn't get it lol
My favourite was the Cathedral that still has a hole in the roof (filled in but visible) where a bomb fell through whilst many people seeked shelter there. Yet, the bomb was a dud, and was considered a miracle. It landed among the people and didn't go off.
That is not a Cathedral, it is the Mosta Dome Church.
The so-called Cathedral you just mentioned is an Actual Rotonda of Mosta, that has been recently been raised to A minor basilica by this recent pope. Aka the Mosta Dome.
I was puzzled to see some random shots of USAAF B-17s in the video! And why is the ME-321 is described as a "gigantic glider" when its 6 engines are in plain view?
The Me-321 is a cargo glider. The one you see with the engines is the Me-323.
It glides downhill. Duh.
Im a proud Maltese man ❤️
We are strong 💪💪💪
I am from Malta and very proud to study its History when I'm just a teenager.
And a glorious history at that
14:05 "Unternehmen Herkules" just means "Operation Hercules".
It's no position or command.
There is a ,whole, video in the tale of "Faith", "Hope" and "Charity'.
Six ,Gloster, Sea Gladiators that fought off the air offensive (on their own) until relieved.
"Faith" still exists and I have seen her in the war museum in Valletta, Malta. Worth visiting.
3 sea gladiators, not 6
@@dragoflight2noname952 they still did better than most italian fighters
According to the film stock Malta was bombed by a B17 and if I'm not mistaken a Japanese 'Betty' bomber. Plus American troops firing a 155mm 'long Tom' ... If you're interested in WW2 'stuff' watch Mark Felton, it's far more acurate .. this is just hobbled together with no real thought as to the content. Didn't see one Italian aircraft and very few Luftwaffe
@Jack Russell really :(
Great job bro with this video 👍😎
A “Tankette", sounds cute and looks adorable!
It’s not adorable until it shoots somebody lol
John Bolorchuluun *looks at friend* “wow did you see the Italian tankette, it’s so cute”
friend: “huh wh-“ *gets shot by tankette*
@@jonvro4022 a miata with a .50 cal would be more effective
@@duncanmcgee13 what about a Winnebago with an elephant gun?
Great vid, I'm glad you slowed down a bit for a breather 😊. The pace is perfect !
If I’m not mistaken the area around Khe Sahn fire base is the most bombed place on earth
Thank you!!
Love the channel , thanks for the work.. only thing that got bombed more than Malta is the video itself with all the interruptions by 6 commercials .
Wow this is very interesting, thank you Dark Docs.
Alan Moorhead was an Australian. I suppose 'British' in U.S. eyes but I wouldn't try that in a bar in Oz ...
Amen....
Aussies are family...
But still Aussie!
Was/is Australia part of the british empire still? (At that time) That might be why he was mentioned as a Brit.
Wasn’t he wearing a British military uniform? Wouldn’t that make him British military?
talking bout being in a bar? Aussies talk more shit than anyone in American bars. I saw one run his mouth one time and he got sent home in a box.
Sorry bud. But the MIDDLE/RURAL parts of America are full of people that know history, and geography. I'm 38 yrs. old. So 38yrs or older and we are pretty well informed. Now the younger generations, I just don't know. Lol. We are quite! The idiots are loud! So the world looks from outside and see the loud/ obnoxious people. But never forget about the quite one.
And the Australian military is top notch! And we are brother's! And the U.K. should've kept Hong Kong!!! Treaty or no. And Nixon should have never recognized mainland China as a country!!! Formosa/ Taiwan is the real China! Call me old fashioned I guess.
I'm not even British and would love to here Churchill explain to me the workings of a Spitfire in detail. I would sit down and listen for hours.
So well done, thank you.
I've heard some horrendous stories about this island during the war .
The narration delivery is on point
Fun story on the Malta radar. The Germans installed jamming devices in Sicily , which were immediately effective. When asked what could be done,chief of scientific air intelligence, R.V. Jones, said nothing could be done, but to keep operating the radar as usual as he knew the Germans listened in to judge the success of the jamming. After a few days, the Germans turned the jammers off , assuming they had no effect.
Great video overall, love the footage playing in the back over the voice over
If you guys are interested about massive air battle with stalemate, check out the air war over Kuban bridgehead. Both sides lost so many planes (German, Soviet) but they learnt new tactics.
"However, the air battles over the Kuban sector were pivotal to the growth of the VVS as the offensive long-arm of the Red Army, sending a clear message to the Luftwaffe: the VVS was about to return what it had received. In fact, Soviet historians hold this two-month air campaign in early 1943 to be as important to the war effort as the Americans do the battle of Midway."
Rest in peace, defenders of Malta.
You should do a video about the Hungarian POW who wass taken prisoner in 1944, and not released until 56 years later in 2000. I believe his name was Andras Toma.
Also you could do a video on the Laconia incident. Both subjects are dark.
Love your content make more please cant get enough
I thought that Laos was the most bombed place on earth?
yeah but that was by america and they dont like to mention it lol
Correct Lao is the most bombed place on Earth, I used to live there. More bombs were dropped on Lao by Americas than dropped by all sides combined in WWII.
america didnt do anything in laos, just because the jets left with bombs, couldnt drop on their target and returned to base without them doesnt mean they were dropped in laos
@Kent Langres That is ABSOLUTELY untrue. The U.S. bombed the Ho Chi min Trail constantly which went trough Cambodia and Laos. Look up Mac V SOG etc. It was called the secret war. WoW see this is what happens when they quit teaching history in schools.
Yes Us just erase they war crimes till now,killing people in the name of demoncracy
Some say Malta had more strategic importance than Crete. Malta should have taken by German paratroopers. Hitler banned any more airborne troops assault after the cruciating loss at Crete. But, Malta was worth to pay some price. As Malta was in the hand of the British, Churchill could keep biting soft underbelly of German southern flank.
really outstanding work, love your work as always DDocs....but must say that twice in first 5 mins., over dialog about Axis bombing of the island, there's vid cuts of B-17s unloading.
Such a shame. I bet so many archeological sites were obliterated during this terrible war.
And the tiny country (micro nation) still stands
Yes. Many inhabitants wanted to be a fully constituent country of the UK after the war, with seats in parliament, like Wales and Scotland. Sadly they were refused.
So does Germany unfortunately
I loved going to Malta, I went when I was 23. To see how proud they still are of their war efforts and the involvement with Britain. They've got some gems worth seeing for sure.
Next stop, Sicily.
The heroic people of Malta well deserve the George cross
What Malta had to endure from the Axis was more than enough.
Very interesting video. I recognise some of the locations
5:14 "On that day, the Luftwaffe began a bombing campaign...". Shows an USAAF B-17 bomber. C'mon guys...geez.
At 5:15; you’re showing a B-17; an talking about the Luftwaffe bombing the island, nice clip
I wonder how this guy narrates a bedtime story
Very interesting documentary...thanks keep up the good work
I wish I could have seen Malta pre-WWII. I bet it was beautiful.
It still is.
It still is beautiful, most of it was re built exactly how it was, completely safe to visit, unlike Laos the most bombed place on Earth.
Well narrated, please show more detailed maps !
Dear Dark Docs, you clearly put in much time and effort into creating excellent content, and I always enjoy your videos, so please consider this as nit-picking. However, I'm sure that the last surviving Luftwaffe veterans that may watch your videos (and casual history buffs like myself) will wince at the suggestion that the Luftwaffe fielded B-17s (5:14) and Betty Bombers (5:27) during the Siege of Malta. I'm sure it wouldn't have been that difficult to source somewhat more appropriate footage for that sequence. Might I also recommend watching the excellent 2013 BBC documentary 'The Battle for Malta' narrated by James Holland. The sequence describing the SS Ohio entry into the Grand Harbour (during Operation Pedestal) is particularly moving.
Supermarine Attacker, Fleet Air Arm service 1951-54, at 4:40.
Well researched!
Nice to see the good guys with all those AA guns. Great and educational video. Again. As usual. Thanks Dark Docs 🇺🇸💖
That was an amazing documentary
"Secret War in Laos. From 1964 to 1973, the U.S. dropped more than two million tons of ordnance on Laos during 580,000 bombing missions-equal to a planeload of bombs every 8 minutes, 24-hours a day, for 9 years - making Laos the most heavily bombed country per capita in history."
"Per capita" gg
Much respect for the people of Malta. Everytime I watch a video like this it makes me want to go play HOI4
Loved this one. Very interesting
why does 4:40 time point show a supermarine attacker fly from a carrier? these flew first in 1946. its very nice to give credit to this small island, its well known fortunatly. they are awesome!
I want to congratulate this channel on not putting a huge arrow and red circle on the bomber in the thumbnail, I bet it was really hard to resist.
I don't know why the Axis invaded Crete instead of Malta. Had they taken Malta the war could have gone on for years, cutting the British Empire in half.
I always thought Laos was the most bombed place on earth
That or Vietnam. I know America said the dropped more bombs in South East Asia then they did in WW2
Yahtzee.
I totally agree and this is not the first time I've seen history trying to be changed, I've noticed several history channels claiming Malta is the most bombed place in the world.
It's the most bombed place in Europe, I have personally visited Malta and they don't claim to be the most bombed place in the world.
I studied South-East Asian history and in particular the V iuetnam War from 1945 to 1975.
The most heavily bombed countries in descending order from the height of the Vietnam War
1969 - 72 were:
i La o s
ii Cambodia
iii Vietnam
NOTE - the Ho Chi Minh trail which ran from deep into North Vietnam along Laos and Cambodia and at times had continuous 24/7 bombing during the "dry season.:
North Korea was also bomber to smitherines.
I'm impressed with your research, and above all, your correct pronunciation of Maltese. The only things I wonder about are the distance between the Sicilian airfields and Malta (90 miles or 90 kilometres?) and that invading Marsaxlokk doesn't seem to make a lot of sense if you want to capture Gozo and Comino, since they lie literally on the other side of the main island.
I don't know if there should have been more of a storyline to this. You describe the preparations for an invasion that never took place - and that's it.
Most documentaries about this period in history tend to focus on the plight of the population, the heroics of the RAF, Operation Pedestal, the George Cross, and all that. Perhaps it's just as well that you steered away from those subjects that tend to become sentimental rather quickly. Still, some sort of conclusion, such as "opinions vary as to how important Malta's role was during the war, and what would have happened had it actually been successfully invaded and occupied" wouldn't have gone amiss.
My Maltese father-in-law lived as a young boy in Valletta during the war, and with a harbour on either side of the little city, there was a lot of bombing. Once, after yet another raid, he stepped outside on a balcony, which promptly collapsed and had him fall down several floors. It probably partly explains why, at age 87, he can barely walk. He NEVER talks about the war, and this is a man who likes to talk and recount stories.
His own father was the valet of Lord Mountbatten of India, and was thought dead after their ship got torpedoed, until he was discovered recuperating in a hospital in Alexandria. He would receive a Christmas card from the Queen until his death.
Today, Malta is a peaceful country that is officially neutral, and therefore totally reliant on its own for defence. But with a very large natural harbour, and a runway where you can land literally anything (we've had C-5, B-52, A380, An-124, and Concorde once), no doubt the Italians, French, British and Americans would be here in an instant should that neutrality ever be threatened.
Definitely a strategic blunder on the Axis forces not taking Malta having the 'Enemy' able to worry and sever your supply lines always leads to trouble if not defeat
9:40 "Semovente 75/18" thats a CV.33... The Semovente was like a StuG. you need to fix this.
8:10 those big gliders you show have 6 engines haha
Gigant
Those were aftermarket from JC Whitney
Bless you for pronouncing Sevastopol correctly! 😌
Dark Docs: "The Most Bombed Place on Earth..."
Me: **laughs in Nevada Test Range**
Yep Indian Springs Nevada and the south pacific were probably the most
At 8:10, narrator says German Gen. Student's 24 German Me321 multi-engined transports were "gigantic gliders carrying 200 paratroopers, each..."
-------------------
Something in the Dark Docs editorial process needs work. I have read comments he is sight-impaired...
In any case, he deserves credit for a good effort at pronouncing German and Italian names within the same sentence. Narration is hard work, with many "takes" of some passages required.
Overall, a good narrative.
5:37 American C47 cargo plane, famous footage from D-Day...
4:41, jet...
🤣
If I'm not mistaken that's a british attacker naval jet, thought it looked wrong
@@oblivinator5681 YES - a Sea Hawk
There are plenty of mistakes in the narrated material and it's quite hard to list them all. What needs to be said is that the information mentioned is certainly not archival material as claimed. Indeed it's very easily obtained from tertiary sources, including websites and even a number of basic secondary sources that do not specifically concern the invasion of Malta. The most notable mistakes:
- The British defensive complement of 26,000+ men was not in effect from November 1940 but only finalised by the first months of 1942. In 1940 Malta was notoriously poorly defended. The same can be said of its coastal, field and AA artillery inventory;
- There were 112 Heavy AA and 144+ Light AA guns by 1942, but certainly not 130 "coastal" guns. Indeed, Outer Fire Command consisted merely of seven 9.2-inch Mk. X guns, whilst Inner Fire Command consisted of ten 6-inch Mk. VII guns and nine twin QF 6-pounder 10 cwt turrets;
- The field guns were both interwar 18-pounders (on hydro-pneumatic carriages with rubber tyres) and wartime 25-pounders. The latter, though close to 88mm in calibre (the cartridge is measured as such), were technically 87.6mm in calibre and were never referred-to as 88mm's. The latter were typically deployed as field artillery batteries - the former were in places confined individually first in camouflaged fieldworks then in underground or heavily camouflaged gun bunkers for direct fire against amphibious forces;
- The invasion, contrary to a recurring general consensus, was never entirely entrusted to the German Obelbefehlshaber Sud (Kesselring in 1942) but always the brainchild of the Italian Comando Supremo (Marshal Ugo Cavallero). Herkules was the German codename - the real name of the invasion plans was predominantly "Operazione C3" and the issue of the occupation of Malta had indeed been named "Esigenza C3". German involvement was of paramount importance, certainly - General Student was entrusted the entire airborne phase of operations and on paper, the entire German Fallschirmjager division was to be involved; whilst Germany was also vital for the provisioning of aircraft, supplies and transport vessels. Thus the support of Hitler was mandatory, crucial even - but this does not mean that development of the operation was primarily a German affair;
- Marsaxlokk Bay is indeed Zona Larnaca, not Zona Famagosta, whilst Zona Famagosta, the intended primary amphibious landing zone, was neither Marsaxlokk nor Gozo and Comino (Gozo was codenamed Zona Cipro). Famagosta was a stretch of coastline south of the villages of Siġġiewi, Qrendi and Zurrieq;
- Unternehmen Herkules literally translates into 'Operation Hercules'. It does not refer to the head of the operation, who in any case, certainly wasn't Kesselring, although Kesselring was heavily involved and was a major supporter of an invasion of Malta;
- Contrary to the general consensus, Kesselring was not 'content' with the bombing of Malta after 10 May 1942. The Axis, Italians included, had in hand explicit data showing that i) Malta had been effectively reinforced with a substantial force of updated fighter aircraft and that these had put up a very efficient defence; and ii) That Malta's AA defence and fieldworks (hinting towards invasion objectives) were still in effective order. Kesselring's claim of a supposed 'neutralisation' of Malta was misconstrued - this claim came a few weeks earlier when he remarked to Hitler that Malta had ceased to exist as a NAVAL base, which was almost correct. With regards to its fighting spirit and preparation for invasion, however, OBS (Kesselring) never said that he felt satisfied with the performance of the concerned Fliegerkorps, and following after-action reports on 10 May he issued updated directives for a renewed offensive operations against Malta.
All in all a valid effort, but evidently insufficiently researched, certainly not at an archival level as claimed in the video.
Ron Cassar Giacomotto As opposed to every other major landing site in Malta, the stretch between Għar Lapsi and Wied iż-Żurrieq was not as heavily defended. The former and the latter each had a beachpost, the former also a howitzer/field gun emplacement, but that's pretty much it. The inlets in between were very likely void of any fieldworks and certainly no fortifications. To overcome the rough terrain more easily, the Axis force modified the landing ships with ladders similar or identical to firefighting ladders, and trained the troops to use them in scaling cliff faces and other such obstacles. Reconnaissance by mid-1942 had established beyond any doubt that the larger bays of Malta were covered in barbed wire, minefields and a wide assortment of defences. The British had the aforementioned stretch on guard with a few works but did not expect an attack there, and in fact around this time entrusted the defence of this area solely to a relatively understrength 3rd Battalion, KOMR. Other locations in Malta were much more heavily defended and garrisoned. The attack there was daring, but considering the area's comparatively poor defence, the attack had numerous tactical advantages.
Apart from the ads (as content makers seek to monetise to the max), the most distracting thing about this and most other videos in the series, is that the visuals are often completely out of step with the narrative. And it's really not that difficult to get right.
What a cool channel.