Renowned historian Max Hastings recreates one of the most thrilling
events of World War II: Operation Pedestal, the British action to save
its troops from starvation on Malta--an action-packed tale of courage,
fortitude, loss, and triumph against all odds.
In 1940, Hitler had two choices when it came to the Mediterranean
region: stay out, or commit sufficient forces to expel the British from
the Middle East. Against his generals' advice, the Fuhrer committed a
major strategic blunder. He ordered the Wehrmacht to seize Crete,
allowing the longtime British bastion of Malta to remain in Allied
hands. Over the fall of 1941, the Royal Navy and RAF, aided by British
intelligence, used the island to launch a punishing campaign against the
Germans, sinking more than 75 percent of their supply ships destined for
North Africa.
But by spring 1942, the British lost their advantage. In April and May,
the Luftwaffe dropped more bombs on Malta than London received in the
blitz. A succession of British attempts to supply and reinforce the
island by convoy during the spring and summer of 1942 failed. British
submarines and surface warships were withdrawn, and the remaining forces
were on the brink of starvation.
Operation Pedestal chronicles the ensuing British mission to save
those troops. Over twelve days in August, German and Italian forces
faced off against British air and naval fleets in one of the fiercest
battles of the war, while ships packed with supplies were painstakingly
divided and dispersed. In the end only a handful of the Allied ships
made it, most important among them the SS Ohio, carrying the much-needed
fuel to the men on Malta.
As Hastings makes clear, while the Germans claimed victory, it was the
British who ultimately prevailed, for Malta remained a crucial asset
that helped lead to the Nazis' eventual defeat. While the Royal Navy
never again attempted an operation on such scale, Hasting argues that
without that August convoy the British on Malta would not have survived.
In the cruel accountancy of war, the price was worth paying.
