page_title: Malta Command
hierarchical_section_title: Malta Command
caption_attribution_description: English: The British Army on Malta 1942 A 4.5-inch anti-aircraft gun opens fire during an air raid on Malta, 10 June 1942.
context_page_description: Malta Command was an independent command of the British Army. It commanded all army units involved in the defence of Malta. Once mobilised the Command deployed its headquarters to underground hardened shelters and its combat units were deployed to fixed points in the Maltese countryside, from where they operated from. This mobilised, but largely static army garrison would be tested by aerial bombardment and naval blockade during the Second World War. Whilst Malta Command was already a functioning command structure before 1939, it had existed in the Great War and was specifically mentioned in a House of Commons debate of 12 February 1917; the Second World War would see the Command operate as a genuine war-fighting headquarters, albeit in a static defensive role.
  On 15 April 1942 the Island of Malta was awarded the George Cross by King George VI in recognition of the stalwart defence and fortitude of service personnel and civilians against a much more powerful Axis foe. Malta an Island of only 117 square miles had been more heavily bombed than London had been during their blitz.
context_section_description: Malta Command was an independent command of the British Army. It commanded all army units involved in the defence of Malta. Once mobilised the Command deployed its headquarters to underground hardened shelters and its combat units were deployed to fixed points in the Maltese countryside, from where they operated from. This mobilised, but largely static army garrison would be tested by aerial bombardment and naval blockade during the Second World War. Whilst Malta Command was already a functioning command structure before 1939, it had existed in the Great War and was specifically mentioned in a House of Commons debate of 12 February 1917; the Second World War would see the Command operate as a genuine war-fighting headquarters, albeit in a static defensive role.
  On 15 April 1942 the Island of Malta was awarded the George Cross by King George VI in recognition of the stalwart defence and fortitude of service personnel and civilians against a much more powerful Axis foe. Malta an Island of only 117 square miles had been more heavily bombed than London had been during their blitz.
caption: A 4.5-inch anti-aircraft gun engages Axis aircraft during an air raid on Malta.
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