Figure 1.--Here a British soldier is training a youthful Yugoslav Partisan who had been transferred to Malta for medical treatment. The red star on his cap clearly identifies him as a partisan. The press caption read, "Yugoslav Partican Prepares for Fight: Yugoslavs, ex-hospital cases who came to Malta for treatment, are making good use of their stay by learning how both Allied and enemy small arms. After recovering completely they will return to their homeland and face the Nazis with their added knowledge--knowledge the Germans will get in large part through bullets and bayonets. A young boy Partisan is shown firing a British rifle under supervision of a Corporal instructor." The photograph was dated April 24, 1944. The Germans at the time still occupied all the Balkans, but Partisan strength was growing. And massive German defeats were only months away, forcing a wuthdrawl from the Balkans (September-October 1944).

After the Allies victory in Tunisia (May 1943) and subsequent invasion of Sicily (July 1943) and Italy (September 1943), Malta which had been at the center of the North African campaign suddenly was transformed into a quiet remote area. We note Yugoslavs wounded in the bitter guerilla war with the Germans receiving medical treatment on Malta. We are not sure how they were transported there. We also note the British training guerillas there (figure 1). We do not yet have amy detailed information. By this time, however, Allied support had shifted from the largely Serbian Chetniks led by Draža Mihajlović to the more the pan-Yugoslav Partisans were led by Josip Broz Tito. The Allies concluded that the Partisans were more actively attacking the Germans while the Chetniks held back, in part because of the draconian German reprisals on civilians. The Big Three planned a conference as the Allied Armies were entering the Reich. The Yalta Conference was to finalize plans for post-War Europe. Soviet dictator Josef Stalin had a fear of both flight and leaving the Soviet Union so it was agreed to meet in the Soviet Black Sea resort of Yalta on the Crimean Peninsula. The Crimean had been a major scene of fighting in the East. This required both Primeminister Churchill and and ailing President Roosevelt to make a long ardous journey. The resulting Yalta Conference (February 1945) was one of the most important conferences of the War. The heavy cruiser USS Quincy was assigned to deliver the President to Malta where the Primeminister was waiting for him. A sailor on the Quincy writes, "Eventually the ship reached the island of Malta without any problems. When it arrived, the British ships in the harbor gave the president a 21-gun salute. Churchill and his daughter Sarah were at the dockside to meet Roosevelt and his daughter when they arrived. You couldn’t see land or the buildings for the thousands of people who turned out to see Churchill. The people of Malta loved the prime minister. The standing ovation they gave Churchill gives me goose pimples every time I think about it. He gave’ em the ‘V’ for victory sign and waved his ever-present cigar. The people just went crazy.” [Moore] Churchill wanted to develop a joint Anglo-American approach with Stalin. The President studiously avoided this as he did not want to give the impression of 'ganging up' on Stalin. In retrospect, this was a serious misjudgement and reflected President Roosevelt's failure to accurately assess Stalin's Character--a failure rife among liberal Americans. The highly paranoid Stalin naturally assumed that Roosevelt and Stalin had come to some kind of agreement when they met on Malta. And it meant that Stalin who knew just what he wanted was confronted with the two Western leaders who had no agreement as to what they wanted. In the end it was the Red Army and NKVD which controled Eastern Europe and determined the outcome, but Stalin may have moved more cautiously and less ruthlessy had America and Britain stood together. Another development on Malta was that some orphaned children were sent to Australia.

Malta Becomes a Backwater

Support for the Yugoslavs

The Yugoslavs defied Hitler resultuing in a punishing German invasionn (April 1941). The Yugoslave Army was quickly defeated, but German brutality gave rise to a guerill struggle. A first the Chetniks supportingb the Royalist Government-in exile. The struggle intensified after Hitler betrayed his ally and invaded Stalin's Soviet Union (June 1941). The Communist Partisans than began attacking the Germans. As a result, the Germans had to station substantial forces in the Balkans, diverting resources from the life and death struggle on the Eastern Front. We note Yugoslavs wounded in the bitter guerilla war with the Germans receiving medical treatment on Malta. We are not sure how they were transported there. We also note the British training guerillas there (figure 1). We do not yet have amy detailed information. By this time, however, Allied support had shifted from the largely Serbian Chetniks led by Draža Mihajlović to the more the pan-Yugoslav Partisans were led by Josip Broz Tito. The Allies concluded that the Partisans were more actively attacking the Germans while the Chetniks held back, in part because of the draconian German reprisals on civilians.

Yalta Conference (February 1945)

The Big Three planned a conference as the Allied Armies were batteling their way into the Reich. The Yalta Conference was to finalize plans for post-War Europe. Soviet dictator Josef Stalin had a fear of both flight and leaving the Soviet Union so it was agreed to meet in the Soviet Black Sea resort of Yalta on the Crimean Peninsula. The Crimean had been a major scene of fighting in the East. This required both Primeminister Churchill and and ailing President Roosevelt to make a long ardous journey. The resulting Yalta Conference (February 1945) was one of the most important conferences of the War. The heavy cruiser USS Quincy was assigned to deliver the President to Malta where the Primeminister was waiting for him. A sailor on the Quincy writes, "Eventually the ship reached the island of Malta without any problems. When it arrived, the British ships in the harbor gave the president a 21-gun salute. Churchill and his daughter Sarah were at the dockside to meet Roosevelt and his daughter when they arrived. You couldn’t see land or the buildings for the thousands of people who turned out to see Churchill. The people of Malta loved the prime minister. The standing ovation they gave Churchill gives me goose pimples every time I think about it. He gave’ em the ‘V’ for victory sign and waved his ever-present cigar. The people just went crazy.” [Moore] Churchill wanted to develop a joint Anglo-American approach with Stalin. The President studiously avoided this as he did not want to give the impression of 'ganging up' on Stalin. In retrospect, this was a serious misjudgement and reflected President Roosevelt's failure to accurately assess Stalin's Character--a failure rife among liberal Americans. The highly paranoid Stalin naturally assumed that Roosevelt and Stalin had come to some kind of agreement when they met on Malta. And it meant that Stalin who knew just what he wanted was confronted with the two Western leaders who had no agreement as to what they wanted. In the end it was the Red Army and NKVD which controled Eastern Europe and determined the outcome, but Stalin may have moved more cautiously and less ruthlessy had America and Britain stood together.

Orphaned Children

Another development on Malta was that some orphaned children were sent to Australia. Malta was a source of immigrant boys in Australia. Some groups, all boys, came from Malta during and after World War II. Malta was one of the most heavily bombed places during the War. Both the Italians and Germans battered the Island for nearly 2 years. The Island was near starvation when the Allies finally broke the Axis blockade. The Axis bombing killed many civilians. The Island was terribly battered, adversely affecting the local economy. I assume that the migrant boys lost their parents during the bombing. I am not sure who orgnized the migrant groups to Australia. But we have few details at this time.

Sources

Moore, Dan. "He took President Roosevelt to Malta to attend the Conference at Yalta," War Tales (March 30, 2011).

Created: 6:13 PM 9/25/2013
Last updated: 10:34 AM 9/28/2013