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Originally Posted by CRussel
And, while there are passing references to Malta's importance sitting astride the shipping lanes of the Mediterranean, and as a necessary gateway to conquering Sicily, and then Italy, and then Europe, those references are just passing mentions. Shame, really.
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I was amused that Bradford cited the phrase, "the soft underbelly of Europe" in reference to Italy, but rather coyly didn't identify either the source or the context. Well, Churchill proved himself time and again to be a rotten strategist who advocated many military debacles, and the invasion of Italy in 1943 didn't go nearly as easily as he implied. Not such a soft underbelly at that. Napoleon did it, but he went over the Alps.
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I also appreciated the political discussion around relieving the siege and the dilatory response of Don Garcia, I ultimately think the author ducked any responsibility for actually assigning cause, blame or motive for the failures of Christian Europe to support and relieve Malta and La Valette. He gives La Valette and the Knights full praise, but appears to give only grudging respect to the native Maltese, who were, after all, mere peasants.
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I had to look it up, but at the time the book was published, Malta was still a British colony. I suspect Bradford reflects an inculcated attitude toward the Empire and all the unfortunate assumptions implicit in it.