To the east on Mount Sciberras was the newly constructed Fort St Elmo, which overlooked a sheltered anchorage and the entrance to the island’s Grand Harbour. The ancient capital of Mdina was far inland – the small cavalry force there would go on to play a role out of all proportion to its size. The Hospitallers had four strongholds on Malta. Knowing that an invasion had been on the cards since the defeat at Djerba, the elderly Grand Master of the Hospitallers, Jean de La Valette, had prepared island defences as best he could, strengthening fortifications and summoning fellow knights to join the titanic struggle that was about to take place.
On, a massive Ottoman armada of around 200 ships, carrying an army estimated to be 40,000 strong, was spotted approaching Malta. Britain’s island weapon: Malta in the Second World War.10 things you (probably) didn’t know about the Spanish Armada.6 things you (probably) didn’t know about the Ottoman Empire.It was a highly provocative act – not least as the Sultana’s voyage had been a business venture of the Chief Eunuch, an important player in Suleiman’s court.
