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Siege of Malta (1565)

The siege of Malta - "Arrival of the Turkish fleet" (Matteo Perez d' Aleccio)
Military Conflict
ConflictSiege of Malta
DateMay 18 - September 11, 1565
LocationMalta
ResultDecisive Knights Hospitaller victory
Ottoman Empire
Knights Hospitaller
Spanish Empire
Maltese civilians
Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha
Piyale Pasha
Turgut Reis †
Salih Reis
Uluç Ali Reis
Jean de Valette
Goncales de Medran†
Melchior de Robles†
Jean de la Cassière
Mathurin Romegas
22,000-48,000
6,100-8,500
10000
2,500 troops
7,000 civilians
500 slaves

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The Siege of Malta (also known as the Great Siege of Malta) took place in 1565 when the Ottoman Empire invaded the island, then held by the Knights Hospitaller (also known as the Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, Knights of Malta, Knights of Rhodes, and Chevaliers of Malta)

The Knights won the siege, one of the bloodiest and most fiercely contested in history, and one which became one of the most celebrated events in sixteenth century Europe. Voltaire said, "Nothing is more well known than the siege of Malta," and it undoubtedly contributed to the eventual erosion of the European perception of Ottoman invincibility and marked a new phase in Spanish domination of the Mediterranean.

The siege was the climax of an escalating contest between a Christian alliance and the Ottoman Empire for control of the Mediterranean, a contest that included Turkish corsair Turgut Reis's attack on Malta in 1551, and the Turks' utter destruction of an allied Christian fleet at the Battle of Djerba in 1560.

Siege of Malta (1565) Video

† Ave Crux Alba † † Hail, thou White Cross † A Tribute to the Heroic Defence of The Knights Hospitallers of St.John, the Grand Master Jean Parisot De La Valette, the brave Maltese people & all those who Valiantly Defended Malta during the Great Siege of 1565. Greatly Outnumbered by menpower & equipment, just 500 Knights of St.John, some 2000 mixed Knights, Soldiers & Mercenaries from Spain, Italy, Sicily & Greece, 6000 Maltese soldiers & men-at-arms, all numbering 8500 defenders, made an unbeievably heroic defence during the Great siege of Malta 1565 & defeated an Muslim Ottoman invading force of 48000 men, including 30000 Ottomans & 18000 Algerians, Tripolitans, other muslim volunteers from the east & outlaws pardoned by the sultan in exchange for service, all sent by Suleiman the Magnificent to wipe out once & for all the Order of st.John, which had harassed, captured & sunk many Ottoman & Corsair ships, & to take Malta for its ports as a stepping stone to invade Italy & furthur into Europe. Suleiman appointed Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha as Commander of the army while Piali Pasha was to Command the Imperial fleet, but it was also his wish that Turgut Reis, aka Dragut, should join them & they should do nothing untill he arrives with his fleet & his men, for he was well aquainted with Malta, having raided it at least 6 times & for his great experience as a great corsair on both land & sea. Later during the siege they were joined by Ochiali the Greek, Cortucoli, Hassem viceroy <b>...</b>
4.50 min. | 4.41 user rating		 This map i chose has some river or sea across, its the closest one i can find near the sea :( On the 7th of August after another 5day round the clock bombardment, Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha attacked again both Senglea & Birgu walls simultaneously from land. Here i'm trying to show what happened in Sanglea that day when the Turks were on the point of victory Cavalry Knights sent out from Mdina attacked their camp & rear & saved the day. At the same time Birgu was being assaulted aswell but i'll recreate it in my next upload vid. Assaults like these on walls were continuous but The Knights of St.John, Mercenaries & the Maltese soldiers rather died than giving an inch of ground. Each Turkish assault would be tougher than the previous & still repulsed. Hail Malta :)
10.28 min. | 5.0 user rating		 The Post of Castile in Birgu was considered a weak spot but heavily defended, each time the Turks attacked it, each time they were driven off with horrible casualties. On the 7th of August it was attacked again with more ferocity & cannon fire. The Turkish heavy cannons were reducing evrywhere to rubble & the Bombardment was so loud that was heard from a 100 miles, let alone Mdina. When the smoke cleared the firing stopped & the assault began to breach the walls. Certain of their victory the Turks threw themselvs into the breach including the Janissaries & started pouring inside only to find themselvs trapped between 2 walls of stone & another wall of angry knights, pikemen, cannons, halbereds, swords, spears & incendiary weapons thrown at them from those on the top walls like fire hoops, burning oil, rocks, Greek fire, musket fire & so on. The result was total distaster for the Turks, Cannons opened holes in their tightly squeezed ranks & Turkish robes caught fire easily. Panic began spreading amongst those getting slaughtered infront while those from the back kept pushing on untill the retreat was called. Imagine the carnage left in the breach, roasted & butchered Turks littered the area. Hail Malta!!!
10.62 min. | 4.55 user rating		 The final battle of the siege of Malta took place on the 13th September near Naxxar out in the open. Malta had managed to beat the Turks even without the long promised reinforcements from Don Garcia but neverthless, the Gran Soccorso relief force finally arrived & still played a part, it consisted between 4000 to 8000 men, Knights, Mercenaries & other soldiers from Spain & Sicily under the command of Ascanio de la Corna. The broken Turks till now already lost around 22000 men & didn't have much fight left in them after all their best efforts failed, so upon hearing that the relief force arrived, they took whatever was left of their army & fled to their ships, but when General Mustafa found out that the relief force that just landed wasn't as big as they thought, he immediatly ordered evryone to disembark again. Knowing he still outnumbered the reinforcements might turn the tide. The reinforcements marched streight ot Mdina & then positioned themselvs on the hills of Naxxar waiting for the Turks. As soon as de la Corna was explaining the strategy to the officers the Turks appeared & quickly formed a defensive line for the final battle. The Knights didn't want to wait any longer & charged without orders & after them evryone charged at the Turks. The Cavalry Knights of Mdina seeing the battle had commenced, they did the same & set out to flank them but the broken Turks started to flee even before the Mdina Cavalry Knights arrived & for the Turks it was another blood bath <b>...</b>
10.63 min. | 5.0 user rating		 I know, I got a lot of things don't match like the buildings, bastions & walls of Malta to this fortress & it doesn't look like Sanglea peninsula at the Grand Harbour, but here i'm giving a glimps of the siege of Senglea from inland side on the 27th of August 1565. I used some of the same tactics used by the Knights of St.John during the Great Siege of Malta to repel the turks. Mustafa Pasha had 2 siegetowers to be built to take the walls but as soon as Grand Master La Valette knew he ordered cannons brought out & fire chainshots at the approaching tower destroying it & killing all 40 Turks manning it, then a raiding party sneaked out & attacked the 2nd tower on a daring mission. They succeeded in capturing it & destroying some of their cannons as the Turks during August had low moral knowing all their best efforts failed during the whole siege. The 1st vid shows bombardments most of it, the 2nd shows the assault & hand-to-hand fighting & the 3rd vid shows the mopping up. Another tactic used in Malta was to lure the Turks into the breach then meet them with pikes, halbereds, swords & arquebusiers/Maltese militia firing & throwing rocks/firehoops at them from over the walls, they literally got slaughtered in panic, same thing i used here :) † Victory †
10.63 min. | 5.0 user rating
The Post of Castile in Birgu was considered a weak spot but heavily defended, each time the Turks attacked it, each time they were driven off with horrible casualties. On the 7th of August it was attacked again with more ferocity & cannon fire. The Turkish heavy cannons were reducing evrywhere to rubble & the Bombardment was so loud that was heard from a 100 miles, let alone Mdina. When the smoke cleared the firing stopped & the assault began to breach the walls. Certain of their victory the Turks threw themselvs into the breach including the Janissaries & started pouring inside only to find themselvs trapped between 2 walls of stone & another wall of angry knights, pikemen, cannons, halbereds, swords, spears & incendiary weapons thrown at them from those on the top walls like fire hoops, burning oil, rocks, Greek fire, musket fire & so on. The result was total distaster for the Turks, Cannons opened holes in their tightly squeezed ranks & Turkish robes caught fire easily. Panic began spreading amongst those getting slaughtered infront while those from the back kept pushing on untill the retreat was called. Imagine the carnage left in the breach, roasted & butchered Turks littered the area. Hail Malta!!!
9.85 min. | 5.0 user rating		 This map i chose has some river or sea across, its the closest one i can find near the sea :( On the 7th of August after a 5day round the clock bombardment, Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha attacked again both Senglea & Birgu walls simultaneously from land. Here i'm trying to show what happened in Sanglea that day when the Turks were on the point of victory Cavalry Knights sent out from Mdina attacked their camp & rear & saved the day. At the same time Birgu was being assaulted aswell but i'll recreate it in my next upload vid. Assaults like these on walls were continuous but The Knights of St.John, Mercenaries & the Maltese soldiers rather died than giving an inch of ground. Each Turkish assault would be tougher than the previous & still repulsed. Hail Malta :)
10.43 min. | 4.66 user rating		 I know, I got a lot of things don't match like the buildings, bastions & walls of Malta to this fortress & it doesn't look like Sanglea peninsula at the Grand Harbour, but here i'm giving a glimps of the siege of Senglea from inland side on the 27th of August 1565. I used some of the same tactics used by the Knights of St.John during the Great Siege of Malta to repel the turks. Mustafa Pasha had 2 siegetowers to be built to take the walls but as soon as Grand Master La Valette knew he ordered cannons brought out & fire chainshots at the approaching tower destroying it & killing all 40 Turks manning it, then a raiding party sneaked out & attacked the 2nd tower on a daring mission. They succeeded in capturing it & destroying some of their cannons as the Turks during August had low moral knowing all their best efforts failed during the whole siege. The 1st vid shows bombardments most of it, the 2nd shows the assault & hand-to-hand fighting & the 3rd vid shows the mopping up. Another tactic used in Malta was to lure the Turks into the breach then meet them with pikes, halbereds, swords & arquebusiers/Maltese militia firing & throwing rocks/firehoops at them from over the walls, they literally got slaughtered in panic, same thing i used here :) † Victory †
10.17 min. | 5.0 user rating		 I know, I got a lot of things don't match like the buildings, bastions & walls of Malta to this fortress & it doesn't look like Sanglea peninsula at the Grand Harbour, but here i'm giving a glimps of the siege of Senglea from inland side on the 27th of August 1565. I used some of the same tactics used by the Knights of St.John during the Great Siege of Malta to repel the turks. Mustafa Pasha had 2 siegetowers to be built to take the walls but as soon as Grand Master La Valette knew he ordered cannons brought out & fire chainshots at the approaching tower destroying it & killing all 40 Turks manning it, then a raiding party sneaked out & attacked the 2nd tower on a daring mission. They succeeded in capturing it & destroying some of their cannons as the Turks during August had low moral knowing all their best efforts failed during the whole siege. The 1st vid shows bombardments most of it, the 2nd shows the assault & hand-to-hand fighting & the 3rd vid shows the mopping up. Another tactic used in Malta was to lure the Turks into the breach then meet them with pikes, halbereds, swords & arquebusiers/Maltese militia firing & throwing rocks/firehoops at them from over the walls, they literally got slaughtered in panic, same thing i used here :) † Victory †
4.87 min. | 5.0 user rating		 This map i chose has some river or sea across, its the closest one i can find near the sea :( On the 7th of August after a 5day round the clock bombardment, Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha attacked again both Senglea & Birgu walls simultaneously from land. Here i'm trying to show what happened in Sanglea that day when the Turks were on the point of victory Cavalry Knights sent out from Mdina attacked their camp & rear & saved the day. At the same time Birgu was being assaulted aswell but i'll recreate it in my next upload vid. Assaults like these on walls were continuous but The Knights of St.John, Mercenaries & the Maltese soldiers rather died than giving an inch of ground. Each Turkish assault would be tougher than the previous & still repulsed. Hail Malta :)
4.08 min. | 5.0 user rating

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Times of Malta--It also reports how the EU rejected appeals to activate a mechanism for burden sharing in the EU but promised more help for -Malta- to deal with the migration problem. The -Malta- Independent highlights comments by the Italian home affairs - Date : Tue, 12 Apr 2011 05:35:43 GMT+00:00


The Knights Hospitaller The Ottomans
500 Knights Hospitaller 6,000 Spahis (cavalry)
400 Spanish soldiers 500 Spahis from Karamania
800 Italian soldiers 6,000 Janissaries
500 soldiers from the galleys 400 adventurers from Mytheline
200 Greek and Sicilian soldiers 2,500 Spahis from Rouania
100 soldiers of the garrison of Fort St. Elmo 3,500 adventurers from Rouania
100 servants of the knights 4,000 "religious fanatics"
500 galley slaves 6,000 other volunteers
3,000 soldiers drawn from the Maltese population Various corsairs from Tripoli and Algiers
Total: 6,100 Total: 28,500 from the East, 48,000 in all



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