On the morning of June 6th 1522, the men on the look-out from the towers felt their hearts missing a beat as they watched the fleet looming on the horizon. Hundreds of ships loaded with armed soldiers were slowly approaching. The Grand Master gathered the Knights together and reminded them in a few words of the commitment they undertook when they wore the habit of the Order: they had to show themselves worthy of the privilege of belonging to the "Sacra Milizia" and were to fight the infidels even at the cost of their own lives.

Even those who attacked, however, must have been concerned at the sight of the fortifications silhouetted against the skyline. A double row of walls surrounded the city, firmly joined with the natural rock perpendicular to the sea, and to make it stronger there was a moat between sixty and one hundred and forty feet deep. The city walls included thirteen towers and the city itself was dominated by the high bell tower of the church of St. John. Everywhere there were cannons ready to fire.

The Grand Master, Philippe de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, gave an immediate demonstration of his determination. He ordered to set fire immediately to the villas and summer residences to prevent the enemy from easily finding hiding places in the luxurious and huge gardens. As an example, he ordered that his own splendid villa be the first to be destroyed. In fact everything was to be burned down, even within the walls.

The noose seemed meanwhile to be tightening. Thousands of slaves landed from artillery ships of all sizes while the surrounding hills were covered with banners and multicoloured tents. When the Turks opened fire the entire island appeared to be alight. The Knights' cannons fired back and as an historian relates, the towers seemed to emerge from a cloud of smoke. The Ottomans had to their advantage, a larger number of men, greater power, formidable military organization and fanatical contempt for their own and others' life. The Knights of St. John had the joyful courage born of Faith and the genius of a Knight, Gabriele Martinengo, the most famous military engineer of the time. He had left Candia where he was in the service of the "Serenissima", to join his brothers-in-arms and place all the stratagems that his genius and technological capacities suggested at the disposal of the Order.

The duel between the artilleries went on for days and days without interruption. On the 26th of June, the Ottoman troops prepared themselves for the first assault. Along the walls, the Knights of the Order waited for the attack. They wore battle surcoat over their armour: a red tunic with a large White Cross.

They were conspicuous among the crowd and could easily be seen from a distance. Their very presence and the sight of their uniforms sufficed to make the Ottomans furious. Before taking their places on the walls they attended Mass in the Cathedral of St. John. Like any other day, this one started with the celebration of the Divine Rite, but on this morning all the inhabitants of Rhodes were there with them. Fishermen, farmers and simple people were around those men they had learned to respect and who, for so long, had defended their freedom and their homes. Men who had turned their island into a respected and feared land.

On the Turkish front, they were convinced that the long bombardment had weakened the resistance of the besieged and they thought that this would have been the final day.

Preceded by deafening drum rolls and by their Commanders shouting orders, thousands of Turks marched towards the walls but after a few hundred metres the human mass seemed to falter under the rain of artillery fire which harassed the Turkish ranks. In spite of the avalanche of fire and stones from on high, the swarming stream of men reached the bastions and attempted to climb them. It was a massacre. Although the Commanders exhorted and threatened, the army retreated. Thousands of men were left dead on the ground and with them, the hope of a triumphant end of the siege. It had been an epic day for the Knights at the end of which they thanked the Virgin Mary of Philermo, their patron, in the Cathedral of St. John. Along the streets of the city, the Rhodians celebrated the victory but the siege had just begun, and the Ottomans would return.

The attacks of the two hundred thousand men surrounding Rhodes were numerous but all attempts were in vain. As time passed the Turkish troops began to refuse to fight but they were obliged to continue as the prestige of Islam was at stake. Suleiman, hearing of the situation, decided to take command personally. On August 28th he arrived on the scene with a new fleet, accompanied by more soldiers and artillery representing a power which, until then, had been unknown.

In spite of all this Rhodes held out. On September 4th, the besiegers succeeded in exploding a mine which destroyed part of the bastion of the Langue of England. Around the breach the fighting was intense and the enemy was forced to retreat, but only at the cost of great sacrifice on the part of the Knights. The enemy returned again on September 24th. It was one of the most dramatic days with the death toll of the Turks totalling 15,000 men. According to the chronicles of the time it had been a real slaughter.

Within the city the situation became more and more serious. Supplies were beginning to run short and the people were exhausted while, on the other hand, new reinforcements continued to arrive from Constantinople. Difficult days would follow for the besieged and at sunrise on December 17th Suleiman launched his final attack. After many hours of desperate fighting the Janissaries managed to climb the surrounding wall but with the last remaining bit of strength the Grand Master and his brethren succeeded in repelling the invaders. It was hopeless to continue to fight and the Rhodians asked to make a truce with Suleiman. Even though they were reduced in number to little more than one hundred, the Knights rejected their plea. Fra' Philippe de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, however, knew of the atrocious destiny that the conquerors would reserve for the civilians had they continued to resist.

Deeply impressed by the courage of his adversaries, the Sultan received the Grand Master with great respect. He knew that Rhodes was at its extreme limit but his army had also suffered and the fight could go on for several days. Suleiman accepted the proposed conditions: the city and the population would be saved. The Knights would be permitted to take all their possessions and depart with all the honours of war. The Rhodians would also be able to follow them into exile, should they wish.

On December 24th, following six months of fighting, the Turks took possession of the island of Rhodes. At sunrise on January 10th (according to some chronicles the departure took place on January 2nd), the Order of the Hospital left the land that had been its home for more than two centuries. As the ships slowly withdrew from the island, the red flag of the Religious Order was not to be seen but in its place was a white cloth on which the image of the Virgin Mary was embroided in gold with the words "Afflictis Tu spes unica". The change of flag was due to the deep devotion of the soldiers to the Mother of the Saviour but at the same time it was an accusation against Christianity who had abandoned her children at their extreme hour of need.

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