The general assault, fixed for the morning of June 16th, went on for seven hours. Thousands of Janisseries attempted to overcome the handful of men opposing their fury but they were repelled twice by the Knights, who each time compelled them to retreat, leaving more than one thousand dead. The Knights of St. John were also at their extreme limit.

More days of bombardment followed and, on June 22nd the enemy tried again. In a disperate attempt to scale the top of the walls, the Turks employed hundreds of long ladders up which they climbed, spurned on by the drum rolls and by the shouting of their leaders. The defenders, although exhausted by the heat, thirst and injuries, managed to drive back the enemy assailing them with an avalanche of stones and fire. A soldier, who had managed to swim across the harbour, informed the Grand Master "There is no more ammunition and no Knight of St. John unwounded"!

June 23rd, the eve of the feast of St. John, patron of the Order, was the day a new offensive would be launched. The few remaining survivors among the Hospitallers went to confession and received Holy Communion. They knew their destiny: no one would come to their aid and it was useless to hope in the mercy of the enemy. The final battle took place at the doorway of the chapel and lastedj ust a few minutes. Having slaughtered the last of their adversaries, the Ottomans planted the standard of the Crescent on the ruins of the fort. The most fortified bastion on the whole island was in their hands. But at what a price! It took thirty days of fighting, eighteen thousand rounds of ammunition and the lives of seven thousand Janisseries. The loss had been heavy for the Christians too: one hundred and seven Knights and one thousand five hundred soldiers were killed.

The island had yet to be conquered, however, and the heroism of the defenders of St. Elmo had roused the other soldiers of the Cross. On June 30th six hundred men, including forty four Knights, arrived from Sicily. Nothing compared with the numbers of the enemy but their arrival helped to raise the morale of the besieged.

It would take too long to list the innumerable acts of heroism of the Hospitallers and Maltese during the endless months of siege. Their determination and courage contributed towards saving Christianity and western civilisation. Men coming from different nations, gave an example of how important faith, together with a common ideal, was to a divided and uncertain Europe. The Siege of Malta was not just another of the many battles fought between Muslims and

Palace from where Fra' Jean de La Vallette conducted the various phases of the long Siege.

Christians. The military prestige of the two sides was at stake in this decisive duel between the Cross and the Crescent.

On July 15th Mustapha launched another huge attack in which he hoped that the will of his enemies could be weakened by endless bombardments. On this occasion he counted yet again on the numerical superiority of his troops.

The soldiers of the "Sacra Milizia", however, managed to resist, while, day by day the Turks seemed to be losing their usual aggressiveness and their certainty to return home winners.

They made other attempts to bend the besieged on August 2nd and 7th but, in spite of the losses, the Christians, supported by the words and the example of their untiring Grand Master, yet once again got the better of their enemy. Mustapha could not resign himself to losing and his men threw a hail of artillery fire against the enemy positions and the best Turkish foot soldiers were massacred, but all in vain. Furious and disperate, the Commander of the Ottoman army played his last card. His people were already demoralised and exhausted and when news of an imminent arrival of reinforcements for the besieged arrived from Sicily, the weather happened to change for the worse. Admiral Piali realised that summer was coming to an end and that a sudden storm could surprise the fleet in a sea full of hidden rocks.

On August 23rd and 30th the last attempts to conquer the heart of that island, on whose beaches Mustapha was sure to conclude his career as a triumphant Commander, were made but every effort was in vain. His army embarked, humiliated and disheartened, and the Commanders gave the order to set sail towards Constantinople where the anger and revenge of the Sultan awaited them.

It was September 8th, the feast of the nativity of the Virgin Mary, and the ships of what would be remembered as the "Gran Soccorso" were reaching the waters of Malta. On the walls reduced to a heap of ruins, the banners of the Holy Religion were flying. This was the conclusion of one of the most glorious pages in the history of the Christian West. The Knights of St. John of Rhodes and Malta, not only defeated the army of Islam, but humiliated the fanatic certainty of the superiority of an Empire.

Some days later Jean de la Vallette marked another score against Suleiman. His secret agents, the same men who had constantly informed him on the movements of the adversary, burnt down the arsenal of Constantinople. This was a venture which deeply demoralised the old Sultan who, for the first time, felt himself being threatened within the capital of his kingdom.

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