Operation Herkules
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Operation Herkules was the German code-name given to an abortive plan for the invasion of Malta during the Second World War. Through air and sea landings, the Italians and Germans hoped to eliminate Malta as a British air and naval base and secure an uninterrupted flow of supplies across the Mediterranean Sea to Axis forces in Libya and Egypt.
Italian bombing of the Grand Harbour, Malta
German DFS 230 assault gliders slated for Herkules were equipped with braking (or "crane") parachutes. These shortened the aircraft's landing run and allowed for more precise placement near an objective.
German MFPs like this one were transferred to the Mediterranean to supplement Italian-built landing craft intended for the invasion of Malta
Italian battleship Roma (Regia Marina, 1940)
Battle of Gazala
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The Battle of Gazala was fought during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, from 26 May to 21 June 1942. Axis troops of the Panzerarmee Afrika consisting of German and Italian units fought the British Eighth Army composed mainly of British Commonwealth, Indian and Free French troops.
Panzer III and Rommel's command vehicle in the western desert at the time of the Gazala battles.
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, with aides during the desert campaign. 1942
From left to right, the Italian generals Nicolini, Baldassarre and Lombardi.
M3 Grant with knocked out Panzer I, 1942