Axis and the intended invasion of Malta in 1942: a combined planning endeavor
Vivarelli, Alessandro (Creator)
This monograph analyzes the Axis planning and preparations for intended invasion of Malta in 1942 from the perspective of a contemporary military planner of joint and coalition warfare, and seeks to identify relevant lessons for today's practice of operational art and the conduct of military planning in a multinational and inter-service context. At the beginning of 1942, the German-Italian Axis coalition had a unique opportunity to redirect a thus far poorly conceived strategy for the Mediterranean basin. The opening of a new front in North Africa in mid-1940 had increased Malta's already considerable value. The Axis responded to this threat by developing a combined plan for the invasion of the island, by the means of airborne and sea-borne assaults. For the first time ever a combined Italian and German staff was created and set to work. Esigenza C3, as the operation was code-named, represented a pinnacle of Axis coalition warfare, even though it never went beyond the planning and preparation phases. After 70 years, the examination of the Axis combined planning for Esigenza C3 still provides key insights into the challenges of coalition warfare for military planners. The convergence of several factors operating at different levels of authority enhanced the effectiveness of the planning for Esigenza C3. First, at the strategic level, human interaction and individual characters had a major role in framing and negotiating ends, ways, and means for the Mediterranean strategy and the invasion of Malta, supplying for the absence of any common top-level consultation or decision-making process. Second, the Italian and German operational planners applied an innovative planning methodology, which enhanced collaboration, parallel planning, and information sharing, integrated lessons learned from previous combat experiences, and valued the contributions of subject matter experts. Finally, coherently and concurrently with planning, important decisions enabled the build-up of the
Thesis, Dissertation, Undefined, 2014
Fort Leavenworth, KS : US Army Command and General Staff College, 2014