Knights vs Ottomans: The Great Siege of Malta

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From the east came the fleet of the mighty Ottoman Empire, the one ruled over by Suleiman the Magnificent, a formidable assault force, 180 ships strong, carrying 40,000 men aboard, looming on the horizon to take control of Malta. It was 1565, and the fate of the Mediterranean hunger. in the balance. Standing in their way here were the Knights of St. John, just 500 of them and a few thousand Maltese soldiers and civilians.

The knight's leader was Jean de Valette, a battle-hardened warhorse, a veteran, a grand master in his seventies. And there'd be nothing gentlemanly about this fight. For four brutal months harbours around me now became killing grounds. Cannon fire shook the island day and night. Time and again the Ottomans launched assault after assault, particularly on Fort St.

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