An unsuccessful attack can give an enemy both warning and a reason to prepare. The failed attack on Malta in 1551 and the destruction of Gozo made another Ottoman invasion seem imminent, so improvements continued year after year. The comparison with Ukraine stresses how the army fighting in 2022 differed from the force confronted in 2014. The Dardanelles example makes a similar argument about bombardment without a successful breakthrough warning defenders of the intended attack. In Malta, the fourteen-year interval allowed repeated engineering work, taxation, troop training, and allied reinforcement.
Notable Point · 1:10:12-1:14:04
How an unsuccessful attack gives defenders time to prepare
The interval between the 1551 attack and the Great Siege gave Malta time to strengthen its defences, an advantage compared with Ukraine and the Dardanelles.