Once Crete was secured, the question is why the Axis did not turn the Regia Marina more directly against Malta. The island's coastal batteries made a surface approach dangerous, but bombers might have weakened them before battleships engaged. The Italian fleet carried many rangefinders, which could have helped its heavy guns locate and suppress firing positions. This remains a counterfactual operational argument, with no claim that the assault would have succeeded. The proposal combines air attack, shore bombardment and fleet employment against a strategically placed island.
Notable Point · 7:20-8:10
The Regia Marina and a missed Malta assault
A counterfactual considers whether Axis bombers and Italian battleships could have neutralized Malta's coastal batteries and opened an assault on the island.