TWO SIEGE-ENGINES BACKFIRE

During the Great Siege of 1565, the towns of Senglea and Birgu had been under constant attack for nearly two months. Bombs and cannon fire had reduced most of the buildings to rubble, and even the thick walls that protected the towns were beginning to crumble. The Ottoman invaders had also dug tunnels and planted mines to weaken the walls further. Fires raged in both cities, and every day was a fight for survival, with heavy losses on both sides.

Great Siege of Malta, 1565. Source: D’Aleccio Frescoes, Heritage Malta

De Valette on the bastions. Source: www.britannica.com

Outside Isla, the Ottomans had built a massive siege tower covered in thick leather soaked with water to protect it from fire attacks. At the top of the tower, Janissary sharpshooters targeted anyone defending the walls. Something had to be done quickly, and Grand Master Jean de Valette came up with a clever plan.

He ordered a team of Maltese workers to dig a hole in the base of a wall directly across from the tower. As soon as the hole was ready, a large cannon was brought in and placed behind the opening. While the workers chipped away at the wall, the Ottomans on the siege tower focused on the defenders on top of the walls, unaware of what was happening below them.

Finally, with a loud rumble accompanied by clouds of dust, the wall was breached. From the narrow hole, the defenders aimed the dark muzzle of the cannon directly at the base of the siege tower. Before the Ottomans could react or move the tower, the cannon fired. It shot out volleys of chain shot—two cannonballs connected by a heavy chain—aimed at the tower’s weakest point, its lower section.

The whirling chain shot smashed into the tower, causing it to totter and collapse. The soldiers on top, including the sharpshooters, tried to jump off but were caught in the chaos. The falling tower brought down men, weapons, ammunition, and grenades in a massive crash. Musketeers on Birgu’s walls shot down those Turks who were ordered to tow the tower to safety, but never managed to complete their task. Cheers erupted from the defenders as they pulled the cannon back inside and began repairing the wall. Finally, the remains of the giant tower were set on fire.

Mustapha Pasha

Undefeated by this set back, the Ottomans launched another fierce attack on Senglea. Mustapha Pasha, one of their commanders, had a new weapon. This giant barrel-shaped device, packed with gunpowder, nails, grapeshot and iron chains, was designed to explode and cause massive destruction. Under cover of a frontal attack, a group of Ottoman soldiers dragged the bomb up the battered walls of Fort St Michael and dropped it among a group of defenders.

But the bomb had a serious flaw—the fuse was too slow. The defenders quickly realised this. Risking their lives, they managed to roll the bomb back up the ramp and throw it down into the ditch below. The siege engine bounced and rolled and bounced again, exploding right in the middle of the waiting Ottoman soldiers, tearing them to pieces.

Seeing their chance, the defenders charged down the slope of the ruined wall and attacked the stunned Ottomans. The invaders panicked and ran, leaving the defenders to survive another day. While the Knights and Maltese celebrated and gave thanks to their God, the Ottoman forces grew weaker and more discouraged, struggling with sickness and the realisation that their siege might take much longer than they had expected.

Written with reference to:

‘The Great Siege, Malta 1565’ by Ernle Bradford, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1961