This is the first of a three-part series. Read part two and part three.

The lesser known type of fortifications are probably the military architectural structures known with the term ‘pillboxes’. This type of fortification was used extensively during both world wars. This three-part series will, however, discuss the building and use of pillboxes in Malta during World War II, more precisely at Mellieħa.

At Mellieħa, most of these military structures survived the bulldozing that has taken place in the post-war period, when many of them were demo­lish­ed as they were considered an eyesore or for other reasons. To understand better the reason for the building of such important military architectural structures, one has to go back to the threat of invasion of Malta before and during World War II.

Italian pre-war plans drawn up to invade Malta

The first mention of Malta by the Italian naval authorities was in 1936, during the Abyssinian Crisis, when they emphasised the importance of capturing the Maltese islands in the event of conflict between Italy, Germany and Albania on one side, and Britain, France, Greece and Turkey on the other side. The significance of the Maltese islands for the Italian naval authorities was mentioned more profoundly in 1938, especially in June and November.

After Germany invaded Po­land in September 1939 and Italy remained neutral, the Italian naval authorities continued to draw up plans to invade Malta in the event of war with Britain. 

After the Italian declaration of war, the first mention of Mellieħa in the invasion plans was that presented by the naval authorities on June 18, 1940, eight days after Italy’s declaration of war. The plan included the use of 10 large boats to disembark troops in Mellieħa Bay. 

Building of the first group of pillboxes, 1935-39

Although the first building programme of pillboxes and other field defences began in 1935, when Italy invaded Abyssinia, the first real pillboxes were built around August 1938. Land began to be purchased from civilians or ceded by the government to the War Department for the building of defences.

It seems that the real building programme of pillboxes started in 1938 and the first pillboxes were built by the Royal Engineers in Mellieħa. Many of those built during this period were beach posts but there was also a number of depth-posts too. These were built in all the vulnerable bays of Mellieħa, including Mellieħa Bay, Armier and L-Aħrax Bays, Mġiebah Bay, Selmun Bay and others.

Westreme Battery was transformed into a large pillbox.

The first type of pillboxes can be distinguished easily from the second group built after 1939. The majority of these pillboxes are low and have an elongated shape. Others have a semi-circular façade and there are others similar to a box.

Nearly all have a rubble wall camouflage. Their camouflage was a very effective disguise in case of an invasion. This could be seen as a continuation of the defences built in 1935, which consisted mainly of trenches and rubble wall parapets. 

Their camouflage was very effective in case of an invasion

The machine-gun armament of the early pillboxes was at the front of the structure and generally had two port-holes for Vickers 0.303-inch machine-guns. The soldiers manning these machine-guns would usually have a semi-circular concrete bench to sit on.

But there are several examples of pillboxes which did not have a concrete bench. They also have portholes for rifles, an entrance hatch on the rear of the structure and a square observation cupola. They were built at strategic positions, both along the coasts and inland. Those that were built inland were generally constructed on the edge of ridges to have a good command of the surroundings. 

Early pillboxes were mainly beach posts and had a rubble wall camouflage.

Building of the second group of pillboxes, 1939-42

Meanwhile, as a result of the growing threat of war, after the occupation of the whole of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, the previous type of pillboxes was discarded. The stone cladding camouflage and curved fronts had to be abandoned and a new type of pillbox, which was in the shape of a box, was introduced.

The new type of pillboxes, like the previous ones, was built by the Royal Engineers. The building of the previous type of pillboxes was found to be time-consuming and, since the threat of war was increasing, an easy model of pillboxes was introduced.

There were three main types of pillboxes built during this period and many of them were not camouflaged. Those that were painted were camouflaged to look like rubble walls or even painted to appear as rural farmhouses; the latter also featured doors and windows. Nearly all of them have four rectangular machine-gun portholes in the four corners of the structure.

They had also an observation turret either in the middle of the pillbox roof or at the front. The latter generally consisted of a high-rise turret that is raised from the ground floor. The observation cupola was reached by a ladder. In the middle of each wall there are two rifle portholes and they have an entrance hatch on the rear.

A Vickers 0.303-inch machine gun in a beach post during a re-enactment.

Although the first raids on Malta began on June 11, 1940, the building of pillboxes continued till the siege was lifted in mid-1942.

The vulnerable bays were not only defended by pillboxes but also by a number of obstacles laid in the sea and on the beaches. The obstacles consisted of five-foot-high concrete pyramids with iron spikes, weighing one-and-a-quarter ton each. These were laid along the one-fathom line in two rows 20 feet apart and 20 feet between each obstacle.

By late 1940, these type of defences were laid in Mellieħa Bay, Wied Musa Bay and Għajn Tuffieħa Bay.

How the pillboxes were armed and supplied

The beach posts were generally armed with Vickers 0.303-inch machine guns, while the depth-posts and reserve-posts were armed with Bren guns. Apart from these small arms, soldiers could also use their rifles from the small portholes that all pillboxes had. All machine-gun portholes and rifle portholes had a shutter so they could be closed in colder days.

Every pillbox had sufficient ammunition so that, in case of an invasion, it could resist for a number of days. Many of the pillboxes had also a Bren gun mounted on a tripod to be used against low-flying enemy aircraft. These Bren guns were surrounded with sand bags against enemy bullets. Every pillbox also has a small water tank for the soldiers’ daily use.

An infantry rock-hewn trench and wall with portholes at Qasam Barrani.

Soldiers could rest on wooden beds inside the pillbox and were supplied with their daily needs, like milk, coffee and other food items. They had kettles, mugs, bowls and kitchen pots, all made of enamel.

Each structure had a telephone connected with other pillboxes and the headquarters. Each pillbox was surrounded with double barbed wire in case of an invasion by enemy soldiers.

To be continued

This series of articles features excerpts from the author’s book Wartime Mellieħa: The Role of the Village During World War II. The author would like to thank the main archives and libraries used to research, compile and update this information and all the living and deceased veterans of World War II who inspired him to conduct this research. A second book is in the making. If anyone wishes to help or assist the author, he may be contacted at charles.a.debono@gov.mt.

A bunker forming part of the Mellieħa ridge defences.