Hello, and thank you for listening to the history of World War II podcast, Episode 65 Mediterranean

Lifeline. As France withdrew from the war, the British found themselves alone in protecting

their Mediterranean possessions. Their gateway to the Suez that led to India, their greatest overseas

possession. And British controlled India had their resources, Britain needed to resist the

access, men a growing industrial capacity and money. So exactly how did Gibraltar, Malta, Egypt,

Sudan and Cyprus, that Mediterranean lifeline come to be a part of the British Empire by 1940.

In this episode, we'll examine the recent past of these lands that would soon be used by the

British as either unsinkable carriers for their aircraft or bases for their land and naval forces

to engage the oncoming Italian and later German forces. Moving from West to East, the first

territory to be dealt with is Gibraltar, which is located on the southern end of the Iberian

Peninsula. And as it is at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic, it would prove

invaluable and yet potentially vulnerable for the British. In fact, Britain's hold seemed only to

hang on by the whim of Franco of Spain. As for its physical features, the eastern side of the

peninsula is dominated by mountains. But its southern landmark, the rock of Gibraltar,

is probably its best-known feature. At its foot lays a dense population. The other cities are

along the more-level western coast. It has an area of 6.8 square kilometers or 2.6 square miles.

And at the outbreak of World War II, its population was just under 30,000.

Going back a few hundred years at the end of the war of the Spanish accession, in which

several European powers sought to prevent the unification of Spain, the weakening but largest

European power with France. And Anglo-Dutch Force captured Gibraltar in 1704. The subsequent treaty

of Utrecht in 1713 seeded the Hail Territory to Britain in perpetuity. But in reality,

treaties allow the vanquished time to regain strength. And so, the Spanish tried to take back

...