The Lascaris War Rooms are an underground complex of tunnels and chambers in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

that housed the War Headquarters from where the defence of the island was conducted during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The rooms were later used by

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and are now open to the public as a museum.

History

The British started work on the secret underground in 1940, during the siege of Malta, when a series of tunnels under the

Upper Barrakka Gardens The Upper Barrakka Gardens ( mt, Il-Barrakka ta' Fuq) are a public garden in Valletta, Malta. Along with the Lower Barrakka Gardens in the same city, they offer a panoramic view of the Grand Harbour. The gardens are located on the upper tier of ...

and the Saluting Battery that had been used as slave quarters during the Hospitaller period began to be expanded. The complex was completed in early 1943. The site takes its name from the nearby

Lascaris Battery Lascaris Battery ( mt, Batterija ta' Lascaris), also known as Fort Lascaris ( mt, Forti Lascaris) or Lascaris Bastion ( mt, Sur ta' Lascaris), is an artillery battery located on the east side of Valletta, Malta. The battery was built by the Briti ...

, which was itself named after

Giovanni Paolo Lascaris Giovanni Paolo Lascaris di Ventimiglia e Castellar ( Maltese: ''Laskri'') (28 June 156014 August 1657) was an Italian nobleman and Grand Master of the Knights of Malta. Early life Lascaris was born on 28 June 1560, the second son of Giannetto ...

, a Grandmaster who had built a garden on the site later occupied by the battery. The Lascaris War Rooms contained operations rooms for each of the fighting services, from where both the defence of Malta and other operations in the Mediterranean were coordinated. The Operation Headquarters at Lascaris communicated directly with radar stations around the Maltese islands, and it was equipped with Type X machines. The fleets were led from the Navy Plotting Room, while the Anti-Aircraft Guns Operations Room was responsible for the air defence of the island. In the Coast Defence Room, defensive operations in the case of an amphibious invasion were planned. The Filter Room displayed information received from various places, including the naval station at

Auberge de Castille The Auberge de Castille ( mt, Berġa ta' Kastilja) is an auberge in Valletta, Malta. The auberge is located at Castile Place, close to Saint James Cavalier, the Malta Stock Exchange, and the Upper Barrakka Gardens. It sits at the highest poin ...

. Lascaris was the advance Allied HQ from where General

Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

and his Supreme Commanders Admiral

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, Field Marshal Montgomery and Air Marshal

Tedder Tedder is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Arthur Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder, British air marshal * Constant Tedder, former Chief Executive Officer of Jagex Games Studio * Ernest Tedder (1915–1972), English cricketer *Henry Ric ...

directed the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It b ...

(Operation Husky) in 1943. Throughout the war, around 1000 people worked in the rooms, including 240 soldiers. After the war, Lascaris became the Headquarters of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet. They played an active part during the Suez Crisis of 1956, and were put into full alert during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, when a Soviet missile strike against Malta was feared. In 1967, the complex was taken over by

to be used as a strategic Communication Centre for the interception of

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

submarines in the Mediterranean. The war rooms continued to serve this function until they were closed down in 1977.

Present day

The complex was leased to a private venture in 1992, and it was refurbished and open to the public. The rooms closed down in 2005, but were acquired by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna and the Malta Heritage Trust in 2009 and are once again open to the public. Restoration began soon after, and it is nearly complete. When ready, it is planned that the rooms will form part of a Military Heritage Park, including both the war rooms and the NATO Command Centre, as well as the SS Peter and Paul Counterguard, the Saluting Battery, and the crypt of the former Garrison Chapel.

Gallery

War Headquarters, Malta GM2310.jpg, Coastal Defence Room during World War II Staff officers plotting troop positions during the invasion of Sicily on a wall map in the underground operations room at Malta, 9 July 1943. NA4094.jpg, British staff officers plot positions on large wall charts during the invasion of Sicily Malta - Valletta - St. James Ditch - Lascaris War Rooms 02 ies.jpg, Entrance to the war rooms in St. James Ditch Lescaris War Room today.jpg, Lascaris War Rooms restored Communication room.jpg, Communication Room Invasion of Sicily.jpg, Map of Sicily Additional map room.jpg, Additional map room

References

lASCris war rooms link is now https://www.lascariswarrooms.com/history-and-stories

External links

Official websiteNational Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
{{Valletta Buildings and structures in Valletta Museums in Malta Mediterranean theatre of World War II World War II sites in Malta Allied invasion of Sicily Military installations of NATO Secret places Subterranea (geography) Military installations closed in 1977 National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands 1943 establishments in Malta

History

Present day

Gallery

Further reading

References

External links