Knights of Justice: The Siege of Malta, 1565

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Game of the Siege of Malta included in The Wargamer Magazine #50. Knights of Justice is a grand tactical level simulation of the Islamic attempt to crush the Knights Hospitallers during the year 1565. In May 1565, an Ottoman expedition between 26,000 and 39,000 men strong landed on Malta. Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valette (GM 1557-1568) had a force of 592 knights, to which several thousand arms-bearing men drawn from the Maltese population were also added. The Ottomans quickly defeated the Maltese militia, became master of the countryside and laid siege to the fortress, which was stubbornly defended by the Knights Hospitallers. After four months of siege, the knights, in a desperate fight over St. Elmo Fort and its natural harbor, inflicted heavy casualties (according to reports, 7,000 dead) on the Ottoman forces. Following the landing of 6,000 - 8,000 reinforcements from Sicily, the Knights again defeated the Ottomans, who embarked and left.