During World War II, Operation Herkules was the German plan for an airborne invasion of Malta. The concept was approved at a meeting between Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini on 29-30 April, 1942. World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb. ... U.S. paratroopers jump into Australia on a military training exercise. ... Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889–April 30, 1945) was the Chancellor of Germany from 1933, and Führer und Reichskanzler (Leader and chancellor) of Germany from 1934, to his death. ... Benito Mussolini created a fascist state through the use of propaganda, total control of the media and disassembly of the working democratic government. ... This article is about the year. ...

The planning for this attack was extensive. Over a thousand gliders and other aircraft were to cover the assault and drop one Italian and one German airborne division onto the southern portion of the island. Gliders are un-powered heavier-than-air aircraft. ... An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. ... A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ...

After the initial assault, seventy-thousand Italian troops would land by sea at two points to link up with the paratroops. A number of special operations were to be carried out by Axis commandos to destroy key targets in the hours before the airdrop. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The French Navy commando Jaubert storm the Alcyon in a mock assault. ... A C-130 Hercules airdropping a light tank. ...

The Regia Marina would be committed to a fleet action to protect the seaborne troops. This attack was to be over five times as large as the airborne attack on Crete. The Royal Italian Navy, Regia Marina, was created after the Italian unification. ... To lose Crete because we had not sufficient bulk of forces there would be a crime. ...

Scheduled for September it was repeatedly delayed and finally canceled after the Axis defeat at Tobruk on November 11th. Tobruk is a sea-port in eastern Libya in Northern Africa. ... November 11 is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 50 days remaining. ...