Mdina

Um, it's [laughs] it's a little fortified city.

If you're Maltese, kind of like Mdina, probably smaller-

Mm

... funnily enough.

Yes, they did take part.

Um, because actually, a big number of, uh, defenders were actually Maltese who were taking part, uh, especially in Mdina, where they had a whole cavalry there, and people were willing, uh, to sign up and fight, keeping in mind that the Order had only been here for about 30 years.

So it wasn't something they were completely familiar with.

Yeah.

The Ottomans, amazingly, they did breach the walls, and there was bloody hand-to-hand combat in the streets.

It seemed for a while they'd got the upper hand, but the knights retaliated with cunning.

A commander at the inland Maltese fortress capital of Mdina sent a very small Maltese cavalry force to raid an Ottoman field hospital and supply camp.

Rumors spread quickly through the Ottoman ranks that a large relief army had arrived.