Operation Portcullis Four transports arrived from Port Said, without loss. The strategic situation in the Mediterranean Sea had changed. Axis forces in North Africa were being squeezed between British Eighth Army, advancing from Egypt, and the Anglo-American First Army advancing from Algeria. Convoys henceforth had protection from North Africa. Malta regained its role as a forward offensive base. Axis convoys were harassed. The later invasions of Sicily and Italy were supported from Malta. Conclusions There were 35 major supply operations to Malta from 1940 through 1942. Axis forces frustrated or damaged eight of these: Operations White, Halberd, MF5, MG1, Harpoon, Vigorous, and Pedestal. There were long periods when no convoy runs were even attempted, and only a trickle of supplies reached Malta by submarine, or by a fast warship running the gauntlet. The worst period for Malta was from December 1941 to October 1942, when Axis forces had the upper hand, achieving complete air and naval supremacy in the central Mediterranean (called the Italian Mare Nostrum by Benito Mussolini). At the end of 1942, the relative success of Operation Pedestal, and Allied land operations in North Africa changed the balance decisively in favour of the Allies.
Operation Pugilist was an Allied operation in Tunisia during World War II. In his General Plan, General Bernard Montgomery stated: The object of operation Pugilist is to destroy the enemy now opposing Eighth Army in the Mareth position, and to advance and capture Sfax. Pugilist itself was indecisive and failed to make a decisive breakthrough. It did, however, establish an alternative route of attack and thus laid the ground for Supercharge II, an outflanking manoevre via the Tebaga Gap. Operation Pugilist - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Operation Pointblank. Following the meeting between President Roosevelt and Mr Churchill at Casablanca in January 1943 it was agreed by the Chiefs of Staff that the RAF Bomber Command operations against Germany should be reinforced by the active participation of the US 8th Army Air Force, which although it had been based in England since mid 1942, had only carried out a few raids. The resulting Combined Operations Offensive plan was called Operation Pointblank. In October 1943 the US 9th Army Air Force was transferred from North Africa to join up with the 8th in England.
