Literally, like some American Western, it was the cavalry to the rescue. Unknown to the defenders, from the old fort at Medina, the fort that Mustapha arrogantly had bypassed, the cavalry unit of the Order sallied forth and raided the Turkish camp causing mass confusion and panic. Successfully causing the retreat of the main army. It is said this was a pivotal moment of the battle and literally saved the day.
The Turks after recovering from this surprise, began their bombardment with renewed urgency. A dispatch was slipped into St. Angelo from Don Garcia the Governor of Sicily saying he would bring a relief force of 16,000 by the end of August. 11 The Grand Master was not confident that the relief would come in time and made a crucial decision to destroy the bridges linking the 3 fortifications held by the Knights and the Maltese, thus forcing the Turks to keep its forces spread out and very likely by doing so “saved both Malta and the Order of St. John”.12