Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falklands_War"

Contents
1 Lead up to the war 1.1 Build-up 1.2 Failed diplomacy 1.3 Invasion 1.4 Life under the occupation 1.5 Task force 1.6 Shuttle diplomacy and US involvement 1.7 Preparing for war 2 War 2.1 Recapture of South Georgia 2.2 The Black Buck Raids 2.3 Sinking of the Belgrano 2.4 Sinking of HMS Sheffield 2.5 Landing at Port San Carlos	2.6 Goose Green inserted: Battle of Mount Harriet inserted: Battle of Two Sisters inserted: Battle of Mount Longdon inserted: Battle of Wireless Ridge inserted: Battle of Tumbledown 2.7 Battle for Port Stanley inserted: South Sandwich Islands 3 Analysis 3.1 Military 3.2 Political 3.3 Medical 4 Cultural impact in the UK 5 Falklands War Veterans afflictions 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Outcome: UK retook the Islands.
Casualties:
Argentina: About 700 killed, 1,100 wounded, 11,313 prisoners
UK: 236 killed, 746 wounded

The Falklands War or the Malvinas War (Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas), was an armed conflict between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands, also known in Spanish as the Islas Malvinas, between March and June of 1982. The Falklands consist of two large and many small islands in the South Atlantic Ocean east of Argentina, whose ownership had long been disputed. Spain claimed ownership of the Falklands over France in 1767, and incorporated the territory into the Kingdom of Spain. After Argentina became an independent nation, Spain's territorial claims were incorporated into the new Argentinean state in 1816, although Britain later invaded the territory in 1833 and expelled the Argentineans living on the island, replacing them with British subjects. The Argentineans never believed the British retaking of the islands to be lawful, and continued to maintain their territorial claim to the Falklands.

Argentina was in the midst of a devastating economic crisis and large-scale civil unrest against the military junta that was governing Argentina in the period leading up to the war. The government, headed by President General Leopoldo Galtieri, decided to play off long-festering nationalistic sentiment by launching what it thought would be a quick and easy war to reclaim the Falkland Islands. The ongoing tension between the two countries over the islands increased on 19 March when 50 Argentines landed on the British dependency of South Georgia and raised their flag, an act that is seen as the first offensive action in the war. On 2 April, Galtieri ordered the invasion of the Falklands, triggering the Falklands War.

Though initially surprised by the Argentinean attack on the South Atlantic islands, Britain launched a naval task force to engage the Argentinean navy and air force, and deployed Royal Marines on the ground. After heavy combat, the British eventually prevailed and the islands remained under British control, although as of 2005, Argentina has still not relinquished its claim to the Falkland Islands. The political effects of the war were strong in both countries. The Argentinean loss prompted even larger protests against the military government, which prompted its downfall, while a wave of patriotic sentiment swept through the United Kingdom, bolstering the government of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The war has played an important part of the culture of both countries, and has been the subject of several books, movies, and songs, although due to the low number of casualties on both sides, the memory of the war has begun to fade from both countries.
 

Lead up to the war

Build-up

Galtieri, who was the leader of the military government of Argentina at the time, aimed to counterbalance public concern over economic and human rights issues with a speedy nationalist victory over the Falklands. Argentina exerted pressure United Nations by raising subtle hints of a possible invasion, but the British either missed or ignored this threat and did not react. The Argentineans interpreted the lack of British reaction as disengagement from the Falklands, and assumed that the British would not use force if the islands were invaded. This viewpoint was encouraged by the planned withdrawal of the last of the Royal Navy in 1981, which would have been included in a general downsizing of the fleet throughout British territory, and the British Nationality Act of 1981, which stripped Falkland Islanders of full citizenship rights.

The passionately anti-British head of the Argentinean navy, Admiral Jorge Anaya, developed the plan to invade the Falklands. Following the failure of further diplomatic talks in January of 1982, the invasion plans were finalised and scheduled for April of the same year. The invasion of the populated areas of the Falkland Islands was pre-empted by the invasion of South Georgia, located 1,390 kilometres east of the Falklands. The invasion was carried out on 19 March 1982 by a group of Argentinean civilians who posed as scrap metal merchants in order to establish a camp on South Georgia and raise the Argentinean flag. The Royal Navy Antarctic patrol vessel HMS Endurance was dispatched to remove the camp on 25 March, but was prevented from doing so by three Argentinean warships, forcing it to retreat. However, despite further evidence that the Argentinean Navy had begun to land troops in Puerto Belgrano, the UK Joint Intelligence Committee's Latin American group stated on 30 March that "invasion was not imminent".

Failed diplomacy

Ever since formal diplomatic relations were ended between the United Kingdom and Argentina, separate nations represented each nation's diplomatic interests. Peru was the representative of Argentina in the United Kingdom, while Switzerland represented the United Kingdom in Argentina. By this arrangement, Argentinean diplomats in London were credentialed as Peruvian diplomants of Argentinian nationality, while United Kingdom diplomats in Buenos Aires were credentialed as Swiss diplomats of British nationality. The then Secretary General of the United nations, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, announced that his efforts in favour of peace were futile. Although Peru and Switzerland exerted great diplomatic pressure to avoid war, they were both unable to head off the conflict, and a peace plan proposed by Peruvian president Fernando Belaunde Terry was rejected by both sides.

Invasion

Main article: Invasion of the Falkland Islands

The British Government warned Rex Hunt, the then Governor of the Falkland Islands, of a possible Argentinean invasion on 31 March. Hunt then organised a defence, and gave military command to Major Mike Norman RM who managed to muster a small force of marines. The Argentinean Lieutenant-Commander in charge of the invasion, Guillermo Sanchez-Sabarots, landed his squadron of special forces at Mullet Creek. He proceeded to attack the Moody Brook Barracks, the Government House, and Port Stanley, until the British Falkland Islands government located at the Government House surrendered on 4 April.

Life under the occupation

Argentina attempted to make several unwelcome changes to the culture of the Falkland Islands, in spite of earlier assurances that the Islanders' way of life and cultural identity would be maintained. Argentina changed Port Stanley’s name to “Puerto Argentino”, made Spanish the official language of the Falkland Islands, and commanded traffic to drive on the right by painting arrows on the road indicating the direction of traffic and changing the location of street and traffic signs. Despite the arrows, Islands defiantly continued to drive on the left, demonstrating their determination to remain British.

Task force

The British were quick to organise diplomatic pressure against Argentina and to assemble a task force to dispatch to the islands, centred around the aircraft carriers HMS Invincible and HMS Hermes. Although the public mood in the UK was in support of an attempt to reclaim the islands, international opinion was much more divided. To some, Britain was a former colonial power, seeking to reclaim a colony from a local power, and this was a message that the Argentines initially used to garner support. To others Britain was seen as the stable democracy that had had its territory invaded by a military dictatorship. British diplomacy centred on arguing that the Falkland Islanders were entitled to use the UN principle of self-determination and an apparent willingness to compromise. The UN Secretary-General said that he was amazed at the compromise that the UK had offered. Nevertheless, Argentina rejected it, basing their arguments on rights to territory based on actions before 1945 and the creation of the UN. Many UN members realised that if territorial claims this old could be resurrected, and invasions of territory allowed unchallenged, then their own borders were not safe. So on April 3 the UN Security Council passed Resolution 502, calling for the withdrawal of Argentine troops from the islands and the cessation of hostilities. On April 10 the EEC approved trade sanctions against Argentina. In spite of this, President Ronald Reagan and the U.S. administration remained (officially) neutral.

Shuttle diplomacy and US involvement

Legally, the United States had military treaty obligations to both parties in the war, bound to the UK by NATO and to Argentina by the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance. Alexander Haig, the United States Secretary of State, briefly (April 8–April 30) headed a "shuttle diplomacy" mission before President Ronald Reagan declared U.S. support for Britain and instituted sanctions against Argentina.

Support of the USA was initially equivocal, and is reported to be the result of urging by Haig and Caspar Weinberger, who advised the President to support the UK. Reagan famously declared at the time that he could not understand why two allies were arguing over "That little ice-cold bunch of land down there". Reagan sympathized with Galtieri because of his anti-Communist position. He had received a reportedly warm reception when he visited the US.

Galtieri likely didn't think that the UK would react; otherwise it is doubtful Argentina would have launched the attack. Of course, this would have been astounding to British people at the time, already familiar with Margaret Thatcher's controversial uncompromising style of government. In as many words, she declared that the Crown and the Empire had been assaulted, and would not surrender the Falkland Islands to the Argentinian jackboot. This stance was aided, at least domestically, by the staunchly conservative British press, especially The Sun, which ran such headlines as 'THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK' (when the British task force was dispatched) and 'GOTCHA' (following the sinking of the General Belgrano).

A US preoccupation with the Soviet Union and communism and the thought Britain could handle the matter on her own may have factored into this view as well, although assessments of this theory vary. In the broader sense of the Cold War, with the performance of UK forces watched closely by the Soviet Union, it was worthwhile for the UK to handle without assistance a conflict minor in scale compared to an all-out NATO vs. Warsaw Pact war. Regardless, American non-interference was vital to the U.S.-British relationship. Ascension Island, a UK possession, was on lease to the Americans and the British needed to resume its use as a relay point and air base. The main and decisive American contribution was AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles of the latest L model (these missiles were much more deadly than older models of the Sidewinder), spy satellites and intelligence information.

There were also rumours, later expanded upon by Weinberger, which spoke of lending an aircraft carrier, although this was not public knowledge at the time. It is worth noting that both Weinberger and Reagan would go on to receive honorary knighthoods, the honour of Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, from Queen Elizabeth II. American critics of the U.S. role claimed that, by failing to side with Argentina, the U.S. violated its own Monroe Doctrine (even though an American nation, Argentina, attacked the possession of an existing European power, Britain, that predated the Doctrine).

In September 2001, Mexican president Vicente Fox would cite the conflict as proof of the failure of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance.

Preparing for war

Because of the long distance between the Falklands and United Kingdom, the British were reliant on a naval task force. This task force would have to be self-reliant and able to project its force across the littoral area of the Islands. The task force centered on the two small aircraft carriers, commanded by Rear Admiral John Woodward (commonly known as Sandy Woodward). A second component was the amphibious assault shipping, commanded by Commodore M.C. Clapp RN. Contrary to common belief, Admiral Woodward did not command Commodore Clapp's ships. The embarked force comprised 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines, (including units from the Parachute Regiment) under the command of Brigadier J. Thompson RM. Most of this force was aboard the hastily commandeered cruise liner Canberra. Both Clapp and Woodward reported directly to the Commander in Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET), Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse, in Britain, who was the overall commander of the operation. In order to keep neutral shipping out of the way during the war, the UK declared a 'total exclusion zone' of 200 nautical miles (370 km) around the Falklands before commencing operations.

HRH The Duke of York served as a helicopter pilot off HMS Invincible during the war, although he did not take part in any direct war action.

The British called their counter-invasion Operation Corporate. When this task force sailed from Britain, with The Queen seeing the armada off, the American news magazine Newsweek cover headline was "The Empire Strikes Back!"

War

By mid-April the Royal Air Force had set-up an airbase at Wideawake on the mid-Atlantic island of Ascension, including a sizable force of Vulcan bombers, Victor refuelling aircraft, and F-4 Phantom fighters to protect them. Meanwhile the main British naval task force arrived at Ascension to prepare for war. However a small force had already been sent south to re-capture South Georgia.

Recapture of South Georgia

The South Georgia force, Operation Paraquet, under the command of Major Guy Sheridan RM, consisted of marines from 42 Commando, a troop of Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS) troops who were intended to land reconnaissance forces for an invasion by the Royal Marines embarked on RFA Tidespring. First to arrive was the Churchill class submarine HMS Conqueror on the 19th, and the island was over-flown by a radar-mapping Handley Page Victor on the 20th. The first landings of SAS troops took place on the 21st, but the weather was so bad that their landings and others made the next day were all withdrawn after several helicopters crashed in fog on Fortuna Glacier.

On the 23rd a submarine alert was sounded and operations were halted, with the Tidespring being withdrawn to deeper water to avoid interception. On the 24th the British forces regrouped and headed in to attack the submarine, the ARA Santa Fe, locating it on the 25th and damaging it enough that the crew decided to abandon it. With the Tidespring now far out to sea and an additional defending force of the submarine's crew now landed, Major Sheridan decided to gather the 75 men he had and make a direct assault that day. After a short forced march the Argentine forces surrendered, making it official the next day. The British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, broke the news to the media telling them to "Just rejoice at that news!"¹

The Black Buck Raids

On May 1st, operations against the Falklands opened with the Black Buck 1 attack by RAF Avro Vulcan V bombers on the airfield at Port Stanley. The Vulcan had originally been designed for medium-range stand-off nuclear missions in Europe and did not have the range to fly to the Falklands, requiring several in-flight refuelling missions. The RAF's tanker planes were mostly converted Victors with similar range, so they too had to be refuelled in the air. Thus, a total force of 11 tankers were required for only two Vulcans, a massive logistical effort. In the end only a single bomb hit the runway at Port Stanley, but the Argentine Air Force (FAA) realized that the British were likewise capable of hitting targets on the mainland, and immediately recalled all jet fighters in order to protect against this possibility. The attack was therefore a strategic success, hampering Argentine efforts at close air support, reducing the effective loiter time of incoming Argentine aircraft, and compelling them to overfly British forces in any attempt to attack the islands.

Nonetheless, whilst Argentine fighters were no longer stationed at the airfield, it was never down and remained strongly used by continuous Hercules C-130 flights until the end of the conflict. The transports continued to fly into Port Stanley by night, bringing in supplies, weapons, vehicles, and fuel into the Falklands and airlifting out the wounded. Argentine air transports continued to slip past the British through the last night of the war.

Only minutes after Black Buck, nine Sea Harriers from the Hermes followed up the raid by dropping cluster bombs on Port Stanley and the smaller grass airstrip at Goose Green. Both missions scored aircraft kills on the ground, as well as causing some damage to the airfield infrastructure. The aircraft had taken off from the deck of HMS Invincible, and although attached BBC reporter Brian Hanrahan was forbidden to divulge the number of planes involved, he came up with the memorable phrase "I counted them all out and I counted them all back".

Meanwhile the FAA had already launched an attack of their own with Grupo 6 (flying IAI Dagger Aircraft), on information that landings had already taken place. Four of these planes were lost to Sea Harriers operating from Invincible, while combat broke out between other Harriers and Mirage fighters of Grupo 8. Both sides refused to fight at the other's best altitude, until the Mirages finally descended to engage. One was shot down, and another was damaged and made for Port Stanley, where it fell victim to friendly fire from the Argentine defenders.

Sinking of the Belgrano

On May 2 the World War II - vintage Argentine light cruiser ARA General Belgrano - a survivor of the 1941 Pearl Harbor attacks - was sunk by Conqueror, using WWII vintage torpedoes as they were considered more reliable than the more modern Tigerfish torpedo. 321 lives were lost, although initial casualty reports were confused. The British newspaper The Sun famously greeted the sinking with the headline GOTCHA, albeit that the accompanying story carried no news of Argentine deaths. The nuclear-powered Conqueror was captained by Commander Christopher Wreford-Brown and was the third and final ship of the Churchill class of boats. The loss of General Belgrano hardened the stance of the Argentine government and also became a cause celebre for anti-war campaigners (such as Labour MP Tam Dalyell), who declared that the ship had been sailing away from the Falklands at the time. The vessel was inarguably outside the exclusion zone, and sailing away from the area of conflict. However, during war, under international law, the heading of a belligerent naval vessel has no bearing on its status.

Regardless of controversies over the sinking, it had an important strategic effect. After the loss of General Belgrano, the entire Argentine fleet returned to port and did not leave again for the duration of hostilities. The two destroyers supporting General Belgrano and the task force built around the aircraft carrier ARA Veinticinco de Mayo both withdrew from the area, ending the direct threat to the British fleet that their pincer movement had represented. The attack on General Belgrano was the second time since the end of World War II that a submarine had fired torpedoes in wartime and the only time that a nuclear powered submarine has done so.

Sinking of HMS Sheffield

Two days after the General Belgrano sinking, on May 4, the British lost the Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield to fire following an Exocet missile strike. Sheffield had been ordered forward with two other Type 42s in order to provide a radar and missile "picket" far from the British carriers. After the ships were detected by an Argentine Navy Air Force (CANA) P-2 Neptune patrol aircraft, two CANA Dassault Super Etendards were launched, each armed with a single Exocet. Refuelled by a C-130 Hercules shortly after launch, they went in at low altitude, popped up for a radar check and released the missiles from 20 to 30 miles (30 to 50 km) away. One missed HMS Yarmouth, due to her deployment of chaff, but the other hit Sheffield. The weapon struck with devastating effect, hitting the centre of the ship and starting raging fires which quickly spread, killing 22 sailors and severely injuring 24 others.

Whilst fighting the fire, Yarmouth reacted to a possible attack from an Argentine submarine, firing anti-submarine weaponry. Sheffield was abandoned several hours later, gutted and deformed by her still-burning fires which lingered on for six more days. She finally sank outside the Exclusion Zone on May 10, whilst under tow from the Yarmouth, becoming an official war grave. Meanwhile the other Type 42s were withdrawn from their precarious position, leaving the British task force open to attack.

The tempo of operations increased throughout the second half of May. UN attempts to mediate a peace were rejected by the British who felt that any delay would make a campaign impractical in the South Atlantic storms. The destruction of Sheffield had a profound impact on the British public, bringing home the fact that the "Falklands Crisis", as the BBC News put it, was now an actual shooting war.

Landing at Port San Carlos

During the night of May 21 the British made an amphibious landing on beaches near San Carlos Water, on the northern coast of East Falkland, putting the 4000 men of 3 Commando Brigade, including 2nd and 3rd battalions of the Parachute Regiment (2 and 3 Para), ashore from the amphibious ships and the liner Canberra: 2 Para and 40 Commando landing at San Carlos beach; 45 Commando at Ajax bay; 3 Para at Port San Carlos. By dawn the next day they had established a secure bridgehead from which to conduct offensive operations. From there Brigadier Thompson's plan was to capture Darwin and Goose Green before turning towards Port Stanley. At sea the paucity of British ships' anti-aircraft defences was demonstrated in the sinking of HMS Ardent on the 21st, HMS Antelope on the 23rd, and MV Atlantic Conveyor, with a vital cargo of helicopters, runway building equipment and tents on the 25th. The loss of all but one of the Chinook Helicopters being carried by the Atlantic Conveyor was a severe blow from a logistics perspective; the sole surviving Chinook was called Bravo November. Also lost on this day was HMS Coventry, a sister to HMS Sheffield, whilst in company with HMS Broadsword. HMS Argonaut and HMS Brilliant were badly damaged. The Argentines lost over thirty aircraft in these attacks, including several Pucarás. Argentina received some assistance from the Peruvian Air Force in the form of loaned Mirage 5P aircraft.

Goose Green

Starting early on May 27 and through May 28, 2 Para approached and attacked Darwin and Goose Green which was held by the Argentine 12th Inf Regt. After a tough struggle which lasted all night and into the next day; seventeen British and 47 Argentine soldiers had been killed and 1050 Argentine troops taken prisoner. Due to a gaffe by the BBC the taking of Goose Green was announced on the BBC World Service before it actually happened. It was during this attack that Lt Col H. Jones, the CO of 2 Para was killed. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. See also Battle of Goose Green. With the sizeable Argentine force at Goose Green out of the way, British forces were now able to break out of the San Carlos bridgehead. From May 27th men of 45 Cdo and 3 Para started walking across East Falkland towards the coastal settlement of Teal Inlet.

Meanwhile 42 Cdo and the SAS moved by helicopter to within sight of Stanley where they seized Mt Kent and Mt Challenger. The SAS had several clashes with Argentine Commandos in the Mount Kent area, and although four SAS were wounded, the Argentines who were members of the 602nd Commando Company, had the worst of the clashes. They had two men killed and one captured in an SAS ambush at Bluff Cove Peak in an action on 30 May. First Lieutenant Ruben Eduardo Marquez and Sergeant Oscar Humberto Blas were posthumously decorated for their part in this action.

A larger fight took place on 31 May. Argentine Commandos were observed moving to Top Malo House. Nineteen Royal Marines were helicoptered there in daylight and attacked the house. One group with 66mm rockets, grenades and rifles were to provide covering fire as the assault teams moved close to the house. These men followed a sheep fence to keep them on line for the house which was hidden beyond a hillock. The covering team doubled out to the right to come out of cover a few hundred metres from the house. First Lieutenant Ernesto Emilio Espinosa at one upper window, saw them and gave the alarm, but the Royal Marines pressed home the attack with anti-tank rockets which set it ablaze within seconds. Reserves of ammunition on the ground floor 'cooked off' and the building peeled open in a ball of flame. Even so, the assault teams were met by steady fire that wounded three of them as they advanced towards the front door, from which Sergeant Mateo Domingo Sbert was firing while others leapt from windows and withdrew down a small valley. One Royal Marine sergeant, against orders, made a dash into the open, drawing Argentine fire long enough for his 'oppos' to find the direction of the enemy, before he fell, hit in the left shoulder. His move gave the Marines the momentary sighting that was all they needed to follow their quarry; and all thirteen Argentine Commandos were killed or captured after what had been forty minutes of sharp action.

By June 1, with the arrival of a further 5000 British troops of 5 Inf Brigade landed at San Carlos from the liner QE2, new British divisional commander, Major General JJ Moore RM, had sufficient force to start planning an offensive against Port Stanley.

During this build-up the Argentine air assaults on the British naval forces continued, killing 48, including 32 Welsh Guardsmen on the RFA Sir Galahad and the RFA Sir Tristram on June 8. Many others suffered serious burns (including, famously, Simon Weston). These troops were still on the ships because of the loss of the helicopters on the Atlantic Conveyor. This meant that they had had to be transferred to the islands by boat. Unfortunately, and tragically, the commanders of the landing force ignored the advice of naval commanders to disembark at the earliest opportunity.

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Battle of Mount Harriet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Battle of Mount Harriet was an engagement of the Falklands War which took place on the night of 11/12th June 1982 between British and Argentinian forces. It was one of three battles in a brigade-sized operation on the same night.

The British force consisted of 42 Commando, Royal Marines under the command of Lt Col Nick Vaux Royal Marines with artillery support from a battery of 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery. The 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards and two companies from 40 Commando, Royal Marines were in reserve. HMS Yarmouth provided naval-gunfire support for the British forces. The Argentinian defenders consisted of the 4th Infantry Regiment.

The attack was preceded by many days of observation and nights of patrolling. Some night-fighting patrols were part of a deception plan to convince the Argentinians that the attack would come from a westerly direction. Other, more covert, patrols were to find a route through a minefield around the south of Mount Harriet. On 3 June Lieutenant Chris Mawhood's Reconnaissance Troop of 42 Commando encountered resistance and, during a pitched patrol battle, lost one of 3 Commando Brigade's laser target designators. Two Argentinian conscripts were killed and an Argentinian NCO wounded during this skirmish which went in the 4th Infantry Regiment's favour.

On the morning of the 11th June the orders for the attack were given to 42 Commando by Vaux; K Company were ordered to attack the eastern end of the mountain while L Company would attack the southern side an hour later, where it, if the mountain was secured, would then move north of Mount Harriet to Goat Ridge. J Company would launch a diversionary attack (codenamed Vesuvius) on the western end of Mount Harriet.

In the closing hours of the 11th June, K and L Companies moved from their assembly area on Mount Challenger (which lay to the west of Mount Harriet) and made their way south, around their objective, across the minefield, to their respective start lines. As they moved around the feature in the dark, J company launched their very loud diversionary "attack" from the west.

Captain Peter Babbington's K Company crossed their start-line first and proceeded up the mountain undetected. They remained undetected until they approached Second Lieutenant Mario Juarez's 120mm Mortar Platoon postions and decided to engage them. A ferocious fire-fight ensued as K Company advanced up the mountain. They were assisted in the advance by HMS Yarmouth, artillery and mortars. During the engagement Corporal Watts was killed. The British company captured most of the Argentinian heavy mortar positions relatively quickly then reported stiffening resistance from a well-trained platoon of Argentinian conscripts until Corporal Steve Newlands, working with Corporals Mick Eccles and 'Sharkey' Ward, silenced the platoon position but Newlands was badly wounded in the process.

L Company crossed their start line shortly after K Company and were almost immediately engaged by effective machine gun fire from Second Lieutenant Pablo Oliva's platoon defending the southern slopes. These weapons would not be silenced until being hit by several MILAN anti-tank missiles and six 105mm artillery guns from Mount Challenger. There was, in fact, a comparison to be made with certain aspects of the delaying action against the Argentine Amtracs on 2 April 1982, and British veterans are full of praise for the Argentine platoon given the amount of artillery and Milan missiles at their disposal.

It was an arduous advance for L Company and it would take six hours for L Company to advance 600 metres and capture their objective. Before first light Lieutenant Jerry Burnell's 5 Troop of L Company proceeded to an outcrop of rocks to the north of their position. As they advanced the Royal Marine platoon came under heavy fire from Second Lieutenant Lautaro Jimenez-Corvalan's platoon and were forced to withdraw. L Company requested artillery fire onto the Argentinian platoon position, then 4 Troop moved forward and found that the Argentinians had withdrawn. Further fighting went on throughout the morning of 12th June and a young Argentinian conscript, Private Orlando Aylan, in a position just below the eastern summit, held up the Royal Marines with accurate shooting until killed by a Carl Gustav rocket fired at short range.

The battle was a textbook example of good planning and use of deception and surprise, and a further step towards their main objective of Port Stanley. British casualties were two killed and twenty-six wounded. Some British reporters were thus misled into depicting the Argentinians as hapless teenage conscripts who caved in after the first shots were fired, but Royal Marine Warrant Officer 2 John Cartledge who served with K Company during the battle corrected them, saying the Argentinians were good soldiers who had fought properly:

"They used the tactics which they had been taught along the way very well, they were quite prepared for an attack. They put up a strong fight from start to finish." ([1] (http://www.mercopress.com/detalle.asp?NUM=1210&Palabra=mount%20harriet))

Lieutenant-Colonel Diego Soria, commanding the 4th Infantry Regiment lost ten killed and about fifty wounded and three hundred men were taken prisoner in the night fighting.

Reference

42 COMMANDO'S approach to and Battle for MOUNT HARRIET (http://www.naval-history.net/F56harriet.htm)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mount_Harriet"

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Battle of Two Sisters
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Battle of Two Sisters was an engagement of the Falklands War during the British advance towards the capital Port Stanley that took place on the 11th/12th June 1982.

The British force consisted of 45 Commando, Royal Marines with support from a battery of 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery. 2 Para was in reserve. Naval gunfire-support was provided by HMS Glamorgan's 2 x 4.5-in guns. The Argentinian force consisted of the 4th Infantry Regiment. Command of Two Sisters was entrusted to Captain Carlos Lopez Patterson, the 4th Regiment's Operation Officer, with the bulk of the defenders drawn from C Company.

The plan was for X Company, the lead assault company, to attack the subsidiary peak of the mountain from the west, where they would then use the position to set up a fire-base while Y and Z companies would attack the main objective from the north-west. The operation began in the closing hours of the 11th June with X Company attacking about 10 minutes after they had arrived at their start point. They quickly reached the lower ridge of the subsidiary peak but at 11.30 pm, came under heavy-fire from Argentinian machine guns from 2nd Lt. Marcelo Llambias-Pravaz's 3rd Platoon and mortars from Lieutenant Luis Martella's 81-mm Mortar Platoon. With fixed bayonets and supported by the mortar platoon, they taunted the Royal Marines with Guarani war cries and beat off several efforts to close with them. Upon the use of the LAW 80 anti-tank rocket launcher on the Argentinian positions Lieutenant Chris Caroe's 2 Troop of X Company broke through the Argentinian positions, only to be forced off by Argentine artillery fire. However, they groped their way back and took their objective at about 2.45 am. With the telephone lines to the command post in shreds, Llambias-Pravaz led his men to join M Company 5th Marine Infantry Battalion on Sapper Hill. Captain Ian Gardiner in the book Above All, Courage (Cassell Military Paperbacks, 2002) was quick to praise the fighting abilities and spirit of the defending Argentine rifle platoon: "A hard cadre of some twenty men had stayed behind and fought, and they were brave men. Those who stayed and fought had something. I for one would not wish to face my Marines in battle."

At the same time as X Company's attack, Z Company attacked its objective from the north-west. Z Company advanced the 400 yards to their objective without being detected until they spotted the Argentinian defenders at their objective at which a fire-fight ensued at about 1.00 am. It was a fierce fire-fight that lasted for about an hour until Z Company, with Y Company by its side, charged up the northern peak of Two Sisters shouting its "Zulu!" war-cry and taking the objective at about 2.00 am. Y Company then advanced to attack the final objective capturing all of its objective all the way to the eastern end of Two Sisters. The Argentines must have put up a good fight because British records show that on several occasions the British company was stopped by a 6th Infantry Regiment private, Oscar Poltronieri by name, who held up the Royal Marines with accurate shooting with his rifle and a machine-gun and his platoon caused the proposed exploitation to Tumbledown Mountain by 45 Commando to be aborted. Private Poltronieri of the rifle platoon of Second Lieutenant Aldo Franco was awarded the Heroic Valour Cross, the highest Argentine decoration for bravery. (Source Martin Middlebrook, The Fight For The Malvinas, Leo Cooper Paperbacks, 2003)

Three Royal Marines and one from 59 Independent Commando Squadron, Royal Engineers were killed taking Two Sisters, but to these must be added the four Royal Marines which were killed on the night of 9/10 June. HMS Glamorgan was hit and damaged by a land based Exocet whilst supporting 45 Commando. Thirteen British sailors died. HMS Avenger, Yarmouth and Glamorgan were on the gunline on the night of 11/12th June, Glamorgan supporting Captain Ian Gardiner's X-Ray Company in their attack on Two Sisters. Due to the stubborn Argentine defence, Captain Mike Barrow, in Glamorgan had kept his ship on the line longer than anticipated, and on leaving at about 3.30 am, came just within range of the Exocet launcher.

Over ten Argentines died with fifty-four taken prisoner. There had been particularly good cooperation with 8 Battery of 29 Commando Regiment; approximately 1,500 rounds had been fired into the Argentinian positions on Two Sisters.

References

    * Max Arthur (2002). Above All, Courage: The Eyewitness History of the Falklands War (Cassell Military Paperbacks S.). Cassells Military Paperbacks. ISBN 0304362573.
    * Martin Middlebrook (2003). The Fight For The Malvinas. Pen and Sword Books / Leo Cooper Paperbacks. ISBN 0850529786.
    * 45 COMMANDO'S approach to and Battle for TWO SISTERS http://www.naval-history.net/F55twosisters.htm

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Battle of Mount Longdon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Battle of Mount Longdon was an engagement of the Falklands War between British and Argentinian forces, which took place on the 11th/12th June 1982.

The British force consisted of 3 Para under Lieutenant-Colonel Hew Pike with artillery support from a battery of 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery. 2 Para were in reserve. Naval gunfire support was provided by HMS Avenger's 4.5-in gun. The Argentinian force consisted of B Company of the 7th Infantry Regiment, as-well as other detachments from other units. The local Argentine commander was Major Carlos Carrizo-Salvadores, the second-in-command of the 7th Regiment. The 7th Infantry Regiment, reinforced by two of the Marine Infantry platoons, held Mount Longdon, Wireless Ridge and Cortley Ridge to the east.

Mostly conscripts with a year of training, the young 7th Regiment soldiers were not cowards and most were prepared to hold their positions. Private Fabian Passaro, spent nearly two months huddled in a hole on the western end of Mount Longdon, with Second Lieutenant Juan Baldini's 1st Platoon of B Company of the 7th Infantry Regiment:

"Most of us had adjusted to what we'd been landed in, we'd adjusted to the war. But some boys [identified in the book Two Sides Of Hell/Los Dos Lados Del Infierno] were still very depressed and, in many cases, were getting worse all the time. Of course, we were very fed up with wearing the same clothes for so many days, going without a shower, being so cold, eating badly. It was too many things together, quite apart from our natural fear of the war, the shelling and all that. But I think some of us were adapting better than others. There were kids who were very worried; and I tried to buoy them up a bit. 'Don't worry,' I told them. 'Nothing will happen, we're safe here. 'Don't you see they could never get right up here? There's one thousand of us; if they try to climb, we'll see them, we'll shoot the shit out of them.'" (Source: Daniel Kon, Los Chicos De La Guerra/The Boys Of The War, New English Library, 1983)

3 Para had set up a patrol base near Murrell Bridge, two kilometres west of Mount Longdon on 3 June. Sergeant Roque Nista, the Argentine Rasit ground-surveillance radar operator on Mount Longdon first picked up a three-man sniper patrol on the night of 4-5 June. The Argentinian platoons stood to while Major Carrizo-Salvadores telephoned 7th Regimental Headquarters for an artillery fire mission. During the night of 6-7 June a 601 Commando Company fighting patrol, investigating further reports of enemy activity around Murrell Bridge, came under heavy fire from three sections of paras under Corporals Haddon, Brown and Sergeant Addle near the bridge. The Argentinian Army Commandos counter-attacked and found rucksacks and a radio set with signals instructions. (Source: Nicholas van der Bijl, Nine Battles To Stanley, Pen & Sword Books, 1999, p. 163)

The plan was for 3 Para to launch a full-frontal assault on the western end of Mount Longdon due to it being impossible to attack from the flanks, for a large minefield and a 6th Infantry Regiment company was located in well camouflaged positions on the valley between Mount Longdon and Two Sisters Mountain.

The three major objectives Fly Half, Full Back and Wing Forward were named after positions in Rugby. A Company would attack Wing Forward to the north, where they would then set up a fire-support base for B Company who would attack Fly Half and then proceed to Full Back, while C Company would remain in reserve. The mountain was heavily defended with a 7th Regiment company of conscripts and a Marine Infantry Platoon equipped with six heavy calibre machine-guns.

As dusk set-in, 3 Para moved to their start-lines and, after a brief stop, began to make their four-hour long advance to their objectives. As B Company approached Mount Longdon one NCO stepped on a mine, which after a very silent approach, alerted Second Lieutenant Juan Baldini's 1st Platoon of B Company of the 7th Regiment who launched a withering hail of fire. 6 Platoon, on the right flank of B Company, captured the western-half of Fly Half with no fighting taking place. However, they had missed half a dozen of Argentinian conscripts of Baldini's platoon, having grenaded several bunkers, and they launched a fierce attack on the unsuspecting platoon, resulting in a number of casualties before the area was cleared. 5 Platoon were coming under heavy fire from Argentinian machine guns until one was silenced by Carl Gustav and LAW anti-tank rocket launchers, and the other was grenaded in a daring attack by two privates.

Throughout most of the night the Marine Infantry platoon positions held, snipers from the Argentinian Marine heavy machine-gun company of the 5th Marines proving particulary deadly to the Paras on Mount Longdon.

Major Carrizo-Salvadores on Full Back had remained in touch with his regimental headquarters, at Wireless Ridge in the rear, and at about 2 am First Lieutenant Raul Castaneda's platoon of conscripts of C Company on Wireless Ridge was sent forward to recover the positions earlier lost by Baldini and in the words of British historian Nicholas van der Bijl the officer 'burst into' the Argentine major's command bunker on Full Back. Mainly reservists from the same suburbs of Buenos Aires, his soldiers knew each other well and most had head-mounted night vision goggles. Carrizo-Salvadores briefed him and, after giving him soldiers from his Command Platoon to act as guides, he ordered Castaneda to counterattack from the northern slopes.

Meanwhile 4 and 5 Platoons were now forward of the objective of Fly Half and were coming under heavy-fire. 4 Platoon's platoon commander, Lieutenant Ian Bickerdike and a signaller and Sergeant Ian McKay and a number of other men were attempting to perform reconnaissance on First Sergeant Raul Gonzalez's 2nd Platoon, in doing so, the platoon commander and signaller were wounded. Sergeant Ian Mckay realising something needed to be done, and with a number of other men, decided to attack the Marine machine-gun position that was causing much trouble and much misery. In the ensuing action, one man was killed and two wounded, yet he carried on alone, attacking the Marines with grenades. McKay managed to throw a grenade into the heavy machine-gun position before falling mortally wounded but contrary to popular mythology failed to silence the machine-gun. (Source: [1] (http://www.britains-smallwars.com/Falklands/mt-longdon.htm)). But for his valour he was awarded the posthumous Victoria Cross.

Castaneda's platoon used rifles, grenades and bayonets to clear the positions with skill and dash and killing and wounding twenty-five of the paratroopers.

The British historian and author of the book Para!: Fifty Years Of The Parachute Regiment, wrote that the ferocity of the Argentine counterattack forced B Company (4, 5 and 6 Platoons) to withdraw from Fly Half.

Colour Sergeant Brian Faulkner seeing that several Paras were about to fall into the hands of the enemy, deployed anyone fit enough to defend the British aid post. "I picked four blokes and got up on this high feature, and as I did so this troop of twenty, or thirty Argentinians were coming towards us. We just opened fire on them. We don't know how many we killed, but they got what they deserved, because none of them were left standing when we'd finished with them." said Faulkner remembering in the book Above All, Courage (Cassells Military Paperbacks, 2002)

The British 3rd Commando Brigade commander, Brigadier Julian Thompson was reported as having said:

"I was on the point of withdrawing my Paras from Mount Longdon. We couldn't believe that these teenagers disguised as soldiers were causing us to suffer many casualties." (Source: recollections of Argentine veteran Miguel Savage (http://www.geocities.com/viajesavage/page2ingl.html))

When the platoon came down from the battle they were exhausted. One of them was sporting a maroon beret - a grim trophy lost by a British paratrooper. Private Leonardo Rondi having dodged groups of Paras to deliver messages to Castaneda's section leaders, in a gunfight with British Paratroopers, shot a Paratrooper and grabbed his red beret and SLR which he later gave to Major Carrizo-Salvadores as a present, and was awarded the Gallantry In Combat Medal.

Following fierce fighting on Fly Half, Major Argue pulled back 4, 5 and 6 Platoons, and began pounding Fly Half from the sea with barrages fired from HMS Avenger, after which a left flanking attack is put in. Under heavy fire, 4 and 5 Platoons advanced upon their objective of Wing Forward, taking some casualties from the Argentines on the eastern end of Mount Longdon as they did so. The Paras could not move any further without taking unacceptable losses and so were pulled back to the western end of Mount Longdon, with the orders for A Company to move through B Company and assault, from the west, the eastern objective of Full Back, a heavily defended position, with covering fire being given from Support Company. They soon attacked the position in bitter close-combat, clearing the position of the Argentinian defenders with rifle, grenade and bayonet. The Argentines rigorously defended Full Back. The wounded Corporal Manuel Medina, a well known and popular drill instructor among the conscripts, of Castaneda's platoon took over a recoilles rifle detachment and personally fired along the ridge at Support Company killing three paras, including Private Heddicker, who took the full force of the round, and wounding three others. Major Carrizo-Salvadores abandoned his command bunker on Full Back only when a Milan missile smashed into some rocks just behind him.

The battle had lasted twelve-hours and had been costly to both sides. 3 Para lost eighteen killed during the battle, one Royal Engineer attached to 3 Para was also killed. A total of forty British paratroopers were wounded during the battle. A further four Paras and one REME were killed and seven Paratroopers were wounded in the two-day shelling directed from the Argentinian 5th Marine Infantry Battalion positions on Tumbledown Mountain that followed. The Argentinians suffered over thirty dead, with fifty also being taken prisoner.

References

    * Vince Bramley (1994). Two Sides Of Hell/Los Dos Lados Del Infierno. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. ISBN 0747518165.
    * Daniel Kon (1983). Los Chicos De La Guerra/The Boys Of The War. New English Library. ISBN unknown.
    * Nicholas van der Bijl (1999). Nine Battles To Stanley. Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 0850526191.
    * Author unknown (2002). Above All, Courage. Cassells Military Paperbacks. ISBN unknown.
    * Peter Harclerode (Reprint edition (May 1, 1993)). Para!: Fifty Years of the Parachute Regiment. Arms and Armour. ISBN 1854090976.
    * 3 PARA'S APPROACH TO and BATTLE FOR MOUNT LONGDON, on www.naval-history.net

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Battle of Wireless Ridge
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The Battle of Wireless Ridge was an engagement of the Falklands War which took place on the night of 13 June and 14 June 1982, between British and Argentinian forces during the advance towards the Argentinian occupied capital of the Falklands Port Stanley.

The British force consisted of 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment,(2 Para), a troop of the Blues & Royals, with two Scorpion and two Scimitar light tanks, as well as artillery support from two batteries of 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery and naval gunfire support provided by HMS Ambuscade's 4.5-in gun. The Argentine force consisted of the 7th Infantry Regiment and detachments from other units.

In the closing hours of the 13 June, D Company began the attack, advancing upon an Argentinian occupied hill north-west of Wireless Ridge. It had been hit by an immense barrage from British guns, from land and sea. In the preceding 12 hours, British artillery had fired 6,000 rounds with their 105mm pieces, and as they began their push, they were further backed by naval fire and the 76 and 30mm guns mounted on the light tanks. The approximately seventy casualties sustained by the Paras a few weeks earlier at the Battle of Goose Green, (including the loss of their commanding officer), had induced them not to take any unnecessary chances the second time around. When D Company reached the hill, they found that the Argentinian C Company of the 7th Infantry Regiment had withdrawn due to the heavy bombardment. As Major Philip Neame's D Company started to consolidate their position, the Argentinian 4th Airborne Artillery Group opened fire. A and B Companies had just crossed their start-lines to the north of Wireless Ridge. They met fierce resistance for when they left their trenches they came under heavy machine-gun fire and a massive retaliation was initiated by the British machine-gunners and the guns of the Blues & Royals light tanks.

Sergeant 'Mac' French of 3 Para had a grandstand view on Mount Longdon of the frontal assault by A and B Companies of 2 Para which was repulsed by A Company of the 7th Infantry Regiment:

"They tried going over the top first, but the incoming fire was too heavy so they went back behind the peat and waited for more artillery to soften them up." (Hugh McManners, The Scars Of War, p. 185, HarperCollins, 1994)

The Argentinian defenders there eventually withdrew in the face of such withering fire and A and B Companies took their objective. By this stage of the battle there were not many Argentine officers left. The Forward Artillery Observation Officer (Major Guillermo Nani), the Operations Officer (Captain Carlos Ferreyra) and the A and C Company commanders (Captains Jorge Calvo and Hugo Garcia) and three platoon commanders (Lieutenants Antonio Estrada, Jorge Guidobono, Ramon Galindez-Matienzo) were wounded. C Company then moved down from their northern start line to advance to a position east of Wireless Ridge where they found a platoon position to be unoccupied.
[edit]

Final assault

D Company then began the final assault from the western end of Wireless Ridge, under the cover of heavy fire from HMS Ambuscade, tanks, twelve 105mm artillery guns, several mortar pieces and anti-tank rockets. Earlier the Argentinian general headquarters in Port Stanley had instructed Major Guillermo Berazay to conduct a regimental-sized counter-attack. He was told to assemble his A Company of the 3rd Infantry Regiment and the dismounted Panhard AML-H90 squadron as well as B Company of the 25th Special Infantry Regiment, (who were marching from Stanley Airport), at the ruins of Moody Brook. When Berazay arrived at the shattered barracks there was no sign of the company from the 25th Infantry Regiment, but there were about seventy men from Captain Rodrigo Soloaga's cavalry squadron there. They had retreated after making a stand on the western end of Wireless Ridge. Shattered by the weight of fire unleashed on them, they had lost six killed, had nearly fifty wounded and were in disorder after an ineffectual and uncoordinated counter-attack. Major Neame's parachute company took the first half of the obective relatively easily but upon advancing to the second half, came under very fierce attack from Major Berazay's company of conscripts. Private Patricio Perez, who had just left school, in the book Speaking Out: Untold Stories From The Falklands War recalls the unnerving experience of 66mm rockets coming straight at them like undulating fireballs. He believes he shot a British Paratrooper and became enraged when he heard that his friend Private Horacio Benitez of his platoon had been shot. (Source: www.britains-smallwars.com (http://www.britains-smallwars.com/Falklands/David/WirelessRidge.htm))

The platoon of First Lieutenant Victor Rodriguez-Perez of Major Guillermo Berazay's A Company in fact closed with the British 12 Platoon, under the command of Lieutenant Jonathan Page (following the death of Lieutenant Barry at Goose Green), and D Company found itself gradually losing the momentum of the attack as the Argentinian conscripts stoutly stood their newly-won ground.

Major-General John Frost of the British Army describes the resulting attack on Lieutenant Page's 12 Platoon:

"For two very long hours the company remained under pressure. Small-arms fire mingled with all types of HE [high explosive rifle-grenades] fell in and around 12 Platoon's position as the men crouched in the abandoned enemy sangars and in shell holes." (Source: John Frost, 2 Para Falklands - The Battalion At War, Buchan & Enright, 1983)

But Major Neame's D Company's officers and NCOs rallied the men to capture the final part of their objective and in the face of immense fire, the Argentinians having ran out of ammunition broke and retreated.

It was not all over yet. Near the church in Stanley, intent on helping Berazay, Major Carrizo-Salvadores of the Argentinian 7th Regiment, helped by Argentinian Army chaplain Father Jose Fernandez, assembled about a platoon of the more determined 7th Regiment conscripts, issued each man with a fresh magazine and, with everyone singing the "Malvinas March", led them towards Wireless Ridge from Moody Brook but were stopped by heavy artillery and machine-gun fire. 2 Para had suffered three dead and eleven wounded. The Argentinians suffered approximately twenty-five dead and about fifty were taken prisoner.

References

    * Michael Bilton, Peter Kosminsky (August 1, 1990). Speaking Out: Untold Stories From The Falklands War. Andre Deutsch Ltd. ISBN 0233984046.
    * Hugh McManners (1994). The Scars Of War. HarperCollins. ISBN unknown.
    * John Frost (1983). 2 Para Falklands - The Battalion At War. Buchan & Enright. ISBN 0722136897.
 

Battle for Port Stanley

On the night of June 11, after several days of painstaking reconnaissance and logistic build-up, British forces launched a brigade-sized night attack against the heavily defended ring of high ground surrounding Port Stanley. Units of 3 Commando Brigade, supported by naval gunfire from several Royal Navy ships, simultaneously assaulted Mount Harriet, Two Sisters, and Mount Longdon. During this battle thirteen were killed when HMS Glamorgan, which was providing naval gunfire support, was struck by an Exocet fired from the back of a truck, further displaying the vulnerability of ships to anti-ship missiles. On this day Sgt Ian McKay of 4 Platoon, B Company, 3 Para died in a grenade attack on an Argentine bunker which was to earn him a posthumous Victoria Cross. After a night of fierce fighting all objectives were secured.

On the night of June 13 the second phase of attacks started in which the momentum of the initial assault was maintained. 2 Para captured Wireless Ridge and the 2nd battalion, Scots Guards captured Mount Tumbledown. As the fighting was coming to a close the Falklands Islanders on the eastern edge of Port Stanley were in imminent danger of being shot at by a platoon of a 3rd Infantry Regiment company as the conscripts and regulars steeled themselves for the final house-to-house battle near Government House. This is revealed in the book The Battle For The Falklands by Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins. Brigadier-General Oscar Jofre, Commander of the 10th Argentine Mechanized Infantry Brigade, has admitted that the abrupt end of the ground fighting was hastened by fear of war crimes against the civilians.

On June 14 the commander of the Argentine garrison in Port Stanley, Mario Menendez, surrendered to Major General JJ Moore Royal Marines. 9800 Argentine troops were made POWs and were repatriated to Argentina on the liner Canberra. On June 20 the British retook the South Sandwich Islands, (which involved accepting the surrender of the Southern Thule Garrison at the Corbeta Uruguay base) and declared the hostilities were at an end.

The war lasted 72 days, with 236 British and around 700 Argentine soldiers, sailors, and airmen, killed.

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South Sandwich Islands
Southern Thule
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Part of the British Crown Dependency of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
Orthographic projection centred on the South Sandwich Islands
South Sandwich Islands

Southern Thule is a collection of three islands (Bellingshausen, Cook, and Morrell) which is the southernmost in the South Sandwich Islands Group. Southern Thule is British territory, though claimed by Argentina. The island group is barren, windswept, bitterly cold, and uninhabited, of no real strategic or economic value. The Admiralty's Antarctic Pilot says that Southern Thule is part of an old sunken volcano, and is covered with ash and penguin guano. There are seals, petrels, and a bank of kelp just offshore, especially around a small inlet on Morrell called Ferguson Bay.

Argentine Occupation 1976-1982

In November 1976 -- a party from the Argentine Air Force landed on Morrell, and - without informing the British Government - constructed a small military base complete with barracks, and a small concrete helicopter landing pad. They set up a weather station, a radio station, and a flagpole from which the Argentine Flag flew. All this was done at the direction of the Argentine Government in order to back up their territorial claim on the South Sandwich Islands. The base was named Corbeta Uruguay.

It was not until December 1976 that the British discovered what had happened. But initially, London did almost nothing about what was nothing less than a military invasion (and occupation) of sovereign British territory. More than a year was to go by before word of the occupation of Southern Thule was to leak out to the public. The then Prime Minister, James Callaghan, ruled out sending in the Royal Marines to end the occupation, prefering diplomacy. This lack of response, plus the British Government's intention to cut back the British military presence in the Antarctic for financial reasons, led the Argentine Government to believe that they could successfully occupy and annex the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, which they attempted in April 1982, sparking the Falklands War.

The Argentine presence remained on Southern Thule until six days after the Falklands War had ended. On June 20, 1982, several British warships landed Royal Marines and the Argentine garrison, outnumbered and outgunned, surrendered and handed over their weapons.

Aftermath

After the surrender, Southern Thule was left deserted, but six months later a passing British warship noticed that the Union Jack had been taken down from the flagpole at the deserted base and the flag of Argentina run up in its place. When word of this reached London, the military was ordered to destroy all buildings on Southern Thule, leaving Corbeta Uruguay unfit for prolonged habitation. By Christmas 1982 every barrack block and mess room and met station was reduced to a pile of concrete rubble, leaving only a small hut stocked with emergency supplies and the flagpole, which was last seen flying the restored Union Jack.

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Analysis

Military

Militarily, the Falklands War was important for a number of reasons.

It was one of the few major naval battles so far to have occurred after the end of World War II. As such this conflict illustrated the vulnerability of surface ships to anti-ship missiles and reaffirmed the effectiveness of aircraft in naval warfare. The viability of stealth (in the form of submarines) again proved its usefulness, much as it did during World War II and the Cold War.

Neither side achieved total air supremacy, but the power of air forces during a conflict like this proved invaluable, due to the isolated, rough landscape of the Falklands. Air strikes were staged against ground, sea and air targets on both sides and often with clear results. All of the UK losses at sea were achieved by the FAA. The French Exocet missile proved its lethality in air-to-surface operations.

It vindicated the UK decision to develop the VTOL Harrier aircraft, that showed its capability of operating from forward bases with no runways. At sea it demonstrated the domination of airpower in major engagements and the usefulness of carriers.

The logistic capability of the UK armed forces was stretched to the absolute limit in order to mount an amphibious operation so far from a home-base, onto mountainous islands which have few roads. After the war much work was done to improve both the logistic and amphibious capability of the Royal Navy.

The role of special forces units, which destroyed many Argentine aircraft, and carried out intelligence gathering operations, was reaffirmed.

The usefulness of helicopters in combat, logistic, and casevac operations was reaffirmed.

At sea, some shortcomings of warship design were made apparent, particularly the danger of using aluminium in ships (although it did not catch fire it melted in the heat). Nylon was shown to be a poor choice of fabric in uniforms, as it is more flammable than cotton and also melts with heat, sticking the incendiary fabric to the skin and causing avoidable casualties.

Political

The Falklands War illustrates the role of political miscalculation and miscommunication in creating war. Both sides seriously underestimated the importance of the Falklands to the other. The Falklands War illustrates the role of chance in determining what happens in a war. Some commentators believe that the war could have ended in an Argentine victory if one of the Exocets had hit an aircraft carrier, or if the frequent unexploded bombs had detonated on striking some of the ships (75% of the British task force was damaged or sunk), or if Argentina had attacked the British artillery, using the three paratroop regiments already deployed at Comodoro Rivadavia. Equally, if the Argentines had made better preparations to hold the islands, they might have been able to do so, but they did not expect that the British would attempt to carry out a war 6000 miles (10,000 km) from home. Either way an Argentine victory may have been an unacceptable show of weakness on the part of the UK during an intense period of the Cold War, and as a result some have doubted that such an outcome would have been allowed to remain for long. With the UK being an integral US ally and important part of NATO, to permit a loss would have been a signal to the USSR that the NATO alliance was militarily and politically weak. The war cost the UK 255 men, six ships (10 others were very badly damaged), thirty-four aircraft, and more than 1.6 billion pounds, but the campaign was considered a great victory for the United Kingdom. The war was a massive boost to the popularity of Margaret Thatcher and played a role in ensuring her re-election in 1983. Several members of her government resigned, including the former Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington. It has also been said by diplomats that following the British victory there was an increase in international respect for Britain, formerly regarded as a fading colonial power. As mentioned earlier, the victory was not overlooked by the USSR and was an important junction in the Cold War.

On the other hand, the Argentine military government was ousted after mounting protests by human rights and war veterans groups. Galtieri was forced to resign, paving the way for the restoration of democracy. Elections were held on October 30, 1983 and Raúl Alfonsín, the Radical Civic Union (UCR) party candidate, took office on December 10, 1983. Alfonsin defeated Italo Luder, the candidate for the Justicialist Party (Peronist movement).

Medical

During the operations, several wounded British soldiers had to spend hours in the cold before receiving medical aid; famously, no British soldiers evacuated to medical aid stations died. Many recovered beyond what medicine of the time thought possible, and subsequent theories have suggested that this was due to the extreme cold (similar apocryphal tales had originated during the bitter winter fighting of the Korean War).

Cultural impact in the UK

The war provided a wealth of material for writers, and many dozens of books came from it; in the UK the definitive account became Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins' The Battle for the Falklands. Other titles focussed on the Sea Harrier (Sharkey Ward's Sea Harrier over the Falklands), the land battles leading up to the Argentine capitulation (Christian Jennings and Adrian Weale's Green Eyed Boys), and the general experience of battle (Ken Lukowiak's A Soldier's Song). Jack Higgins' thriller Exocet dealt with one of the war's most famous 'buzz-words'; for many years afterwards, 'exocet' became synonymous with 'rocket' in the UK ('Yomp' and 'Task Force' also entered the language).

Very few films emerged from the conflict, one such being the 1989 BBC drama Tumbledown, which starred Colin Firth in an early role. It told the tale of a soldier in the Scots Guards, brain-damaged by a sniper's bullet, adjusting to disabled life after the war. In 1992 the BBC produced An Ungentlemanly Act, relating the story of the initial defence of the Islands during the Argentine Invasion, with Bob Peck as Mike Norman and Ian Richardson as Rex Hunt. Ian Curteis' The Falklands Play was commissioned by the BBC in 1986, but was not filmed until 2004; the BBC claimed that it would have been broadcast too close to the 1987 General Election. Curteis maintained that the generally sympathetic portrayal of Margaret Thatcher refuted a perceived BBC anti-government bias. On a lighter note, the character of Grant Mitchell from the popular, gritty soap opera Eastenders was written as a traumatised Falklands veteran, although this characterisation was swiftly abandoned.

Tottenham Hotspur's popular Argentine midfielder Ossie Ardiles had helped beat Leicester City one day after the invasion, to no ill effect, although he subsequently left the UK for a year of his own volition. The war also created heightened passions between Argentina and England in the 1986, 1998, and 2002 FIFA World Cups, featuring memorable, and sometimes infamous, performances by Diego Maradona, Peter Shilton, and David Beckham.

Although the war did not have a direct impact on British civilians, it nonetheless had a minor impact on British pop culture. Popular music referencing the war included Elvis Costello's song "Shipbuilding", Pink Floyd's album The Final Cut, Billy Bragg's song "Island of No Return" and The Bluebells' song "South Atlantic Way". The popular computer games Harrier Attack and Yomp presented unofficial portraits of the fighting.

The aforementioned Simon Weston, became a popular figure. A badly burned member of the Welsh Guards who, with skin grafts and an iron will, went on to lead a normal life. A series of television documentaries followed his progress (Simon's War being the first). For many, the conflict was encapsulated in the image of a six-foot Welsh soldier, his skin seared, crying in pain as the doctors removed his dressings.

Falklands War Veterans afflictions

The British Ministry of Defence was accused several times of a systematic failure to prepare service personnel for the horrors of war and provide adequate care for them afterwards.

There are strong allegations that the Ministry of Defence has tried to ignore the issue of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which left many sufferers emotionally scarred and unable to work, inmersed in social dislocation, alcoholism, and depression. Most veterans have suffered prolonged personality disorders, flashbacks and anxiety levels sometimes reaching pathological levels.

It was revealed that more veterans have committed suicide since the Falklands conflict ended than the number of Servicemen killed in action.

SAMA - the South Atlantic Medal Association, which represents and helps Falklands veterans - believe some 264 veterans have now taken their own lives, a number that contrasts with the 255 who died on active service.

See also

• Operation Algeciras - A failed plan conceived by the Argentine military to send some Montoneros to sabotage the British military facilities in Gibraltar.

References

• Note 1: "1982: Marines land in South Georgia (http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/25/newsid_2503000/2503977.stm)." BBC. Accessed on March 20, 2005.

External links

• Victoria Cross and other citations (http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/archiveViewFrameSetup.asp?IssueNumber=49134&pageNumber=1&PageDuplicate=x0) published in the London Gazette, 11 October 1982

 

Related content
Military Forces	Falklands War Ground Forces - Falklands War Air Forces - Falklands War Naval Forces
External Links	Article on the Conflict 1 (http://www.loyno.edu/history/journal/1998-9/Haney.htm#1) - Chronology of Events (http://www.yendor.com/vanished/falklands-war.html) - Article on the Conflict 2 (http://guest.xinet.com/ignacio/polsi342/falklands.html) - Reagan Q&A Transcript (http://www.britains-smallwars.com/Falklands/index.html)
General Related	History - Military history - British military history -- War
Falklands War-related	History of the Falkland Islands - South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands