Falklands War

[bobdina]

1- On 2 April 1982 Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. A small contingent of Royal Marines was overrun by an Argentine force ending nearly 150 years rule.

2 -For the Argentines the British possession of the islands - which they called the Malvinas - was a long-standing affront to national pride. They traced their claim back to the days of the Spanish empire, of which both the Falklands and Argentina had been a part.

3- Much to the surprise of Argentina, Britain’s government, led by Margaret Thatcher, proclaimed it was prepared to fight to reclaim the islands and ordered a task force to be assembled to fight a war 8,000 miles away from the British Isles

4- By 5 April the first of more than 100 ships set sail for the South Atlantic carrying 27,000 personnel. The UN Security Council threw its weight behind the British claim to the islands and US Secretary of State Alexander Haig attempted to find a diplomatic solution.

5- Air support was limited to 19 harrier jump jets on the carriers Invincible and Hermes .

to be continued

[bobdina]

1- The British task force depended on its two aircraft carriers and it was with this in mind that Mrs Thatcher said she permitted the controversial sinking by nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror of Argentine cruiser General Belgrano, resulting in the deaths of 368 of her crew.

2- The Argentinian air force was 1st rate and had advanced weapons such as the Exocet antiship missile. HMS Sheffield was the first casualty of the Exocet. It was attacked on 4 May and eventually sunk on 10 May. More details and pictures here. It was the first British warship lost since the Second World War. There were many 'firsts' during the Falklands war. The Argentinian cruiser Belgrano was the first ship sunk by submarine since WWII. It carried Exocets and threatened the fleet so it was ordered to be attacked. The nuclear submarine Conqueror fired two Mark 8 torpedoes into it on 2 May. It was the first time a nuclear sub had ever fired a shot in anger. It is interesting to note that the Belgrano was originally the USS Phoenix which survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The British also retook the South Georgians with a force of SBS and Marine commandos this was the first time a helicopter had ever attacked a submarine which was found on the surface in the Harbo

3-The Royal Navy was soon to suffer its first casualties when 22 men were killed on HMS Sheffield. The destroyer was hit by an Exocet missile, which despite its failure to explode drove a hole in the ship's side.

4-On 20 May UN-sponsored peace talks failed. Within 24 hours UK special forces and Royal Marines stormed ashore and established a beachhead at San Carlos on East Falkland. The night landings - undertaken during a gale - achieved complete surprise.


5- Argentine air attacks proved costly, and before the beachhead broke out HMS Ardent, Antelope and Coventry were all sunk. The Atlantic Conveyor also went down with the loss of its troop-carrying Chinook helicopters, and key equipment necessary to re-capture the islands.

[bobdina]

1- The British decided to attack from the east coast of the Falklands due to the sheltered waters. On 21 May the invasion commenced.

2-Without the heavy helicopters the British troops had to march to their first major objective the heavily defended settlement at Goose Green. Colonel H Jones led 2 Para to victory, but was killed during the assault. He was later awarded the Victoria Cross.

3-The battle had claimed nearly 250 Argentine and 18 British soldiers’ lives, with many more wounded and over 1,000 Argentines taken prisoner. Now the British forces could begin their preparations to take the final prize, the Falklands' capital Stanley.

4- As the attack developed it was found to be heavily defended but the soldiers pressed on. At one point H. Jones, Colonel Jones seeing his troopers, troops pinned down personally took elements of his regimental headquarters and attempted to attack a machine gun position.

5-Goose Green Ultimatum

[bobdina]

1-On 8 June five Argentine planes hit two British supply ships, Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram, in Fitzroy. Around 200 men, many of them Welsh Guards, were killed or injured as the Argentine bombs ignited the huge amount of explosives the ship was carrying.

2-Helicopters rescued survivors and used their propwash to blow rafts away from burning ships.

3-The British continued the march across the island and through a series of night attacks routed the Argentinians. One soldier said that the difference between them and Hannabal was that Hannabal had elephants.

4-In the following days UK forces took the key defensive positions around Stanley, and soon captured the high points of Mount Tumbledown and Wireless Ridge. As Stanley was surrounded the Argentines surrendered on 14 June.

5-On 14 June over 10,000 Argentinians surrendered and the war was over. On the summit of Mount Tumbledown Pipe Major James Ridell played the lament for his Scot Guards who died

[bobdina]

1-Although some Argentine resistance had been fierce, poor food and clothing and fractious relations between some officers and men had sapped their morale. The British took 10,000 prisoners of war

2-Hostilities formally ceased on 20 June 1982. By the time the task force returned to Portsmouth the conflict had claimed 913 lives - 655 Argentines, 255 British troops and three Falkland islanders

3-the prisoners where sent home and a fleet returned to England to a tumultuous welcome.

4- Falklands war memorial

5-Visitors look at commemorative plaques for British soldiers who died during the 1982 Falklands War in Mount Longdon, near Port Stanley,