The Falklands War (1982)

The Falklands War. 2nd of April to 14th of June, 1982. On the 2nd of April, 1982, forces from Argentina invaded the British Overseas Territory of the Falklands Islands. The first invasion of British territory since World War II. The small British garrison of 80 Royal Marines there surrendered. Argentina claimed sovereignty over the islands and its military believed that Britain would not try to regain the islands by force. Leopoldo Galtieri's regime hoped to win back its dwindling popularity by creating patriotism and divert public attention from Argentina's economic problems. The Argentinians were within only 480 kilometers or 300 miles of the islands. Britain, meanwhile, was 12,000 kilometers or 7,440 miles away. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, accused of neglecting the islands, assembled a task force to recover them. It would consist of 6,000 troops and 30 warships plus auxiliary vessels. A small team consisting of Royal Marines, SAS and SBS recaptured the South Georgia island on the 25th of April. The main British task force would reach the Falklands Islands in early May. An exclusion zone was set up around the Falklands Islands where any enemy Argentinian ships or planes would be attacked if they fell within it. On the 2nd of May, the Royal Navy submarine HMS Conqueror sank the obsolete Argentinian cruiser General Belgrano, killing 300 of her crew. After this, most of the Argentinian ships were kept in port for the rest of the conflict and it would now The event was controversial because it happened outside of the exclusion zone. The Argentinian Air Force, however, was still a threat to the British Royal Navy. While most of the Argentinian aircraft were outdated, the Argentinian Navy had a handful of deadly French-made super-intended attack aircraft armed with Exocet anti-ship missiles. British ships were vulnerable to attack as not all of them had anti-aircraft systems or effective weapons for shooting down incoming enemy missiles. Air cover was also provided via short-range Sea Harrier jump jets which could engage the enemy aircraft effectively. On the 4th of May, the Argentinians sank HMS Sheffield with Exocet missiles from their superintendents, killing 20 on board. An amphibious landing on the islands by the British began on the 14th of May. The SAS carried out a raid on Pebble Island, destroying several enemy attack aircraft on the airstrip. On the 21st of May, the British Three Commando Brigade, numbering 4,000 men, landed ashore at Port San Carlos and Ajax Bay on East Falkland Island. They would be vulnerable to night bombing and the adverse weather conditions. Brigadier Julian Thompson, commanding Three Commando, planned to capture the settlements of Darwin and Goose Green before marching towards Port Stanley. From the 27th until the 28th of May, British Two Power fought at Goose Green and Darwin against dug-in Argentinian troops of the 12th Infantry Regiment who were mainly conscripts but well-equipped with artillery and machine guns. After fierce fighting that lasted all night and the next day, the British took both objectives with 900 Argentinian prisoners captured. The SAS would also soon take Mount Kent, a strategic high position overlooking Port Stanley, where Argentinian troops were concentrated. British forces were now moving towards Stanley under fire from Argentinian attacks from the air. The attacks from the air on British naval forces continued and RFA Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram were both badly hit on the 8th of June, setting the ship's alight and killing 56 and wounding many others with burns. By the night of the 11th of June, the British forces launched an attack against the heavily defended ring of high ground around Stanley and then later captured Mount Tumbledown, With the last defense breached and with the Argentinian garrison cut off from the port, General Mario Merendez surrendered to Major General Jeremy Moore on the 14th of June, 1982. The British forces were highly trained professionals and well-led. 255 British were killed and 775 were wounded in the Falklands War. The Argentinian forces meanwhile were mainly ill-trained, poorly motivated conscripts. However, they had air superiority. Around 11,400 Argentinian prisoners were captured during the war. 649 were killed and 1,657 wounded.