The Falklands Conflict, Forty Years Later

[Slim]

Quite a nice summary of the battle, including some neat 3D CGI in this video, 25 minutes in:

[Slim]

30th May, 1982

45 Commando reaches Teal Inlet, an estuary at the north-east of East Falkland.

3 Para presses east toward Mount Estancia, accompanied by light tanks of the Blues and Royals.

Royal Marines from 40 Commando are flown by helicopter to reinforce D Squadron SAS on Mount Kent. As they arrive, an Argentine special forces patrol encounters an SAS patrol on the mountain. The Argentine patrol sends the message "We are in trouble", followed forty minutes later by "There are English all around us... you had better hurry up" before being overcome.

In the late afternoon, the Argentinian Air Force puts into operation its plan to strike one of the British carriers with its last remaining air-launched Exocet. They launch two Super Étendards, one with the missile and the other for additional radar assistance. They are accompanied by four Skyhawks, each armed with two five hundred pound bombs. The Skyhawk pilots are briefed to follow the trail of the Exocet to the carrier as the Étendards turn for home. The plan is to run due east for four hundred miles, refuel then turn north-west, to catch the battle group from the rear.

The Étendards come in low below radar height, pop up to acquire a target and the Exocet is fired at a range of twenty-one miles. Cardiff, Avenger and Exeter detect the incoming aircraft. Exeter fires Sea Dart, which obliterates the lead Skyhawk, killing the pilot. A second Skyhawk is also destroyed, either by Exeter's second Sea Dart or Avenger's 4.5-inch gun.

The Exocet passes harmlessly mid-way between Exeter and Avenger, with several miles to spare on each side (some accounts speculate that it was hit by a 4.5-inch shell).

The two remaining Skyhawk pilots attack Avenger, but their bombs miss. They make it home safely and report that they have bombed Invincible, and that the British carrier had been struck by the Exocet. The Argentines are somewhat disappointed not to hear this mentioned on the BBC World Service news later on.

[For years, the Argentine Air Force claimed to have inflicted serious damage on the British carrier. It had a page dedicated to the operation on its official air force website in 2012. Even more remarkably, some Argentines actually believe that Invincible was sunk, and that this was covered up.]

At Goose Green, Argentine prisoners are tasked with moving a pile of artillery shells and mortar rounds. One of them becomes the victim of a booby trap set by one of his comrades. There is a huge explosion, and he is engulfed by flames. There is no way to reach him through the inferno, and a British paratrooper shoots him to end his suffering.

Two Harriers from Hermes successfully attack Argentine positions at Mount Wall, but one is hit and loses fuel rapidly. Squadron Leader Jerry Pook makes a planned ejection on the return journey east of the Falklands in rough seas, but is picked up in ten minutes by a helicopter crew.

[Slim]

31st May, 1982

In a forty minute meeting, US Ambassador to the UN Jeane Kirkpatrick pleads with President Reagan to intervene before the British forces slaughter the Argentine garrison at Port Stanley. She fears that a humiliating defeat for Argentina will badly damage Washington's Latin American relations.

Reagan does his best. He telephones Margaret Thatcher and broaches the subject delicately. "Your impressive military advance could maybe change the diplomatic options", he says, and he urges her to consider seeking a settlement. He outlines a Brazilian peace plan to her, envisaging a ceasefire, military withdrawal and a third-party peacekeeping force.

Thatcher heatedly dismisses this. The sacrifices and progress her forces have made so far have diminished her interest in a negotiated settlement to zero.

In his autobiography, Reagan will recall the telephone call, and admit that she was right.

Meanwhile, newspapers report a feud between Kirkpatrick and US Secretary of State Al Haig, who is considerably more supportive of Britain than she is. She has accused him of bullying tactics, and even described his department as "Brits in American clothes".

The rest of 42 Commando is helicoptered to join their forward elements on Mount Kent - the British now hold this strategic high ground only twelve miles from Stanley. 3 Para secures Mount Estancia.

A lone Vulcan bomber from Ascension Island launches a Shrike missile attack against Argentine radar installations guarding Stanley airfield. It causes only minor damage.

A 20-man unit from the Royal Marine Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre is helicoptered in to assault Top Malo House, a disused sheperd's residence on high ground overlooking the route from San Carlos toward Mount Kent. A British observation post has seen a patrol of Argentine special forces occupy the house. Not wishing 3 Commando Brigade's advance toward Stanley to be overseen by an Argentine patrol able to direct artillery fire onto it, the decision has been taken to remove the threat.

The British Marines split into two teams - a seven man fire group, supporting a twelve man assault group. As they poise to begin the assault, the Marines' sniper is tasked with shooting open a window in the top floor to be targetted by a grenade launcher. As he takes aim, one of the enemy soldiers appears at the window, so he takes both of them out.

The assault group fires a 66mm rocket into the house, charges forward, halts and fires two more. Some of the Argentines run for a stream bed fifty metres away, shielded by smoke from the house, now in flames. They put up a fight for a few minutes, but the Marines shoot dead their commanding officer when he tries to escape, and the surviving Argentines throw down their weapons and surrender. Five Argentines have been killed and seven wounded. The British have three wounded.

As the Argentines are taken prisoner, the British commander has some advice for them. He disapproves of their choice of observation post. "Never in a house", he tells them.

Three Harrier GR3s attack Stanley airfield.

[dom]

31st May, 1982




As the Argentines are taken prisoner, the British commander has some advice for them. He disapproves of their choice of observation post. "Never in a house", he tells them.

Is that for strategic reasons or for the etiquette of war, do you know?

[pdw1]

Is that for strategic reasons or for the etiquette of war, do you know?

Tactical. Where is the first place you would look for an enemy observation team?

I assume you didnt mean to add a  to your question.

Keep up the good work Slim.

[Slim]

The patrol's commander Rod Boswell comments on this here (1:09 in):

"they shouldn't have been in an isolated farmhouse, most certainly not inside it anyway and if they were, they should have had sentries well clear of the building to cover their approaches"

and later

"these men, the first warning they had of our presence was a building exploding all around them"

[Slim]

1st June, 1982

The newly arrived 5th Infantry Brigade begins to disembark at Port Stanley from the transports Norland, Baltic Ferry and Atlantic Causeway. The Gurkhas arrive on Norland and set off immediately to march to Goose Green.

The War Cabinet meets again to discuss options for a negotiated settlement. The Foreign Office is considerably more interested to explore a diplomatic solution than the Prime Minister.

North of the islands,  an Argentine C-130 'Hercules' transport aircraft climbs to 8,000 feet briefly to make a brief radar sweep of the area for British ships. In doing so, it makes itself visible to HMS Minerva's radar. Minerva's air controller vectors two Harriers flying combat air patrol from Invincible to investigate the contact.

Lt Commander "Sharkey" Ward, flying the lead Harrier, makes radar contact at 38 miles. The Hercules turns to run for home about three hundred feet above the waves, but the two Harriers close in quickly on the large, slower aircraft.

Ward's first Sidewinder falls away just before impact. He closes to one mile and fires a second. Both starboard engines burst into flames as the missile finds its target, but the huge aircraft is still airborne. Ward closes to guns range and unleashes a volley of 30mm high-explosive cannon fire into the rear of the aircraft. The Hercules banks and dives to the right with its elevator and rudder controls shot away, until its right wingtip hits the sea surface, and the aircraft cartwheels and breaks up. All seven crew are killed.

A Sea Harrier from 801 Naval Air Squadron is shot down by an Argentine surface to air missile south of Port Stanley. The pilot ejects and is rescued by a British helicopter after nine hours in a dinghy. He later admits that he was "not entirely sure that the approaching helicopter was British, but by this time I was so cold that I wasn't really fussed who picked me up".

Two Harrier GR3s fly directly from Ascension Island to land on Hermes, their epic journey supported by air-to-air refuelling from Victor tankers. The Task Force now has five GR3s.

[Slim]

By far my favourite of the Falklands Conflict books I've read is Sharkey Ward's Sea Harrier Over The Falklands. It's a real page turner; my only qualification would be that for some reason he has a visceral resentment of the RAF and this colours everything he writes about them. And he definitely enjoys his status as a maverick.

I have two editions of this book, the original paperback that I bought in the '90s and a Kindle version, acquired years later.

Sharkey met the son of one of the men he killed in the encounter described above, nearly thirty years later.

https://wander-argentina.com/porteno-corner-ezequiel-martel/

In the original edition he writes that he didn't lose any sleep over the fate of the men who died when he shot down their aircraft, but in the later edition, published subsequently to this meeting, he discreetly removes that remark.

Early on in the conflict, before they'd flown a combat mission, Ward and his pilots discussed what they'd do if called on to shoot down an unarmed transport plane. They agree that they'd pull up alongside the cockpit and signal to the crew to bail out.

On this occasion he didn't have enough fuel to do that. But I wonder if the Argentine crew could have saved their lives by ditching their aircraft?

[Slim]

2nd June, 1982

Very little aircraft activity from Argentina, the carriers or the Falklands due to extremely poor weather on this day.

In an interview on British television, Mrs Thatcher is questioned about diplomatic options and the possibility of a role for Argentina in the Falkland islands. She says that she would be prepared to cease fire if the Argentines honour resolution 502. But she "cannot .. see a role in anything related to sovereignty for the Argentines on the Falkland Islands".

An advance party from 2 Para is helicoptered to Swan Inlet House, halfway between Goose Green and Fitzroy. They assault the building but find it unoccupied except for an abandoned Argentine army jacket. Using a telephone in the house they call a number in Fitzroy, thirty miles to the east. A teenage girl answers, and brings her father, Ron Binney, to the telephone. Binney, the local manager, informs them that the Argentines have already withdrawn.

Canberra anchors in San Carlos Water again to disembark men of 5 Infantry Brigade, following which there are over 9,000 British ground troops on the islands.

A report from Robert Fox recorded at the battle of Goose Green is broadcast on Radio 4. He describes the relentless mortar fire, attacks from Pucará ground aircraft, and the act of "almost unbelievable bravery" on the part of Colonel H. Jones that led to his death.

Royal Engineers complete construction of a small airstrip at Port San Carlos suitable for Harriers and helicopters.

Argentine diplomats visit the UN with a major concession - they are now prepared to accept the final British peace proposals, with the modification that the islands are placed under UN trusteeship while sovereignty negotiations take place. But the British cabinet withdrew those proposals at the moment they were rejected.

[Slim]

3rd June, 1982

Still no air activity from the carriers, Argentina or the islands, due to poor weather.

2 Para advance to occupy Bluff Cove and Fitzroy. British forces are now in control of all of East Falkland up to, but not including, the high ground defending the main Argentine presence at Port Stanley. Isolated Argentine patrols and observation posts to the west continue to be destroyed in "mopping up" operations performed by the Ghurkas in airborne attacks.

3 Para mounts a probing attack on Mount Longdon, but runs into well-directed enemy artillery fire and is ordered to withdraw.

Another Vulcan 'Black Buck' raid is carried out against Argentine radar positions at Port Stanley. The Argentines turn off their radar installations to defeat the British radar-homing missiles as soon as the strategic bomber is detected inbound, but the Vulcan crew manage to tempt them into turning them on momentarily by descending toward the airfield and achieve a missile lock. An Argentine 'Skyguard' radar position is destroyed and four of its operators are killed.

On the return journey, the Vulcan's in-flight refuelling probe breaks and the crew are forced to divert to Rio de Janeiro. The crew jettison documents containing sensitive information out of the crew hatch over the ocean before landing. The crew and aircraft will be detained by the Brazilian authorities for nine days. The Brazilians confiscate the aircraft's one remaining Shrike missile.

At the Versailles Summit, President Reagan presents a five-point plan to Great Britain. Its aim is to involve third-party nations in a peacekeeping operation following withdrawal of British and Argentine forces. But by now the military campaign has gained too much momentum for a new diplomatic initiative seriously to be considered, let alone succeed.

[Slim]

4th June, 1982

Poor weather prevents air activity from the South Atlantic by either side, once again - but a British C-130 transport aircraft on a flight-refuelled trip from Ascension Island drops high priority supplies next to a Task Force ship to the east of the islands.

A UN Security Council resolution sponsored by Spain and Panama calling on both sides to "cease fire immediately" is voted on. Britain casts a veto, and so does the US, after UN ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick is instructed to do so by US Secretary of State Al Haig. Later however, the US government changes its mind - and Kirkpatrick announces that she would have abstained, had communication from Washington reached her in time.

Spain, perhaps irritated by the wholehearted support given to the Falklands campaign by the inhabitants of Gibraltar, its own "Malvinas" hopeless cause - becomes the only NATO country to criticise Britain's military action.

45 Commando arrives below Bluff Cove Park, south-west of Mount Kent, where they set up a Commando Patrol Base.

Brigadier Julian Thompson sends a signal to divisional headquarters:

Have just heard the BBC World News reported that quote Teal Inlet is HQ of force attacking Stanley unquote I am absolutely fed up with hearing my plans broadcast on BBC News.

[Slim]

5th June, 1982

Weather clears sufficiently for Harrier GR3s and Sea Harriers from the carriers to perform combat air patrols, then land at the forward operating base now established at San Carlos. This ability to land and refuel on the islands provides a considerable increase in operational performance.

Harriers from Hermes fly reconnaissance missions looking for enemy activity, and ground based Exocet launchers.

The Scots Guards board the assault ship Intrepid headed for Fitzroy to reinforce elements of 2 Para already there, with Plymouth to provide close escort.

[Slim]

6th June, 1982

Intrepid, having delivered the Scots Guards to Bluff Cove, now takes aboard 2 Para units already there and ferries them to Fitzroy, before returning to San Carlos Water.

The Welsh Guards embark on Fearless, also heading for Fitzroy. Troops are being moved by sea primarily because of a lack of available helicopters following the successful Argentine attack on Atlantic Conveyor.

Active and Ambuscade detach from the carrier group to bombard Argentine positions in the Mount Harriet area.

Cardiff detects a radar contact over East Falkland and engages it with Sea Dart, at a range of eleven miles. Unfortunately, it is a British Army Air Corps Gazelle helicopter. Its crew are killed. A lack of adequate communication between the two services will ultimately be determined as a contributory cause, but the Ministry of Defence will not confirm that the helicopter was shot down by a British ship until 1986.

Government minister Cecil Parkinson appears on television, and, noting that there has been an "enormous change of mood" in Britain since the landings, states that there will now be "no place for the Argentinians in those islands or in the future administration of them".

Brigadier Julian Thompson orders his commanders to attend an Orders Group meeting the following day, June 7th. He believes he now has sufficient information to conduct a brigade attack on Mount Longdon, Two Sisters and Mount Harriet, the "outer crust" of the Argentine defences around Port Stanley, in two or three days' time.

[Slim]

7th June, 1982

Two Argentine Lear jets, part of the Grupo 1 reconnaissance squadron, are detected inbound at 40,000 feet by Exeter's radar. The British ship waits until they are in missile range then fires Sea Dart.

The missile blows the tail off one of the enemy aircraft but leaves the pressure hull intact. Unfortunately the Lear has no escape system. Her crew of five have two agonising minutes to compose themselves for death as they plummet towards the cold terrain of Pebble Island. As the aircraft hits the ground, its senior occupant Vice Commodore Rodolfo De La Colina becomes the highest ranking Argentine officer to die in the Falklands conflict.

The other Lear turns sharply for home.

Alacrity's 4.5 inch gun barrel is worn out. Admiral Woodward orders her to return home for repairs. Her captain, Commander Christopher Craig, is unable to persuade him to change his mind, so after transferring her stores and munitions, she heads north.

Harrier GR3s attack an Argentine artillery position near Sapper Hill, to the west of Port Stanley. Both aircraft fire two pods of two-inch rockets into their target.

An observation post manned by men from 3 Para near Murrell Bridge, north-west of Port Stanley, is discovered by the Argentine special operations unit Compañía de Comandos 601. The Paras hold them off in a firefight lasting 40 minutes then withdraw with no casualties, leaving some of their equipment behind.

The Welsh Guards arrive at Fitzroy from San Carlos in early morning on the assault ship Fearless, but a shortage of landing craft means that half of them must return. They leave San Carlos again late at night on the landing ship logistics vessels Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram.

ITV broadcasts a programme entitled Paying For The War as part of its World In Action documentary series. The programme considers the financial cost of the war, and the possibility of a boost in sales to British-made equipment.

[Slim]

8th June, 1982

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel Sir Galahad arrives at Bluff Cove off Fitzroy carrying the Welsh Guards, to reinforce 5 Brigade. A similar ship, Sir Tristram is already at anchor and offloading ammunition. Unfortunately, the ships are visible to Argentine positions on high ground to the north-east.

The ships' locations are relayed to the Argentine mainland via Port Stanley. Five Daggers and five Skyhawks take off from bases on the mainland to attack the British ships.

The five Daggers fly up the western side of Falkland Sound at wave-top height. But as they turn hard right toward their targets, they encounter HMS Plymouth steaming out of Carlos Water. With the element of surprise lost, the Daggers quickly revise their attack plans and engage Plymouth.

The British warship is hit by four bombs, none of which explode. One passes straight through the ship's funnel. Two of the bombs cause damage but bounce off into the sea. The fourth hits an armed depth charge, causing fires which take some time to control. Five of the ship's company are injured but no-one is killed and Plymouth is not fatally damaged.

One of the Daggers is damaged by a Sea Cat missile, but all turn and speed back to the mainland.

The five Skyhawks now attack the RFA vessels at Fitzroy shortly after 16:10. Three attack Sir Galahad, finding their target with two, possibly three five-hundred pound bombs. The resulting explosion causes dreadful carnage among the Welsh Guardsmen aboard.

Sir Tristram is hit by the remaining two Skyhawks but fortunately, is not packed with troops and is only lightly damaged.

Within minutes of the attack, helicopters are winching men from Sir Galahad and from liferafts, hovering low over the water to push survivors' boats toward the shore with the down draught from their rotors. Men of 2 Para dash to the shore, to pull men from the rafts, and help the casualties.

News of the attack is received with shock in Britain. Pictures of the rescue operation, with helicopters swarming around the vessels and men with terrible injuries being brought ashore appear on television in the evening.

Later, a landing craft transporting vehicles of 5 Brigade headquarters is attacked by four Skyhawks. One of the Argentine fighter bombers scores a direct hit, killing six men on board. Two Harriers on combat air patrol intercept and destroy three of the Skyhawks with Sidewinders, Flight Lieutenant David Morgan downing two of them within seconds of each other. The fourth escapes.

In all, the British have lost fifty-one men and forty six injured. It is the single worst loss of life inflicted on British forces during the conflict.

Even so, Argentine accounts of their successes are greatly exaggerated, as usual. The British commander of ground forces, General Jeremy Moore, learns that General Menéndez in Stanley has been told that an estimated nine hundred British ground troops have lost their lives.

Moore urges military HQ in the UK to sustain this disinformation as long as possible. This they do, withholding the number of casualties and instead announcing that British losses are "heavy" and that the assault on Stanley is likely to be delayed.

Two patrols of men from the Royal Marine Mountain & Arctic Warfare Cadre and 42 Commando are sent after last light to report on enemy dispositions east of Mount Harriet. The men from 42 Commando find and engage an enemy heavy machine gun position before withdrawing and continuing to their objective. The two patrols establish a covert observation post behind enemy lines, forty metres from a route used by the Argentinians to connect positions on Two Sisters and Tumbledown.