There were many events leading to the 1982
Falklands War (''Guerra de Malvinas'' in
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
) between the United Kingdom and Argentina over possession of the
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...
and
South Georgia.
Background
The Falkland Islands had been the subject of a sovereignty dispute almost since they were first settled in 1764, between Great Britain and the later United Kingdom on one side, and successively France, Spain, and the
United Provinces of the River Plate
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
(later Argentina) on the other.
Britain made diplomatic protests when Vernet was appointed Governor by the United Provinces and both Britain and the United States made diplomatic protests over the attempt to curtail rights to sealing on the islands. After Vernet seized American ships sealing in the islands and confiscated their catch, the United States
dispatched a warship to the islands, resulting in the abandonment of
Puerto Luis (previously known as
Puerto Soledad
Puerto Soledad (''Puerto de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad'', en, Port Solitude) was a Spanish military outpost and penal colony on the Falkland Islands, situated at an inner cove of Berkeley Sound (french: ,Dom Pernety, Antoine-Joseph. ''Journ ...
) and the voluntary repatriation of many of the settlers. Subsequently, the United Provinces tried to re-establish the settlement at Puerto Soledad as a penal colony, but a mutiny resulted in the murder of one Governor.
Shortly after that mutiny had been quelled, in January 1833, a British naval task force arrived charged with the re-establishment of British rule on the islands. The British requested that the Argentine administration leave the islands, who complied with that request without a shot being fired. Contrary to popular belief, the settlers on the island were not expelled at the same time, but were encouraged by the British to remain. The islands remained continuously in British possession from then until 1982.
Build-up
During the period 1976–1983, Argentina was under the control of a military dictatorship, and in the midst of a devastating economic crisis. The
National Reorganization Process, as the junta was known, had killed thousands of Argentine citizens for their political opposition to the government. The era was known as the
Dirty War
The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 as ...
.
The military staged a coup against the government of President
Isabel Perón and put General
Jorge Videla
Jorge Rafael Videla (; ; 2 August 1925 – 17 May 2013) was an Argentine military officer and dictator, Commander in Chief of the Army, member of the Military Junta, and ''de facto'' President of Argentina from 29 March 1976 to 29 March 1981. ...
in power. He was succeeded by General
Roberto Viola
Roberto Eduardo Viola (13 October 1924 – 30 September 1994) was an Argentine military officer who briefly served as president of Argentina from 29 March to 11 December 1981 as a military dictator.
Early life
He was born as Roberto Eduardo Vio ...
and then General Leopoldo Galtieri for a short while. Before he started the Falklands War, Galtieri was subject to growing opposition from the people. The actual rule of General Galtieri lasted eighteen months. In the course of 1981, Argentina saw inflation climb to over 600%; simultaneously, the
GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
fell by 11.4%, manufacturing output by 22.9% and real wages by 19.2%. The trade unions were gaining more support for a general strike every day, and (most ominously for the dictatorship) popular opposition to the junta was growing rapidly.
President Galtieri, as head of the junta, aimed to counter public concern over economic and
human rights
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
issues by means of a speedy victory over the Falklands which would appeal to popular nationalistic sentiment. Argentine intelligence officers had been working with the
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
(CIA) to help fund the
Contras in Nicaragua, and the Argentine government believed it might be rewarded for this activity by non-interference on the part of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
if it invaded the Falklands. The Argentine leadership had noticed that during the
Suez crisis in 1956, the US had objected to the British use of force, that in 1981 the UK
reached agreement with the former colony Rhodesia and that the
1961 Indian Annexation of Goa
The Annexation of Goa was the process in which the Republic of India annexed ', the then Portuguese Indian territories of Goa, Daman and Diu, starting with the armed action carried out by the Indian Armed Forces in December 1961. In India ...
was initially condemned by the international community and then accepted as a ''
fait accompli''.
Argentina exerted pressure at the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
by raising hints of a possible invasion, but the British either missed or ignored this threat and did not react. The Argentines assumed that the British would not use force if the islands were invaded.
According to British sources,
the Argentines interpreted the failure of the British to react as a lack of interest in the Falklands due to the planned withdrawal (as part of a general reduction in size of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
in 1981), including the last of the Antarctic Supply vessels,
HMS ''Endurance'', and by the
British Nationality Act of 1981, which replaced the full British citizenship of
Falkland Islanders
Falkland Islanders, also called FalklandersChater, Tony. ''The Falklands''. St. Albans: The Penna Press, 1996. p. 137. and nicknamed Kelpers, are the people of the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands.
Identity
The Island ...
with a more limited version.
Operation Sol in 1976 had secretly landed a force of 50 men from the Argentine military under the command of Captain César Trombetta on the unoccupied
Southern Thule
Southern Thule is a collection of the three southernmost islands in the South Sandwich Islands: Bellingshausen, Cook, and Thule (Morrell). The island group is barren, windswept, bitterly cold, and uninhabited. It has an extensive exclusive ...
, which belonged to the British
South Sandwich Islands
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type =
, song =
, image_map = South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in United Kingdom.svg
, map_caption = Location of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in the southern Atlantic Oce ...
, where they established the military outpost of
Corbeta Uruguay. This led to a formal protest from the United Kingdom, and an effort to resolve the issue through diplomatic rather than military means. (The United Kingdom's ultimate response was
Operation Journeyman, an armed force commanded by
Captain Hugh Balfour, the commanding officer of the frigate , and accompanied by the nuclear submarine , the frigate , and two auxiliaries, and in support.
)
Reports from the
Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) in 1977, 1979 and 1981 suggested that "as long as Argentina calculated that the British Government were prepared to negotiate seriously on sovereignty, it was unlikely to resort to force." However, if "... negotiations broke down, or if Argentina concluded from them that there was no prospect of real progress towards a negotiated transfer of sovereignty, there would be a high risk of its then resorting to more forceful measures, including direct military action."
Preparation
First moves
At a lunch between
Admiral Jorge Isaac Anaya (another member of the junta) and General Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri on 9 December 1981, in the main army barracks at Campo de Mayo, the two discussed how and when to overthrow President Roberto Viola. Anaya offered the navy's support on the understanding that the navy would be allowed to occupy the Falkland Islands and South Georgia.
[Jimmy Burns: ''The land that lost its heroes'', 1987, Bloomsbury Publishing, ] Galtieri appears to have hoped that public opinion would reward a successful occupation by affording him power for at least ten years. They believed that the flying of the Argentine flag in Port Stanley on the 150th anniversary of Britain's "''illegal usurpation of Las Malvinas''" would lead to a neo-
Perónist era of national pride.
On Tuesday 15 December, Anaya flew from Buenos Aires to the main Argentine naval base at Puerto Belgrano. He travelled there to install Vice-Admiral Juan Lombardo officially as the new Chief of Naval Operations. After the ceremony, Anaya surprised Lombardo by telling him to prepare a plan for the occupation of the Falkland Islands. Lombardo later told the author Martin Middlebrook in an interview that Anaya told him to "take them but not necessarily to keep them". The conversation between Anaya and Lombardo was short and concluded with Anaya stressing the need for absolute secrecy.
Shortly after this initial order, Lombardo flew to Buenos Aires to ask Anaya for clarification of his orders. Lombardo recalled later:
The Air Force's Brigadier Basilio Lami Dozo was not informed of the decision before 29 December
and even Foreign Minister
Costa Méndez was unaware of the planning while he prepared his diplomatic initiative in January 1982.
Planning
Detailed planning began in early January 1982. It was headed by Vice Admiral Juan José Lombardo (Commander-in-Chief Fleet) and included General Osvald Garcia (commander of the Fifth Army Corps) and Brigadier Sigfrido Plessel, (member of the Air Force Staff). The operation would be an amphibious landing of 3,000 troops ''en masse'' to minimise bloodshed. The contingent of
Royal Marines, British civil service officials and the more anti-Argentine among the
Falklanders
Falkland Islanders, also called FalklandersChater, Tony. ''The Falklands''. St. Albans: The Penna Press, 1996. p. 137. and nicknamed Kelpers, are the people of the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands.
Identity
The Islande ...
would be deported and the bulk of the invasion force would return to their bases within 48 hours. A military governor and a gendarmerie of about 500 would be left to keep the Falklanders in line. Anaya's draft planned to replace the entire island population with Argentine settlers, but Lombardo believed that such a step would outrage the international community. Instead the Falklanders should be offered financial compensation if they wished to emigrate.
Commissioned by the British, an Argentine firm had constructed a temporary runway near Stanley in advance of the building of a main runway at Stanley airport. The military ''
Líneas Aéreas del Estado'' (LADE) airline flew regularly to the Falkland Islands. LADE was represented by Vice-Commodore Hector Gilobert in Port Stanley and he had been gathering intelligence for four years. The cargo ship ARA ''Isla de los Estados'' was hired for commercial purposes by the island administration, and her captain Capaglio had detailed information on the Falkland coast, beaches and inner waters.
In an atmosphere of arms selling (for example, the
Iran-Iraq war was occurring, with both countries buying massive amounts of arms) the United Kingdom was very forthcoming to the Argentine naval
attaché
In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accord ...
in London, Rear-Admiral Walter Allara. He was invited on board HMS ''Invincible'' and had conversations with British naval personnel about the shortcomings of the Royal Navy.
In January 1982, diplomatic talks over sovereignty ceased. Although it is often thought that the Falklands invasion was a long-planned action, it became clear after the war that the subsequent defence of the islands had been largely improvised; for example,
sea mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any v ...
s were not deployed at strategic landing locations, and a large part of the infantry forces sent to the Falklands consisted of the current intake of conscripts, who had only begun their training in January/February of that year. Arguments that the war was a last-minute decision are bolstered by the fact that the Argentine Navy would have received, at the end of the year, additional French
Exocet
The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
Etymology
The missile's name was given by M. Guillot, then the technical director ...
airborne anti-ship missiles, Super Étendards (French fighter aircraft capable of carrying the Exocet) and new ships being built in West Germany.
Argentine intentions
The Argentine Navy possessed modern British-built
Type 42 air-defence
destroyers of the type forming the bulk of the British Task Force's anti-air umbrella. Training attacks on these revealed that over half of Argentine aircraft might be lost in the process of destroying only a few British warships if they attacked at the medium to high altitudes at which the
Sea Dart missile
Sea Dart, or GWS.30 was a Royal Navy surface-to-air missile system designed in the 1960s and entering service in 1973. It was fitted to the Type 42 destroyers (United Kingdom and Argentina), Type 82 destroyer and s of the Royal Navy. Originally ...
was designed to engage; hence the Argentine Air Force's employment of low-level stand-off Exocet attacks in
blue-water combat, and over-land approaches when in the
littoral
The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal a ...
.
The overall lack of readiness for the Falklands adventure was likely to have been due to the invasion being a last-minute decision taken as a consequence of the South Georgia crisis (see below). Furthermore, for several years, Argentina had been on the brink of war with
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. Argentina's military strategists feared that Chile would take advantage of the Falklands crisis and attempt to seize part of Argentine
Patagonia
Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...
. In 2009 Basilio Lami Dozo, the commander-in-chief of the Argentine Air Force during the war, disclosed that Leopoldo Galtieri announced to him that Chile would be the next invasion target.
[:
:''"Para colmo, Galtieri dijo en un discurso: „Que saquen el ejemplo de lo que estamos haciendo ahora porque después les toca a ellos“"''.]
Consequently, a significant part of Argentina's limited forces and equipment were kept on the mainland – and during the war, Chile, perhaps suspecting an Argentine invasion,
[Articl]
Chile teme que Argentina pueda repetir una acción de fuerza en el canal de Beagle
in the spanish newspaper " El País" on 11 April 1982 written by Rafael Urbina in Santiago de Chile
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
, retrieved on 26 August 2008 did indeed deploy forces in border regions in what looked like mobilization for a possible invasion (it is still unclear whether this was defensive, offensive or merely a diversion prompted by its British allies).
Argentina's original intention was to mount a quick, symbolic occupation, followed rapidly by a withdrawal, leaving only a small garrison to support the new military governor. This strategy was based on the aforementioned Argentinian assumption that the British would never respond militarily. Argentine assault units were indeed withdrawn to the mainland in the days following the invasion, but strong popular support and the rapid British reaction forced the Junta to change their objectives and reinforce the islands, since they could not politically afford to lose the islands once the British came out to fight. The junta misjudged the political climate in Britain, believing that democracies were weak, indecisive and averse to risk, and did not anticipate that the British would move their fleet halfway across the globe.
Landings on South Georgia
In 1980, Admiral Edgardo Otero (formerly the notorious commander of the
Navy Petty-Officers School of Mechanics
The Higher School of Mechanics of the Navy (Spanish: ''Escuela Superior de Mecánica de la Armada'', commonly referred to by its acronym ESMA) has gone through three major transformations throughout its history. Originally ESMA served as an educa ...
, where hundreds of the 'disappeared' were tortured and executed), was the head of the navy's Antarctic operations and sought to repeat Operation Sol in South Georgia by establishing a military base (Operation Alpha). Admiral Lombardo feared that Operation Alpha would jeopardise the secret preparations for the Falkland landings, but Admiral Otero had close links to Admiral Anaya who approved Operation Alpha despite promising Admiral Lombardo he would cancel the operation.
The Argentine entrepreneur, Constantino Davidoff, had a two-year-old contract regarding scrapping an old whaling station on South Georgia. In December 1981, he was transported by the icebreaker ARA ''Almirante Irizar'', commanded by Captain Trombetta, to South Georgia for an initial survey of the work. The party was landed without the customary call to the
British Antarctic Survey (BAS) base at
Grytviken
Grytviken ( ) is a settlement on South Georgia in the South Atlantic and formerly a whaling station and the largest settlement on the island. It is located at the head of King Edward Cove within the larger Cumberland East Bay, considered the b ...
, which led to formal diplomatic protests by the British Government.
Davidoff personally called the British Embassy in Buenos Aires to apologise, and promised that his men would follow the correct protocols on landing in future. He received permission to continue with his venture, and on 11 March the naval transport
ARA ''Bahía Buen Suceso'' set sail, carrying Davidoff's party of scrap workers. The party was, however, infiltrated by Argentine marines posing as civilian scientists. Operation Alpha had begun.
Arriving on 19 March, the party failed once again to follow the correct protocol and proceeded directly to
Leith Harbour
Leith Harbour (), also known as Port Leith, was a whaling station on the northeast coast of South Georgia, established and operated by Christian Salvesen Ltd, Edinburgh. The station was in operation from 1909 until 1965. It was the largest ...
. The BAS party sent to investigate found that the Argentinian
scrap metal
Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...
workers had established a camp, defaced British signs, broken into the BAS hut and removed emergency rations, and had shot reindeer in contravention of local conservancy measures (landing with firearms without permission was of itself illegal). The BAS party also reported a number of men in military uniform and that the Argentine flag had been raised.
![HMS-Endurance-MDQ-1982](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/HMS-Endurance-MDQ-1982.jpg)
A series of diplomatic exchanges then took place. The Falkland Islands Governor and subsequently the Foreign Office passed a message back to the BAS team for passing to the captain of the ARA ''Bahia Buen Suceso''. This was to the effect that the Argentine flag must be taken down and that they must report to the British administrator (Mr Stephen Martin, commander of the British Antarctic Survey Base) at Grytviken, to have their passports stamped (which they refused to do as it would acknowledge British sovereignty over the islands). Although the flag was lowered and the ''Bahía Buen Suceso'' departed, a party of men were left behind. On 21 March, HMS ''Endurance'' set sail with a party of 22 Royal Marines to expel the men who remained at Leith, but to avoid further tensions, the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) ordered ''Endurance'' to hold off.
Taking advantage of the British pause, the Argentine Junta then ordered the
ARA ''Bahía Paraíso'' to land a party of
Buzos Tacticos (special forces) led by Lieutenant
Alfredo Astiz
Alfredo Ignacio Astiz (born 8 November 1951) is an Argentine former military commander, intelligence officer, and naval commando who served in the Argentine Navy during the military dictatorship of Jorge Rafael Videla during the Proceso de Reorg ...
("the blond angel of death"). Rather than force a confrontation, the Royal Marines were ordered to set up an observation post to monitor the situation at Leith. The full party of Royal Marines was not landed until 31 March when it became apparent that Argentine forces intended to seize the Falkland Islands. The Grytviken Base was actually assaulted the day after the Falklands, since bad weather prevented an attack on the same day.
Failed diplomacy
During the conflict, there were no formal diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Argentina, so negotiations were carried out in a rather indirect way, via third parties who spoke with one then with the other belligerent ("
shuttle diplomacy
In diplomacy and international relations, shuttle diplomacy is the action of an outside party in serving as an intermediary between (or among) principals in a dispute, without direct principal-to-principal contact. Originally and usually, the proce ...
"). The
Secretary-General
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
of the United Nations,
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
Javier Felipe Ricardo Pérez de Cuéllar de la Guerra (; ; 19 January 1920 – 4 March 2020) was a Peruvian diplomat and politician who served as the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991. He later served as Prime Mini ...
of Peru, announced that his efforts in favour of peace were futile.
Although Peru (which represented Argentina's diplomatic interests in Britain) and Switzerland (which represented Britain's diplomatic interests in Argentina) exerted great diplomatic pressure to avoid war, they were unable to resolve the conflict, and a peace plan proposed by
Peruvian president
The president of Peru ( es, link=no, presidente del Perú), officially called the president of the Republic of Peru ( es, link=no, presidente de la República del Perú), is the head of state and head of government of Peru. The president is th ...
Fernando Belaúnde Terry
Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...
on 1 May, was rejected by Argentina after the sinking of the cruiser
ARA ''Belgrano'' on 2 May.
Invasion
The
British Government warned
Rex Hunt
Rex James Hunt (born 7 March 1949) is an Australian television and radio personality, and a former Australian rules football player. He was also a veteran Australian rules football commentator known for his habit of making up quirky nicknames ...
, the
Governor of the Falkland Islands
The governor of the Falkland Islands is the representative of the British Crown in the Falkland Islands, acting "in His Majesty's name and on His Majesty's behalf" as the islands' ''de facto'' head of state in the absence of the British monarch ...
, of a possible Argentine invasion on 1 April. Hunt then organised a defence, and gave military command to Major Mike Norman RM, who managed to muster a small force of Royal Marines. The Argentine
Lieutenant-Commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...
in charge of the invasion, Guillermo Sanchez-Sabarots, landed his special forces at
Mullet Creek
Mullet Creek is a small river in East Falkland. It is not a major watercourse, but is best known for its part in the Falklands War On April 2, 1982, Argentinian marines led by Guillermo Sanchez-Sabarots, landed his squadron of special forces ...
.
He proceeded to attack the buildings in and around
Port Stanley
Stanley (; also known as Port Stanley) is the capital city of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2016 census, the city had a popula ...
, including Government House and the Moody Brook Barracks until the Falkland Islands government at Government House surrendered on 2 April. One Argentine was killed in the main invasion; a further three Argentines died in the fighting to take control of South Georgia.
Task force
![FalklandsTaskForceKeyLogisticsPointsMap](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/FalklandsTaskForceKeyLogisticsPointsMap.jpg)
The British were quick to organise diplomatic pressure against Argentina. Because of the long distance to the Falklands, Britain had to rely on a naval
task force for military action. The overall naval force was commanded by the
Commander-in-Chief Fleet
The Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET) was the admiral responsible for the operations of the ships, submarines and aircraft of the British Royal Navy from 1971 until April 2012. The post was subordinate to the First Sea Lord, the professional he ...
,
Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse, who was designated Commander Task Force 317, and had three to four subordinate task groups, depending on the stage of the war.
Rear Admiral John “Sandy” Woodward’s Task Group 317.8 was centred around the
aircraft carriers
HMS ''Hermes'' and the newly commissioned
HMS ''Invincible'' carrying only 20
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
(FAA)
Sea Harrier
The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval short take-off and vertical landing/ vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft. It is the second member of the Harrier family developed. It first entered servic ...
s between them for defence against the combined Argentinian air force and naval air arm. The task force would have to be self-reliant and able to project its force across the littoral area of the Islands.
A second component was the Amphibious Group, Task Group 317.0, commanded by Commodore Michael Clapp RN.
[Michael Clapp, Amphibious Assault Falklands. ] The embarked force, the Landing Group or Task Group 317.1, comprised
3 Commando Brigade
3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen from ...
, Royal Marines (including units attached from the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
's
Parachute Regiment and a number of units under the
Royal Armoured Corps
The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the ...
cap badge (The Blues and Royals)), under the command of Brigadier
Julian Thompson RM to bring it up to its wartime strength. Most of this force was aboard the hastily commandeered cruise liner
''Canberra''.
A third was Submarine Group (TG 320.9) of three to four submarines under Flag Officer Submarines. The UK declared a '
total exclusion zone
The Total Exclusion Zone (TEZ) was an area declared by the United Kingdom on 30 April 1982 covering a circle of radius from the centre of the Falkland Islands. During the Falklands War any ''sea vessel'' or ''aircraft'' from ''any country'' enter ...
' of around the Falkland Islands before commencing operations, excluding all nations' vessels.
Throughout the operation, 43 British merchant ships (ships taken up from trade, or
STUFT
A STUFT (acronym for ship taken up from trade) is a UK civilian ship requisitioned for government use.
The Falklands War of 1982 saw a diversity of ships taken up from trade, including tankers with potable water (see British logistics in the ...
), served with or supplied the task force. Cargo vessels and tankers for fuel and water formed an logistics chain between Britain and the South Atlantic.
During the journey and up to the war beginning on 1 May, the Task Force was shadowed by
Boeing 707 aircraft of the Argentine Air Force. One of these flights was intercepted outside the exclusion zone by a Sea Harrier, but the unarmed 707 was not attacked because diplomatic moves were still in progress and the British had not yet decided to commit themselves to war.
Prince Andrew
Prince Andrew, Duke of York, (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger brother of King Charles III and the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince ...
, then
second in line to the British throne, served as a
Sea King helicopter co-pilot for No.820 Naval Air Squadron on HMS ''Invincible'' during the war, flying antisubmarine and anti-surface patrols. His helicopter also acted as an improvised
airborne early warning
Airborne or Airborn may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis
* ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film
* ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...
platform, helped in casualty evacuation, transport and
search and rescue.
The British called their counter-invasion
Operation Corporate
The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland I ...
. When the task force sailed from Britain, the American news magazine ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
'' cover headline proclaimed "The Empire Strikes Back", which was the name of a recent
''Star Wars'' film, a humorous reference to the old
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
.
Public opinion
The public mood in the United Kingdom was to support an attempt to reclaim the islands. International opinion was divided. To some, Britain was a former colonial power seeking to reclaim a lost colony from a local power, and this was a message that the Argentines initially used to garner support (this was the prevailing international opinion in which
India annexed Goa in 1961; see also decolonization). Others supported Britain under the premise that it was a stable democracy invaded by a military dictatorship, along with the concept of the
self-determination of the islanders, who wished to remain British. Whilst remaining diplomatically neutral, most European countries, members of the
Commonwealth, and eventually the United States, supported Britain.
In nearby Uruguay, traditionally a brother country of Argentina, public mood was supportive of the Argentine people. Nevertheless, its
Civic-military dictatorship, with foreign relations led by
Estanislao Valdés Otero, was conscious of the dangers of entering a war, so officially the country remained neutral.
The United Nations
British diplomacy centred on arguing that the Falkland Islanders were entitled to use the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
(UN) principle of self-determination and on showing a willingness to compromise. The UN Secretary-General said that he was amazed at the compromise that the British had offered. Nevertheless, Argentina rejected it, the Junta being encouraged by massive popular support for the invasion at home and thus unable to backtrack; they based their arguments on rights to territory based on actions before 1945 and the creation of the UN.
On 3 April, the
UN Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
passed
Resolution 502, calling for the withdrawal of Argentine troops from the islands and the cessation of hostilities. On 10 April, the
European Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
approved trade sanctions against Argentina. President
Ronald Reagan and the United States’ administration did not issue direct diplomatic condemnations, instead providing
intelligence support to the British armed forces.
Shuttle diplomacy and US involvement
At first glance, it appeared that the US had military treaty obligations to both parties in the war, bound to the UK as a member of
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
and to Argentina by the
Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance
The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (commonly known as the Rio Treaty, the Rio Pact, the Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, or by the Spanish-language acronym TIAR from ''Tratado Interamericano de Asistencia Recíproca'') is an agree ...
(the "Rio Pact"). However, the
North Atlantic Treaty
The North Atlantic Treaty, also referred to as the Washington Treaty, is the treaty that forms the legal basis of, and is implemented by, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The treaty was signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 194 ...
only obliges the signatories to give support if the attack occurs in Europe or North America north of the
Tropic of Cancer
The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted tow ...
, and the Rio Pact only obliges the US to intervene if one of the adherents to the treaty is attacked—the UK never attacked Argentina.
In March, Secretary of State
Alexander Haig
Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (; December 2, 1924February 20, 2010) was United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to and in between these ...
, directed the
US Ambassador to Argentina Harry W. Shlaudeman, to warn the Argentine government away from any invasion. President Reagan requested assurances from Galtieri against an invasion and offered the services of his Vice-President,
George H. W. Bush, as
mediator, but was refused.
In fact, the
Reagan Administration
Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over ...
was sharply divided on the issue. Meeting on 5 April, Haig and Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Lawrence Eagleburger
Lawrence Sidney Eagleburger (August 1, 1930 – June 4, 2011) was an American statesman and career diplomat, who served briefly as the Secretary of State under President George H. W. Bush from December 1992 to January 1993, one of the shortest t ...
favoured backing Britain, concerned that equivocation would undermine the NATO alliance.
Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs
The Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs within the United States Department of State, the foreign affairs department of the United States federal government. The Assi ...
Thomas Enders, however, feared that supporting Britain would undermine US
anti-communist efforts in Latin America. He received the firm backing of United States Ambassadors to the
UN Ambassador
A permanent representative to the United Nations (sometimes called a "UN ambassador")"History of Ambassadors", United States Mission to the United Nations, March 2011, webpagUSUN-a. is the head of a country's diplomatic mission to the United Nati ...
Jeane Kirkpatrick
Jeane Duane Kirkpatrick (née Jordan; November 19, 1926December 7, 2006) was an American diplomat and political scientist who played a major role in the foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration. An ardent anticommunist, she was a lo ...
, Haig's nominal subordinate and political rival. Kirkpatrick was guest of honour at a dinner held by the Argentine ambassador to the United States, on the day that the Argentine armed forces landed on the islands.
The
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
continued its neutrality; 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". But he assented to Haig and
Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger's position. Haig briefly (8–30 April) headed a "shuttle diplomacy" mission between London and Buenos Aires. According to a BBC documentary titled "The Falklands War and the White House",
Caspar Weinberger's Department of Defense began a number of non-public actions to support and supply the British military while Haig's shuttle diplomacy was still ongoing. Haig's message to the Argentines was that the British would indeed fight, and that the US would then support Britain, but at the time he was not aware that America was already providing support.
The US officially comes down on the side of the British
At the end of the month, Reagan blamed Argentina for the failure of the mediation, declared US support for Britain, and announced the imposition of
economic sanctions
Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they ma ...
against Argentina.
In a notorious episode in June, US ambassador to the United Nations
Jeane Kirkpatrick
Jeane Duane Kirkpatrick (née Jordan; November 19, 1926December 7, 2006) was an American diplomat and political scientist who played a major role in the foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration. An ardent anticommunist, she was a lo ...
cast a second veto of a Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, then announced minutes later that she had received instructions to abstain from voting. The situation was blamed on a delay in communications, but it was perceived by many to be part of an ongoing power struggle between Haig and Kirkpatrick.
Galtieri and a fair proportion of his government thought that the UK would not react. Margaret Thatcher declared that the democratic rights of the Falkland Islanders had been assaulted and would not surrender the islands to the Argentinian "
jackboot
A jackboot is a military boot such as the cavalry jackboot or the hobnailed jackboot. The hobnailed jackboot has a different design and function from the first type. It is a combat boot that is designed for marching. It rises to mid-calf or high ...
". This stance was aided, at least domestically, by the mostly supportive British press.
![Caspar Weinberger official photo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Caspar_Weinberger_official_photo.jpg)
The Argentine junta felt that the United States would, even in a worst-case scenario, remain completely neutral in the conflict (based upon the support that Argentina had given to the Reagan administration in Central America, training
Contras). This assumption underestimated the reality of the US-UK
special relationship.
To some extent, the Argentine military junta was misled by its own opinion of democracies as being weak, inefficient talking-shops, afraid of taking risks. Indeed, in Britain there was much debate about the rights and wrongs of war. However, regardless of their own policies and opinions, opposition parties firmly backed the government during the crisis, in order to present a single united front.
An American fear of the perceived threat of the Soviet Union and the spread of communism, along with the certainty that Britain could handle the matter on its own, may have influenced the US to take a position of non-interference (the
Soviet-Afghan War was now in its 2nd year; the US had also relatively recently lost Vietnam and its surrounding countries to communism). During the Cold War, with the performance of forces being watched closely by the Soviet Union, it was considered preferable for the UK to handle without assistance a conflict within its capabilities.
American non-interference was vital to the US-British relationship.
Ascension Island, a British possession, was vital to the long term supply of the Task Force South; however, the airbase stationed on it was run and operated by the US. The American commander of the base was ordered to assist the British in any way and for a brief period Ascension Air Field was one of the busiest airports in the world.
The most important NATO contributions were intelligence information and the rescheduled supply of the latest model of
AIM-9L Sidewinder all-aspect An all-aspect air-to-air missile can track a target no matter which way the target faces relative to the missile. In other words, an all-aspect missile can be launched against a target not only in a tail-chase engagement, but also in a head-on eng ...
infra-red seeking missiles, which allowed existing British stocks to be employed.
Margaret Thatcher stated that "without the
Harrier jets and their immense manoeuvrability, equipped as they were with the latest version of the Sidewinder missile, supplied to us by US Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, we could never have got back the Falklands." This is not only politically but militarily questionable, however, as all the Fleet Air Arm Sidewinder engagements proved to be from the rear.
In early May, Caspar Weinberger offered the use of an American aircraft carrier.
[D. George Boyce, The Falklands War, Palgrave MacMillan, (2005). page 92. Also see Richardson, L., When Allies Differ: Anglo-American relations during the Suez and Falklands Crises, London, (1996).] This seemingly extremely generous offer was seen by some as vital: it was noted by Rear Admiral Woodward that the loss of ''Invincible'' would have been a severe setback, but the loss of ''Hermes'' would have meant an end to the whole operation. Weinberger admitted
[Ronald Reagan Oral History Project, Final Edited Transcript, The Falklands Roundtable, 15–16 May 2003, Washington D.C.](_blank)
/ref> that there would have been many problems if a request had ever been made. Foremost, it would have meant US personnel becoming directly involved in the conflict, as training British forces to crew the vessel would have taken years.
Both Weinberger and Reagan were later awarded the British honour of Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE). American critics of the US role claimed that, by failing to side with Argentina, the US violated its own Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine was a United States foreign policy position that opposed European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. It held that any intervention in the political affairs of the Americas by foreign powers was a potentially hostile act ...
.
In September 2001, the President of Mexico
The president of Mexico ( es, link=no, Presidente de México), officially the president of the United Mexican States ( es, link=no, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Co ...
, Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox Quesada (; born 2 July 1942) is a Mexican businessman and politician who served as the 62nd president of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006. After campaigning as a right-wing populist, Fox was elected president on the ...
, cited the conflict as proof of the failure of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance since the treaty provides for mutual defence. However, in this conflict, Argentina was the aggressor.
Soviet non-involvement
In general, the Soviet Union stayed aloof from the situation. Both NATO member UK and the proactively anti-Communist regime in Argentina at the time were enemies of the USSR.
The USSR maintained a number of Antarctic bases, some not far from the area of conflict, such as Bellingshausen Station
Bellingshausen Station (Russian: станция Беллинсгаузен) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) Antarctic station at Collins Harbour, on King George Island of the South Shetland Islands. It was one of the first research stations fou ...
in the South Shetlands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 19 ...
, an area claimed by both Argentina and the UK. The USSR had opened a new Antarctic base two years before — Russkaya Station
The Russkaya Station (russian: Русская) was a former Soviet and Russian Antarctic research station that was located on the Ruppert Coast, in Marie Byrd Land in Western Antarctica. The station was proposed in 1973 and approved in 1978. Con ...
— albeit on the other side of Antarctica. Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist repub ...
member Poland also operated the Henryk Arctowski base not far from Bellinghausen. In addition, the USSR had a number of fishing boats and "research vessels" in the region which were "multipurpose".
Hugh Bicheno continues that after Argentina, the UK and the USA:
:"There was a fourth party involved — the Soviet electronic intelligence ships that maintained constant surveillance of the ritishtask force. US goodwill did not extend to giving the Soviets insight into NSA eavesdropping capability, or a windfall mass of encrypted traffic for their super-computers to play with."[Bicheno, Hugh (2006) ''Razor's Edge: The Unofficial History of the Falklands War''. London. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ]
European support
The European Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
, of which the United Kingdom was a member, fully supported the UK's position and opposed the Argentinian invasion of the Falklands; the community also supported the United Nations Resolution
A United Nations resolution (UN resolution) is a formal text adopted by a United Nations (UN) body. Although any UN body can issue resolutions, in practice most resolutions are issued by the Security Council or the General Assembly.
Legal st ...
requesting that Argentina withdraw from the islands. When Argentina refused, the community announced sanctions against Argentina. Today, the present European Union recognises the UK's sovereignty as the only legitimate claim and this is recognised in the Treaty of Lisbon
The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member s ...
, with all member states (apart from Spain which is neutral), individually recognising it.
French involvement
The President of France
The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency i ...
, François Mitterrand, gave full support to the UK in the Falklands war. Sir John Nott
Sir John William Frederic Nott (born 1 February 1932) is a former British Conservative Party politician. He was a senior politician of the late 1970s and early 1980s, playing a prominent role as Secretary of State for Defence during the 1982 in ...
, the British Secretary of State for Defence
The secretary of state for defence, also referred to as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Ministry of Defence. The incumbent is a membe ...
during the conflict, has acknowledged in his memoirs that "in so many ways Mitterrand and the French were our greatest allies".
A large part of Argentina's military equipment was French-made, so French support was crucial. Sir John has revealed that France provided Mirage and Etendard aircraft, identical to the ones that the country had supplied to Argentina, for British pilots to train against. It is also disclosed in Sir John's memoirs that France provided intelligence to help fight the Exocet missiles that she had sold to Argentina, including details of special electronic countermeasures that at the time were only known to the French armed forces. In her memoirs, Margaret Thatcher says of Mitterrand that "I never forgot the debt we owed him for his personal support...throughout the Falklands Crisis". As France had recently sold Super Etendard aircraft and Exocet missiles to the Argentine Navy, there was still a French team in Argentina helping to fit out the Exocets and aircraft for Argentine use at the beginning of the war. Argentina claims that the team left for France soon after 2 April invasion, but according to
Dr. James Corum
James Sterling Corum is an American air power historian and scholar of counter-insurgency. He has written several books on counterinsurgency and other topics. He is a retired lieutenant colonel in the US Army Reserve.
Early life
Corum was educate ...
, the French team apparently continued to assist the Argentines throughout the war in spite of the NATO embargo and official French government policy.
Latin American involvement
Argentina received military assistance only from Peru — despite receiving cursory support from the Organisation of American States
The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...
in
resolution
supporting Argentina's sovereignty and deploring European Community sanctions (with Chile, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
, and the United States attending but abstaining), and Peruvian President
The president of Peru ( es, link=no, presidente del Perú), officially called the president of the Republic of Peru ( es, link=no, presidente de la República del Perú), is the head of state and head of government of Peru. The president is th ...
Belaunde announced that his country was "ready to support Argentina with all the resources it needed." This came in the form of aircraft supplies, such as long range air fuel (drop) tanks and spare parts.
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
and Bolivia offered ground troops, but their offers were seen as political posturing and not accepted. At this point in time, Cuba was also heavily involved in the war in Angola across the South Atlantic, and had 36,000 troops there.
K.J. Holsti presents a different sight of the South American dilemma: "While South American governments (except Chile and Colombia) publicly supported Argentina in its conflict with Great Britain, in private many governments were pleased with the outcome of the war. Argentina's bellicosity against Chile over the Beagle Channel problem ... tsforeign intervention ( nBolivia and Nicaragua) ... and tspropounded geopolitical doctrines that were seen in other countries as threatening to them."
Chilean involvement
Neighbouring Chile, under Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...
's regime, became one of the major Latin American countries (the other being Colombia), to support Britain (and then only indirectly) by providing a military and naval diversion. In 1978 Argentina initiated Operation Soberania
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music)
Musical set theory provides concepts for categorizing musical objects ...
in order to invade the islands around Cape Horn
Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...
, but stopped the operation a few hours later for military and political reasons.
The Argentine government planned to seize the disputed Beagle Channel islands after the occupation of the Falklands. Basilio Lami Dozo disclosed that Leopoldo Galtieri announced to him that ''"hile
Hile ( ne, हिले) is a hill town located in the Eastern Part of Nepal, 13 km north of the regional center of Dhankuta Bazar. At an elevation of 1948 meters, it is the main route to other hilly districts like Bhojpur and Sankhuwasab ...
have to know that what we are doing now, because they will be the next in turn.'' Also Óscar Camilión, the last Argentine Foreign Minister before the war (29 March 1981 to 11 December 1981) stated that ''"The military planning was, after the solution of the Falklands case, to invade the disputed islands in the Beagle. That was the determination of the Argentine Navy."''
Such preparations were made public. On 2 June 1982 an article was published in the Buenos Aires newspaper ''La Prensa ''La Prensa'' ("The Press") is a frequently used name for newspapers in the Spanish-speaking world. It may refer to:
Argentina
* ''La Prensa'' (Buenos Aires)
* , a current publication of Caleta Olivia, Santa Cruz
Bolivia
* ''La Prensa'' (La Paz ...
'' concerning Manfred Schönfeld's answer to the question as to what to do after the expected Argentine victory in the Falklands : ''"The war will not be finished for us, because after the defeat of our enemies in the Falklands, they must be blown away from South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands, and all Argentine Austral archipelagos."''
This intention was probably known by the Chilean government that provided the United Kingdom with 'limited, but significant information'.
In her book ''Statecraft'', Margaret Thatcher claims that General Pinochet gave Britain "vital" support during the war, most notably in intelligence, which saved British lives. Thatcher claims that the Chilean Air Force
"With full speed to the stars"
, colours = Indigo White
, colours_label =
, march = Alte Kameraden
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 21 March ...
often provided Britain with early warning of impending Argentine Air Force
"Argentine Wings"
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 10 August (anniversary) 1 May (Baptism of fire during the Falklands War)
, equipment = 139 aircraft
, equipment_label =
, battles =
* Operation Independence
* Operation Soberanía
* Falkl ...
attacks. When, at one point, the Chilean long-range radar was switched off for 24 hours for maintenance work, the Argentinian Air Force was able to bomb the Royal Navy ships ''Sir Galahad
Sir Galahad (), sometimes referred to as Galeas () or Galath (), among other versions of his name, is a knight of King Arthur's Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. He is the illegitimate son of Si ...
'' and ''Sir Tristram
Sir Tristram (IRE) (7 April 1971 – 21 May 1997) was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who stood at stud in New Zealand, where he sired an extraordinary 45 Group One winners, including three Melbourne Cup winners. His progeny earned him ...
'', causing many casualties. Th
''Chilean Connection''
is described in detail by Sir Lawrence Freedman in his book ''The Official History of the Falklands Campaign''.
Colombian support
Although retaining positive relations with Argentina, Colombia sided with the United Kingdom. At the Organisation of American States
resolution
supporting Argentina's claim, it cast an abstaining vote, along with fellow American countries Chile, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States.
Commonwealth support
The Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...
, of which the United Kingdom is also a member, condemned the invasion of the Falklands and publicly supported the UK, which they recognised as the rightful owner of the islands. Of the Commonwealth nations, New Zealand made available the frigates HMNZS ''Canterbury'' and HMNZS ''Waikato'' as replacements for British ships in the Indian Ocean, freeing British vessels for deployment to the Falklands. In addition, New Zealand and South Africa severed diplomatic relations with Argentina. Australia and New Zealand imposed economic sanctions against Argentina.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Events Leading To The Falklands War
Falklands War, Events leading to the
Falklands War
Falklands War in South Georgia