Prelude
Failed diplomacy
In 1965, theThe Argentine junta
In the period leading up to the war—and, in particular, following the transfer of power between the military dictators GeneralArgentine invasion
On 2 April 1982 Argentine forces mounted amphibious landings, known as Operation Rosario, on the Falkland Islands. The invasion was met with a fierce but brief defence organised by the Falkland Islands' GovernorInitial British response
The British had already taken action prior to the 2 April invasion. In response to events on South Georgia, on 29 March, Ministers decided to send theUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 502
On 31 March 1982, the Argentine ambassador to the UN, Eduardo Roca, began attempting to garner support against a British military build-up designed to thwart earlier UN resolutions calling for both countries to resolve the Falklands dispute through discussion. On 2 April, the night of the invasion, a banquet was held at Roca's official residence for the US ambassador to the UN,Argentine occupation
The Argentine Army unit earmarked for the occupation was the 25th Infantry Regiment, a unit of 1,000 conscripts specially selected to represent all the regions of Argentina; it was flown into Stanley Airport as soon as the runway had been cleared. Once it became clear that the British were sending an amphibious task force, there was a general recall of reservists and twoShuttle diplomacy
On 8 April,British task force
The British government had no contingency plan for an invasion of the islands, and the task force was rapidly put together from whatever vessels were available. The nuclear-powered submarine set sail from Faslane, Scotland on 4 April. The two aircraft carriers and and their escort vessels leftRecapture of South Georgia and the attack on ''Santa Fe''
The South Georgia force, Operation Paraquet, under the command of Major Guy Sheridan RM, consisted of Marines fromBlack Buck raids
On 1 May British operations on the Falklands opened with the "Black Buck 1" attack (of a series of five) on the airfield at Stanley. A Avro Vulcan, Vulcan bomber from Ascension Island, Ascension flew an round trip, dropping conventional bombs across the runway at Stanley. The mission required repeated aerial refuelling, refuelling using several Victor K2 tanker aircraft operating in concert, including tanker-to-tanker refuelling. The overall effect of the raids on the war is difficult to determine. The runway was cratered by only one of the twenty one bombs, but as a result, the Argentines realised that their mainland was vulnerable and fighter aircraft were redeployed from the theatre to bases further north. HistorianEscalation of the air war
The Falklands had only three airfields. The longest and only paved runway was at the capital,Sinking of ARA ''General Belgrano''
On 30 April, the British government had brought into force a 200 nautical mile (370 km; 230 mi) Total Exclusion Zone (TEZ) to replace the previous Maritime Exclusion Zone; aircraft as well as ships of any nation were liable to attack inside it, if they were aiding the Argentinian occupation. Admiral Woodward's carrier battle group of twelve warships and three supply ships entered the TEZ on 1 May, shortly before the first Black Buck raid, intending to degrade Argentinian air and sea forces before the arrival of the amphibious group two weeks later. In anticipation, Admiral Anaya had deployed all his available warships into three task groups. The first was centred around the aircraft carrier with two old but missile-armed destroyers, and a second comprised three modern frigates. Both these groups were intended to approach the TEZ from the north. A third group approaching from the south was led by the Second World War-vintage Argentine light cruiser ; although old, her large guns and heavy armour made her a serious threat, and she was escorted by two modern Type 42 destroyer, Type 42 guided-missile destroyers, armed with Exocet missiles. On 1 May, the British nuclear-powered submarine (one of three patrolling the TEZ) located the ''Belgrano'' group and followed it until the following day, when it was about 12 hours away from the Task Force and just outside the Total Exclusion Zone. Admiral Woodward was aware of the Argentinian carrier group approaching from the other direction, and ordered the cruiser to be attacked to avoid being caught in a pincer movement; he was unaware that the ''Veinticinco de Mayo'' had failed to gain enough headwind to launch her aircraft. The order to sink the cruiser was confirmed by the War cabinet#Falklands War, War Cabinet in London and the ''General Belgrano'' was hit by two torpedoes at 4 pm local time on 2 May, sinking an hour later. 321 members of ''General Belgrano''s crew, along with two civilians on board the ship, died in the incident. More than 700 men were eventually rescued from the open ocean despite cold seas and stormy weather, enduring up to 30 hours in overcrowded life rafts. The loss of ''General Belgrano'' drew heavy criticism from Latin American countries and from opponents of the war in Britain; support for the British cause wavered amongst some European allies, but critically, the United States remained supportive. Regardless of ARA General Belgrano#Controversy over the sinking, controversies over the sinking — including disagreement about the exact nature of the exclusion zone and whether ''General Belgrano'' had been returning to port at the time of the sinking — it had a crucial strategic effect: the elimination of the Argentine naval threat. After her loss, the entire Argentine fleet, with the exception of the diesel-powered submarine , returned to port and did not leave again during the fighting. This had the secondary effect of allowing the British to redeploy their nuclear submarines to the coast of Argentina, where they were able to provide early warning of outgoing air attacks leaving mainland bases. However, settling the controversy in 2003, the ship's captain Hector Bonzo confirmed that ''General Belgrano'' had actually been manoeuvering, not sailing away from the exclusion zone, and that the captain had orders to sink any British ship he could find. In a separate incident later that night, British forces engaged an Argentine patrol gunboat, the , that was searching for the crew of an Argentine Air Force English Electric Canberra, Canberra light bomber shot down on 1 May. Two Royal Navy Westland Lynx, Lynx helicopters, from and , fired four Sea Skua missiles at her. Badly damaged and with eight crew dead, ''Alferez Sobral'' managed to return to Puerto Deseado two days later. The Canberra's crew were never found.Sinking of HMS ''Sheffield''
On 4 May, two days after the sinking of ''General Belgrano'', the British lost the Type 42 destroyer to fire following anDiplomatic activity
The tempo of operations increased throughout the first half of May as the United Nations' attempts to mediate a peace were rejected by the Argentines. The final British negotiating position was presented to Argentina by UN Secretary General Pérez de Cuéllar on 18 May 1982. In it, the British abandoned their previous "red-line" that British administration of the islands should be restored on the withdrawal of Argentine forces, as supported bySpecial forces operations
Given the threat to the British fleet posed by the Étendard-Exocet combination, plans were made to use C-130s to fly in some Special Air Service, SAS troops to attack the home base of the five Étendards at RÃo Grande, Tierra del Fuego. The operation was codenamed "Operation Mikado, Mikado". The operation was later scrapped, after acknowledging that its chances of success were limited, and replaced with a plan to use the submarine to drop SAS operatives several miles offshore at night for them to make their way to the coast aboard rubber inflatables and proceed to destroy Argentina's remaining Exocet stockpile. An SAS reconnaissance team was dispatched to carry out preparations for a seaborne infiltration. A Westland Sea King helicopter carrying the assigned team took off from HMS ''Invincible'' on the night of 17 May, but bad weather forced it to land from its target and the mission was aborted. The pilot flew to Chile, landed south of Punta Arenas, and dropped off the SAS team. The helicopter's crew of three then destroyed the aircraft, surrendered to Chilean police on 25 May, and were repatriated to the UK after interrogation. The discovery of the burnt-out helicopter attracted considerable international attention. Meanwhile, the SAS team crossed the border and penetrated into Argentina, but cancelled their mission after the Argentines suspected an SAS operation and deployed some troops to search for them. The SAS men were able to return to Chile, and took a civilian flight back to the UK. On 14 May the SAS carried out a raid on Pebble Island on the Falklands, where the Argentine Navy had taken over a grass airstripAir attacks
In the landing zone, the limitations of the British ships' anti-aircraft defences were demonstrated in the sinking of on 21 May which was hit by nine bombs, and HMS Antelope (F170) on 24 May when attempts to defuse unexploded bombs failed. Out at sea with the carrier battle group, was struck by an air-launched Exocet on 25 May, which caused the loss of three out of four Boeing Chinook (UK variants), Chinook and five Wessex helicopters as well as their maintenance equipment and facilities, together with runway-building equipment and tents. This was a severe blow from a logistical perspective. Twelve of her crew members were killed. Also lost on 25 May was , a sister to , whilst in company with after being ordered to act as a decoy to draw away Argentine aircraft from other ships at San Carlos Bay. and were moderately damaged. However, many British ships escaped being sunk because of limitations imposed by circumstances on Argentine pilots. To avoid the highest concentration of British air defences, Argentine pilots released bombs at very low altitude, and hence those bomb fuzes did not have sufficient time to arm before impact. The low release of the retarded bombs (some of which the British had sold to the Argentines years earlier) meant that many never exploded, as there was insufficient time in the air for them to arm themselves.A simple free-fall bomb in a low-altitude release impacts almost directly below the aircraft, which is then within the lethal fragmentation zone of the explosion. A retarded bomb has a small parachute or air brake that opens to reduce the speed of the bomb to produce a safe horizontal separation between the bomb and the aircraft. The fuze for a retarded bomb requires that the retarder be open a minimum time to ensure safe separation. The pilots would have been aware of this—but due to the high concentration required to avoid surface-to-air missiles, anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA), and British BAE Sea Harrier, Sea Harriers, many failed to climb to the necessary release point. The Argentine forces solved the problem by fitting improvised retarding devices, allowing the pilots to effectively employ low-level bombing attacks on 8 June. Thirteen bombs hit British ships without detonating. David Craig, Baron Craig of Radley, Lord Craig, the retired Marshal of the Royal Air Force, is said to have remarked: "Six better fuses and we would have lost" although ''Ardent'' and ''Antelope'' were both lost despite the failure of bombs to explode, and ''Argonaut'' was out of action. The fuzes were functioning correctly, and the bombs were simply released from too low an altitude. The Argentines lost 22 aircraft in the attacks. In his autobiographical account of the Falklands War, Admiral Woodward blamed the BBC World Service for disclosing information that led the Argentines to change the retarding devices on the bombs. The World Service reported the lack of detonations after receiving a briefing on the matter from a Ministry of Defence official. He describes the BBC as being more concerned with being "fearless seekers after truth" than with the lives of British servicemen. Colonel 'H'. Jones levelled similar accusations against the BBC after they disclosed the impending British attack on Goose Green by 2 Para. On 30 May, two Super Étendards, one carrying Argentina's last remaining Exocet, escorted by four Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, A-4C Skyhawks each with two 500 lb bombs, took off to attack ''Invincible''. Argentine intelligence had sought to determine the position of the carriers from analysis of aircraft flight routes from the task force to the islands. However, the British had a standing order that all aircraft conduct a low level transit when leaving or returning to the carriers to disguise their position. This tactic compromised the Argentine attack, which focused on a group of escorts south of the carrier group. Two of the attacking Skyhawks were shot down by Sea dart missile, Sea Dart missiles fired by HMS Exeter (D89), HMS ''Exeter'', with HMS Avenger (F185), HMS ''Avenger'' claiming to have shot down the Exocet missile with her 4.5" gun (although this claim is disputed). No damage was caused to any British vessels. During the war, Argentina claimed to have damaged ''Invincible'' and continues to do so thereafter, although no evidence of any such damage has been produced or uncovered.Land battles
San Carlos – Bomb Alley
During the night of 21 May, the British Amphibious Task Group under the command of Commodore Michael Clapp (Commodore, Amphibious Warfare – COMAW) mounted Operation Sutton, the amphibious landing on beaches around San Carlos Water, on the northwestern coast of East Falkland facing onto Falkland Sound. The bay, known as ''Bomb Alley'' by British forces, was the scene of repeated air attacks by low-flying Argentine jets. The men ofGoose Green
From early on 27 May until 28 May, 2 Para approached and attacked Darwin and Goose Green, which was held by the Argentine 12th Infantry Regiment. 2 Para’s 500 men had naval gunfire support from HMS Arrow[85] and artillery support from 8 Commando Battery and the Royal Artillery. After a tough struggle that lasted all night and into the next day, the British won the battle; in all, 18 British and 47 Argentine soldiers were killed. A total of 961 Argentine troops (including 202 Argentine Air Force personnel of the ''Condor'' airfield) were taken prisoner. The BBC announced the taking of Goose Green on the BBC World Service before it had actually happened. During this attack Lieutenant Colonel (United Kingdom), Lieutenant Colonel H. Jones, the commanding officer of 2 Para, was killed at the head of his battalion while charging into the well-prepared Argentine positions. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. With the sizeable Argentine force at Goose Green out of the way, British forces were now able to break out of the San Carlos beachhead. On 27 May, men of 45 Cdo and 3 Para started a loaded march across East Falkland towards the coastal settlement of Teal Inlet.Special forces on Mount Kent
Meanwhile, 42 Commando prepared to move by helicopter to Mount Kent. Unknown to senior British officers, the Argentine generals were determined to tie down the British troops in the Mount Kent area, and on 27 and 28 May they sent transport aircraft loaded with Blowpipe (missile), Blowpipe surface-to-air missiles and commandos (602nd Commando Company and 601st National Gendarmerie Special Forces Squadron) toBluff Cove and Fitzroy
By 1 June, with the arrival of a further British troops of the 5th Infantry Brigade, the new British divisional commander, Major General Jeremy Moore RM, had sufficient force to start planning an offensive againstFall of Stanley
On the night of 11 June, after several days of painstaking reconnaissance and logistic build-up, British forces launched a brigade-sized night attack against the heavily defended ring of high ground surrounding Stanley. Units of 3 Commando Brigade, supported by naval gunfire from several Royal Navy ships, simultaneously attacked in the Battle of Mount Harriet, Battle of Two Sisters, and Battle of Mount Longdon. Mount Harriet was taken at a cost of 2 British and 18 Argentine soldiers. At Two Sisters, the British faced both enemy resistance and friendly fire, but managed to capture their objectives. The toughest battle was at Mount Longdon. British forces were bogged down by rifle, mortar, machine gun, artillery and sniper fire, and ambushes. Despite this, the British continued their advance. During this battle, 14 were killed when , straying too close to shore while returning from the gun line, was struck by an improvised trailer-basedRecapture of South Sandwich Islands
On 20 June, the British retook the South Sandwich Islands, which involved accepting the surrender of the Southern Thule Garrison at the Corbeta Uruguay base, and declared hostilities over. Argentina had established Corbeta Uruguay in 1976, but prior to 1982 the United Kingdom had contested the existence of the Argentine base only through diplomatic channels.Foreign involvement
Commonwealth
The UK received political support from member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. Australia, Canada, and New Zealand withdrew their diplomats from Buenos Aires.New Zealand
The New Zealand government expelled the Argentine ambassador following the invasion. The Prime Minister, Robert Muldoon, was in London when the war broke out and in an opinion piece published in ''The Times'' he said: "The military rulers of Argentina must not be appeased … New Zealand will back Britain all the way." Broadcasting on the BBC World Service, he told the Falkland Islanders: "This is Rob Muldoon. We are thinking of you and we are giving our full and total support to the British Government in its endeavours to rectify this situation and get rid of the people who have invaded your country." On 20 May 1982, he announced that New Zealand would make , a , available for use where the British thought fit to release a Royal Navy vessel for the Falklands. In the House of Commons afterwards,Australia
Embarrassed by the generous response of New Zealand, the Australian prime minister, Malcolm Fraser, was rushed into offering to cancel the intended purchase of HMS ''Invincible'', which was quickly accepted by the British. However, this left the Royal Australian Navy without a replacement for their only aircraft carrier, , which was in the process of decommissioning.France
The French president, François Mitterrand, declared an embargo on French arms sales and assistance to Argentina. In addition, France allowed UK aircraft and warships use of its port and airfield facilities at Dakar in Senegal and France provided Dissimilar air combat training, dissimilar aircraft training so that Harrier pilots could train against the French aircraft used by Argentina. French intelligence also cooperated with Britain to prevent Argentina from obtaining moreUnited States
Declassified cables show the United States both felt that Thatcher had not considered diplomatic options and feared that a protracted conflict could draw theOther OAS members
Cuba
Argentina itself was politically backed by a number of countries in Latin America (though, notably, not Chile). Several members of the Non-Aligned Movement also backed Argentina's position; notably, Cuba and Nicaragua led a diplomatic effort to rally non-aligned countries from Africa and Asia to Argentina's position. This initiative came as a surprise to Western observers, as Cuba had no diplomatic relations with Argentina's right-leaning military junta. British diplomats complained that Cuba had "cynically exploited" the crisis to pursue its normalization of relations with Latin American countries; Argentina eventually resumed relations with Cuba in 1983; Brazil did so in 1986.Peru
Peru attempted to purchase 12 Exocet missiles from France, to be delivered to Argentina in a failed secret operation. Peru also openly sent "Dassault Mirage, Mirages, pilots and missiles" to Argentina during the war. Peru had earlier transferred ten Hercules transport planes to Argentina soon after the British Task Force had set sail in April 1982. Nick van der Bijl records that, after the Argentine defeat at Goose Green, Venezuela and Guatemala offered to send Paratrooper, paratroopers to the Falklands.Chile
At the outbreak of the war, Chile was in negotiations with Argentina for control over the Beagle Channel and feared Argentina would use similar tactics to secure the channel. During this Beagle conflict, conflict, Argentina had already rejected two attempts at international mediation and tried to exert military pressure on Chile with an operation to occupy the disputed territory. Considering this, Chile refused to support the Argentine position during the war and gave support to the UK in the form of intelligence about the Argentine military and early warning intelligence on Argentine air movements. Throughout the war, Argentina was afraid of a Chilean military intervention in Patagonia and kept some of its best mountain regiments away from the Falklands near the Chilean border as a precaution. The Chilean government also allowed the United Kingdom to requisition the refuelling vessel , which Chile had recently purchased and which had arrived at Arica in Chile on 4 April. The ship left port soon afterwards, bound for Ascension Island through the Panama Canal and stopping at Curaçao en route.Soviet Union
The Soviet Union described the Falklands as "a disputed territory," recognising Argentina's ambitions over the islands and called for restraint on all sides. Soviet media frequently criticised the UK and US during the war. Significantly, however, the Soviet Union refrained from vetoing and thus made possible United Nations Security Council, UN Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 502, Resolution 502 demanding the immediate withdrawal of all Argentine troops from the Falklands. However, the Soviet Union mounted some clandestine logistics operations to assist the Argentinians. Days after the invasion by the Argentinian forces, the Soviets launched additional intelligence satellites into low Earth orbit covering the southern Atlantic Ocean. Conflicting reports exist on whether Soviet ocean surveillance data might have played a role in the sinking of and .Spain
Spain's position was one of ambiguity, underpinning the basic dilemma of the Spanish foreign policy regarding the articulation of relationships with Latin America and European communities. On 2 April 1982, the Council of Ministers (Spain), Council of Ministers issued an official note defending principles of decolonisation and against the use of force. Spain abstained in the vote of UN Security Council Resolution 502, a position that Spanish UN representative Jaime de Piniés justified by pointing out that the resolution did not mention the underlying problem of decolonisation. The Spanish stance throughout the conflict contrasted with those of the countries in its immediate vicinity (EEC members and Portugal). Spanish authorities also foiled a covert attack by the Servicio de Inteligencia Naval (Argentina), Argentinian Naval Intelligence Service on a British warship at Gibraltar, code named Operation Algeciras. Three frogmen, recruited from a former anti-government insurgent group, were to plant mines on a ship's hull. The divers travelled to Spain through France, where French security services noted their military diving equipment and alerted their Spanish counterparts. They were covertly monitored as they moved from the Argentinian embassy in Madrid to Algeciras, where they were arrested on 17 May by the ''Guardia Civil'' and Deportation, deported.Other countries
EEC
The European Economic Community provided economic support by imposing economic sanctions on Argentina. In a meeting on Good Friday, 9 April, at the Egmont Palace, the EEC Political Committee proposed a total import ban from Argentina. Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Luxembourg and Ireland agreed immediately; France, Germany and the Netherlands were persuaded before the meeting ended. Italy, which had close cultural ties with Argentina, consented on the next day.Ireland
Ireland's position altered during the war. As a rotating member of the United Nations Security Council, it supported Resolution 502. However, on 4 May, the Government of the 22nd Dáil, Fianna Fáil government led by Charles Haughey decided to oppose EEC sanctions and called for a ceasefire. Haughey justified this as complying with Irish neutrality. Historians have suggested it was an opportunistic appeal to anti-British sentiment and reaction to Haughey's being sidelined during the 1981 Irish hunger strike, 1981 republican hunger strike. The strain on Ireland–United Kingdom relations, British–Irish relations eased when Haughey's government fell November 1982 Irish general election, in November 1982.Israel
According to the book ''Operation Israel'', advisers from Israel Aerospace Industries were already in Argentina and continued their work during the conflict. The book also claims that Israel sold weapons and drop tanks to Argentina in a secret operation via Peru.Sierra Leone
The Sierra Leone, Sierra Leonean Government of Sierra Leone, government allowed British task force ships to refuel at Freetown.The Gambia
VC10 transport aircraft landed at Banjul in The Gambia while flying between the UK and Ascension Island.Libya
Through Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Libya, under Muammar Gaddafi, Argentina received 20 launchers and 60 SA-7 missiles (which Argentina later described as "not effective"), as well as machine guns, mortars and mines. To retrieve the weapons, four trips were made using two Argentine Air Force Boeing 707s which refuelled in Recife with the consent of the Brazilian government.South Africa
The UK had terminated the Simonstown Agreement in 1975, thereby effectively denying the Royal Navy access to ports in South Africa and forcing it to use Ascension Island as a staging post.Casualties
In total, 907 people were killed during the 74 days of the conflict: * Argentina – 649 ** Argentine Army, Ejército Argentino (''Army'') – 194 (16 officers, 35 non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and 143 conscript privates) ** Argentine Navy, Armada de la República Argentina (''Navy'') – 341 (including 321 in and 4 naval aviators) *** Naval Infantry Command, IMARA (''Marines'') – 34 ** Argentine Air Force, Fuerza Aérea Argentina (''Air Force'') – 55 (including 31 pilots and 14 ground crew) ** Argentine National Gendarmerie, GendarmerÃa Nacional Argentina (''Border Guard'') – 7 ** Argentine Naval Prefecture, Prefectura Naval Argentina (''Coast Guard'') – 2 * United Kingdom – A total of 255 British servicemen and 3 female Falkland Island civilians were killed during the Falklands War. ** Royal Navy – 86 + 2 Hong Kong laundrymen (see below) ** Royal Marines – 27 (2 officers, 14 NCOs and 11 marines) ** Royal Fleet Auxiliary – 4 + 6 Hong Kong sailors ** Merchant Navy – 6 ** British Army – 123 (7 officers, 40 NCOs and 76 privates) ** Royal Air Force – 1 (1 officer) ** Falkland Islands civilians – 3 women accidentally killed by British shelling during the night of 11/12 June. The military command identified those killed as Susan Whitley, 30, a British citizen, and Falkland Islands natives Doreen Bonner, 36 and Mary Goodwin, 82. Of the 86 Royal Navy personnel, 22 were lost in , 19 + 1 lost in , 19 + 1 lost in and 13 lost in . Fourteen naval cooks were among the dead, the largest number from any one branch in the Royal Navy. Thirty-three of the British Army's dead came from the Welsh Guards (32 of whom died on the RFA Sir Galahad (1966), RFA ''Sir Galahad'' in the Bluff Cove Air Attacks), 21 from the 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, 18 from the 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, 19 from the Special Air Service, 3 each from Royal Signals and Royal Army Medical Corps and 8 from each of the Scots Guards and Royal Engineers. The 1st battalion/7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles lost one man. There were Argentine and 777 British injured or wounded.Red Cross Box
Before British offensive operations began, the British and Argentine governments agreed to establish an area on the high seas where both sides could station hospital ships without fear of attack by the other side. This area, a circle 20 nautical miles in diameter, was referred to as the Red Cross Box () and located about north of Falkland Sound. Ultimately, the British stationed four ships (, and and the primary hospital ship SS Uganda (1952), SS ''Uganda'') within the box, while the Argentines stationed three (, and ). The hospital ships were non-warships converted to serve as hospital ships. The three British naval vessels were survey vessels and ''Uganda'' was a passenger liner. ''Almirante Irizar'' was an icebreaker, ''Bahia Paraiso'' was an Antarctic supply transport and ''Puerto Deseado'' was a survey ship. British and Argentine vessels operating within the Box were in radio contact and there was some transfer of patients between hospital ships. For example, the ''Uganda'' transferred patients to an Argentine hospital ship on four occasions. ''Hydra'' worked with ''Hecla'' and ''Herald'' to take casualties from ''Uganda'' to Montevideo, Uruguay, where a fleet of Uruguayan ambulances met them. Royal Air Force, RAF VC10 aircraft then flew the casualties to the UK for transfer to the RAF Princess Alexandra Hospital, Princess Alexandra Hospital at RAF Wroughton, near Swindon. Throughout the conflict, officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) conducted inspections to verify that all concerned were abiding by the rules of the Geneva Conventions. Argentine naval officers also inspected the British casualty ferries in the estuary of the RÃo de la Plata, River Plate.Aftermath
This brief war brought many consequences for all the parties involved, besides the considerable casualty rate and large materiel loss, especially of shipping and aircraft, relative to the deployed military strengths of the opposing sides. In the United Kingdom,"Fortress Falklands"
In the immediate aftermath of the conflict, the British government embarked on a long-term policy of providing the islands with a viable military garrison, known informally as "Fortress Falklands". Initially, an aircraft carrier was kept in the area until the runway at Stanley Airport could be improved to take conventional RAF fighters. A permanent military complex with a runway designed to take long-haul airliners was constructed in the south of East Falkland, RAF Mount Pleasant, which opened in 1985; an associated deep-water port at Mare Harbour was also constructed. A small military outpost was established atMilitary analysis
Militarily, the Falklands conflict remains one of the largest air-naval combat operations between modern forces since the end of the Second World War. As such, it has been the subject of intense study by military analysts and historians. Significant takeaways include the vulnerability of surface ships to anti-ship missiles and submarines, the challenges of co-ordinating logistical support for long-distance projections of power, and reconfirmation of the importance of tactical air power, including helicopters. In 1986, theMemorials
There are several memorials on the Falkland Islands themselves, the most notable of which is the 1982 Liberation Memorial, unveiled in 1984 on the second anniversary of the end of the war. It lists the names of the 255 British military personnel who died during the war and is located in front of the Secretariat Building in Stanley, overlooking Stanley Harbour. The Memorial was funded entirely by the Islanders and is inscribed with the words "In Memory of Those Who Liberated Us". During the war, British dead were put into plastic body bags and buried in mass graves. After the war, the bodies were recovered; 14 were reburied at Blue Beach Military Cemetery at San Carlos, Blue Beach Military Cemetery and 64 were returned to the United Kingdom. Many of the Argentine dead are buried in the Argentine Military Cemetery two kilometers northeast of the small settlement of Darwin, approximately 82 kilometers west of Stanley. The Argentine government declined an offer by the UK to have the bodies repatriated to Argentina. In addition to memorials on the islands, there is a memorial in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral, London to the British war dead. At the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, a Falklands War memorial was unveiled in May 2012 in a service attended by 600 veterans and their families; the names of the fallen were also inscribed on the Armed Forces Memorial at the arboretum, which commemorates all British servicemen killed in action since the end of the Second World War. A memorial to the seamen of the Merchant Navy (United Kingdom), Merchant Navy who died in the war stands at the Tower Hill Memorial in Trinity Square Gardens, London. The Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel at Pangbourne College was opened in March 2000 as a commemoration of the lives and sacrifice of all those who served and died in the South Atlantic in 1982. In Argentina, there is a memorial at Plaza San MartÃn (Buenos Aires), Plaza San MartÃn in Buenos Aires, :File:Malvinas, por siempre argentinas 1.jpg, another one in Rosario, Santa Fe, Rosario, and :File:UshuaiaFalklandsWarVictimsMonument.jpg, a third one in Ushuaia.Minefields
In 2011 there were 113 uncleared minefields plus unexploded ordnance (UXOs) covering an area of on the Falkland Islands. Of this area, on the Murrell Peninsula were classified as being "suspected minefields"—the area had been heavily pastured for 25 years without incident. It was estimated that these minefields had anti-personnel mines and anti-tank mines. The UK reported six military personnel injured by mines or UXO in 1982, then two more in 1983. Most military accidents took place in the immediate aftermath of the conflict, while clearing minefields or trying to establish the extent of minefield perimeters, particularly where no detailed records existed. No civilian mine casualties have ever occurred on the islands, and no human casualties from mines or UXO have been reported since 1984. On 9 May 2008, the Falkland Islands Government asserted that the minefields, which represent 0.1% of the available farmland on the islands "present no long term social or economic difficulties for the Falklands," and that the impact of clearing the mines would cause more problems than containing them. However, the British Government, in accordance with its commitments under the Mine Ban Treaty had a commitment to clear the mines by the end of 2019. In May 2012, it was announced that of Stanley Common (which lies between the Stanley – Mount Pleasant road and the shoreline) was made safe and had been opened to the public, opening up a stretch of coastline and a further two kilometres of shoreline along Mullet's Creek. In November 2020, it was declared that the Falkland islands were now free of all landmines. A celebration of the event took place on the weekend of 14 November where the final landmine was detonated.Press and publicity
Argentina
Selected war correspondents were regularly flown to Port Stanley in military aircraft to report on the war. Back in Buenos Aires, newspapers and magazines reported on "the heroic actions of the largely conscript army and its successes". Officers from the intelligence services were attached to the newspapers and 'leaked' information corroborating the official communiqués from the government. The glossy magazines ''Gente'' and ''Siete DÃas'' swelled to 60 pages with colour photographs of British warships in flames—many of them faked—and bogus eyewitness reports of the Argentine commandos' guerrilla war on South Georgia (6 May) and an already dead Pucará pilot's attack on HMS ''Hermes'' (Lt. Daniel Antonio Jukic had been killed at Goose Green during a British air strike on 1 May). Most of the faked photos actually came from the tabloid press. One of the best remembered headlines was "Estamos ganando" ("We're winning") from the magazine ''Gente'', that would later use variations of it. The Argentine troops on the Falkland Islands could read ''Gaceta Argentina''—a newspaper intended to boost morale among the servicemen. Some of its untruths could easily be unveiled by the soldiers who recovered corpses. The ''Malvinas cause'' united the Argentines in a patriotic atmosphere that protected the junta from critics, and even opponents of the military government supported Galtieri; Ernesto Sabato said: In the Argentine press, false reports that HMS ''Hermes'' was sunk and HMS ''Invincible'' had been damaged were circulated after the weekly magazines ''Gente'' and ''La Semana'' had received information of naval action from an air force officer in the president's office. On 30 April 1982 the Argentine magazine ''Tal Cual'' showed Prime Minister Thatcher with an eyepatch and the text: ''Pirate, witch and assassin. Guilty!'' Three British reporters sent to Argentina to cover the war from the Argentine perspective were jailed until the end of the war. The ''Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, Madres de Plaza de Mayo'' were even exposed to death threats from ordinary people.United Kingdom
Seventeen newspaper reporters, two photographers, two radio reporters and three television reporters with five technicians sailed with the Task Force to the war. The Newspaper Publishers' Association selected them from among 160 applicants, excluding foreign media. The hasty selection resulted in the inclusion of two journalists among the war reporters who were interested only in Queen Elizabeth II's son Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Prince Andrew, who was serving in the conflict. The Prince flew a helicopter on multiple missions, including Exocet missile decoy and casualty evacuation. Merchant vessels had the civilian Inmarsat uplink, which enabled written Teletypewriter message, telex and voice report transmissions via satellite. had a fax, facsimile machine that was used to upload 202 pictures from the South Atlantic over the course of the war. The Royal Navy leased bandwidth on the U.S. Defense Satellite Communications System for worldwide communications. Television demands a thousand times the data rate of telephone, but the Ministry of Defence was unsuccessful in convincing the U.S. to allocate more bandwidth. TV producers suspected that the enquiry was half-hearted; since the Vietnam War television pictures of casualties and traumatised soldiers were recognised as having negative propaganda value. However, the technology only allowed uploading a single frame per 20 minutes—and only if the military satellites were allocated 100% to television transmissions. Videotapes were shipped to Ascension Island, where a broadband satellite uplink was available, resulting in TV coverage being delayed by three weeks. The press was very dependent on the Royal Navy, and was censorship, censored on site. Many reporters in the UK knew more about the war than those with the Task Force. Ministry of Defence press briefings in London were characterised by the restrained dictation-speed delivery of its spokesman, Ian McDonald (civil servant), Ian McDonald. The Royal Navy expected Fleet Street to conduct a Second World War-style positive news campaign but the majority of the British media, especially the BBC, reported the war in a neutral fashion. These reporters referred to "the British troops" and "the Argentinian troops" instead of "our lads" and the "Argies". The two main tabloid papers presented opposing viewpoints: ''Daily Mirror, The Daily Mirror'' was decidedly anti-war, whilst ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun'' became well known for headlines such as "Stick It Up Your Junta!," which, along with the reporting in other tabloids, led to accusations of xenophobia and jingoism. ''The Sun'' was criticised for its "Gotcha" headline following the sinking of the . The British Ministry of Defence operated a psychological warfare operation under the codename "Moonshine", which took the form of a spurious radio station purporting to be from a neutral South American country, but was actually in London, broadcasting to the Falklands and Argentina via a transmitter on Ascension which had been requisitioned from the BBC. Under the name of ''Radio Atlántico del Sur'' ("Radio South Atlantic" - :es:Radio Atlántico del Sur, Spanish Wikipedia article), the station was operated by a small team of civilians and Spanish-speaking military officers. The first three-hour broadcast was on 19 May and a total of 47 been made by 15 June when the operation was cancelled. There is some evidence that the Argentinians attempted to jam the broadcasts and that some civilian radio receivers were confiscated from soldiers, but the results overall were difficult to assess.Cultural impact
There were wide-ranging influences on popular culture in both the UK and Argentina, from the immediate postwar period to the present. The Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges described the war as "a fight between two bald men over a comb". The words ''yomp'' and ''See also
* London Victory Parade of 1982, victory parade held in London in October 1982 to celebrate the victory. * Beagle conflict, a border dispute between Chile and Argentina that involved island territory. * Hope Bay incident, Argentine aggression on the Antarctic Peninsula * Operation Algeciras, a failed Argentine plan to send Montoneros to sabotage British military facilities inNotes
Footnotes
Bibliography
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * (English translation) * * * * * * * * * * Prince, Stephen. "British command and control in the Falklands Campaign." ''Defense & Security Analysis'' 18.4 (2002): 333-349. * * * * * *Historiography
* * * * Little, Walter. "The Falklands Affair: A Review of the Literature," ''Political Studies,'' (June 1984) 32#2 pp 296–310External links