A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS

Part 7 - The 1982 War and Beyond

Argentina Invades the Falkland Islands

On 26 March General Galtieri, head of the military junta in Argentina, decided to invade the Falkland Islands.  It later transpired that concerns about a possible invasion had been raised by British intelligence for many weeks beforehand.  The British Antarctic Survey research ship 'John Biscoe', travelling from Montevideo to Stanley with the replacement Marine garrison, was constantly buzzed by low-flying Argentine planes.  There was an increase in Argentine overflights of Stanley.  

At 8.30pm on 1 April the Governor Sir Rex Hunt announced to Islanders over the radio that an Argentine invasion was imminent, following receipt by Government House at 3.30pm of a telegram to that effect from the British Foreign Office which read "We have apparently reliable evidence that an Argentine task force will gather off Cape Pembroke tomorrow morning, 2 April.  You will wish to make your dispositions accordingly."  80 Royal Marines and 20 volunteers from the Falkland Islands Defence Force were mobilised and deployed to various defensive positions, and Argentines in Stanley were rounded up and interned.

After receiving intelligence that the invasion had begun, Governor Hunt famously said, "It looks as though the silly buggers mean it."  Early in the morning on 2 April 1982 Rear Admiral Jorge Allara, commander of the Argentine flagship Santisima Trinidad, appealed for a peaceful surrender, but the request is rejected, as small detachments from the Argentine forces begin landing near Stanley.  The invaders' first act is to destroy the barracks of the Royal Marines at Moody Brook, 2 miles west of Stanley.

After a short battle between the Argentine forces and the defenders, Stanley is captured.  Government House, defended by less than 50 men, holds out for some hours, but eventually Governor Hunt, recognising the growing strength of the Argentine forces who by now had cleared the airstrip and begun to fly-in the 25th Regiment, ordered a ceasefire, and soon afterwards surrenders.  No significant injuries were suffered by the British, but three Argentines were killed during the firefight at Government House.  Later that day the Governor (wearing full ceremonial regalia) and other senior expatriate members of the government, together with the captured Royal Marines, were flown by the Argentines to Montevideo.  

Over the next few days Argentine troops consolidated their positions on the Islands, and landed more troops on South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.  Schoolchildren living in the school hostel were returned to their homes on the day after the invasion, and over the next few weeks many families left Stanley for Camp.  Expatriate officials were deported.  Islanders and other expatriates who wished to leave were free to do so (upon payment of the LADE air fare) until British bombing closed Stanley Airport in early May.  The Argentine authorities said they would ensure there was no ill-treatment of the Islanders.  Argentine troops seemed surprised to discover that the population spoke English and did not welcome them as liberators.

The Falklands War 1982

The United Nations General Assembly on 3 April passed resolution 502 calling for the cessation of all hostilities, the withdrawal of Argentine troops from the Falkland Islands, and the resumption of sovereignty talks between Britain and Argentina.  The British Parliament held an emergency session on 3 April and were informed by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher that a task force would be sent to liberate the Islands.  Michael Foot, leader of the Labour Party, backed the Cabinet's decision to send the task force, declaring that Britain had 'a moral duty, a political duty and every other kind of duty' to ensure that the people of the Falkland Islands could continue to live, as they wished, on the basis of association with Britain. 

On 5 April 'Operation Corporate' saw the two Aircraft carriers, fleet flagship 'HMS Hermes' and 'HMS Invincible' with accompanying frigates sailed out of Portsmouth.  They were preceded by a group of warships which had been carrying out naval manoeuvres off Gibraltar.  Further vessels followed including amphibious ships, specialist vessels, and some 50 ships requisitioned from the commercial fleet including the QE2, Canberra and converted hospital ship Uganda.  Also preceding the carriers were three nuclear submarines, 'HMS Spartan', 'HMS Splendid' and 'HMS Conqueror'.  In all over 110 ships and 28,000 men sailed south.

The American Secretary of State Alexander Haig began shuttle diplomacy between Britain and Argentina, but without success.  The European Economic Community supported Britain by approving trade sanctions against Argentina on 10 April.  On 12 April Britain declared a 200 mile exclusion zone around the Islands.  The main task force, under the command of Rear Admiral Sandy Woodward, departed from Ascension Island on 17 April and five days later the British government advised all British nationals to leave Argentina.  Alexander Haig abandoned his shuttle diplomacy, and President Ronald Reagan announced America's support for Britain. 

After several exploratory landings, the Royal Marines and the SAS retook South Georgia on 25 April.  On 1 May members of the SAS and SBS landed reconnaissance forces on the Falkland Islands and Stanley airport was bombed by Vulcan bombers based on Ascension Island.  This was followed by a naval bombardment and Sea Harrier attack on Argentine emplacements at Stanley and Goose Green.  On 2 May the Argentine cruiser 'General Belgrano' was sunk by torpedoes fired from the British submarine 'HMS Conqueror'.  On 4 May the British warship 'HMS Sheffield' was sunk after being hit by exocet missiles.  On 14 May the SAS raided Pebble Island and destroyed several Argentine aircraft on the ground.  

On 21 May the British task force, under the command of Major General Jeremy Moore, began landing at San Carlos, on East Falkland, soon joining in battle with the Argentine occupying force.  Meanwhile the British task force was regularly attacked at sea, losing 'HMS Ardent', 'HMS Antelope', 'HMS Coventry' and the container ship 'MV Atlantic Conveyor' which was carrying helicopters vital for the landing of men and supplies.  On 28 May the second parachute regiment retook Goose Green and Darwin, inflicting heavy losses on the Argentine force.  The British commenced a 'yomp' across East Falkland, now in bitter winter conditions, towards Stanley.  

In early June the British government vetoed the Panamanian-Spanish ceasefire resolution at the United Nations Security Council.  On 8 June Argentine aircraft killed 50 Welsh guards and sailors and injured many more in an attack on the Fleet Auxiliary landing craft 'Sir Galahad' and 'Sir Tristram' as they stood off Fitzroy and Bluff Cove.  On 11 June bitter and protracted fighting commenced on Mount Longdon, Mount Harriet and Two Sisters.  'HMS Glamorgan' was hit by an Exocet missile while withdrawing to sea after having supported these attacks with her heavy guns.  The fighting reached Wireless Ridge and Tumbledown on 13 June.  

On 14 June the Argentine commander General Menendez capitulated and British forces marched into Stanley, halting by the 1914 Battle Memorial and resting on the Racecourse until the surrender document was signed at 9.30pm by General Menendez in the presence of the British commander of land forces Major General Jeremy Moore.  General Moore sent a message to London, stating "The Falkland Islands once more are under the government desired by their inhabitants - God save the Queen."  

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher summed up the conflict to Parliament, saying "The battle of the Falklands was a remarkable military operation, boldly planned, bravely executed and brilliantly accomplished.  We owe an enormous debt to the British forces and to the merchant marines.  They have been supported by a people united in defence of our way of life and of our sovereign territory.... We went to recapture the Islands, to restore British sovereignty, to restore British administration.  I do not intend to negotiate on the sovereignty of the Islands in any way except with the people who live there."  

General Galtieri was removed as head of the Argentine military junta on 17 June, to be replaced on 21 June by General Bignone, who announced that the ceasefire would be observed by all Argentine forces.  Britain formally declared an end to hostilities after reoccupying Southern Thule (the South Sandwich Islands) on 20 June where the small Argentine force surrendered without a fight.  Argentina had illegally maintained a weather and research station, 'Corbeta Uruguay', on the Islands since 1977..

The struggle to retake the Islands cost the lives of 252 British service personnel, including members of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and the Merchant Navy, plus a further 3 civilians killed when a British shell from the naval bombardment hit a house.  British wounded were estimated at 300 servicemen, although many more suffered subsequently from post-traumatic psychological injuries.  No precise figure is available for the loss on the Argentine side but the casualties are estimated by British forces at 655 Argentine servicemen, many of them teenage conscripts.  In 1984 the 1982 Liberation Monument to the British dead was unveiled in Stanley, and a Cemetery was built at San Carlos, near the original landing site at Blue Beach, for those British servicemen whose families decided not to repatriate their bodies.  The Cemetery also commemorates all those lost at sea.  An Argentine cemetery was established at Darwin, and in 2004 a new memorial was erected to the Argentine dead.

Today

Following the Conflict, the Falkland Islands have enjoyed economic prosperity and modernisation through the establishment of an internationally acclaimed fisheries regime.  Offshore oil exploration, and onshore minerals prospecting, are ongoing.  Tourism is expanding rapidly, particularly expedition ships and daytrippers from cruise ships.  A wide range of artwork and craft articles are produced by local artisans for sale to visitors and locals.  Fine quality wool is exported, as is mutton slaughtered in a new EU-approved abattoir.  Beef, pork and lamb are produced for local consumption.  The hydroponic market garden supplies salad vegetables and other fresh produce to cruise ships, fishing vessels, British Antarctic ships and bases, Ascension Island and the British military base at Mount Pleasant.  Aquaculture is developing, particularly oysters, mussels and crab.  Shackleton's recommendations for an international airport, an all-purpose jetty, the creation of a development corporation, the expansion of the Camp road network on East and West Falkland, and the subdivision of the former sheep ranches into family-run farms have all been fulfilled.  A new hospital, new secondary and primary schools, swimming pool and sports complex, visitors centre and other civic facilities have been built.  The Islands are now a vibrant and forward-looking community, an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom and a member of the Commonwealth family. 

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