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Argentina mounted an invasion of the Falkland Islands on April 2, 1982 after the civilian occupation of South Georgia on March 19, before the Falklands War proper started. This article describes the initial defence organised by the Falkland Islands Governor Rex Hunt giving command to Major Mike Norman RM, the landing of Lieutenant-Commander Guillermo Sanchez-Sabarots' Special Forces, the attack on Moody Brook Barracks, the battle between the troops of Hugo Santillan and Bill Trollope at Port Stanley, and the attacks and final surrender of Government House. 2 April is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 273 days remaining. ...
1982 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, also claimed by Argentina. ...
March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (79th in leap years). ...
The Falklands War or the Malvinas War (Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas), was an armed conflict between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands, also known in Spanish as the Islas Malvinas, between March and June of 1982. ...
Rex Hunt is an Australian televsion and radio personality featured on his own fishing and wildlife program. ...
In the Royal Navy, United States Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy, Canadian Forces Maritime Command (formerly the Royal Canadian Navy), United States Coast Guard, and many other navies and coast guards, a lieutenant commander (lieutenant-commander or Lt Cdr in the RN and abbreviated LCDR in the...
From the air Port Stanley, also known as Stanley (briefly renamed Puerto Argentino during the Argentine occupation in the Falklands War), is the capital and only town in the Falkland Islands, located on the isle of East Falkland. ...
Defence Falkland Islands Governor Rex Hunt was informed by the British Government of a possible Argentine invasion on Wednesday March 31. The Governor summoned the two senior Royal Marines officers of Naval Party 8901 to Government House in Stanley to discuss the options for defending the Falklands. March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining, as the final day of March. ...
He said during the meeting, "Sounds like the buggers mean it", still remaining composed despite the seriousness of the situation that the islands faced.
Major Mike Norman RM was given overall command of the Marines due to his seniority, while Major Gary Noott RM became the military advisor to Governor Hunt. The total strength was 68 Marines and 11 sailors, which was greater than would normally have been available because the garrison was in the process of changing over. Both the replacement and the troop preparing to leave were in the Falklands at the time of the invasion. This was decreased to 57 when twenty-two Royal Marines embarked aboard the Antarctic patrol ship Endurance to observe Argentine soldiers based at South Georgia. Graham Bound states in his book Falkland Islanders At War that approximately forty (both serving and past) members of the Falkland Islands Defence Force (FIDF) reported for duty at their Drill Hall. Their commanding officer, Major Phil Sommers, tasked the militiamen with guarding such key points as the telephone exchange, the radio station and the power station. Greek ἀνταρκτικός, opposite the arctic) is a continent surrounding the Earths South Pole. ...
There have been two Royal Navy ships with the name HMS Endurance. ...
Orthographic projection centred on the South Sandwich Islands South Sandwich Islands South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, also claimed by Argentina as part of Tierra del Fuego province (because of that, some of the islands also have Spanish names). ...
In the field of telecommunications, a telephone exchange (US: telephone switch) is a piece of equipment that connects phone calls. ...
A radio station is a sound broadcasting service. ...
Oil power plant in Iraq A power station (also power plant) is a facility for the generation of electric power. ...
Operation Rosario The Argentine operation codenamed Rosario1 began in the late evening of Thursday April 1 when the Argentine destroyer Santisima Trinidad halted 500 metres off Mullet Creek and lowered 21 Gemini assault craft into the water. They contained 92 Special Forces of Lieutenant-Commander Guillermo Sanchez-Sabarots' 1st Amphibious Commando Group and the small party under Lieutenant-Commander Pedro Giachino that was to capture Government House.3 The Argentine Rear Admiral Jorge Allara had requested that Rex Hunt surrender peacefully, but the proposal was rejected. April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ...
USS Lassen, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and manouverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range attackers (originally torpedo boats, later submarines and aircraft). ...
The ARA Santisima Trinidad is a Type 42 destroyer, of the Armada Republica Argentina. ...
For the . ...
In the Royal Navy, United States Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy, Canadian Forces Maritime Command (formerly the Royal Canadian Navy), United States Coast Guard, and many other navies and coast guards, a lieutenant commander (lieutenant-commander or Lt Cdr in the RN and abbreviated LCDR in the...
Sanchez-Sabarots Pedro's party had the shortest distance to go - two and a half miles due north. Moody Brook Barracks, the destination of the main party was six miles away over rough Falklands terrain. Lieutenant-Commander Sanchez-Sabarots in the book The Argentine Fight for The Falklands (Pen and Sword Military Classics) describes the main party's progress in the dark: "It was a nice night, with a moon, but the cloud covered the moon for most of the time. ... It was very hard going with our heavy loads; it was hot work. We eventually became split up into three groups. We only had one night sight; the lead man, Lieutenant Arias had it. One of the groups became separated when a vehicle came along the track we had to cross. We thought it was a military patrol. Another group lost contact, and the third separation was caused by someone going too fast. This caused my second in command, Lieutenant Bardi, to fall. He suffered a hairline fracture of the ankle and had to be left behind with a man to help him. … We were at Moody Brook by 5.30 a.m., just on the limits of the time planned, but with no time for the one hour's reconnaissance for which we had hoped." Two American soldiers pictured during the 2003 Iraq War Night vision goggles are a type of eye-wear that allows one to see in the dark. ...
The main party of Argentine Marines still assumed that the Moody Brook Barracks might contain sleeping Royal Marines. The barracks were quiet, although a light was on in the office of the Royal Marine commander. No sentries were observed and it was a quiet night apart from the occasional animal call. Lieutenant-Commander Sanchez-Sabarots could hear nothing of any action at Government House nor from the distant landing beaches; nevertheless he ordered the assault to begin. Lieutenant-Commander Sanchez-Sabarots continues his account: "It was still completely dark. We were going to use tear-gas to force the British out of the buildings and capture them. Our orders were not to cause casualties if possible. That was the most difficult mission of my career. All our training as commandos was to fight aggressively and inflict maximum casualties on the enemy. We surrounded the barracks with machine-gun teams, leaving only one escape route along the peninsula north of Stanley Harbour. Anyone who did get away would not able to reach the town and reinforce the British there. Then we threw the tear-gas grenades into each building. There was no reaction; the barracks were empty." The noise of the grenades alerted Major Norman to the presence of Argentines on the island, and he thus drove back to Government House. Realizing that the attack was coming from Moody Brook, he ordered all troop sections to converge on the house to enable the defence to be centralized.
Pedro Giachino Lying on a small hillock south of Government House, Lieutenant-Commander Giachino faced the difficulty of capturing this important objective with no radio and with a force of only sixteen men. He split his force into small groups, placing one on either side of the house and one at the rear. Unknown to them, the Governors' residence was the main concentration point of the Royal Marines. The first attack against came at 6.15 a.m. when Lieutenant-Commander Giachino, with four of his men, entered the servants' annexe, believing it to be the rear entrance to the residence. Three Royal Marines - Corporals Sellen and Fleet and Marine Dorey - who were placed to cover the annexe, beat off the first attack. Giachino was hit instantly as he burst through the door, while Lieutenant Diego Quiroga was hit in the arm. The remaining three retreated to the maid's quarters. Giachino was not dead, but very badly wounded. An Argentine medic, Corporal Ernesto Urbina, attempted to get to Giachino but was wounded by a grenade. Giachino had been shot whilst carrying a live hand grenade. The Royal Marines had attempted to persuade the officer to get rid of the grenade so that they could give him medical treatment, but he refused. After the surrender of the British forces at Government House, Giachino was taken to Stanley Hospital but died from heavy loss of blood.
Hugo Santillan and Bill Trollope There was a more pressing action on the eastern edge of Port Stanley. Twenty US-built LVTP-7A1 tracked amphibious armoured personnel carriers from the 1st Amphibious Vehicles Battalion, carrying D and E Companies of the 2nd Marine Infantry Battalion, had been landed from the tank landing ship Cabo San Antonio, and were being watched by a section of Royal Marines under the command of Lieutenant Bill Trollope. The armoured column trundled along the Airport Road into Stanley with three Amtracs (05, 07 and 19) in the vanguard and near the Ionospheric Research Station at exactly 7:15 am were engaged by a section of Royal Marines with anti-tank rockets and machine-guns. This from Lieutenant-Commander Hugo Santillan's official post-battle report: From the air Port Stanley, also known as Stanley (briefly renamed Puerto Argentino during the Argentine occupation in the Falklands War), is the capital and only town in the Falkland Islands, located on the isle of East Falkland. ...
USMC AAV The AAV (Amphibious Assault Vehicle) is the USMCs current amphibious troop transport. ...
An amphibian or amphibious vehicle, is a vehicle that, like an amphibian, can move on land as well as on water. ...
The M113, one of the most common APCs, on duty during the Vietnam War Armoured personnel carriers (APCs) are light armoured fighting vehicles for the transport of infantry. ...
The tank landing ship (LST, for Landing Ship, Tank) was created during World War II to support amphibious operations by carrying significant quantities of vehicles, cargo, and troops directly onto an unimproved shore. ...
"We were on the last stretch of the road into Stanley. … A machine-gun fired from one of the three white houses about 500 metres away and hit the right-hand Amtrac. The fire was very accurate. Then there were some explosions from a rocket launcher, but they were inaccurate, falling a long way from us. We followed our standard operating procedure and took evasive action. The Amtrac on the right returned fire and took cover in a little depression. Once he was out of danger, I told all three vehicles to disembark their men. … I ordered the crew with the recoilless rifle to fire one round of hollow charge at the ridge of the roof of the house where the machine-gun was, to cause a bang but not an explosion. We were still following our orders not to inflict casualties. The first round was about a hundred metres short, but the second hit the roof. The British troops then threw a purple smoke grenade; I thought it was their signal to withdraw. They had stopped firing, so Commander Weinstabl started the movement of the two companies around the position. Some riflemen in one of the houses started firing then; that was quite uncomfortable. I couldn't pinpoint their location, but one of my other Amtracs could and asked permission to open up with a mortar which he had. I authorized this, but only with three rounds and only at the roofs of the houses. Two rounds fell short, but the third hit right in the centre of the roof; that was incredible. The British ceased firing then."2 M67 recoilless rifle The first effective recoilless rifles (RCL) were developed during World War II as a lightweight form of anti-tank weaponry. ...
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the released energy. ...
A hand grenade is a hand-held bomb, made to be thrown by a soldier. ...
The Amtrac on the right manoeuvred itself off the road into a little depression and as it did so, disembarked the Marines inside out of view, this encouraged the Royal Marines to think that Marine Mark Gibbs had scored a direct hit on the passenger compartment of the APC.
Lieutenant Bill Trollope, with No. 2 Section, describes the action:
"Six Armoured Personnel Carriers began advancing at speed down the Airport Road. The first APC was engaged at a range of about 200 to 250 metres. The first three missiles, two 84mm and one 66mm, missed. Subsequently one 66mm fired by Marine Gibbs, hit the passenger compartment and one 84mm Marines Brown and Betts hit the front. Both rounds exploded and no fire was received from that vehicle. The remaining five APCs which were about 600 to 700 metres away deployed their troops and opened fire. We engaged them with GPMG, SLR and sniper rifle Sergeant Shepherd for about a minute before we threw white phosphorus a smoke grenade and leap-frogged back to the cover of gardens. Incoming fire at that stage was fairly heavy, but mostly inaccurate." (Graham Bound, Falklands Islanders At War, Pen & Sword Books, 2002, pp. 52-53) Lieutenant Trollope and his men withdrew along Davis Street running behind the houses with Argentinian Marines in hot pursuit, and went to ground firing up the road when it became obvious they could not reach Government House.
Government House and surrender At Government House, Major Norman received a radio report from Corporal York's section, which was positioned at Stanley Harbour, observing any possible Argentinian ship movement. The Corporal proceeded to report on three potential targets in sight and which should he engage first. "What are the targets?" the Major enquired. "Target number one is an aircraft carrier, target number two is a cruiser…", at which point the line went dead. An aircraft carrier is a warship whose main role is to deploy and recover aircraft—in effect acting as a sea-going airbase. ...
USS Port Royal, a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, launched in 1994. ...
Corporal York decided to withdraw his section and proceeded to booby trap their Carl Gustav launcher, before paddling their Gemini assault boat north across Port William. As he did so, York claimed an Argentine destroyer began pursuing them. His initiative led to the Gemini reaching an anchored Polish fishing vessel, hiding the small assault boat in its shadow. They patiently waited for a chance, before moving to the shore and landing on a small beach. Carl Gustav is a Swedish armaments firm, now owned by Bofors, and properly named Bofors Carl Gustav. ...
Back at Government House, another incident occurred, when the three Argentine survivors of the skirmish at the House inadvertently alerted Major Noott to their presence, while they had been preparing to leave their hiding place. The Major fired shots into the maid's room ceiling. The startled Argentines tumbled down the stairs and surrendered to the Major, becoming the first POWs of the Falklands War, albeit briefly. Lieutenant Commander Giachino's 'snatch party' was thus completely neutralized and it would be at least two hours before the bulk of the 1st Amphibious Commando Group could reach Government House. Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ...
There is some evidence that the use of stun grenades during the battle for Government House led the Royal Marines inside to believe they were facing a company of Marines and were hopelessly outnumbered. Certainly Governor Hunt called Patrick Watts (at the radio station), by telephone and said he believed the attacking force to be about 200:
"They must have 200 around us now. They've been throwing grenades at us. They came along very quickly and very close, and then they retreated. Maybe they are waiting until the APCs come along and they think they'll lose less casualties that way." (Graham Bound, Falkland Islanders At War, 2002) Alerted by the sound of the approaching Amtracs, the Royal Marines in Government House saw the vehicles that had earlier on been engaged by Lieutenant Trollope and his section, pushing on toward Moody Brook and link up with Sanchez-Sabarots, with his Commandos plodding along the road to reinforce his colleagues at Government House. Major Norman had earlier advised Rex Hunt that the Royal Marines and the Governor could break out and set up a 'seat of government' elsewhere, but he decided to surrender to the now overwhelming Argentine forces. Corporal York's section remained un-captured. On the 4th of April, his section reached a secluded shepherd's hut owned by a Mrs Watson. He had no radio, and due to worries about possible civilian deaths chose to surrender to Argentine forces. They gave their position to the Argentines using a local islander's radio, and York subsequently ordered his men to destroy and then bury their weapons. April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ...
After the surrender, the Royal Marines and the members of the FIDF were then herded onto the playing fields. Pictures and film were taken of the British prisoners arranged face-down on the ground, which galvanised the British public when they were broadcast on television. The Argentine intention appeared to have been to show the lack of British casualties, but the images became a painful reminder of a national humiliation. Soon afterwards, the Royal Marines were moved to a C-130 transport aircraft, which would take them to Uruguay and on to Britain. The Corps of Royal Marines, usually just known as the Royal Marines (RM), are the United Kingdoms amphibious forces and a core component of the countrys Rapid Reaction Force. ...
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules, a four-engine turboprop aircraft, is the main tactical air transport aircraft of the United States and United Kingdom military forces. ...
Rex Hunt was allowed to make a farewell address on local radio, and even wore his Governor's ceremonial uniform, attracting ridicule from the Argentines, before changing back into civilian clothes. One Marine as he headed up the ramp, gave an Argentine guard a parting shot that would come true in 72 days time. "Don't make yourself too comfy mate, we'll be back."
In Buenos Aires huge flag-waving crowds flooded the Plaza de Mayo on hearing the news. Argentina's losses in the operation were one dead and three wounded. In London the government was in a state of shock on what became known as "Black Friday". The next day Argentine forces seized the island chain of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, 1500 km to the east of the Falklands. Buenos Aires (Good Airs in Spanish, originally meaning Fair Winds) is the capital of Argentina and its largest city and port, as well as one of the largest cities in South America. ...
This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...
St. ...
Orthographic projection centred on the South Sandwich Islands South Sandwich Islands South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, also claimed by Argentina as part of Tierra del Fuego province (because of that, some of the islands also have Spanish names). ...
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