|
This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality.
This article has been tagged since June 2005.
See How to Edit and Style and How-to for help, or this article's talk page. The Battle of Mount Tumbledown was an engagement of the Falklands War which took place on the 13th/14 June 1982, and was part of a series of battles that took place during the advance towards Port Stanley. The British force consisted of the 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards with mortar detachments from 42 Commando, Royal Marines and the 1/7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles with support from a troop of the Blues and Royals equipped with two Scorpions and two Scimitars. Naval gunfire-support was provided by HMS Active's 4.5-in gun. The Argentinian force consisted of the 5th Marine Infantry Battalion. Robert Lawrence wrote in the book When the Fighting Is Over: A Personal Story of the Battle for Tumbledown Mountain (Bloomsbury Publishing, 1988) after being a platoon commander with the Scots Guards in 1982: 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. ...
June 14 is the 165th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (166th in leap years), with 200 days remaining. ...
1982 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
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. ...
Scots Guard at the Tower of London The Scots Guards are a regiment of the British Army. ...
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. ...
Gurkha Soldiers (1896) The Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective term for British Army units that are composed of Nepalese soldiers. ...
The Blues and Royals are a British Army armoured regiment and are part of the Household Cavalry. ...
The FV101 Scorpion is a modern British light tank. ...
FV107 Scimitar is an armoured reconnaissance vehicle, although sometimes classed as a light tank used by the British Army. ...
HMS Active (F171) was a Type 21 frigate of the Royal Navy. ...
Commanded by Commander (Marine Corps) Carlos H. Robacio (now retired as a Rear Admiral), the 5th Marine Battalion (or BIM 5, the Argentinian Naval Acronym for it) was arguably the best Argentine infantry unit in the Falklands War. ...
I heard later that the original brigade plan had been to attack by day. Had we done that, there is no doubt in my mind that the Argentinians would have killed us all on the approach.
When the Fighting Is Over: A Personal Story of the Battle for Tumbledown Mountain and Its Aftermath by John Lawrence, Robert Lawrence
Start of the battle On the morning of the 13 June, the Scots Guards were moved by helicopter from their position at Bluff Cove to an assembly area near Goat Ridge which was west of Mount Tumbledown. The plan for the attack on Tumbledown was for a diversionary attack to be made south of Mount Tumbledown by a small number of Scots Guards assisted by the four light tanks of the Blues & Royals, with the main attack being a three-phase silent advance from the west of Mount Tumbledown. The first phase would consist of G Company taking the western end of the mountain, second phase would have Left Flank Company then passing through them to capture the center of the summit, with the third phase having Right Flank Company pass through Left Flank Company to secure the eastern end of Tumbledown. June 13 is the 164th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (165th in leap years), with 201 days remaining. ...
Diversion At 8:30pm on the 13 June, the diversionary attack began. The 2nd Scots Guards Battalion's Reconnaissance Platoon, commanded by Major Richard Bethell, a former SAS officer and supported by the four light tanks of the Blues and& Royals attacked an Argentinian Marine Company position on the lower slopes of Mount William. They reached their objective silently, upon encountering the enemy, a heavy fire-fight ensued, lasting two hours and resulting in the deaths of two Scots Guardsmen and four wounded before the Argentinian Marine positions fell silent. Major Bethell was discussing with one of his medical orderlies how the wounded were to be carried back, when a scene beyond the imagination of Hollywood took place. June 13 is the 164th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (165th in leap years), with 201 days remaining. ...
An appallingly wounded Argentinian Marine conscript dragged himself over the parapet of his trench and tossed a grenade at Bethell's feet. Bethell shot him before the grenade exploded, riddling his legs with shrapnel and wounding the medical orderly in the lung.
Upon knowing they could be counter-attacked at any time, the British platoon withdrew from the position and inadvertently entered a minefield which resulted in two men being wounded covering the withdrawal and a further four as a direct result of the minefield. The explosions prompted the 5th Marine Battalion's Operation Officer to order the 81 mm mortar Platoon on Mount William attached to the Marine O Company to open fire on the minefield and likely withdrawal route of anyone attacking the O Company position. The barrage lasted about forty minutes and more British casualties would have been suffered had not the soft peat absorbed the impact of the mortar bombs. The United Kingdoms L16 81 mm mortar is the standard mortar used by the British army. ...
Night attack G Company left its start-line at 9:00pm on the nearly two mile advance towards its objective. They reached their objective undetected and found the western end of the mountain to be unoccupied. Left Flank Company then passed through G Company at 10:30pm to attack the next part of Tumbledown. The two main platoons the began advancing eastwards up the mountain's slope. Lieutenant Alasdair Mitchell's 15 Platoon on the right were coming under heavy fire, and Lieutenant Anthony Fraser's 13 Platoon on the left were coming under equally, if not worse, fire from the Argentinians, two of its men being killed and two being wounded.
Meanwhile, about 400 yards ahead of them, a company of Marines lay entrenched. The employment of the Carl Gustav recoilless rifles, as well as the 66 mm anti-tank rockets, did not prove as effective for the British as they had at Goose Green. The 5th Marines were well dug in, and succeeded at holding up the 2nd Scots Guards Battalion's advance. However, at 2:30am, under the cover of very heavy fire, Left Flank Company launched a bayonet charge that, in bitter and bloody fighting, finally dislodged the Argentinian defenders who had refused to yield. The Carl Gustav is the common name for the 84mm recoilless rifle anti-tank weapon from the Carl Gustav company in Sweden. ...
The US Marine Corps OKC-3S bayonet A bayonet is a knife- or dagger-shaped weapon designed to fit on or over the muzzle of a rifle or similar weapon. ...
Left Flank Company bit deep into the Argentinian defences. Marine Private Jorge Sanchez in the book Cronica Documental De Las Malvinas (Editorial Redaccion, 1982), recalled:
The fighting was sporadic, but at times fierce, as we tried to maintain our position. By this time we had ten or twelve dead including one officer. I hadn't fired directly at a British soldier, as they had been to hard to get a clear shot at. I can remember lying there with all this firing going over my head. They were everywhere. The platoon commander then called Private Ramon Rotela manning the 60 millimetre mortar and Rotela fired it straight up into the air so that the bombs landed on ourselves. At this point I had been up and in actual combat for over six hours. It was snowing and we were tired. Some of the guys had surrendered, but I didn't want to do this. I had only twenty rounds left and I decided to continue the fight from Mount William. I popped up, fired a rifle grenade in the direction of 8 to 10 British soldiers to keep their heads down, and then ran for the 2nd Platoon. I can remember saying some type of prayer hoping the British wouldnt shoot me in the back.
Private Sanchez was a very lucky man to not have been shot by men of his own battalion in the snowy dawn when the Marine officer commanding the 2nd Platoon of N Company on the saddle between Tumbledown and Mount William, instructed his men not to open fire as the young soldier, clad in a baggy uniform and camoulfaged steel helmet, was clearly a member of the Argentinian Marine Corps falling back from the night fighting.
After a seven-hour fight just a handful of men reached the top of Tumbledown, Left Flank Company's objective, the rest were either performing other duties further down the mountain or had been killed or badly wounded.
At 6:00am, Right Flank Company passed through Left Flank Company toward the eastern end of Tumbledown, the final objective. Major Kiszely briefed Major Price that an Argentinian platoon, including a machine gun, were about 250 yards to the east and all efforts to dislodge them with Carl Gustavs and 66mm rockets had failed. Second Lieutenant Mathewson's 2 and Lieutenant Lawrence's 3 Platoon of Right Flank Company advanced carefully. In the saddle between the centre and eastern summits 2 and 3 Platoons clashed with Major Oscar Jaimet's B Company of the 6th Infantry Regiment with Second Lieutenant Augusto La Madrid's platoon taking the brunt of Right Flank Company's advance.
Lance-Corporal Grahm Rennie of 3 Platoon in the book 5th Infantry Brigade In The Falklands (Pen & Sword Books, 2003) later described the attack:
Our assault was initiated by a Guardsman killing a sniper, which was followed by a volley of 66mm anti-tanks rounds. We ran forward in extended line, machine-gunnners and riflemen firing from the hip to keep the enemy heads down, enabling us to cover the open ground in the shortest possible time. Halway across the open ground 2 Platoon went to ground to give covering fire support, enabling us to gain a foothold on the enemy position. From then on we fought from crag to crag, rock to rock, taking out pockets of enemy and lone riflemen, all of who resisted fiercely.
Morning By dawn, the approach of more British companies, to secure Mount William, was detected. They were the Gurkhas. The men of N Company of the 5th Marine Infantry Battalion on Tumbledown were thus facing off against two battalions. In the gray dawn, the Marine Forward Observation Officer on Tumbledown, Second Lieutenant Marcelo De Marco, spotted the 650-strong Gurkha battalion and radioed battalion headquarters for airburst and mortar fire. Fortunately the soft peat cushioned the explosions. Nevertheless eight Gurkhas were wounded, two of them seriously.
With La Madrid's platoon severely mauled, Jaimet had appointed Second Lieutenant Aldo Franco's platoon to cover the Argentinian withdrawal from Tumbledown Mountain. Franco had already successfully covered the Argentinian withdrawal from Two Sisters on 12 June but had lost three killed battling Yankee Company of 45 Commando. On at least three occasions a conscript from Franco's platoon opened fire at a 656 Squadron Scout helicopter flying out the British wounded. In the gloom of a snowy dawn locating him was difficult and, although he was constantly moving between shots, the Scots Guards were able to pin him down most of the time with small-arms and 66mm rockets. Captain Campbell-Lamerton, who commanded the Anti-Tank Platoon and spoke Spanish, tried to persuade the Army conscript to desist, but failed. Eventually Lance-Corporal Gary Tyler, of Left Flank Company, landed a 66mm rocket on the dazed Argentinian soldier's position, which mortally wounded the 6th Regiment conscript. June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining. ...
End By 10:00am local time their objective was secured and the Scots Guards were now in control of Tumbledown. At 2:30pm the Argentinian marine battalion marched into Port Stanley in parade order, carrying their weapons. They felt far from defeated. They had taken on the bulk of the British 5th Infantry Brigade (2nd Scots Guards Battalion, 1st Welsh Guards Battalion and a 40 Royal Marine Commando helicopter-borne company). The 5th Marines suffered 16 killed and 64 wounded while inflicting very heavy casualties by today's standards - over sixty killed and wounded - on the British 5th Infantry Brigade.
See Also |
Feeds |
Contact