The Falklands War Part 18

In early April 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, a few desolate rocks in the South Atlantic. The British mobilized their fleet in response. The carriers arrived off the Falklands on May 1st, swiftly defeating the Argentine Air Force. The Argentine Navy tried to interfere the next day, but withdrew after the cruiser General Belgrano was sunk by a submarine. Two days later, the Argentinians struck back, sinking the frigate Sheffield with an Exocet missile. Two weeks later, on May 21st, British troops landed at San Carlos Water on the west coast of East Falkland. The Argentine Air Force quickly got wind of this, and launched numerous sorties against the invasion fleet. The brutal battle ran for five days before the Argentinian attacks petered out. Unfortunately, the 25th saw the destroyer Coventry and the cargo ship Atlantic Conveyor sunk by air attack. Atlantic Conveyor's loss was particularly damaging, as she carried helicopters intended to move the land forces forward. Instead, they would have to walk.¹

Queen Elizabeth 2 sails for the South Atlantic

But it was finally time for the British to take the offensive on land. Stanley was clearly the center of gravity of the Argentinian occupation force, and capturing it would probably end the war. The five battalions² currently in the Falklands weren't enough to be sure of this, so a second brigade, 5 Infantry Brigade, had been assembled. Normally, 5 Infantry Brigade was largely an airborne formation, built around 2 Para, 3 Para and a battalion of Gurkhas. However, 2 Para and 3 Para had been attached to 3 Commando Brigade, so replacements had to be sourced in a hurry. Two battalions of The Guards, previously tasked with ceremonial duties in London were tapped, and hastily trained for the mountainous, sub-arctic conditions of the Falklands. On May 12th, these battalions, along with the Gurkhas, 5 Infantry Brigade's support units, and various other forces, set sail aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2.

Queen Elizabeth 2 transships troops at South Georgia

Bringing the massive liner near the Falklands with thousands of troops onboard was seen as too dangerous, and she was instead dispatched to South Georgia, arriving on May 27th. There, she was met by Canberra and Norland, fresh from San Carlos. Over the next 24 hours, 3000 men and 250 tons of supplies were transferred by trawler, small boat and helicopter despite the South Georgia weather. The urgency was partially due to the need to get troops to the Falklands, and partially due to the threat of air attack, as the heaviest AA weapon in the area was a 40mm gun and the BBC had helpfully announced that QE2 was approaching the combat area. The next day was spent unloading more supplies from QE2, but when she sailed on the 29th, a great deal of 5 Brigade's artillery and mortar ammunition was still onboard.³

Repair ship Stena Seaspread

The 26th was fairly quiet on the Falklands themselves. The Argentinians had developed a new tactic, sending out "spoof raids" composed of Mirages or Learjets, which would turn back when the air controllers of VYCA-2 saw the Harriers moving to intercept. The British jets, short on fuel, couldn't pursue far enough to actually engage, and each chase meant a pair had to go home and refuel. Fortunately, the Argentinian strike aircraft were also at the limits of their range, so when VYCA-2 diverted a real raid to protect it from interception, it didn't have enough gas to make a second attack. The only "successful" raid of the day was made by Skyhawks whose bombs fell harmlessly near 2 Para's positions on the south end of the beachhead.

Outside of Stanley itself, the only major Argentinian concentration on East Falkland was around Darwin and Goose Green, 12 miles south of the beachhead. The force there had only limited offensive capability, so the initial plan had been to bypass it. However, it would be at least a week before enough forces were in position to begin the attack on Stanley, and the British felt the need for a victory before then, so 2 Para moved out at dusk on the 26th, with the attack scheduled for the next evening. They made it into position undetected, but the BBC soon announced that the British were about to attack Goose Green, sparking predictable fury among the men in the Falklands.

The brigade hospital at Ajax Bay

The 27th saw both sides make air attacks on the opposing positions. British Harrier GR.3s bombed Goose Green with little success, but when they came around to strafe the Argentine positions, one was shot down by AA fire. The pilot ejected safely, and was picked up three days later. Other Harriers lofted bombs at Stanley, delay-fuzed to go off during the night and disrupt the supply flights. Two pairs of Skyhawks attacked San Carlos. One strike, lead by Primer Teniente Velasco, who had previously led the strikes on Argonaut and Coventry, managed to bomb the old refrigeration plant at Ajax Bay, now serving as the field hospital for the brigade, as well as the ordnance dump nearby. Fortunately, the bomb that hit the hospital failed to go off, although it alarmed the staff and patients there. The ordnance dump wasn't so lucky, and the resulting explosions killed 5 men and wounded 20 more. Velasco's Skyhawk was hit by Fearless's 40mm gun, and he ejected safely over West Falkland. The other pair of Skyhawks bombed some of 40 Commando's positions, killing two men but doing minimal material damage.

Several other raids were launched, but failed to find San Carlos despite the fire in the Brigade Maintenance Area. They were the last attempted low-level attacks on the main beachhead. The battle would move elsewhere as the British began to spread across East Falkland. 45 Commando and 3 Para set off for Teal Inlet on the north side of the island, where a forward logistics base would be established for the attack on Stanley. 40 Commando remained behind to guard San Carlos, while 42 Commando was tapped as the 3 Commando Brigade reserve, ready to seize any opportunity that might present itself.

Glamorgan showing off her Sea Slug launcher

To cover the forthcoming attack on Goose Green, the British laid on a heavy bombardment in the closing hours of the 27th. Three ships, Alacrity, Avenger and Glamorgan, were detached from the carriers to hit targets around Stanley. To her 4.5” gun, Glamorgan added one of her Sea Slug missiles, obsolete against aircraft but significantly more powerful than any shell they could muster. The Argentinians replied with a missile of their own. Exocets had been stripped from a corvette and flown into Stanley, where they were mounted on a trailer and targeted by the radars already on the island. One was fired at Avenger, but it missed, flying about 5’ above the ship’s deck. Elsewhere, Yarmouth bombarded Port Howard on West Falkland, while Arrow moved into position to provide fire support and star shells for the attack on Goose Green.

Arrow

The attack kicked off at around 0330 that morning, and Arrow provided valuable fire support during the opening hours of the battle. However, as she withdrew just before dawn, to avoid sharing Ardent's fate, the Paras began to run into serious resistance from the Argentine defenders. In the early morning, 2 Para's commander, Lieutenant-Colonel H. Jones, was mortally wounded during a one-man charge intended to get the Paras moving again. A helicopter sent in to evacuate him was shot down by a Pucara, but he was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross⁴ for his bravery. The Paras slowly worked their way south down the isthmus, taking Darwin Hill around 1300, where they were stalled by fire from Argentinian AA guns. Bad weather kept both sides from making much use of air support. Pucaras from Goose Green itself attempted to use napalm, but the inaccuracy of their tanks meant they were no more than a minor nuisance, and British Blowpipes claimed two of the aircraft, along with a Macchi later in the afternoon. Finally, around 1530, a trio of Harrier GR.3s were called in and managed to silence the AA guns, clearing the way for the Paras to take the airfield. Night fell with both sides in a precarious position, and despite Argentine attempts to reinforce,⁵ the British managed to helicopter in more men and guns,⁶ and the defenders surrendered early on the 29th. The British had lost 18 killed and 64 wounded, while the Argentinians lost around 50 killed and 130 wounded, with 961 captured.

The Battle of Goose Green

The first major land battle in the Falklands had been a British victory, and it was the beginning of the end for the defenders. The Paras had managed to take an entrenched position against a force roughly equal to their own, and with relatively light casualties. On the 29th, 45 Commando and 3 Para took Teal Inlet, while the British were quick to seize an opportunity presented when a company that had previously been guarding Mount Kent, one of the peaks overlooking Stanley, was helicoptered to reinforce Goose Green. SAS patrols quickly occupied the summit, and held it against attempts to retake it until 42 Commando could be lifted in on the 30th. Artillery swiftly followed, the first shells falling on Stanley on June 1st. The way was open for the final assault to begin. We'll pick up that story next time.