THE FALKLANDS WAR

I advise you to leave the battle of Waterloo as it is.

Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington

It is over a quarter of a century since the last war fought on British soil, yet already it is fading into myth, as certain people try to rewrite what happened for their own, mostly political, ends. So here is a timeline of events - things that really happened.

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Geography

The Falklands are a set of islands, two large and several hundred small, about 300 miles from the coast of South America. In 1982 the Falkland Islands Dependency consisted of the Falklands themselves, the island of South Georgia some 800 miles away to the east, and the South Sandwich Islands another 200 miles further east. Of the Falklands, most people live on East rather than West Falkland, and most of those live in Port Stanley, the capital. Roads between the various townships are passable only with four-wheel drive vehicles.

History 1592-1981

1520s Islands appear on early Spanish maps.

1592 Islands first sighted by British sailors.

1600 Dutch explorer Sebald de Weert is the first European to find – the Sebald Islands!

1690 John Strong, captain of HMS Welfare, is driven off course and discovers the islands. He names them for his patron Anthony Cary, 5^th Viscount Falkland.

1764 French make first settlement at Port Louis on East Falkland.

1766 British settlement established at nearby Port Stanley. French sell Port Louis to Spain.

1770 Spanish commander of Buenos Aires sends fleet to take islands. British ships driven off.

1771 British political pressure and preparations for a counter-invasion lead to a Spanish withdrawal.

1774 Nootka Convention. British settlement abandoned, but they leave behind a plaque asserting their claim to the islands, and along with the United States retain the right to fish in Falkland waters.

1776 Viceroyalty of Río del Plata created - roughly Chile, Paraguay, Argentina and parts of Uruguay and Bolivia - with Buenos Aires as its capital. The 'Islas Malvinas' are rule from Buenos Aires.

1806/7 Unsuccessful English raids on French-held Rio del Plata during Napoleonic Wars.

1811 Spain abandons the islands. Rio del Plata claims to break from French rule, knowing the overstretched French are too busy to challenge this.

1813 Paraguay declares full independence.

1815 In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, the British place the former French leader on the remote Atlantic island of St. Helena, To prevent any rescue attempts they also seize the nearby Ascension Island. The latter will prove invaluable during the 1982 Falklands War.

1816 United Provinces of Río becomes Argentina.

1818 Chile breaks away.

1819 Argentina unable to find stable government, dissolves into civil war.

1820 Argentina asserts a claim to the islands.

1825 Uruguay fully incorporated after war with Brazil. Bolivia finally breaks away.

1826 Argentina establishes a seal-hunting base on the islands.

1828 Uruguay breaks away. Argentina roughly the same as the modern country.

1831 American warship USS Lexington destroys Argentine settlement, after Argentinians try to block U.S. exercizing of fishing rights.

1833 British forces arrive and repatriate remaining Argentinians

1843 Work begins on a major new settlement, named for the then Secretary for War and the Colonies, Lord Edward Stanley. It becomes the capital two years later, and currently holds around 2/3 of the islands' total population.

1914 British WW1 naval victory at the Battle of the Falklands.

1945 Argentina reclaims the island at the newly-formed United Nations. It emerges as a strong country after World War Two, its economy expansing to match that of Great Britain by the 1970s.

1976 Argentina undergoes a military coup. It establishes an illegal base at Southern Thule on the South Sandwich Islands and claims them. The British do nothing to remove the base.

1977 Rumours of invasion lead the Callaghan government to assemble a fleet of warships just off the Falklands. The Argentinians take the hint.

1979 Mrs. Thatcher becomes prime minister. The Argentine junta are sure she would not defend the islands. After all, she is only a woman!

1980 The Falkland Islanders unsurprisingly reject the laughable 'Hong Kong Compromise' - giving the islands to Argentina in return for a short British leaseback. The population of the islands has dropped to just 1,800.

1981 Scrap-metal dealer Constantino Davidoff pays an arranged visit to South Georgia to look at three former whaling stations he has a contract to demolish. The Argentine junta, having wrecked their economy in just a few years, are already planning for a 1982 invasion, and Davidoff will, unwittingly, give them just the opportunity they need.

March 1982

2nd The Argentine foreign minister says that Argentina reserves the right to 'employ other means' if Great Britain keeps refusing to cede sovereignty.

6th Hercules aircraft operated by Argentine military airline LADE, supposedly on a mail run to an Antarctic base, lands at Stanley Airport, falsely claiming a fuel leak, and carrying several senior Argentine officers whom the local LADE commandant takes on a tour of Stanley and its environs.

8th Mrs. Thatcher asks the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence for contingency plans in case of an Argentine blockade or invasion of the Islands.

19th Davidoff sends 40 workmen on naval vessel Bahia Buen Suceso to dismantle Leith whaling station on South Georgia. The workmen fail to ask permission to land from the British Antarctic Survey base at Grytviken and upon arrival hoist the Argentine flag.

20th Mrs. Thatcher sends Endurance (a survey ship, and the only permanent British presence in the South Atlantic) with 24 Royal Marines from Stanley to South Georgia.

23rd Bahia Buen Suceso and 30 workmen sail from Leith.

24th Endurance arrives at Grytviken. Argentine naval vessel Bahia Paraiso puts a large quantity of stores ashore at Leith together with a marine detachment.

26th The Argentine government says it will give all necessary protection to the remaining workmen on South Georgia. The Argentine navy set out on scheduled manoeuvres with the Uruguayan fleet.

27th Argentine missile boats Drummond and Granville sail south to join Bahia Paraiso.

28th Argentina restates its claim to the Falkland Islands and Dependencies, telling Great Britain there will be no negotiations on South Georgia. It cancels leave for military and diplomatic personnel, sends stores and equipment to the naval bases of Puerto Belgrano and Comodoro Rivadavia, and begins overflights of Stanley. Five Argentine warships are sighted near South Georgia. Great Britain begins contingency planning for the sending of a task force to the Islands.

29th Mrs. Thatcher orders 3 nuclear submarines south to the Islands. Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fort Austin sails south to provide support for Endurance. A new Royal Marine detachment arrive Stanley aboard research ship John Biscoe.

31st A British intelligence source warns that the Argentine fleet is at sea heading towards the Islands.

April 1982

1st British submarine Splendid sails from Faslane. UN Security Council meets at Great Britain's request and calls for restraint and avoidance of force. Unfortunately this fails to make the Argentinians die laughing.

2nd At midnight Argentina puts Operation Rosario into action by bringing ships into position off the Islands. Governor Hunt declares a State of Emergency at 3.25am. Argentine special forces land at Mullet Creek at 4.30am, more troops land at York Bay at 5.30am, and by 6am are engaged in battle with the Royal Marines - 3 Argentines are killed. The main Argentine landing force begins disembarking at Stanley at 8am, by which time the airstrip is cleared and the 25th Regiment flies in. Governor Hunt orders the surrender at 9.15am - by now the whole town other than Government House is under Argentine control. Galtieri hails the 'recovery' of the Malvinas, saying Argentina had been left no option other than military action, while Carrington tells Parliament "Port Stanley is now occupied by Argentine military forces". During the afternoon Governor Hunt (dressed in full regalia), other Foreign Office officials and the captured Royal Marines are forcibly evacuated by the Argentines to Montevideo. The islands and Port Stanley are 'renamed' Islas Malvinas and Puerto Argentino respectively. .Royal Marines on South Georgia attack the Argentine forces at 12.30pm but after inflicting heavy damage surrender to a far-superior force at 2.30pm. An emergency cabinet meeting approves the sending of the task force to liberate the Islands. MPs are recalled for a special Saturday sitting of the House of Commons (the first since Suez). 9 navy ships on exercise in the Mediterranean sail south. Great Britain's UN ambassador Sir Anthony Parsons puts a draft resolution to the Security Council condemning the hostilities and demanding immediate Argentine withdrawal from the Islands.

3rd UN Security Council passes Resolution 502 by 10 votes to 1 (Panama) demanding immediate Argentine withdrawal from the Islands - Argentina unsurprisingly refuses to comply. Emergency session of House of Commons. Enoch Powell MP remarks that the country will soon see of what metal the Iron lady is made. The first RAF elements of the task force deploy to Ascension Island. British submarine Conqueror sails from Faslane. Argentines occupy Goose Green and Darwin on the narrow neck of land between northern and southern East Falkland. Lighthouse keeper and radio ham Reg Silvey makes radio contact with the UK and continues clandestine broadcasts throughout the occupation.

5th Aircraft carriers Hermes and Invincible sail from Portsmouth with other ships. Peter Carrington resigns and is replaced as Foreign Secretary by Francis Pym. Junior Foreign Office Ministers Richard Luce and Humphrey Atkins also resign.

7th Liner Canberra is requisitioned at Southampton upon her return from a world cruise.

9th 3 Commando Brigade sail from Southampton aboard Canberra. European Economic Community (the E.U.) approve economic sanctions against Argentina. Ireland and Italy refuse to comply.

12th A 200 mile maritime exclusion zone around the Islands declared by Great Britain to prevent Argentine reinforcements and supplies reaching the Islands from the mainland. British submarine Spartan arrives on station off Stanley.

14th Argentine fleet leaves Puerto Belgrano. Squadron of ships carrying Royal Marines and special forces sent to retake South Georgia rendezvous with Endurance.

15th British destroyer group takes up holding position in mid-Atlantic.

17th Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse chairs conference at Ascension Island with Admiral Sandy Woodward and 3 Commando Brigade which sets out detailed plans for the retaking of the Islands by force. The main task force sails south from Ascension Island.

19th Argentina rejects peace plan unless Great Britain agrees to transfer sovereignty by 31 December 1982 and allow Argentine nationals to settle in the Islands. EEC foreign ministers declare 'support' for Great Britain.

20th Canberra arrives at Ascension Island.

21st South Georgia operation begins.

22nd British task force arrives in Falklands waters. General Galtieri visits the islands.

23rd Great Britain warns Argentina that any military or civilian ship or aircraft representing a threat to the task force will be destroyed.

24th Admiral Woodward's task group rendezvous with mid-Atlantic destroyers.

25th South Georgia recaptured by Royal Marines - Mrs. Thatcher tells Great Britain to "rejoice".

26th 'Defence area' declared around British fleet. Mrs. Thatcher declares time for diplomacy is running out. Argentines occupy Port Howard on West Falkland.

27th Chiefs of Staff present San Carlos landing proposals (Operation Sutton) to War Cabinet. 14 Stanley residents regarded by the Argentines as potential troublemakers are send to Fox Bay East (note: by this time over 15,000 'potential troublemakers' in Argentina had mysteriously disappeared).

28th The Organisation of American States supports Argentina's sovereignty claim but calls for peaceful negotiations.

29th Task force arrives at exclusion zone. Vulcan bombers arrive at Ascension Island.

30th Maritime exclusion zone is declared a total exclusion zone, applicable to all ships and aircraft supporting the Argentine occupation of the Islands. This means that anything inside the 200-mile zone will be attacked, whilst anything outside it may be attacked. Reagan terminates American peace mission, declares US support for Great Britain (about time too!), imposes economic sanctions on Argentina, and offers Great Britain material and other aid.

May 1982

1st Initial SAS and SBS landings on the Islands. First Vulcan bomber raid on Stanley airport. Sea harrier aircraft attack Stanley airport and Goose Green. Three Argentine aircraft are shot down. Naval bombardment of Stanley begins. 114 inhabitants of Goose Green are imprisoned in the settlement's Recreation Club for the next 4 weeks. The 14 Stanley residents previously sent to Fox Bay East are placed under house arrest.

2nd UN and Peru both try to initiate peace talks. Cruiser General Belgrano (originally the USS Phoenix, a survivor of Pearl Harbor) skirts the southern edge of the exclusion zone near Birdwood Bank, seemingly preparing for a run across it to attack the British fleet (the shadowing submarine, Conqueror, could not follow in such low water without being detected). The captain of the Belgrano later admitted he was part of a pincer attack on the British fleet. When it gets too near the bank the Belgrano is sunk by Conqueror's torpedoes on the orders of War Cabinet. 368 Argentines die, primarily because the two escorting frigates do not pick anyone up.

3rd British forces sink one Argentine patrol boat and seriously damage another. Argentine navy vessels are recalled to the Argentine shallow coastal waters out of reach of submarines.

4th British destroyer Sheffield hit by an Exocet missile, and subsequently sinks - 20 die. The French company that builds the Exocet publicly praises its effectiveness, and is surprised when people turn on them. First British Sea Harrier is shot down over Goose Green. Irish defence minister Patrick Mower says 'the British are very much the aggressors now'.

6th Two British Sea Harriers crash in fog. Convoy including Canberra heads south from Ascension Island.

7th Great Britain extends total exclusion zone to 12 miles off Argentine coast.

8th War Cabinet dispatches landing force south from Ascension Island. Argentina rejects Peru's peace proposals.

9th Final plans drawn up for San Carlos landing site, on the western side of northern East Falkland. Argentine spy ship Narwhal bombed by Sea Harriers, and subsequently sinks. Argentine positions bombarded from sea and air, especially around Stanley.

10th Task force briefed about San Carlos landing plans. Argentine supply ship Islas de los Estados sunk by Alacrity in Falkland Sound. Argentina declares the entire South Atlantic a war zone.

12th QE2 leaves Southampton with 5 Infantry Brigade comprising Scots Guards, Welsh Guards and Gurkhas.

14th Great Britain's ambassadors to the US and the UN summoned back to London. SAS attack the Argentine base on Pebble Island and destroy supplies and 11 Pucara aircraft. Three Argentine skyhawk aircraft are shot down by Sea Harriers.

16th Great Britain's UN ambassador Sir Anthony Parsons sent back to New York with British peace proposals.

17th British peace proposals transmitted to Argentina. Helicopter from Invincible lands SAS team in Argentina but they fail to destroy Argentine military aircraft at the Rio Grande base.

18th Landing force rendezvous with Admiral Woodward's task group. San Carlos landing plan put to full cabinet. Argentine junta rejects British peace proposals.

19th War Cabinet gives Admiral Woodward the go ahead for landing plan. British Sea King helicopter crashes with the loss of its crew and 19 Special Forces personnel.

20th Mrs. Thatcher orders task force into battle. RMS St. Helena requisitioned by the Task Force - 19 Saint Helenian sailors volunteer to serve aboard alongside naval personnel.

21st San Carlos landings begin, codenamed Operation Sutton. British frigate Ardent sunk in San Carlos Water by air attack. Argonaut and Antrim hit by Argentine bombs which fail to explode. 2 British helicopters and 15 Argentine aircraft are shot down. The UN has a debate (wonderful!).

With the British forces established at San Carlos, the strategy of the liberation was fairly obvious. It would involve a pincer movement, the northern attack going via Douglas and Teal Inlet to reach the mountains west of Port Stanley at Mount Longdon. The southern prong was the more difficult. South lay the strong defensive position at Darwin and Goose Green. This might be taken first, or by-passed for a direct drive south-east to Fitzroy and Bluff Cove, the long trek through difficult country which would bring the word 'yomping' into the dictionary. There is a gap south of the mountains around Stanley, but this was strongly defended and would have to be taken prior to any attack on the capital. In addition the British, unlike the Argentinians (who were busy planting unrecorded land-miles everywhere), were under strong advice to limit civilian casualties.

23rd British frigate Antelope hit by Argentine bomb which fails to explode - 1 crewman dies. 10 more Argentine aircraft are shot down.

24th Antelope explodes and sinks when a bomb disposal officer attempts to defuse the bomb. Landing craft Sir Galahad and Sir Lancelot hit by Argentine bombs which fail to explode while Sir Bedivere is damaged by a bomb exploding in water nearby. 7 more Argentine aircraft are shot down.

25th British destroyer Coventry sunk by air attack. British container ship Atlantic Conveyor is abandoned with 3 vital Chinook helicopters aboard after an exocet missile hit sets the ship ablaze. 8 more Argentine aircraft are shot down. SAS unit reconnoitres Mount Kent, one of the mountains west of Port Stanley.

26th 2 Para set out for Goose Green. UN Security Council Resolution 505 instructs Secretary-General Perez de Cuellar to seek negotiated settlement.

27th 45 Commando and 3 Para set out for Douglas and Teal Inlet. SAS land in strength on Mount Kent, cutting off Port Stanley on its landward side. Sea Harriers attack Goose Green - one plane is shot down. British forces are furious when BBC World Service report 2 Para are advancing on Darwin; it was possible that this very strong defensive position might be left until after Stanley had fallen.

28th 2 Para launch attack early in the morning, and by evening surround Goose Green - 17 British and 250 Argentines die. The high number of casualties is because, at one point, Argentinian soldiers wave a white flag then kill the British soldier who comes to accept their surrender. Colonel H Jones is killed during the attack and subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross. 5 Infantry Brigade trans-ship from QE2 to Norland and Canberra at South Georgia. British shelling by air and sea of Port Stanley recommences and continues for the next 16 days.

29th 1400 Argentines surrender Goose Green to 600 British soldiers. The islanders imprisoned at Goose Green by the Argentines are released; they return to find the Argentinians have looted their homes and smeared excrement over the floors. The Organisation of American States condemns Great Britain's military action and calls on the US to stop helping Great Britain - only the US, Chile, Columbia and Trinidad & Tobago abstain.

30th 45 Commando take Douglas and 3 Para take Teal Inlet. 42 Commando advance on Mount Challenger. General Moore arrives at San Carlos. Pope John Paul II preaches anti-war message in Coventry Cathedral.

31st The British now control East Falkland up to the mountains around Port Stanley. Ronald Reagan asks Mrs. Thatcher not to inflict too serious a defeat on the Argentines. Her reply is unprintable here.

June 1982

1st 5 Infantry Brigade begins disembarkation at San Carlos.

2nd 2 Para reach Bluff Cove. Argentine military envoys arrive in New York offering to surrender - to the UN!

3rd Versailles summit opens. Reagan's 5-point plan given to Great Britain.

4th Great Britain and US veto Panamanian-Spanish immediate ceasefire resolution in UN Security Council. Spain criticises Great Britain's military action, becoming the only NATO country to openly not support Great Britain. 2 Para occupy Bluff Cove and Fitzroy. This is a large natural harbour near Port Stanley, and is deemed ideal for disembarking more troops.

5th Scots Guards depart San Carlos at night on board Intrepid heading for Fitzroy

6th Scots Guards land at Fitzroy in early morning. Versailles summit supports British position on the conflict. Welsh Guards depart San Carlos at night on board Fearless heading for Fitzroy.

7th A shortage of landing craft mean half the Welsh Guards land at Fitzroy in early morning but the rest return to San Carlos, which they leave again at night on board landing craft Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram. Bad weather not only delays their journey but clears the skies for Argentine planes.

8th Plymouth in Falkland Sound is hit by four Argentine bombs but none explode. Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram are bombed at Fitzroy while the Welsh Guards are waiting to disembark - 51 die and 55 are seriously wounded. Sir Galahad sinks. Landing craft Foxtrot-4 sunk with British vehicles aboard. Three Argentine Skyhawks are shot down by Sea Harriers.

10th Peace-seeking Peru sends 10 Mirage jets to Argentina to replenish losses.

11th Battle for Port Stanley begins on Mount Longdon, Mount Harriet and Two Sisters - 23 Paras and 50 Argentines die. Sergeant Ian McKay of 3 Para is killed on Mount Longdon and subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross. Three islanders are killed during British naval bombardment of Port Stanley. Pope John Paul II visits Argentina and denounces all wars as 'unjust'.

12th 3 Para take Mount Longdon, 42 Commando take Mount Harriet and 45 Commando take Two Sisters. British destroyer Glamorgan badly damaged by land-launched Exocet missile, and exceptionally lucky to survive – the missile missed its ammunition hold by inches!

13th Battle for Tumbledown, Wireless Ridge and Mount William, the last major mountains before Port Stanley.

14th By daylight Argentine troops are fleeing in disarray, by mid-morning white flags are flying in Stanley, and by noon the British have marched to the outskirts of Port Stanley. Mrs. Thatcher informs the Commons at 10.15pm UK time that the Argentines have surrendered. General Menendez surrenders to General Moore at 9pm FI time. 9,800 Argentine troops put down their arms.

15th British officers are flown by helicopter to the outlying settlements to accept the surrender of local Argentine commanders. Port Stanley's historic Globe Store is destroyed by an Argentine arsonist. Canberra embarks 1,200 Argentine POWs at San Carlos.

16th Canberra embarks a further 1,850 Argentine POWs in Port William outside Stanley. British war toll is 255 dead, plus 3 civilians.

17th General Galtieri resigns.

18th Canberra sails from Port William with 3,046 Argentine POWs aboard once Argentina guarantees her safe passage.

19th Canberra offloads the POWs at Puerto Madryn, Argentina

20th British forces land on South Thule - Argentines surrender without a fight. Great Britain formally declares an end to hostilities. 200 mile exclusion zone established around the Islands during the war is replaced by a Falkland Islands Protection Zone of 150 miles. EEC lifts economic sanctions against Argentina (they just couldn't wait).

22nd General Bignone replaces Galtieri. Argentine army assumes full power, the Navy and Air Force withdrawing from the Junta.

24rd Mrs. Thatcher visits Ronald Reagan in Washington D.C.

25th Governor Rex Hunt returns to Stanley. Canberra departs Falklands waters with 40, 42 and 45 Commando on board.

26th Service of Thanksgiving and Remembrance at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie calls on people not to celebrate the victory. Yes, even in those days they chose morons to do this job.

July 1982

2nd Argentine war toll set at 649 dead or missing. British task forces and ground forces commanders replaced.

11th Canberra arrives home at Southampton.

14th Final Argentine prisoners of war repatriated.

22nd Great Britain lifts the Exclusion Zone around the islands.

24th August RMS St. Helena arrives home in St. Helena

12 October Victory Parade in London

4 November UN General Assembly passes a resolution calling for a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute. Again, the disobliging Argentinians refuse to die laughing.

Post-War

1983 Falkland Islanders are granted full British citizenship. Democratic government installed in Argentina.

1986 The BBC try to force author Ian Curteis to rewrite his Falklands Play to show Mrs. Thatcher in a bad light. When he refuses, they drop the play, and instead broadcast a number of anti-Conservative programmes about the war on the dates around which they expect the next general election to fall. For some reason the public react badly to this

2003 Argentina stops direct flights to the islands.

2007: Population now over 3,000. Argentina reasserts claim to islands.

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