Falklands War Facts & Worksheets

Let’s find out more about the Falklands War!

Argentine soldiers moved into the Falkland Islands on 2 April 1982 and claimed the area as part of Argentina, defying the Falkland Islanders’ right to self-determination. This decision would lead to a military war between Argentina and the United Kingdom (UK), as well as the deployment of 656 Squadron Army Air Corps (AAC) to the severe climate of the Falkland Islands. The Army Air Corps is a component of the British Army founded in 1942 during the Second World War by combining the British Army’s different airborne divisions.

EVENTS LEADING TO THE WAR

• Many factors contributed to the 1982 Falkland Islands War between the UK and Argentina over control of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. The Falkland Islands have been the subject of a sovereignty dispute since they were originally colonised in 1764, with Great Britain and later the UK on one side and France, Spain, and the United Provinces of the River Plate (later Argentina).
• When Luis Vernet was named Governor by the United Provinces, Britain lodged diplomatic protests, and both Britain and the United States (US) made diplomatic protests about the attempt to limit rights to seals on the islands. 
• Following Vernet’s seizure of American ships sealing in the islands and confiscation of their haul, the US sent a cruiser to the islands, resulting in the evacuation of Puerto Luis (formerly known as Puerto Soledad) and the voluntary repatriation of many of the immigrants.
• Following that, the United Provinces attempted to re-establish Puerto Soledad as a penal colony, but a rebellion ended in the murder of one Governor. Shortly after the rebellion was put down, in January 1833, a British naval task force landed, tasked with re-establishing British sovereignty on the islands.
• The British demanded that the Argentine administration evacuate the islands, and they did so without firing a shot. Contrary to common myth, the inhabitants on the island were not all ejected at the same time but were encouraged to stay by the British. From then until 1982, the islands were continually under British control.

PREPARATIONS BEFORE THE WAR

• On 9 December 1981, Admiral Jorge Isaac Anaya and General Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri met in the main army barracks in Campo de Mayo. The two talked about how and when to depose President Roberto Viola. Anaya and Galtieri were members of the National Reorganisation Process, a military junta governing Argentina since 1976.
• Anaya travelled from Buenos Aires to the main Argentine navy installation at Puerto Belgrano on Tuesday, 15 December. He went there to officially install Vice Admiral Juan José Lombardo as the new Chief of Naval Operations.
• Anaya startled Lombardo after the ceremony by instructing him to develop a strategy for occupying the Falkland Islands.
• Brigadier Basilio Lami Dozo of the Air Force was informed of the decision to occupy the Falkland Islands on 29 December. Foreign Minister Costa Méndez was unaware of the plans when preparing his diplomatic move in January 1982.
• In early January 1982, detailed preparation began. Vice Admiral Lombardo (Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet) led it, together with General Osvald Garcia (commander of the Fifth Army Corps) and Brigadier Sigfrido Plessel (member of the Air Force Staff). The Royal Marines, the UK’s special operations competent commando unit, British civil service personnel, and the more anti-Argentine Falkland Islanders would be deported, and the majority of the invading force would return to their bases within 48 hours. 
• A military governor and a 500 military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population known as the gendarmerie would be left to keep the Falkland Islands in line. 
• Anaya’s proposal called for Argentine settlers to replace the entire island’s population, but Lombardo feared that such a move would infuriate the world community. 
• Instead, if the Falkland Islanders want to go, they should be compensated financially.

ARGENTINE INVASION

• Argentina launched Operation Rosario, an amphibious landing on the Falkland Islands, on 2 April 1982. The invasion was met with a robust but brief defence organised by Governor Sir Rex Hunt of the Falkland Islands, who delegated leadership to Major Mike Norman of the Royal Marines. The garrison comprised 68 marines and eleven naval hydrographers, who were assisted by 23 Falkland Islands Defence Force (FIDF) volunteers who had limited firearms and were utilised as lookouts. 
• The invasion began with Lieutenant Commander Guillermo Sanchez-Sabarots’ Amphibious Commandos Group landing and attacking the unoccupied Moody Brook barracks before moving on to the Government House in Stanley. 
• As the 2nd Marine Infantry Battalion with Assault Amphibious Vehicles came, the Governor requested a ceasefire and surrendered.
• The Governor, his family, and British military troops were transported to Argentina that afternoon before being returned to the UK.

INVASION OF SOUTH GEORGIA

• The invasion of South Georgia occurred on 3 April 1982, when Argentine Navy forces overpowered a small number of Royal Marines at Grytviken and gained possession of the east coast of South Georgia. Despite being outnumbered, the Royal Marines shot down a helicopter and repeatedly struck the Argentine corvette ARA Guerrico until being forced to surrender. The invasion of Georgia was one of the first episodes of the Falklands War, following the day before the invasion of the Falkland Islands.
• A party of Argentine civilian scrap metal workers came to Leith Harbour on board the transport ship ARA Baha Buen Suceso without the necessary landing clearance and raised the Argentine flag. 
• Argentine marines acting as civilian scientists infiltrated the scrap workers.

What was the initial reaction of the British government to the invasion of Argentina?

• Before the invasion that took place in April, the British government had already taken action. In reaction to the events in South Georgia, Ministers decided on 29 March to deploy the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Fort Austin south from the Mediterranean, together with the nuclear-powered fleet submarine HMS Spartan from Gibraltar, with HMS Splendid following the next day from Scotland.
• On the same day, the submarine HMS Superb left Gibraltar, and it was assumed in the news that she was heading south. There has since been suspicion that the effect of those stories was to frighten the Argentine junta into invading the Falkland Islands before submarines could be deployed; nevertheless, post-war investigation has proved that the final decision to attack was reached during a junta meeting in Buenos Aires on 23 March.
• The next day, during a crisis meeting chaired by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Admiral Sir Henry Leach suggested that “Britain could and should send a task force if the islands are invaded.” On 1 April, Leach directed a Royal Navy force conducting training in the Mediterranean to prepare to sail south. After the invasion on 2 April, an emergency cabinet meeting authorised the formation of a task force to recover the islands. The House of Commons called an emergency session the next day to support this.
• The British military activities in the Falklands War were codenamed Operation Corporate, and the task force commander was Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse. The operation lasted from 1 April through 20 June 1982. The British Government established a War Cabinet on 6 April to offer political oversight of the campaign daily. This was the British government’s crucial crisis management tool, with the mandate to keep under review political and military developments in the South Atlantic and to report as necessary to the Defence and Overseas Policy Committee.

ROLE OF THE UNITED NATIONS

• Eduardo Roca, Argentina’s United Nations (UN) ambassador, began attempting to rally support against a British military buildup meant to counter previous UN resolutions, asking for both countries to resolve the Falkland Islands dispute through dialogue on 31 March 1982. 
• On 1 April 1982, the London government informed the UK ambassador to the UN, Sir Anthony Parsons, that an invasion was impending and that he should convene an emergency Security Council meeting to obtain a favourable decision against Argentina. The meeting began at 11:00 am on 3 April, New York time. Resolution 502 of the UN Security Council was approved by a vote of 10 to 1, with Panama voting against and with four abstentions. Specifically, both China and the Soviet Union abstained. 
• This was a big diplomatic victory for the UK. The resolution Parsons drafted avoided any mention of the sovereignty question, instead focusing on Argentina’s violation of Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which forbids the threat or use of force to settle disputes. The resolution asked for the evacuation of only Argentine forces, allowing Britain to recover the islands militarily if Argentina did not leave, by the UN Charter’s right to self-defence.

OCCUPATION OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS

• The Argentine Army unit designated for the occupation was the 25th Infantry Regiment, a regiment of approximately 681 specially trained troops from all regions of Argentina; it was flown into Stanley Airport as soon as the runway was cleared. When it became clear that the British were sending an amphibious task force, a considerable number of reservists were summoned, and two brigades of eight infantry units and their supporting forces were dispatched to the islands. Islanders suspected of harbouring anti-Argentine sentiments were initially expelled. The civilian population of Goose Green, a community on East Falkland, was kept in the village hall in unpleasant conditions for over a month. 
• As the conflict came to an end, some troops began to plant booby traps in civilian dwellings, defiltrate homes with excrement, destroy civilian property, and commit arson against civilian properties. Argentina’s officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) have been accused of subjecting conscript soldiers to harsh Field punishment. According to Private Alan Craig of the 7th Regiment, ration bags from the Moody Brook depot were discovered to be missing foodstuff, and troops garrisoned at Port Howard were famished.

BRITISH TROOPS

• The recapture of the Falkland Islands was thought to be extremely difficult. According to historian Arthur L. Herman, the US Navy considered a successful British counter-invasion “a military impossibility.” The difference in deployable air cover severely hampered the British. Additionally, the British lacked early warning and control (AEW) aircraft. The Argentine surface force was also evaluated, as was the threat presented by Exocet-equipped warships or the two Type 209 submarines.
• Encounters began in April 1982, when the British Task Force was followed south by Argentine Air Force Boeing 707 aircraft. 
• Sea Harriers intercepted several of these flights outside the British-imposed Total Exclusion Zone.

  

RECAPTURE OF SOUTH GEORGIA 

• Major Guy Sheridan RM led the South Georgia force, Operation Paraquet, which included Marines from 42 Commando, a Special Air Service (SAS) troop, and Special Boat Service (SBS) troops to land as reconnaissance forces for a Royal Marines invasion. 
• Everyone boarded the RFA Tidespring. The Churchill-class submarine HMS Conqueror arrived first on 19 April, and the island was over-flown by a Handley Page Victor aircraft equipped with radar-mapping equipment on 20 April to ensure that no Argentine ships were in the area.
• The first SAS and SBS landings occurred on 21 April, but a mission to erect an observation post on the Fortuna Glacier was cancelled after two helicopters crashed in fog and heavy winds.
• A submarine alarm was issued on 23 April, and activities were paused, with Tidespring being moved to deeper sea to escape interception.
• On 24 April, British forces regrouped and prepared to launch an offensive.
• The submarine ARA Santa Fe was detected on the surface on 25 April after resupplying the Argentine troops in South Georgia by a Westland Wessex HAS Mk 3 helicopter from HMS Antrim, which attacked the Argentine submarine with depth charges.

BLACK BUCK RAIDS

• On 1 May, British operations on the Falkland Islands began with the Black Buck 1 attack (the first of five) against the Stanley airfield. A Vulcan bomber from Ascension flew an 8,000-nautical-mile (15,000 km; 9,200 mph) round journey, dropping conventional bombs across the runway at Stanley.
• The mission necessitated multiple refuellings using multiple Victor K2 tanker aircraft operating in tandem, including tanker-to-tanker refuelling.
• Historian Lawrence Freedman, who was granted access to official materials, notes that the significance of the Vulcan raids is still debated. 
• Although the attacks relieved the strain on the small Sea Harrier unit, they were costly and time-consuming.
• Falkland veteran Commander Nigel Ward later rejected the raids as propaganda.
• The War Cabinet gave the order to kill the cruiser in London, and General Belgrano was hit by two torpedoes at 4 pm local time on 2 May, sinking an hour later. 
• The fall of General Belgrano brought harsh criticism from Latin American governments and war opponents in Britain. At the same time, support for the British cause waned among some European allies, and the United States remained staunchly supported.
• This allowed the British to move their nuclear submarines to the coast of Argentina, where they could provide early warning of incoming air attacks from mainland bases. Later that night, British forces attacked an Argentine patrol gunboat, the ARA Alferez Sobral, which was looking for the crew of an Argentine Air Force Canberra light bomber that had been shot down on 1 May. 
• Four Sea Skua missiles were fired at her by two Royal Navy Lynx helicopters from HMS Coventry and HMS Glasgow. Alferez Sobral made it back to Puerto Deseado two days later, badly damaged and with eight crew members dead. The crew of the Canberra was never recovered.

FOREIGN INVOLVEMENT

• Commonwealth of Nations member countries provided political support to the UK. Australia, Canada, and New Zealand all recalled their ambassadors from Buenos Aires.

NEW ZEALAND

• Following the invasion, the New Zealand government dismissed Argentina’s ambassador. When the war broke out, the Prime Minister, Robert Muldoon, was in London. 
• On 20 May 1982, he declared that New Zealand would make HMNZS Canterbury, a Leander-class frigate, available for deployment wherever the British saw it appropriate to release a Royal Navy warship for the Falkland Islands.

AUSTRALIA

• François Mitterrand, the French president, put an embargo on French arms sales and assistance to Argentina. Furthermore, France permitted the use of UK aircraft and vessels at its port and airfield in Dakar, Senegal, and France offered dissimilar aircraft training so that Harrier pilots could practise against the French aircraft employed by Argentina. French intelligence worked with Britain to prevent Argentina from purchasing additional Exocet missiles on the international market.

UNITED STATES

• According to declassified documents, the US believed Thatcher had not studied diplomatic options and feared a lengthy confrontation might get the Soviet Union on Argentina’s side. 
• The US attempted to mediate a peaceful resolution to the conflict through shuttle diplomacy initially. Still, when Argentina refused, US Secretary of State Alexander Haig announced that the US would prohibit arms sales to Argentina and provide material support for British operations. Both houses of the US Congress voted resolutions in favour of the US action siding with the UK.
• The US granted the UK permission to utilise American communication satellites to enable secure communications between submarines in the Southern Ocean and Naval Headquarters in the UK. The US also provided the British Fleet with satellite imagery and weather forecast data.

SOVIET UNION

• The Soviet Union referred to the Falkland Islands as disputed territory, acknowledging Argentina’s claims to the islands and urging moderation on all sides. During the conflict, the Soviet media repeatedly chastised the UK and the US. 
• Significantly, the Soviet Union did not veto, allowing UN Security Council Resolution 502 to call for the prompt departure of all Argentine soldiers from the Falkland Islands. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, conducted some covert supply efforts to support the Argentines.

AFTERMATH OF THE WAR

• The 1982 Falklands War between Argentina and the UK had an effect on global geopolitics, local political culture in Argentina and the UK, military thought, medical treatment, and the lives of those who fought.
• Diplomatic ties between the UK and Argentina were not restored until 1989, under a formula that set aside the issue of sovereignty and established a framework within which additional talks on subjects of mutual interest might take place.

  

What was the impact of the Falklands War on Argentina, Falklands Island, and the UK?

Argentina

• The Argentine war setback fueled ever-larger protests against the Galtieri administration, and it is credited with providing the final push to depose the military junta that had ousted Isabel Perón in 1976 and conducted the Dirty War crimes.
• Galtieri was compelled to resign, and elections were held on 30 October 1983, with a new president, Raul Alfonsin, of the Radical Civic Union (UCR) party, taking office on 10 December 1983, defeating Italo Luder of the Justicialist Party (Peronist Movement).
• In the long run, the fiasco ended the Argentine military’s recurrent engagement in politics since the 1930s and the Peronist electoral predominance since 1945.
• The Falkland Islands remained a British foreign territory with self-government. Nonetheless, immediately after the war, the British Nationality Act 1983 awarded the Islanders British citizenship, solidifying the Islanders’ ties with the UK.
• The economy also profited indirectly from UK military expenditure and fisheries development. The war has made the future of the Falkland Islanders’ connection to the UK clearer, and the Islands’ administration remains devoted to self-determination and British sovereignty.
• The popularity of the Conservative Government increased in the months following the war, with some attributing this increase to the aftermath of the war and others suggesting that it was due to an increase in economic optimism, with the war raising productivity by 3%.
• Several members of the government did quit as a result of the conflict, notably Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington. Ted Rowlands, a former junior foreign minister, was chastised for revealing in Parliament in April 1982 that the British had violated Argentine diplomatic rules.