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{{Short description|Undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982}}
{{Distinguish|text=the [[Falkland Crisis of 1770]], the [[South Atlantic conflict]] or the [[Battle of the Falkland Islands]]}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Falklands War
| image = {{multiple image|border=infobox|perrow=2/2/2|total_width=300
| image1 = Operación Rosario-Soldados argentinos en Stanley.jpg
| image2 = HMS Broadsword and Hermes, 1982 (IWM).jpg
| image3 = Etendard en 1982.jpg
| image4 =
| image5 = HMS Antelope 1982.jpg
| image6 = Argentine POWs.jpg}}
| image_size = <!-- 300 -->
| caption = From top right and in clockwise direction:<br>{{HMS|Hermes|R12|6}} (right) and {{HMS|Broadsword|F88|6}} (left) of the British Task Force; British {{HMS|Antelope|F170|6}} after being hit (later sank); Argentine Army POWs in Stanley; two [[Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard|Super Étendards]] of the Argentine Navy; [[1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands|Argentine forces at Port Stanley, 2 April 1982]]
| date = {{start and end dates|1982|04|02|1982|06|14|df=y}}<br>({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=04|day1=02|year1=1982|month2=06|day2=14|year2=1982}})
| place = [[Falkland Islands]], [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands]]
| result = British victory
| combatant1 = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| combatant2 = {{flag|Argentina|1861}}
| commander1 = {{plainlist|
*{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Margaret Thatcher]]
*{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Terence Lewin]]
*{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Henry Leach]]
*{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[John Fieldhouse]]
*{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Sandy Woodward]]
*{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Jeremy Moore]]
*{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Michael Clapp]]
*{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Julian Thompson (Royal Marines officer)|Julian Thompson]]
*{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Tony Wilson (British Army officer)|Tony Wilson]]
}}
| commander2 = {{plainlist|
*{{flagicon|Argentina|1861}} [[Leopoldo Galtieri]]
*{{flagicon|Argentina|1861}} [[Jorge Anaya]]
*{{flagicon|Argentina|1861}} [[Basilio Lami Dozo]]
*{{flagicon|Argentina|1861}} [[Juan Lombardo]]
*{{flagicon|Argentina|1861}} [[Ernesto Horacio Crespo]]
*{{nowrap|{{flagicon|Argentina|1861}} [[Mario Benjamín Menéndez|Mario Menéndez]]{{POW}}}}
}}
| casualties1 = {{ubl|'''Casualties:'''|256 killed<ref name= "BBC Casualties" >{{cite web|url = https:// bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18425572|title = Falkland Islands profile|date = 5 November 2013|work = BBC News|access-date = 19 June 2014|archive-date = 19 June 2014|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140619000736/http:// bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18425572|url-status = live}}</ref>|775 wounded|107 captured<hr />|'''Losses:'''|2 [[Type 42 destroyer|Type 42]] destroyers|2 [[Type 21 frigate|Type 21]] frigates|1 [[RFA Sir Galahad (1966)|landing ship]]|1 landing craft|1 [[SS Atlantic Conveyor|container ship]]| |24 helicopters|10 fighters}}
| casualties2 = {{ubl|'''Casualties:'''|649 killed<ref>{{cite news |last1=Burns |first1=John F. |title=Vitriol Over Falklands Resurfaces, as Do Old Arguments |url=https:// nytimes /2013/01/06/world/americas/argentinas-call-for-return-of-falkland-islands-causes-a-stir.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https:// nytimes /2013/01/06/world/americas/argentinas-call-for-return-of-falkland-islands-causes-a-stir.html |archive-date=2 January 2022 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |access-date=8 August 2019 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=5 January 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name= "ArgentineCasualties" >{{Cite book |url=https://books.google /books?id=EX4vAQAAMAAJ |title=Historia marítima argentina, Volume 10 |date=1993 |publisher=Cuántica Editora |isbn=978-950-9257-00-9 |editor-last=Argentina |edition=1a |location=Buenos Aires |pages=137 |language=es}}</ref>|1,657 wounded<ref name= "ArgentineCasualties" />|11,313 captured<hr />|'''Losses:'''|1 [[ARA General Belgrano|cruiser]]|1 [[ARA Santa Fe (S-21)|submarine]]|4 cargo vessels|2 patrol boats|1 [[ARA Narwal|naval trawler]]| |25 helicopters|35 fighters|2 bombers|4 cargo aircraft|25 [[Counter-insurgency aircraft|COIN aircraft]]|9 armed trainers}}
| casualties3 = {{ubl|3 Falkland Islanders killed by shelling}}
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Falklands War|state=expanded}}
| partof = the [[Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute]]
}}
The '''Falklands War''' ({{langx|es|link=no|Guerra de Malvinas}}) was a ten-week [[undeclared war]] between [[Argentina]] and the [[United Kingdom]] in 1982 over two [[British Overseas Territories|British dependent territories]] in the [[South Atlantic]]: the [[Falkland Islands]] and [[Falkland Islands Dependencies|its territorial dependency]], [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands]]. The conflict began on 2 April 1982, when [[1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands|Argentina invaded]] and [[Occupation of the Falkland Islands|occupied the Falkland Islands]], followed by the [[invasion of South Georgia]] the next day. On 5 April, the British government dispatched a [[British naval forces in the Falklands War|naval task force]] to engage the [[Argentine Navy]] and [[Argentine Air Force|Air Force]] before making an [[Amphibious warfare|amphibious assault]] on the islands. The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with an Argentine [[Argentinian surrender in the Falklands War|surrender]] on 14 June, returning the islands to British control. In total, 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel, and three [[Falkland Islanders]]<!-- Please don't change these figures without discussing in talk. Thanks. --> were killed during the hostilities.

The conflict was a major episode in the [[History of the Falkland Islands|protracted dispute]] over the territories' [[sovereignty]]. Argentina asserted (and maintains) that the islands are Argentine territory,<ref>{{cite web |url= http:// nationalturk /en/argentina-to-reaffirm-sovereignty-rights-over-the-falkland-islands-15712 |title= Argentine to reaffirm Sovereignty Rights over The Falkland Islands |publisher= National Turk |access-date= 7 January 2012 |date= 4 January 2012 |archive-date= 7 July 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190707152523/https:// nationalturk /en/argentina-to-reaffirm-sovereignty-rights-over-the-falkland-islands-15712/ |url-status= live }}</ref> and the Argentine government thus described its military action as the reclamation of its own territory. The British government regarded the action as an invasion of a territory that had been a [[Crown colony]] since 1841. Falkland Islanders, who have inhabited the islands since the early 19th century, are predominantly descendants of British settlers, and strongly [[2013 Falkland Islands sovereignty referendum|favour British sovereignty]]. Neither state officially [[Declaration of war|declared war]], although both governments declared the islands a war zone.

The conflict had a strong effect in both countries and has been the subject of various [[Cultural impact of the Falklands War|books, articles, films, and songs]]. Patriotic sentiment ran high in Argentina, but the unfavourable outcome prompted large protests against the [[National Reorganization Process|ruling military government]], hastening its downfall and the [[1983 Argentine general election|democratisation of the country]]. In the United Kingdom, the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] government, bolstered by the successful outcome, [[1983 United Kingdom general election|was re-elected with an increased majority the following year]]. The cultural and political effect of the conflict has been less in the UK than in Argentina, where it has remained a common topic for discussion.<ref>{{cite web |url= http:// clarin /suplementos/zona/2007/04/01/z-03415.htm |title= Cómo evitar que Londres convierta a las Malvinas en un Estado independiente |publisher= Clarin |date= 1 April 2007 |access-date= 7 February 2010 |archive-date= 1 May 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100501180422/http:// clarin /suplementos/zona/2007/04/01/z-03415.htm |url-status= dead }}</ref>

[[Argentina–United Kingdom relations|Diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Argentina]] were restored in 1989 following a meeting in [[Madrid]], at which the two governments issued a joint statement.<ref>{{cite web |title= Joint statement of 19 October 1989: Re-establishing Consular Relations Between Britain and Argentina, and Agreeing a Framework on Sovereignty Which Would Allow Further Talks |url= http:// falklands.info/history/1989agreement.html |website= Falklands info |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120517012555/http://falklands.info/history/1989agreement.html |archive-date=17 May 2012 |access-date=4 January 2013}}</ref> No change in either country's position regarding the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands was made explicit. In 1994, Argentina adopted a new [[Constitution of Argentina|constitution]],<ref>{{cite web |url= http:// senado.gov.ar/web/interes/constitucion/cuerpo1.php |title= Constitución Nacional |website= Argentine Senate |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20040617152239/http:// senado.gov.ar/web/interes/constitucion/cuerpo1.php |archive-date=17 June 2004 |language= es |quote=La Nación Argentina ratifica su legítima e imprescriptible soberanía sobre las Islas Malvinas, Georgias del Sur y Sandwich del Sur y los espacios marítimos e insulares correspondientes, por ser parte integrante del territorio nacional. }}</ref> which declared the Falkland Islands as part of one of its provinces by law.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Argentina: Constitución de 1994|url=https://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/Argentina/argen94_e.html|access-date=3 August 2020|website=pdba.georgetown.edu|archive-date=14 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114003332/https://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/Argentina/argen94_e.html|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the islands continue to operate as a [[self-governing colony|self-governing]] [[British Overseas Territories|British Overseas Territory]].{{sfn|Cahill|2010|loc = "Falkland Islands" }}

== Prelude ==
{{main|Events leading to the Falklands War}}

===Failed diplomacy===
In 1965, the [[United Nations]] called upon Argentina and the United Kingdom to reach a settlement of the sovereignty dispute. The UK [[Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office|Foreign and Commonwealth Office]] (FCO) regarded the islands as a nuisance and barrier to UK trade in South America. Therefore, while confident of British sovereignty, the FCO was prepared to cede the islands to Argentina. When news of a proposed transfer broke in 1968, elements sympathetic with the plight of the islanders were able to organise an effective [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|parliamentary]] lobby to frustrate the FCO plans. Negotiations continued, but in general failed to make meaningful progress; the islanders steadfastly refused to consider Argentine sovereignty on one side, whilst Argentina would not compromise over sovereignty on the other.<ref name= "Welch" >{{cite book |last1=Welch |first1=David A. |title=Painful Choices: A Theory of Foreign Policy Change |date=2011 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Google Books |isbn=9781400840748 |pages=75 |url=https://books.google /books?id=k6VJbfckQAkC&q=Painful+Choices%3A+A+Theory+of+Foreign+Policy+Change |access-date=25 January 2020 |archive-date=24 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124120103/https://books.google /books?id=k6VJbfckQAkC&q=Painful+Choices%3A+A+Theory+of+Foreign+Policy+Change |url-status=live }}</ref> The FCO then sought to make the islands dependent on Argentina, hoping this would make the islanders more amenable to Argentine sovereignty. A Communications Agreement signed in 1971 created an airlink and later YPF, the Argentine oil company, was given a monopoly in the islands.<ref name= "Penguin_News_Comms" >{{Cite news |title=An Islander's memories of the 1971 Communications Agreement between the Falkland Islands and Argentina – Penguin News |language=en-GB |url=https://penguin-news /headlines/politics/2021/an-islanders-memories-of-the-1971-communications-agreement-between-the-falkland-islands-and-argentina/ |access-date=2023-11-13}}</ref>

In 1977, the British prime minister, [[James Callaghan]], in response to heightened tensions in the region and the [[Southern Thule#Occupation|Argentine occupation of Southern Thule]], secretly sent a force of two [[frigate]]s and a [[Nuclear submarine|nuclear-powered submarine]], {{HMS|Dreadnought|S101|6}}, to the South Atlantic, codenamed [[Operation Journeyman]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4597581.stm |title=Secret Falklands fleet revealed |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1 June 2005 |website=news.bbc.co.uk |publisher=BBC News |access-date=6 April 2022 |archive-date=13 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220613013119/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4597581.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> It is unclear whether the Argentines were aware of their presence, but British sources state that they were advised of it through informal channels. Nevertheless, talks with Argentina on Falklands sovereignty and economic cooperation opened in December of that year, though they proved inconclusive.<ref>{{harvnb|Eddy|Gillman|Linklater|Sunday_Times_of_London_Insight_Team|1982|p=51}}</ref>

In 1980, a new UK [[Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (United Kingdom)|Minister of State for Foreign Affairs]], [[Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale|Nicholas Ridley]], went to the Falklands trying to sell the islanders the benefits of a [[leaseback]] scheme, which met with strong opposition from the islanders. On his return to [[London]] in December 1980, he reported to parliament but was viciously attacked at what was seen as a sellout. (It was unlikely that leaseback idea would have progressed further anyway since the British had sought a long-term lease of 99 years, whereas Argentina was pressing for a much shorter period of only thirty years.) At a private committee meeting that evening, it was reported that Ridley said: "If we don't do something, they will invade. And there is nothing we could do." <ref name= "Eddy, et al" >{{harvnb|Eddy|Gillman|Linklater|Sunday_Times_of_London_Insight_Team|1982|p=53}}</ref>

===The Argentine junta===
{{multiple image
| align = left
| image1 = Jorge Anaya.JPG
| width1 = 150
| caption1 = [[Jorge Anaya]] was the driving force in the junta's decision to invade.<ref>{{Cite book | last = White | first = Rowland | title = Vulcan 607 | publisher=Bantam Press | year = 2006 | location = London | pages = 13–14 | isbn = 9780593053928 |quote=The price for Anaya's blessing was approval for the navy's plan to seize Las Malvinas, the Falkland Islands}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Bicheno|2006|p=25}}: "A basic assumption underlying the conflict was that the British were, in the opinion of the war's main architect, Admiral Jorge Anaya, unworthy heirs to a glorious heritage, the men mainly ''maricones''… to call a man a ''maricón'' does not question his heterosexuality; but it definitely impugns his physical and moral courage. Anaya was Naval Attaché in London from January 1975 to January 1976… He returned to Argentina, making no attempt to conceal his contempt for all things British." </ref><ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|1989|p=1}}: "He was an ardent 'Malvinist'… Anaya was enthusiastic, and his orders in the last days of 1981 were to set in train that tragic series of events." </ref>
| image2 = Retrato Oficial Galtieri.jpg
| width2 = 151
| caption2 = [[Leopoldo Galtieri]], leader of the [[National Reorganization Process|Argentine junta]]
}}

In the period leading up to the war—and, in particular, following the transfer of power between the military dictators General [[Jorge Rafael Videla]] and General [[Roberto Eduardo Viola]] late in March 1981—Argentina had been in the midst of devastating economic stagnation and large-scale civil unrest against the [[National Reorganization Process]], the [[Military junta|military ''junta'']] that had been governing the country since 1976.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Boughton |first1=James M. |title=Silent Revolution: The IMF 1979–1989 |url=https:// imf.org/external/pubs/ft/history/2001/ch08.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030616052838/http://imf.org/external/pubs/ft/history/2001/ch08.pdf |archive-date=16 June 2003 |url-status=live |publisher=IMF |access-date=28 June 2019 |pages=328–329 |date=2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http:// radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/arg060330mc |title=Argentina – the horrors of a dictatorial past live on – Radio Netherlands Worldwide – English |publisher=Radionetherlands.nl |date=30 March 2006 |access-date=7 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090316181305/http:// radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/arg060330mc |archive-date=16 March 2009}}</ref>

In December 1981, there was a further change in the Argentine military regime, bringing to office a new ''[[Military junta|junta]]'' headed by General [[Leopoldo Galtieri]] (acting president), Air Brigadier [[Basilio Lami Dozo]] and Admiral [[Jorge Anaya]]. Anaya was the main architect and supporter of a military solution for the long-standing claim over the islands,<ref>{{Cite book|first1=Oscar|last1= Kirschbaum | first2 = Roger | last2 =Van Der Kooy |first3=Eduardo |last3=Cardoso| title = Malvinas, La Trama Secreta | publisher=Sudamericana/Planeta | location = Buenos Aires | language=es |year = 1983 | isbn = 978-950-37-0006-8 }} {{Page needed|date=August 2010}}</ref> expecting that the United Kingdom would never respond militarily.<ref>{{cite news |title=Haig: "Malvinas fue mi Waterloo" |url=http:// lanacion.ar/74556-haig-malvinas-fue-mi-waterloo |date=10 August 1997 |website=La Nación |access-date=25 October 2010 |language=es |quote={{lang|es|''¿Qué creía?'' Que tenía que ver con despertar el orgullo nacional y con otra cosa.... ''La junta – Galtieri me lo dijo – nunca creyó que los británicos darían pelea.'' Él creía que Occidente se había corrompido. Que los británicos no tenían Dios, que Estados Unidos se había corrompido… Nunca lo pude convencer de que ellos no sólo iban a pelear, que además iban a ganar.|italic=unset}} "(" ''What do you believe?'' This was neither about national pride nor anything else.… ''The junta – Galtieri told me – never believed the British would respond.'' He thought the Western World was corrupt. That the British people had no God, that the U.S. was corrupt… I could never convince him that the British would not only fight back but also win [the war]. |archive-date=3 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403152858/http:// lanacion.ar/74556-haig-malvinas-fue-mi-waterloo |url-status=dead }}</ref>

By opting for military action, the Galtieri government hoped to mobilise the long-standing patriotic feelings of Argentines towards the islands, [[Diversionary foreign policy|diverting public attention]] from the chronic economic problems and the ongoing human rights violations of its [[Dirty War]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http:// me.gov.ar/curriform/publica/sirlin_conv_dictadura.pdf |title=Ministerio de Educación, Ciencia y Tecnología de la Nación |access-date=7 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318112134/http:// me.gov.ar/curriform/publica/sirlin_conv_dictadura.pdf |archive-date=18 March 2009 }}</ref> bolstering the junta's dwindling legitimacy. The newspaper ''[[La Prensa (Buenos Aires)|La Prensa]]'' speculated on a step-by-step plan beginning with cutting off supplies to the islands, ending in direct actions late in 1982, if the UN talks were fruitless.<ref name= "Jimmy Burns,1987" >{{Cite book |last=Burns |first=Jimmy |title=The land that lost its heroes: the Falklands, the post-war, and Alfonsín |date=1987 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-0-7475-0002-5 |location=London}}</ref>

The ongoing tension between the two countries over the islands increased on 19 March, when a group of Argentine scrap metal merchants (which had been infiltrated by [[Argentine Marines]])<ref> "infiltrated on board, pretending to be scientists, were members of an Argentine naval special forces unit" Nick van der Bijl, ''Nine Battles to Stanley'', London, Leo Cooper p. 8 as reported in {{Cite book |last=Freedman |first=Lawrence |title=The official history of the Falklands Campaign. 1: The origins of the Falklands war |date=2006 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-7146-5206-1 |edition=Repr |location=London}}</ref> raised the [[Argentine flag]] at [[South Georgia Island]], an act that would later be seen as the first offensive action in the war. The Royal Navy ice patrol vessel {{HMS|Endurance|1967|6}} was dispatched from Stanley to South Georgia on the 25th in response. The Argentine military junta, suspecting that the UK would reinforce its South Atlantic Forces, ordered the [[1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands|invasion of the Falkland Islands]] to be brought forward to 2 April.

The UK was initially taken by surprise by the Argentine attack on the South Atlantic islands, despite repeated warnings by Royal Navy captain [[Nicholas Barker (Royal Navy officer)|Nicholas Barker]] (Commanding Officer of the ''Endurance'') and others. Barker believed that Defence Secretary [[John Nott]]'s [[1981 Defence White Paper]] (in which Nott described plans to withdraw the ''Endurance'', the UK's only naval presence in the South Atlantic) had sent a signal to the Argentines that the UK was unwilling, and would soon be unable, to defend its territories and subjects in the Falklands.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Harold|last=Briley|url=https:// independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-captain-nicholas-barker-1266075.html|title=Obituary: Captain Nicholas Barker|work=The Independent|location=UK|page=16|date=9 April 1997|access-date=2 March 2011|archive-date=22 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122090308/http:// independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-captain-nicholas-barker-1266075.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https:// questia /read/1P3-11982515 |title=The high cost of cuts |work=The Spectator |access-date=7 February 2010 |first=Correlli |last=Barnett |year=1997 |archive-date=24 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124120105/https:// gale /databases/questia |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Argentine invasion ==
{{Main|1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands|Invasion of South Georgia|Argentine air forces in the Falklands War|Argentine naval forces in the Falklands War|Argentine ground forces in the Falklands War}}
[[File:Kelpers y soldados argentinos, 1982.jpg|thumb|Argentine soldiers and Falklanders in 1982]]
On 2 April 1982, Argentine forces mounted amphibious landings, known as Operation Rosario,<ref>{{cite web |title=The Falklands War 1982 – Operation Rosario |url=https:// britishempire.co.uk/forces/armycampaigns/southamerica/falklands/falklandswarmaprosario2.htm |website=The British Empire |access-date=21 September 2018 |archive-date=22 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922024918/https:// britishempire.co.uk/forces/armycampaigns/southamerica/falklands/falklandswarmaprosario2.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> on the Falkland Islands.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1899334.stm|title=Falklands War: The first day, 2 April 1982|date=2 April 2002|access-date=21 September 2018|archive-date=23 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223193332/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1899334.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> The invasion was met with a fierce but brief defence organised by the [[Governor of the Falkland Islands|Falkland Islands' Governor]] Sir [[Rex Hunt (governor)|Rex Hunt]], giving command to Major Mike Norman of the [[Royal Marines]]. The garrison consisted of 68 marines and eleven naval [[Hydrography|hydrographer]]s,<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p=43}}</ref> assisted by 23 volunteers of the [[Falkland Islands Defence Force]] (FIDF), who had few weapons and were used as lookouts.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p=45}}</ref> The invasion started with the landing of [[Lieutenant Commander]] Guillermo Sanchez-Sabarots' [[Amphibious Commandos Group]], who attacked the empty Moody Brook barracks and then moved on [[Government House, Falkland Islands|Government House]] in [[Stanley, Falkland Islands|Stanley]]. When the 2nd [[Argentina Marines|Marine Infantry]] Battalion with [[Assault Amphibious Vehicle]]s arrived, the governor ordered a [[ceasefire]] and surrendered.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|pp=47–52}}</ref> The governor, his family and the British military personnel were flown to Argentina that afternoon and later repatriated to the United Kingdom.<ref>{{harvnb|Eddy|Gillman|Linklater|Sunday_Times_of_London_Insight_Team|1982|p=92}}</ref>

=== Initial British response ===
{{further|British naval forces in the Falklands War|British ground forces in the Falklands War|British air services in the Falklands War}}

[[File:The empire strikes back newsweek.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|left|The cover of ''[[Newsweek]]'' magazine, 19 April 1982, depicting {{HMS|Hermes|R12|6}}, flagship of the British Task Force. The headline evokes the 1980 [[The Empire Strikes Back|''Star Wars'' sequel]].]]
The British had already taken action prior to the 2 April invasion. In response to events on South Georgia, on 29 March, Ministers decided to send the [[Royal Fleet Auxiliary]] (RFA) ''[[RFA Fort Austin (A386)|Fort Austin]]'' south from the Mediterranean to support HMS ''Endurance'', and the nuclear-powered fleet submarine {{HMS|Spartan|S105|6}} from [[Gibraltar]], with {{HMS|Splendid|S106|6}} ordered south from [[HMNB Clyde|Scotland]] the following day.<ref name= "Freedman, Gamba-Stonehouse 1991" >{{cite book |last1=Freedman |first1=Lawrence |last2=Gamba-Stonehouse |first2=Virginia |title=Signals of War: The Falklands Conflict of 1982 |date=1991 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-6158-3}}</ref>{{rp|75}}<ref name= "Freedman2007" >{{harvnb|Freedman|2005a|pp=202–203}}</ref> Lord [[Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington|Carrington]] had wished to send a third submarine, but the decision was deferred due to concerns about the impact on operational commitments.<ref name= "Freedman2007" /> Coincidentally, on 26 March, the submarine {{HMS|Superb|S109|6}} left Gibraltar and it was assumed in the press she was heading south. There has since been speculation that the effect of those reports was to panic the Argentine junta into invading the Falklands before submarines could be deployed;<ref name= "Freedman2007" /> however, post-war research has established that the final decision to proceed was made at a junta meeting in [[Buenos Aires]] on 23 March.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p= 40}}</ref>

The following day, during a crisis meeting headed by Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]], the [[First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff]], Admiral Sir [[Henry Leach]], advised that "Britain could and should send a task force if the islands are invaded". On 1 April, Leach sent orders to a [[Royal Navy]] force carrying out [[Exercise Spring Train|exercises]] in the Mediterranean to prepare to sail south. Following the invasion on 2 April, after an emergency meeting of the cabinet, approval was given to form a task force to retake the islands. This was backed in an emergency sitting of the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] the next day.<ref name=falkislands>{{cite web|access-date=24 December 2011|publisher=Falkland Islands Information|title=A Chronology of events during the Falklands Conflict of 1982|url=http:// falklands.info/history/82timeline.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327150403/http:// falklands.info/history/82timeline.html|archive-date=27 March 2010}}</ref>

[[File:HeadingSouth.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Some of the Advanced Group, [[pennant number#Post-1948|pennant numbers]] painted over, off [[Gibraltar]], March 1982]]
Word of the invasion first reached the UK from Argentine sources.<ref name=Margolis>{{cite news |last=Margolis |first=Laurie |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6514011.stm |title=UK &#124; How BBC man scooped invasion news |work=BBC News |date=2 April 2007 |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-date=28 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428135154/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6514011.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> A [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] operative in London had a short [[telex]] conversation with Governor Hunt's telex operator, who confirmed that Argentines were on the island and in control.<ref name=Margolis/><ref name = "Duncan" >Duncan, Andrew, ''The Falklands War'', Marshall Cavendish Books Limited, {{ISBN|1-84415-429-7}}</ref> Later that day, [[BBC]] journalist [[Laurie Margolis]] spoke with an islander at [[Goose Green]] via [[amateur radio]], who confirmed the presence of a large Argentine fleet and that Argentine forces had taken control of the island.<ref name=Margolis/> British military operations in the Falklands War were given the codename ''Operation Corporate'', and the commander of the task force was Admiral Sir [[John Fieldhouse, Baron Fieldhouse|John Fieldhouse]]. Operations lasted from 1 April 1982 to 20 June 1982.<ref name= "LG 13 December 1982" >{{London Gazette |issue=49194 |date=13 December 1982 |page=16109 |supp=y }}</ref>

On 6 April, the British Government set up a [[War Cabinet#Falklands War, 1982|War Cabinet]] to provide day-to-day political oversight of the campaign.<ref name= "Freedman2005" >{{harvnb|Freedman|2005b|pp=21–22}}: "day-to-day oversight was to be provided by... which came to be known as the War Cabinet. This became the critical instrument of crisis management" </ref> This was the critical instrument of crisis management for the British with its remit being to "keep under review political and military developments relating to the South Atlantic, and to report as necessary to the Defence and Overseas Policy Committee". The War Cabinet met at least daily until it was dissolved on 12 August. Although Margaret Thatcher is described as dominating the War Cabinet, [[Lawrence Freedman]] notes in the ''Official History of the Falklands Campaign'' that she did not ignore opposition or fail to consult others. However, once a decision was reached, she "did not look back".<ref name= "Freedman2005" />

===United Nations Security Council Resolution 502===
On 31 March 1982, the Argentine ambassador to the UN, [[Eduardo A. Roca|Eduardo Roca]], began attempting to garner support against a British military build-up designed to thwart earlier UN resolutions calling for both countries to resolve the Falklands dispute through discussion.<ref name= "Freedman, Gamba-Stonehouse 1991" />{{rp|134}} On 2 April, the night of the invasion, a banquet was held at Roca's official residence for the US ambassador to the UN, [[Jeane Kirkpatrick]], and several high-ranking officials of the [[United States Department of State]] and the [[United States Department of Defense]]. This led British diplomats to view Kirkpatrick, who had earlier called for closer relationships with South American dictatorships, with considerable suspicion.<ref>{{harvnb|Eddy|Gillman|Linklater|Sunday_Times_of_London_Insight_Team|1982|pp=123–124}}</ref>

On 1 April, London told the UK ambassador to the UN, Sir [[Anthony Parsons]], that an invasion was imminent and he should call an urgent meeting of the [[United Nations Security Council|Security Council]] to get a favourable [[United Nations resolution|resolution]] against Argentina.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Parsons |first1=Anthony |title=The Falklands Crisis in the United Nations, 31 March-14 June 1982 |journal=International Affairs |date=1983 |volume=59 |issue=2 |pages=169–178 |publisher=Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Institute of International Affairs|doi=10.2307/2619933 |jstor=2619933 | issn=0020-5850}}</ref> Parsons had to get nine affirmative votes from the 15 Council members (not a simple majority) and to avoid a blocking vote from any of the other four permanent members. The meeting took place at 11:00{{nbsp}}am on 3 April, New York time (4:00{{nbsp}}pm in London). [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 502]] was adopted by 10 to 1 (with Panama voting against) and 4 abstentions. Significantly, the [[Soviet Union]] and [[China]] both abstained.<ref>{{harvnb|Gold|2005|p=[https://books.google /books?id=u9YH_fLPu1MC&q=Falklands&pg=PA39 39]}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Gold|2005|p=[https://books.google /books?id=u9YH_fLPu1MC&pg=PA37 37]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Voting System |url=https:// un.org/securitycouncil/content/voting-system |website=UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL |publisher=United Nations |access-date=20 June 2020 |archive-date=19 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619090703/https:// un.org/securitycouncil/content/voting-system |url-status=live }}</ref> The resolution stated:

{{poemquote|Deeply disturbed at reports of an invasion on 2 April 1982 by armed forces of Argentina;
Determining that there exists a breach of the peace in the region of the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas),
Demands an immediate cessation of hostilities;
Demands an immediate withdrawal of all Argentine forces from the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas);
Calls on the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom to seek a diplomatic solution to their differences and to respect fully the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. }}
This was a significant win for the UK, giving it the upper hand diplomatically. The draft resolution Parsons submitted had avoided any reference to the sovereignty dispute (which might have worked against the UK): instead it focused on Argentina's breach of Chapter VII of the UN Charter which forbids the threat or use of force to settle disputes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chapter VII: Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace and Acts of Aggression |url=https:// un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-vii/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214154829/https:// un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-vii/index.html |archive-date=14 February 2021 |access-date=19 June 2020 |website=Charter of the United Nations |publisher=United Nations}}</ref> The resolution called for the removal only of Argentine forces: this freed Britain to retake the islands militarily, if Argentina did not leave, by exercising its right to self-defence allowed under the UN Charter.<ref name= "Freedman, Gamba-Stonehouse 1991" />{{rp|141}}

===Argentine occupation===
[[File:Murrell House Vandalism June 1982.jpeg|thumb|Vandalism of a Falkland Islander's home by Argentine soldiers, the message reads ''Ingleses putos'', an insult that translates as, "English bitches" ]]
{{main|Occupation of the Falkland Islands}}
The [[Argentine Army]] unit earmarked for the occupation was the [[25th Infantry Regiment (Argentina)|25th Infantry Regiment]], a unit of about 681 men specially trained from all the [[regions of Argentina]]; it was flown into [[Port Stanley Airport]] as soon as the runway had been cleared.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p= 42}}</ref> Once it became clear that the British were sending an amphibious task force, there was a general recall of reservists and two [[brigade]]s of eight infantry regiments and their supporting units were dispatched to the islands. The total Argentine garrison numbered some 13,000 troops by the beginning of May. The conscripts born in 1963 had only recently been called-up, so they were supplemented by the recall of the previous year's intake. Brigadier General [[Mario Benjamín Menéndez]] was appointed Military Governor of the Malvinas.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|pp=86–88}}</ref>

Argentine military police arrived with detailed files on many islanders,<ref name=Bound>{{harvnb | Bound | 2006 | pp= 81–88}}</ref> allowing intelligence officer Major Patricio Dowling to arrest and interrogate islanders who he suspected might lead opposition to the occupation.<ref name=Bound/> Initially, Islanders suspected of holding anti-Argentine views were expelled,<ref name=Bound/> including the Luxton family<ref name=Bound/> (who had lived in the islands since the 1840s) and David Colville,<ref>{{Cite news |title='We've been invaded' |language=en |work=Dorset Echo |url=https:// dorsetecho.co.uk/news/5389880.weve-been-invaded/ |access-date=20 January 2022 |archive-date=20 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120131007/https:// dorsetecho.co.uk/news/5389880.weve-been-invaded/ |url-status=live }}</ref> editor of the ''Falklands Times''. This proved to be counter-productive, as those expelled gave interviews to the press. Subsequently, fourteen other community leaders, including the senior medical officer, were interned at [[Fox Bay]] on West Falkland.<ref>{{harvnb | Bound | 2006 | p= 198}}</ref> Concerned by Dowling's actions, senior Argentine officers had him removed from the islands.<ref name=Bound/> For almost a month, the civilian population of [[Goose Green]] was detained in the [[village hall]] in "unpleasant conditions".<ref>''For most of May the population of Goose Green was confined to a meeting hall in unpleasant conditions''. The Official History of the Falklands Campaign: War and Diplomacy, Lawrence Freedman, p. 87, Routledge, 2004</ref> Less well known are similar detentions in other outlying settlements, including one islander who died after being denied access to his medication. As the war's end approached, some troops began to place booby traps in civilian homes,<ref>{{harvnb|Fursdon|1988|p=32}}</ref> defiled homes with excrement,<ref>{{harvnb | Bound | 2006 | p= 154}}</ref> destroyed civilian property and committed arson against civilian properties.<ref>{{harvnb|Bennett|Bennett|2021|p=Appendix 1}}</ref>

Argentine officers and [[Non-commissioned officer|NCOs]] have been accused of handing out rough [[Field punishment]] to their conscript soldiers. Ration packs from the Moody Brook depot were found to have foodstuff missing according to Private Alan Craig from the 7th Regiment,<ref> "The army did give us a plastic pack of food, one per person per week. These contained two packets of sweets, four water biscuits, one tin of cold stew, some fuel tablets and a box of matches. Most of us sat down and ate the food straight away, possibly keeping the tins for the second day, but after that another wait of five days before the next packet. Often the packets were broken open and things were missing. I heard there were containers of gift food for us down at Port Stanley but I never got any of it, except some chocolate that a soldier sold to me." Argentine Fight for the Falklands, Martin Middlebrook, pp.221-222, Pen & Sword, 2003</ref> and troops garrisoning Port Howard were starved,<ref>'' "Asimismo, se denuncia que el soldado Remigio Fernández falleció de hambre en Puerto Howard debido a que los oficiales no le entregaban los alimentos." ''[https:// eldia /nota/2007-4-14-grave-denuncia-de-ex-combatientes-de-malvinas Grave denuncia de ex combatientes de Malvinas]</ref> and according to Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins in their book ''The Battle for the Falklands'' (Norton, 1984), "Attempts to go absent without leave were punished by beatings or forcing the offender to sit for hours with his naked feet in the freezing water on the mountainside." Private Rito Portillo<ref>{{cite web |title=Ex-Argentinian troops file Falklands lawsuit |date=2007-04-13 |website=[[The Guardian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310133745/https:// theguardian /world/2007/apr/13/falklands.argentina |archive-date=2023-03-10 |url-status=live |url=https:// theguardian /world/2007/apr/13/falklands.argentina}}</ref> from the 1st Marine Anti-Aircraft Battalion and Private Remigio Fernández<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 April 2007 |title=Grave denuncia de ex combatientes de Malvinas |url=https:// eldia /nota/2007-4-14-grave-denuncia-de-ex-combatientes-de-malvinas |access-date=2024-09-13 |website=El Dia |language=es}}</ref> from the 5th Regiment were reported to have been executed or died because of mistreatment by their own officers. Soldiers were made to sign [[Non-disclosure agreement|non-disclosure documents]] on their return from the Islands.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Argentinian Falklands veterans mark 'day of sadness' over torture they endured |last=Goñi |first=Uki |location=Buenos Aires |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2 April 2022 |url=https:// theguardian /world/2022/apr/02/argentina-falklands-veterans-day-of-sadness |access-date=2 April 2022 |archive-date=2 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402143022/https:// theguardian /world/2022/apr/02/argentina-falklands-veterans-day-of-sadness |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Shuttle diplomacy===
[[File:Haig and Thatcher DF-SC-83-06152.jpg|thumb|right|Margaret Thatcher meets Alexander Haig in London]]
On 8 April, [[Alexander Haig]], the [[United States Secretary of State]], arrived in London on a [[shuttle diplomacy]] mission from [[President of the United States|President]] [[Ronald Reagan]] to broker a peace deal based on an interim authority taking control of the islands pending negotiations. After hearing from Thatcher that the task force would not be withdrawn unless the Argentines evacuated their troops, Haig headed for Buenos Aires.<ref>{{harvnb|Eddy|Gillman|Linklater|Sunday_Times_of_London_Insight_Team|1982|pp=129–132}}</ref> There he met the junta and [[Nicanor Costa Méndez]], the foreign minister. Haig was treated coolly and told that Argentine sovereignty must be a pre-condition of any talks. Returning to London on 11 April, he found the British cabinet in no mood for compromise. Haig flew back to Washington before returning to Buenos Aires for a final protracted round of talks. These made little progress, but just as Haig and his mission were leaving, they were told that Galtieri would meet them at the airport VIP lounge to make an important concession; however, this was cancelled at the last minute. On 30 April, the Reagan administration announced that they would be publicly supporting the United Kingdom.<ref>{{harvnb|Eddy|Gillman|Linklater|Sunday_Times_of_London_Insight_Team|1982|pp=132–137}}</ref>

== British task force ==
{{Main|British logistics in the Falklands War}}
[[File:Falklands, Campaign, (Distances to bases) 1982.jpg|thumb|Distances from British airbases to the Falklands]]
[[File:HMS Invincible (R05) underway c1981.jpg|thumb|{{HMS|Invincible|R05|6}}, one of two available aircraft carriers for the task force]]
[[File:899 Shar Yeovilton.jpg|thumb|Royal Navy [[FAA Sea Harrier FRS1]]]]{{Main|List of Royal Navy vessels active in 1982}}
The nuclear-powered submarine {{HMS|Conqueror|S48|2}} set sail from Faslane, Scotland on 4 April. The two aircraft carriers {{HMS|Invincible|R05|2}} and {{HMS|Hermes|R12|2}} and their escort vessels left [[Portsmouth]], England only a day later.<ref name=falkislands/> On its return to Southampton from a world cruise on 7 April, the ocean liner {{SS|Canberra}} was requisitioned and set sail two days later with the [[3 Commando Brigade]] aboard.<ref name=falkislands/> The ocean liner ''[[Queen Elizabeth 2]]'' was also requisitioned, and left [[Southampton]] on 12 May, with the [[5th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|5th Infantry Brigade]] on board.<ref name=falkislands/> The whole task force eventually comprised 127 ships: 43 [[Royal Navy]] vessels, 22 [[Royal Fleet Auxiliary]] ships, and 62 [[Merchant Navy (United Kingdom)|merchant ships]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-08 |title=The Falklands War {{!}} Remembrance {{!}} Royal British Legion |url=https:// britishlegion.org.uk/stories/the-falklands-war |access-date=2023-09-05 |website=The Royal British Legion |language=en}}</ref>

The retaking of the Falkland Islands was considered extremely difficult. The chances of a British counter-invasion succeeding were assessed by the [[United States Navy|US Navy]], according to historian [[Arthur L. Herman]], as "a military impossibility".<ref>{{harvnb|Woodward|Robinson|1997|p=72}} Cited in ''To Rule The Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World'' Herman, A. (2004) [[HarperCollins]], New York, p. 560.</ref> Firstly, the British were significantly constrained by the disparity in deployable air cover.<ref name= "Freedman2005_air_threat" >{{harvnb|Freedman|2005b|loc=pp. 431–444 "During the course of May confidence that the naval threat was under control grew. Optimism on the air threat was much scarcer, especially among those who might be on the receiving end." }}</ref> The British had 42 aircraft (28 [[Sea Harriers]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hendrix |first=Kris |date=2022-05-18 |title=Harriers over Falklands |url=https:// rafmuseum.org.uk/blog/harriers-over-falklands/ |access-date=2023-09-05 |website=RAF Museum |language=en-GB}}</ref> and 14 [[Hawker Siddeley Harrier|Harrier GR.3s]]{{cn|date=September 2023}}) available for air combat operations, against approximately 122 serviceable jet fighters, of which about 50 were used as [[air superiority fighter]]s and the remainder as [[strike aircraft]], in [[Argentine air forces in the Falklands War|Argentina's air forces during the war]].<ref name= ":1" /> Crucially, the British lacked [[airborne early warning and control]] (AEW) aircraft. Planning also considered the Argentine surface fleet and the threat posed by [[Exocet]]-equipped vessels or the two [[Type 209 submarine]]s.<ref name= "Hastings and Jenkins" >{{harvnb|Hastings|Jenkins|1984|pp=[https://archive.org/details/battleforfalklan00hast_0/page/115 115–116]}}</ref>

By mid-April, the [[Royal Air Force]] had set up an airbase on [[RAF Ascension Island]], co-located with Wideawake Airfield, on the mid-[[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] British overseas territory of [[Ascension Island]]. They included a sizeable force of [[Avro Vulcan]] B Mk 2 bombers, [[Handley Page Victor]] K Mk 2 [[aerial refuelling|refuelling aircraft]], and [[F-4 Phantom II|McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR Mk 2]] [[fighter aircraft|fighters]] to protect them. Meanwhile, the main British naval task force arrived at Ascension to prepare for active service. A small force had already been sent south to recapture South Georgia.

Encounters began in April; the British Task Force was shadowed by [[Boeing 707]] aircraft of the [[Argentine Air Force]] during their travel to the south.<ref>{{cite web|url=http:// aeroespacio.ar/site/anteriores/538-550/548/site/fotos/b707.gif |title=FAA map |access-date=24 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024064142/http:// aeroespacio.ar/site/anteriores/538-550/548/site/fotos/b707.gif |archive-date=24 October 2007 }}</ref> Several of these flights were intercepted by Sea Harriers outside the British-imposed [[Total Exclusion Zone]]; the unarmed 707s were not attacked because diplomatic moves were still in progress and the UK had not yet decided to commit itself to armed force. On 23 April, a Brazilian commercial [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10|Douglas DC-10]] from [[VARIG]] Airlines en route to South Africa was intercepted by British Harriers who visually identified the civilian plane.<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1987|p=110}}</ref>

=== Recapture of South Georgia and the attack on ''Santa Fe'' ===
{{Main|Operation Paraquet}}
The South Georgia force, [[Operation Paraquet]], under the command of Major Guy Sheridan RM, consisted of Marines from [[42 Commando]], a troop of the [[Special Air Service]] (SAS) and [[Special Boat Service]] (SBS) troops who were intended to land as [[reconnaissance]] forces for an invasion by the Royal Marines, a total of 240 men. All were embarked on {{ship|RFA|Tidespring|A75|6}}. First to arrive was the {{sclass|Churchill|submarine}} HMS ''Conqueror'' on 19 April, and the island was over-flown by a [[Handley Page Victor]] aircraft with radar-mapping equipment on 20 April, to establish that no Argentine ships were in the vicinity.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|pp= 103–104}}</ref>

[[File:USS Catfish;0833910.jpg|thumb|{{ship|ARA|Santa Fe|S-21|6}}]]
The first landings of SAS and SBS troops took place on 21 April, but an ill-advised mission to establish an SAS observation post on the [[Fortuna Glacier]] had to be withdrawn after two helicopters crashed in fog and high winds. On 23 April, a submarine alert was sounded and operations were halted, with ''Tidespring'' being withdrawn to deeper water to avoid interception. On 24 April, British forces regrouped and headed in to attack.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|pp= 105–108}}</ref>

On 25 April, after resupplying the Argentine garrison in South Georgia, the submarine {{ship|ARA|Santa Fe|S-21|6}} was spotted on the surface<ref name= "handle.dtic.mil" >{{cite web|url=https:// researchgate.net/publication/235156787 |title=Submarine Operations during the Falklands War – U.S. Naval War College |access-date=7 February 2010}}</ref> by a [[Westland Wessex]] HAS Mk 3 helicopter from {{HMS|Antrim|D18|6}}, which attacked the Argentine submarine with [[depth charges]]. {{HMS|Plymouth|F126|6}} launched a [[Westland Wasp]] HAS.Mk.1 helicopter, and {{HMS|Brilliant|F90|6}} launched a [[Westland Lynx]] HAS Mk 2. The Lynx launched a [[torpedo]], and [[strafed]] the submarine with its [[pintle]]-mounted [[L7 (machine gun)|general purpose machine gun]]; the Wessex also fired on ''Santa Fe'' with its [[General-purpose machine gun|GPMG]]. The Wasp from {{HMS|Plymouth|F126|6}} as well as two other Wasps launched from {{HMS|Endurance|1967|6}} fired [[Aerospatiale SS.12/AS.12|AS-12]] [[Air-to-surface missile|ASM]] [[anti-ship missile|antiship missiles]] at the submarine, scoring hits. ''Santa Fe'' was damaged badly enough to prevent her from diving. The crew abandoned the submarine at the jetty at [[King Edward Point]] on South Georgia.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|pp= 109–111}}</ref>

With ''Tidespring'' now far out to sea and the Argentine forces augmented by the submarine's crew, Major Sheridan decided to gather the 76 men he had and make a direct assault that day. After a short forced march by the British troops and a naval bombardment demonstration by two Royal Navy vessels (''Antrim'' and ''Plymouth''), the Argentine forces, a total of 190 men, surrendered without resistance to the Royal Marines.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|pp= 112–113}}</ref> The message sent from the naval force at South Georgia to London was, "Be pleased to inform Her Majesty that the [[White Ensign]] flies alongside the [[Union Jack]] in South Georgia. God Save the Queen." The Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, broke the news to the media, telling them to [[Rejoice (Margaret Thatcher)| "Just rejoice at that news, and congratulate our forces and the Marines!" ]]<ref name= "fn_1" >{{Cite news | title = 1982: Marines land in South Georgia | publisher = BBC | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/25/newsid_2503000/2503977.stm | access-date = 20 June 2005 | date = 25 April 1982 | archive-date = 30 March 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060330220337/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/25/newsid_2503000/2503977.stm | url-status = live }}</ref>

=== Black Buck raids ===
{{Main|Operation Black Buck}}
[[File:Avro Vulcan Bomber RAF.JPEG|thumb|RAF [[Avro Vulcan]] B.Mk.2 [[strategic bomber]]]]
On 1 May, British operations on the Falklands opened with the "Black Buck 1" attack (of a series of five) on the airfield at Stanley. A [[Avro Vulcan|Vulcan bomber]] from [[Ascension Island|Ascension]] flew an {{convert|8000|nmi|adj=on}} round trip, dropping conventional bombs across the runway at Stanley. The mission required repeated [[aerial refuelling]] using several Victor K2 tanker aircraft operating in concert, including tanker-to-tanker refuelling.<ref>{{harvnb|Ward|2000|p=186}}: "... to get twenty-one bombs to Port Stanley is going to take about one million, one hundred thousand pounds of fuel – equalled about {{formatnum:137000}} gallons. That was enough fuel to fly 260 Sea Harrier bombing missions over Port Stanley. Which in turn meant just over 1300 bombs. Interesting stuff!" </ref> The overall effect of the raids on the war is difficult to determine. The runway was cratered by only one of the twenty one bombs, but as a result, the Argentines realised that their mainland was vulnerable and fighter aircraft were redeployed from the theatre to bases further north.<ref>{{harvnb|Chun|2001|p=230}}</ref>

Historian [[Lawrence Freedman]], who was given access to official sources, comments that the significance of the Vulcan raids remains a subject of controversy.<ref>{{harvnb|Freedman|2005b|pp=285}}</ref> Although they took pressure off the small Sea Harrier force, the raids were costly and used a great deal of resources. The single hit to the edge of the runway was probably the best that could have been expected. Contrary to some reports, this reduced the capability of the runway to operate [[Mirage III]] fast jets but not other, smaller jet fighters, the [[FMA IA 58 Pucará|Pucara]], and the [[Hercules C-130]]. Nor did it cause the Argentine air force to deploy [[Mirage III]]s to defend the capital.<ref>{{harvnb|Freedman|2005b|pp=285–286}}</ref> Latest Argentine sources confirm that the Vulcan raids did not influence Argentina's decision to move some of its Mirage IIIs from southern Argentina to the Buenos Aires Defence Zone.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http:// aeroespacio.ar/site/anteriores/520-528/520/mirage.htm |title=La familia Mirage |journal=Aeroespacio |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531161152/http:// aeroespacio.ar/site/anteriores/520-528/520/mirage.htm |archive-date=31 May 2011 | issn=0001-9127 |language=es |quote= "Los M III debían defender el territorio continental argentino de posibles ataques de los bombarderos Vulcan de la RAF, brindar escolta a los cazabombarderos de la FAA, e impedir los ataques de aviones de la Royal Navy y de la RAF sobre las Malvinas." <br /> ( "The M III would defend the Argentine mainland against possible attacks by Vulcan bombers from the RAF, providing escort of fighter bombers to the FAA, and to prevent attacks by aircraft of the Royal Navy and RAF on the Falklands." ) }}</ref> This dissuasive effect was watered down when British officials made clear that there would not be strikes on air bases in Argentina. The raids were later dismissed as propaganda by Falklands veteran Commander Nigel Ward.<ref>{{harvnb|Ward|2000|pp=247–48}}: "Propaganda was, of course, used later to try to justify these missions: 'The Mirage IIIs were withdrawn from Southern Argentina to Buenos Aires to add to the defences there following the Vulcan raids on the islands.' Apparently the logic behind this statement was that if the Vulcan could hit Port Stanley, the {{sic}} Buenos Aires was well within range as well and was vulnerable to similar attacks. I never went along with that baloney. A lone Vulcan or two running in to attack Buenos Aires without fighter support would have been shot to hell in quick time." - "Mirage IIIs were in evidence near the islands on several occasions during the conflict, either escorting the Neptune reconnaissance missions or on 'interference' flights that attempted to draw CAP attention away from air-to-ground attacks." - "Suffice it to say that you didn't need more than one or two Mirage IIIs to intercept a Vulcan attack on Buenos Aires" - "It would have taken much more than a lone Vulcan raid to upset Buenos Aires" </ref>

Of the five Black Buck raids, three were against Stanley Airfield, with the other two being anti-radar missions using [[AGM-45 Shrike|Shrike]] [[anti-radiation missile]]s.<ref name= "burdp36357" >{{harvnb|Burden|Draper|Rough|Smith|1986|pp=363, 365, 367}}</ref><!-- also, to what effect were the "other" airfield raids and the anti-radar missions? -->

=== Escalation of the air war ===
[[File:Super Etendard ARA 204.jpg|thumb|French-built [[Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard|Super Étendard]] of the [[Argentine Naval Aviation]]]]
The Falklands had only three airfields. The longest and only paved runway was at the capital, [[Stanley, Falkland Islands|Stanley]], and even that was too short to support fast jets. Therefore, the Argentines were forced to launch their major strikes from the mainland, severely hampering their efforts at forward staging, [[combat air patrol]]s, and [[close air support]] over the islands. The effective loiter time of incoming Argentine aircraft was low, limiting the ability of fighters to protect attack aircraft, which were often compelled to attack the first target of opportunity, rather than selecting the most lucrative target.<ref>{{harvnb|Chun|2001|pp=237–238}}</ref>

The first major Argentine strike force comprised 36 aircraft ([[Douglas A-4 Skyhawk|A-4 Skyhawks]], [[IAI Nesher|IAI Daggers]], [[English Electric Canberra]]s, and [[Dassault Mirage III|Mirage III]] escorts), and was sent on 1 May, in the belief that the British invasion was imminent or landings had already taken place. Only a section of Grupo 6 (flying IAI Dagger aircraft) found ships, which were firing at Argentine defences near the islands. The Daggers managed to attack the ships and return safely. This greatly boosted the morale of the Argentine pilots, who now knew they could survive an attack against modern warships, protected by radar ground clutter from the islands and by using a late [[Toss bombing|pop up]] profile. Meanwhile, other Argentine aircraft were intercepted by [[BAE Sea Harrier]]s operating from {{HMS|Invincible|R05|6}}. A Dagger<ref>{{cite web |url=http://en.mercopress /2002/05/01/argentine-air-force-remembers-its-baptism-of-fire-twenty-years-on |title=Argentine Air Force remembers its 'baptism of fire' twenty years on |publisher=En.mercopress |date=1 May 2002 |access-date=9 June 2010 |archive-date=18 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618160759/http://en.mercopress /2002/05/01/argentine-air-force-remembers-its-baptism-of-fire-twenty-years-on |url-status=live }}</ref> and a Canberra were shot down.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p= 136}}</ref>

Combat broke out between Sea Harrier FRS Mk 1 fighters of No. [[801 Naval Air Squadron]] and [[Dassault Mirage III|Mirage III]] fighters of Grupo 8. Both sides refused to fight at the other's best altitude, until two Mirages finally descended to engage. One was shot down by an [[AIM-9 Sidewinder|AIM-9L Sidewinder]] [[air-to-air missile]] (AAM), while the other escaped but was damaged and without enough fuel to return to its mainland airbase. The plane made for Stanley, where it fell victim to friendly fire from the Argentine defenders.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rodríguez Mottino |first=Horacio |date=1984 |title=La artillería argentina en Malvinas |language=es |publisher=Editorial Clio |isbn=978-9509377028 |page=170 }}</ref>

As a result of this experience, Argentine Air Force staff decided to employ A-4 Skyhawks and Daggers only as strike units, the Canberras only during the night, and Mirage IIIs (without air refuelling capability or any capable AAM) as decoys to lure away the British Sea Harriers. The decoying would be later extended with the formation of the [[Escuadrón Fénix]], a squadron of civilian jets flying 24 hours a day, simulating strike aircraft preparing to attack the fleet. On one of these flights on 7 June, an Air Force [[Learjet 35]]A was shot down by HMS Exeter, killing the squadron commander, Vice Commodore Rodolfo de la Colina, the highest-ranking Argentine officer to die in the war.<ref>{{cite web|url=http:// fuerzaaerea.mil.ar/conflicto/caidos/baja01.html |title=Rodolfo Manuel de la Colina |website=[[Fuerza Aérea Argentina]] |language=es |access-date=12 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007131156/http:// fuerzaaerea.mil.ar/conflicto/caidos/baja01.html |archive-date=7 October 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http:// madryn.gov.ar/noticias.php?newsid=3213 |title=Noticias Municipales &#124; Puerto Madryn |publisher=Madryn.gov.ar |date=2 April 2009 |access-date=4 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415012750/http:// madryn.gov.ar/noticias.php?newsid=3213 |archive-date=15 April 2012 }}</ref>

Stanley was used as an Argentine strongpoint throughout the conflict. Despite the Black Buck and Harrier raids on Stanley airfield (no fast jets were stationed there for air defence) and overnight shelling by detached ships, it was never out of action entirely. Stanley was defended by a mixture of [[surface-to-air missile]] (SAM) systems (Franco-German [[Roland (missile)|Roland]] and British [[Sea Cat|Tigercat]]) and light anti-aircraft guns, including Swiss-built [[Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannon]]s and 30 mm Hispano-Suiza cannon and German [[Rheinmetall Mk 20 Rh-202#20 mm twin anti-aircraft mount variant|Rheinmetall 20 mm twin anti-aircraft cannons]]. More of the anti-aircraft guns were deployed to the airstrip at Goose Green.<ref name= "burdp17-8" >{{harvnb|Burden|Draper|Rough|Smith|1986|pp=17–18}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Cullen|Foss|1992|p=273}}</ref> [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules|Lockheed Hercules]] transport night flights brought supplies, weapons, vehicles, and fuel, and airlifted out the wounded up until the end of the conflict.<ref name= "burdp792" >{{harvnb|Burden|Draper|Rough|Smith|1986|pp=79–82}}</ref>

The only Argentine Hercules shot down by the British was lost on 1 June when TC-63 was intercepted by a Sea Harrier in daylight<ref>{{cite web |url=http:// fuerzaaerea.mil.ar/conflicto/dias/jun01.html |title=Fuerza Aérea Argentina |publisher=Fuerzaaerea.mil.ar |access-date=7 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430100836/http:// fuerzaaerea.mil.ar/conflicto/dias/jun01.html |archive-date=30 April 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19820601-0&lang=en |title=ASN Aircraft accident description Lockheed C-130H Hercules TC-63 – Pebble Island |publisher=Aviation-safety.net |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-date=28 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128062028/http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19820601-0&lang=en |url-status=live }}</ref> as it was searching for the British fleet north-east of the islands, after the Argentine Navy retired its last [[Lockheed P-2 Neptune|SP-2H Neptune]] due to unreliability.<ref name= "burdp48,801" >{{harvnb|Burden|Draper|Rough|Smith|1986|pp=48, 80–81}}</ref>

Various options to attack the home base of the five Argentine [[Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard|Étendards]] at [[Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego|Río Grande]] were examined and discounted ([[Operation Mikado]]); subsequently five Royal Navy submarines were lined up, submerged, on the edge of Argentina's {{convert|12|nmi|adj=on}} territorial limit to provide early warning of bombing raids on the British task force.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Michael |last=Evans |title=Underwater and undercover: how nuclear subs were first line of Falklands defence |url=http:// timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2950936.ece |work=The Times |location=London |date=27 November 2007 |access-date=22 September 2009 |archive-date=4 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604202126/http:// timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2950936.ece |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Operation Folklore was a plan to deploy two Canberra PR.9 aircraft of [[No. 39 Squadron RAF]], disguised in [[Chilean Air Force]] markings, to the Chilean air base at [[Punta Arenas]], with the intention of undertaking high-level [[photo-reconnaissance]] flights over the Falklands;<ref>White 2020, pp. 109-111</ref> however the Canberras had reached [[Belize]] when the operation was abandoned after part of the plan had been reported in the British press.<ref>White 2020, pp. 199-200</ref> Operation Acme was the deployment of a single Nimrod R.1 surveillance aircraft of [[No. 51 Squadron RAF]] to the Chilean base at [[Isla San Félix]] to gather [[signals intelligence]] from Argentinian forces in the Falklands;<ref>White 2020, pp. 203-205</ref> three sorties were conducted, the last on 17 May narrowly avoided being shot down by the Chileans, leading to the cancellation of the operation.<ref>White 2020, pp. 248-250</ref> More successful was Operation Fingent, the placement of a Marconi S259 radar on high ground in Tierra del Fuego from where it could monitor movements at southern Argentinian air bases; the RAF crew wore civilian clothes in the guise of a sales team.<ref>White 2020, pp. 217-218</ref> Information was passed to Northwood and the Task Force by means of Operation Shutter, a US supplied SATCOM system installed at the Chilean Air Force headquarters in [[Santiago]] and operated by two soldiers of the [[Royal Corps of Signals]].<ref>White 2020, pp. 110-111</ref>

=== Sinking of ARA ''General Belgrano'' ===
[[File:ARA Alférez Sobral (A-9).jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|''Alferez Sobral'']]
On 30 April, the British government had brought into force a {{convert|200|nmi|km mi|abbr=off}} Total Exclusion Zone (TEZ) to replace the previous Maritime Exclusion Zone; aircraft as well as ships of any nation were liable to be attacked inside it, if they were aiding the Argentine occupation. Admiral [[Sandy Woodward]]'s carrier battle group of twelve warships and three supply ships entered the TEZ on 1 May, shortly before the first Black Buck raid, intending to degrade Argentine air and sea forces before the arrival of the amphibious group two weeks later.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|pp= 125–126}}</ref> In anticipation, Admiral Anaya had deployed all his available warships into three task groups. The first was centred around the aircraft carrier {{ship|ARA|Veinticinco de Mayo|V-2|6}} with two old but missile-armed destroyers, and a second comprised three modern frigates. Both these groups were intended to approach the TEZ from the north. A third group approaching from the south was led by the [[Second World War]]-vintage Argentine [[light cruiser]] {{ship|ARA|General Belgrano}};<ref>Woodward 2012, pp. 144-145</ref> although old, her large guns and heavy armour made her a serious threat, and she was escorted by two modern [[Type 42 destroyer|Type 42]] [[guided-missile destroyer]]s, armed with Exocet missiles.<ref>{{harvnb|Finlan|2004|p=82}}</ref>

On 1 May, the British nuclear-powered submarine {{HMS|Conqueror|S48|6}} (one of three patrolling the TEZ) located the ''Belgrano'' group and followed it until the following day, when it was about 12 hours away from the Task Force and just outside the Total Exclusion Zone. Admiral Woodward was aware of the Argentine carrier group approaching from the other direction and ordered the cruiser to be attacked to avoid being caught in a [[pincer movement]]; he was unaware that the ''Veinticinco de Mayo'' had failed to gain enough headwind to launch her aircraft. The order to sink the cruiser was confirmed by the [[War cabinet#Falklands War|War Cabinet]] in London and the ''General Belgrano'' was hit by two torpedoes at 4 pm local time on 2 May, sinking an hour later.<ref>{{harvnb|Finlan|2004|pp=82–84}}</ref> 321 members of ''General Belgrano''{{'}}s crew, along with two civilians on board the ship, died in the incident. More than 700 men were eventually rescued from the open ocean despite cold seas and stormy weather, enduring up to 30 hours in overcrowded life rafts.<ref>{{harvnb|Eddy|Gillman|Linklater|Sunday_Times_of_London_Insight_Team|1982|pp=158–159}}</ref> The loss of ''General Belgrano'' drew heavy criticism from Latin American countries and from opponents of the war in Britain; support for the British cause wavered amongst some European allies, but the United States remained supportive.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p= 150}}</ref>

Regardless of [[ARA General Belgrano#Controversy over the sinking|controversies over the sinking]] — including disagreement about the exact nature of the exclusion zone and whether ''General Belgrano'' had been returning to port at the time of the sinking — it had a crucial strategic effect: the elimination of the Argentine naval threat. After her loss, the entire Argentine fleet, with the exception of the diesel-powered submarine {{ship|ARA|San Luis|S-32|6}},<ref name= "handle.dtic.mil" /> returned to port and did not leave again during the fighting. This had the secondary effect of allowing the British to redeploy their nuclear submarines to the coast of Argentina, where they were able to provide early warning of outgoing air attacks leaving mainland bases.<ref>{{harvnb|Finlan|2004|p=85}}</ref> However, settling the controversy in 2003, the ship's captain, Hector Bonzo, stated to a documentary crew that ''General Belgrano'' had actually been manoeuvring, not sailing away from the exclusion zone, and that he had orders to sink any British ship he could find.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https:// theguardian /politics/2003/may/25/uk.world|website=[[The Guardian]]|title=Belgrano crew 'trigger happy'|first=Peter|last=Beaumont|date=25 May 2003|access-date=20 May 2018|archive-date=4 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104134015/https:// theguardian /politics/2003/may/25/uk.world|url-status=live}}</ref>

In a separate incident later that night, British forces engaged an Argentine patrol gunboat, the {{ship|ARA|Alferez Sobral|A-9|6}}, that was searching for the crew of an Argentine Air Force [[English Electric Canberra|Canberra light bomber]] shot down on 1 May. Two Royal Navy [[Westland Lynx|Lynx]] helicopters, from {{HMS|Coventry|D118|6}} and {{HMS|Glasgow|D88|6}}, fired four [[Sea Skua]] missiles at her. Badly damaged and with eight crew dead, ''Alferez Sobral'' managed to return to [[Puerto Deseado]] two days later.<ref name= "burdp179" >{{harvnb|Burden|Draper|Rough|Smith|1986|p=179}}</ref> The Canberra's crew were never found.<ref name= "burdp912" >{{harvnb|Burden|Draper|Rough|Smith|1986|pp=91–92}}</ref>

=== Sinking of HMS ''Sheffield'' ===
[[File:HMS Sheffield (D80).jpg|thumb|HMS ''Sheffield'']]
On 4 May, two days after the sinking of ''General Belgrano'', the British lost the [[Type 42 destroyer]] {{HMS|Sheffield|D80|6}} to fire following an [[Exocet]] missile strike from the Argentine [[2da Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Caza y Ataque|2nd Naval Air Fighter/Attack Squadron]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=HMS Sheffield lost after missile hit|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https:// bbc /news/av/uk-17474294|access-date=18 November 2021|archive-date=18 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118065628/https:// bbc /news/av/uk-17474294|url-status=live}}</ref>

''Sheffield'' had been ordered forward with two other Type 42s to provide a long-range radar and medium-high altitude missile [[Radar picket|picket]] far from the British carriers. She was struck amidships, with devastating effect, ultimately killing 20 crew members and severely injuring 24 others. The ship was abandoned several hours later, gutted and deformed by fires. For four days she was kept afloat for inspections and the hope that she might attract Argentine submarines which could be hunted by helicopter. The decision was then taken to tow her to Ascension, but while under tow by {{HMS|Yarmouth|F101|6}}, she finally sank east of the Falklands on 10 May.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p=166}}</ref>

The incident is described in detail by Admiral Woodward in his book ''One Hundred Days'', in Chapter One. Woodward was a former commanding officer of ''Sheffield''.<ref>{{harvnb|Woodward|Robinson|1997|p=8}}</ref> The destruction of ''Sheffield'', the first Royal Navy ship sunk in action since the Second World War, had a profound impact on the War Cabinet and the British public as a whole, bringing home the fact that the conflict was now an actual shooting war.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p= 165}}</ref>

=== Diplomatic activity ===
The tempo of operations increased throughout the first half of May as the United Nations' attempts to mediate a peace were rejected by the Argentines. The final British negotiating position was presented to Argentina by UN Secretary-General [[Javier Pérez de Cuéllar]] on 18 May 1982. In it, the British abandoned their previous "red-line" that British administration of the islands should be restored on the withdrawal of Argentine forces, as supported by [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 502]].<ref>{{harvnb|Eddy|Gillman|Linklater|Sunday_Times_of_London_Insight_Team|1982|p=174}}</ref>

Instead, it proposed a UN administrator should supervise the mutual withdrawal of both Argentine and British forces, then govern the islands in consultation with the representative institutions of the islands, including Argentines, although no Argentines lived there. Reference to "[[self-determination]]" of the islanders was dropped and the British proposed that future negotiations over the sovereignty of the islands should be conducted by the UN.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moore |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Moore, Baron Moore of Etchingham |title=Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography, from Grantham to the Falklands, Volume 1 |date=2013 |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |isbn=978-0-307-95894-5 |edition=1st |series=Margaret Thatcher / Charles Moore |location=New York |pages=726–728}}</ref> However, the proposals were rejected by the Argentines on the same day.<ref>{{harvnb|Eddy|Gillman|Linklater|Sunday_Times_of_London_Insight_Team|1982|p=175}}</ref>

=== Special forces operations ===
Given the threat to the British fleet posed by the Étendard-Exocet combination, plans were made to use C-130s to fly in [[Special Air Service|SAS]] troops to attack the home base of the five Étendards at [[Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego]]. The operation was codenamed "[[Operation Mikado|Mikado]]". The operation was later scrapped, after acknowledging that its chances of success were limited, and replaced with a plan to use the submarine {{HMS|Onyx|S21|6}} to drop SBS marines several miles offshore at night for them to make their way to the coast aboard rubber inflatables and proceed to destroy Argentina's remaining Exocet stockpile - which did not exist at their objective. <ref>{{cite web |url=http:// eliteukforces.info/articles/sas-versus-exocets.php#prof |title=The SAS vs the Exocet |publisher=eliteukforces.info |date=27 October 2007 |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-date=2 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100302113708/http:// eliteukforces.info/articles/sas-versus-exocets.php#prof |url-status=live }}</ref>

An SAS reconnaissance team was dispatched to carry out preparations for a seaborne infiltration. A [[Westland Sea King]] helicopter carrying the assigned team took off from HMS ''Invincible'' on the night of 17 May, but bad weather forced it to land {{convert|50|mi|km}} from its target and the mission was aborted.<ref>{{Cite journal|first1=Michael |last1=Evans |first2=Alan |last2=Hamilton |url=http:// timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article537842.ece |title=Thatcher in the dark on sinking of Belgrano |journal=The Times |date=27 June 2005 |access-date=2 September 2011 |archive-date=24 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124120108/https:// thetimes.co.uk/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> The pilot flew to [[Chile]], landed south of [[Punta Arenas]], and dropped off the SAS team. The helicopter's crew of three then destroyed the aircraft, surrendered to Chilean police on 25 May, and were repatriated to the UK after interrogation. The discovery of the burnt-out helicopter attracted considerable international attention. Meanwhile, the SAS team crossed the border and penetrated into Argentina, but cancelled their mission after the Argentines suspected an SAS operation and deployed some {{formatnum:2000}} troops to search for them. The SAS men were able to return to Chile and took a civilian flight back to the UK.<ref>{{cite web |url-status=unfit |url=http:// sasspecialairservice /sas-falklands-war-argentina.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015073045/http:// sasspecialairservice /sas-falklands-war-argentina.html | archivedate= 15 October 2014 |title=British Special Air Service SAS – The Falklands – Operation Corporate|access-date=2 October 2014}}</ref>

On 14 May, the SAS carried out a [[raid on Pebble Island]] on the Falklands, where the Argentine Navy had taken over a grass airstrip <sup>[https://maps.google /maps?t=h&q=-51.308889,-59.610278&ll=-51.308887,-59.610271&spn=0.022964,0.055189&z=14 map]</sup> for [[FMA IA 58 Pucará]] light ground-attack aircraft and [[Beechcraft T-34 Mentor]]s, which resulted in the destruction of several aircraft.{{refn|6 Pucaras, 4 T-34 Mentor and 1 Short Skyvan|group=nb}}<ref name= "mid12p1901" >{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|pp=190–191}}</ref>

On 15 May, SBS teams were inserted by HMS ''Brilliant'' at [[Grantham Sound]] to reconnoitre and observe the landing beaches at [[San Carlos Water|San Carlos Bay]].<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1987|p=166}}</ref> On the evening of 20 May, the day before the main landings, an SBS troop and artillery observers were landed by Wessex helicopters for an assault on an Argentine observation post at Fanning Head which overlooked the entrance of the bay; meanwhile, the SAS conducted a diversionary raid at [[Darwin, Falkland Islands|Darwin]].<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|1987|p=179}}</ref>

== Air attacks ==
{{Main|Battle of San Carlos (1982)}}
[[File:HMS Antelope 1982.jpg|thumb|left|{{HMS|Antelope|F170|6}} smoking after being hit, 23 May]]
[[File:HMS Coventry D118.jpg|thumb|left|{{HMS|Coventry|D118|6}} in 1981]]
In the landing zone, the limitations of the British ships' anti-aircraft defences were demonstrated in the sinking of {{HMS|Ardent|F184|6}} on 21 May which was hit by nine bombs,<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p= 225}}</ref> and {{HMS|Antelope|F170|6}} on 24 May when attempts to defuze unexploded bombs failed.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|pp= 233–234}}</ref> Out at sea with the carrier battle group, {{ship|MV|Atlantic Conveyor}} was struck by an air-launched Exocet on 25 May, which caused the loss of three out of four [[Boeing Chinook (UK variants)|Chinook]] and five Wessex helicopters as well as their maintenance equipment and facilities, together with runway-building equipment and tents. This was a severe blow from a logistical perspective. Twelve of her crew members were killed.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|pp= 244–248}}</ref>

Also lost on 25 May was {{HMS|Coventry|D118|6}}, a sister to {{HMS|Sheffield|D80|2}}, whilst in company with {{HMS|Broadsword|F88|6}} after being ordered to act as a decoy to draw away Argentine aircraft from other ships at San Carlos Bay.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rumley |first=Leesa |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6705387.stm |title=Captain Hart Dyke, Commanding Officer of HMS ''Coventry'' |work=BBC News |date=1 June 2007 |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-date=24 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524145046/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6705387.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> {{HMS|Argonaut|F56|6}} and {{HMS|Brilliant|F90|6}} were moderately damaged.<ref name= ":1" >{{cite journal |last1=Corum |first1=James S. |title=Argentine Airpower in the Falklands War: An Operational View. |journal=Air and Space Power Journal|url=http:// airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/apj/apj02/fal02/corum.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102191905/http:// airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/apj/apj02/fal02/corum.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 January 2014 |date=2002 |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=59–77}}</ref>

[[File:Lt Gavazzi's F4 attacking HMS Glasgow - Argentinean A4 SkyHawk Attack on HMS Brilliant and HMS Glasgow 12 May 1982.jpg|thumb|Argentine A4 SkyHawk Attack on HMS ''Brilliant'' and HMS ''Glasgow'', 12 May 1982]]
Many British ships escaped being sunk because of limitations imposed by circumstances on Argentine pilots. To avoid the highest concentration of British air defences, Argentine pilots released bombs at very low altitude, and hence those bomb [[fuze]]s did not have sufficient time to arm before impact. The low release of the [[retarded bomb]]s (some of which the British had sold to the Argentines years earlier) meant that many never exploded, as there was insufficient time in the air for them to arm themselves.<ref group=nb>A simple free-fall bomb in a low-altitude release impacts almost directly below the aircraft, which is then within the lethal fragmentation zone of the explosion. A retarded bomb has a small parachute or air brake that opens to reduce the speed of the bomb to produce a safe horizontal separation between the bomb and the aircraft. The fuze for a retarded bomb requires that the retarder be open a minimum time to ensure safe separation.</ref> The pilots would have been aware of this—but due to the high concentration required to avoid [[surface-to-air missile]]s, [[anti-Aircraft Artillery]] (AAA), and British [[BAE Sea Harrier|Sea Harriers]], many failed to climb to the necessary release point. The Argentine forces solved the problem by fitting improvised retarding devices, allowing the pilots to effectively employ low-level bombing attacks on 8 June.
[[File:Atlantic Conveyor.jpg|thumb|left|''Atlantic Conveyor'' approaching the Falklands, on or about 19 May 1982]]

Thirteen bombs hit British ships without detonating.<ref>{{cite web |url=http:// naval-history.net/F62brshipslost.htm |title=British Ships Sunk and Damaged – Falklands War 1982 |publisher=Naval-history.net |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-date=23 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123014516/http:// naval-history.net/F62brshipslost.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Lord [[David Craig, Baron Craig of Radley|Craig]], the retired [[Marshal of the Royal Air Force]], is said to have remarked: "Six better fuzes and we would have lost" <ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.scotsman /topics.cfm?tid=291&id=365372002|title=Would British forces be able to retake the Falklands today?|date=5 April 2002|work=The Scotsman|location=UK|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070327191626/http://news.scotsman /topics.cfm?tid=291&id=365372002|archive-date=27 March 2007|url-access=subscription|page=12|first=Gethin|last=Chamberlain}} [http://gateway.proquest /openurl?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2003&res_dat=xri:pqil:res_ver=0.2&res_id=xri:newsuk&rft_id=xri:newsuk:newsart:112991016 Alt URL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124120114/https:// proquest /openurl/handler/$4f$70$65$6e$4d$51$4c$53$6f$75$72$63$65$3a$44$4f$43$3a$46$54$41$4e$59$28$59$45$53$29 |date=24 January 2023 }}</ref> although ''Ardent'' and ''Antelope'' were both lost despite the failure of bombs to explode, and ''Argonaut'' was put out of action. The fuzes were functioning correctly, and the bombs were simply released from too low an altitude.<ref name= "Woodward" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http:// royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.3956 |title=The Falklands Conflict 1982|publisher=Royal Navy |date=2 April 1982 |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409233735/http:// royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.3956 |archive-date=9 April 2008}}</ref> The Argentines lost 22 aircraft in the attacks.{{refn|21/27 May: 9 Dagger, 5 A-4C, 3 A-4Q, 3 A-4B & 2 Pucara|group=nb}}

In his autobiographical account of the Falklands War, Admiral Woodward blamed the [[BBC World Service]] for disclosing information that led the Argentines to change the retarding devices on the bombs. The World Service reported the lack of detonations after receiving a briefing on the matter from a [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] official. He describes the BBC as being more concerned with being "fearless seekers after truth" than with the lives of British servicemen.<ref name= "Woodward" >{{harvnb|Woodward|Robinson|1997}}{{Page needed|date=September 2011}}</ref> Colonel [['H'. Jones]] levelled similar accusations against the BBC after they disclosed the impending British attack on Goose Green by 2 Para.<ref name= "mid12p257" >{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p=257}}</ref>

[[File:HMS Broadsword and Hermes, 1982 (IWM).jpg|thumb|right|{{HMS|Broadsword|F88|6}} and {{HMS|Hermes|R12|6}} during the war]]
On 30 May, two Super Étendards, one carrying Argentina's last remaining Exocet, escorted by four [[Douglas A-4 Skyhawk|A-4C Skyhawks]] each with two 500 lb bombs, took off to attack ''Invincible''.<ref name= "FreedmanUK)2005" >{{Cite book |last=Freedman |first=Lawrence |url=https://books.google /books?id=BEjOdVzx9UcC |title=The official history of the Falklands Campaign. 2: War and diplomacy |publisher=Routledge |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7146-5207-8 |location=London |page=545}}</ref> Argentine intelligence had sought to determine the position of the carriers from analysis of aircraft flight routes from the task force to the islands.<ref name= "FreedmanUK)2005" /> However, the British had a standing order that all aircraft conduct a low level transit when leaving or returning to the carriers to disguise their position.<ref name= "Pook2008" >{{harvnb|Pook|2008|p=132}}</ref> This tactic compromised the Argentine attack, which focused on a group of escorts {{convert|40|miles}} south of the carrier group.<ref name= "Morgan2007" >{{harvnb|Morgan|2007|p=240}}</ref> Two of the attacking Skyhawks<ref name= "Morgan2007" /> were shot down by [[Sea dart missile|Sea Dart]] missiles fired by [[HMS Exeter (D89)|HMS ''Exeter'']],<ref name= "FreedmanUK)2005" /> with [[HMS Avenger (F185)|HMS ''Avenger'']] claiming to have shot down the Exocet missile with her 4.5 "gun (although this claim is disputed).<ref name=" Southby-Tailyour2014 ">{{Cite book |last=Southby-Tailyour |first=Ewen |url=https://books.google /books?id=kY_PBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT238 |title=Exocet Falklands: The Untold Story of Special Forces Operations |date=2 April 2014 |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=978-1-4738-3513-9 |pages=238–}}</ref> No damage was caused to any British vessels.<ref name=" FreedmanUK)2005 "/> During the war, Argentina claimed to have damaged ''Invincible'' and continues to do so,<ref>{{Cite web |title=La ejecución - Fuerza Aérea Argentina |url=http:// fuerzaaerea.mil.ar/conflicto/dias/may30c.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090428105838/http:// fuerzaaerea.mil.ar/conflicto/dias/may30c.html |archive-date=28 April 2009 |access-date=26 February 2009 |publisher= fuerzaaerea.mil.ar |language=es}}</ref> although no evidence of any such damage has been produced or uncovered.<ref name=":1 "/><ref>{{cite web |url=http:// britains-smallwars /Falklands/Exocet.html |title=Argentine Aircraft in the Falklands |access-date=25 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223051413/http:// britains-smallwars /Falklands/Exocet.html |archive-date=23 February 2009 }}</ref>

== Land battles ==
=== San Carlos –" Bomb Alley "===
{{Main|Operation Sutton}}
[[File:Action stations Falklands 1982.JPG|thumb|upright|British sailors in [[anti-flash gear]] at action stations on {{HMS|Cardiff|D108|6}} near San Carlos, June 1982]]
During the night of 21 May, the British Amphibious Task Group under the command of Commodore [[Michael Clapp]] (Commodore, Amphibious Warfare – COMAW) mounted [[Operation Sutton]], the amphibious landing on beaches around [[San Carlos Water]],{{refn| Location:" Bomb Alley " San Carlos Water, Falkland Islands|group=nb}} on the northwestern coast of [[East Falkland]] facing onto [[Falkland Sound]]. The bay, known as ''Bomb Alley'' by British forces, was the scene of repeated air attacks by low-flying Argentine jets.<ref>{{Cite book| last = Yates | first = David | title = Bomb Alley – Falkland Islands 1982 | publisher=Pen and Sword | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-1-84415-417-3 }}{{Page needed|date=August 2010}}</ref><ref name =" BBC ">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/297414.stm |title=Americas &#124; Charles ends Falklands tour on sombre note |work=BBC News |date=15 March 1999 |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-date=27 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100127013928/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/297414.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The {{formatnum:4000}} men of [[3 Commando Brigade]] were put ashore as follows: [[2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment]] (2 Para) from the [[RORO]] ferry ''[[Norland (ferry)|Norland]]'' and [[40 Commando]] [[Royal Marines]] from the amphibious ship {{HMS|Fearless|L10|6}} were landed at San Carlos (Blue Beach), [[3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment]] (3 Para) from the amphibious ship {{HMS|Intrepid|L11|6}} was landed at [[Port San Carlos]] (Green Beach) and [[45 Commando]] from [[RFA Stromness (A344)|RFA ''Stromness'']] was landed at [[Ajax Bay]] (Red Beach).<ref name=" mid12p2092 ">{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|pp=209–212}}</ref> Notably, the waves of eight [[Landing Craft Utility|LCUs]] and eight [[LCVP (United Kingdom)#LCVP Mk2|LCVPs]] were led by Major [[Ewen Southby-Tailyour]], who had commanded the Falklands detachment NP8901 from March 1978 to 1979. [[42 Commando]] on the ocean liner {{SS|Canberra}} was a tactical reserve. Units from the [[Royal Artillery]], [[Royal Engineers]], etc. and armoured reconnaissance vehicles were also put ashore with the landing craft, the [[Round Table class landing ship logistics|Round Table-class]] [[Landing Ship Logistics|LSL]] and [[mexeflote]] barges. [[Rapier missile]] launchers were carried as underslung loads of [[Westland Sea King|Sea Kings]] for rapid deployment.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p=213}}</ref>

By dawn the next day, they had established a secure beachhead from which to conduct offensive operations. [[Brigadier]] [[Julian Thompson (Royal Marines officer)|Julian Thompson]] established his brigade headquarters in dugouts near [[San Carlos, Falkland Islands|San Carlos Settlement]].<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|pp=216–217}}</ref>

=== Goose Green ===
{{Main|Battle of Goose Green}}
{{Unreferencedsect|date=November 2024}}
[[File:Land.ops.2.en.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Infantry deployment in East Falklands after landing in San Carlos]]
From early on 27 May until 28 May, 2 Para approached and attacked Darwin and Goose Green, which was held by the Argentine 12th Infantry Regiment. 2 Para’s 500 men had naval gunfire support from HMS ''Arrow'' and artillery support from 8 Commando Battery of the Royal Artillery. After a tough struggle that lasted all night and into the next day, the British won the battle; in all, 18 British and 47 Argentine soldiers were killed. A total of 961 Argentine troops (including 202 Argentine Air Force personnel of the ''Condor'' airfield) were taken prisoner.

The BBC announced the taking of Goose Green on the [[BBC World Service]] before it had actually happened. During this attack [[Lieutenant Colonel (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant Colonel]] [[H. Jones]], the commanding officer of 2 Para, was killed at the head of his battalion while charging into the well-prepared Argentine positions. He was posthumously awarded the [[Victoria Cross]].

With the sizeable Argentine force at Goose Green out of the way, British forces were now able to break out of the San Carlos beachhead. On 27 May, men of 45 Cdo and 3 Para started a [[loaded march]] across [[East Falkland]] towards the coastal settlement of [[Teal Inlet]].

=== Special forces on Mount Kent ===
{{main|Assault on Mount Kent, Falkland Islands|l1=Assault on Mount Kent}}

Meanwhile, 42 Commando prepared to move by helicopter to [[Mount Kent]].{{refn|Location: Mount Kent, Falkland Islands|group=nb}} Unbeknownst to senior British officers, the Argentine generals were determined to tie down the British troops in the Mount Kent area, and on 27 and 28 May they sent transport aircraft loaded with [[Blowpipe (missile)|Blowpipe]] surface-to-air missiles and [[commando]]s (602nd Commando Company and 601st National Gendarmerie Special Forces Squadron) to [[Stanley, Falkland Islands|Stanley]]. This operation was known as ''Autoimpuesta'' (" Self-imposed ").

For the next week, the SAS and the [[Mountain Leader Training Cadre|Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre]] (M&AWC) of [[3 Commando Brigade]] waged intense patrol battles with patrols of the volunteers' 602nd Commando Company under Major [[Aldo Rico]], normally second in Command of the 22nd Mountain Infantry Regiment. Throughout 30 May, Royal Air Force Harriers were active over Mount Kent. One of them, Harrier ''XZ963'', flown by Squadron Leader Jerry Pook—in responding to a call for help from D Squadron, attacked Mount Kent's eastern lower slopes, which led to its loss through small-arms fire. Pook was subsequently awarded the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Flying Cross]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=49134 |supp=y |page=12854 |date=8 October 1982 }}</ref>
On 31 May, the M&AWC defeated Argentine Special Forces at the [[skirmish at Top Malo House]]. A 13-strong Argentine Army Commando detachment (Captain José Vercesi's 1st Assault Section, 602nd Commando Company) found itself trapped in a small shepherd's house at Top Malo. The Argentine commandos fired from windows and doorways and then took refuge in a stream bed {{convert|200|m|ft|-2}} from the burning house. Completely surrounded, they fought 19 M&AWC marines under Captain Rod Boswell for 45 minutes until, with their ammunition almost exhausted, they elected to surrender.

Three Cadre members were badly wounded. On the Argentine side, there were two dead, including Lieutenant Ernesto Espinoza and Sergeant Mateo Sbert (who were posthumously decorated for their bravery). Only five Argentines were left unscathed. As the British secured Top Malo House, Lieutenant Fraser Haddow's M&AWC patrol came down from Malo Hill, brandishing a large [[Union Flag]]. One wounded Argentine soldier, Lieutenant Horacio Losito, commented that their escape route would have taken them through Haddow's position.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|pp=279–281}}</ref>

601st Commando tried to move forward to rescue 602nd Commando Company on Estancia Mountain. Spotted by 42 Commando, they were engaged with [[L16 81mm mortar]]s and forced to withdraw to Two Sisters mountain. The leader of 602nd Commando Company on Estancia Mountain realised his position had become untenable and after conferring with fellow officers ordered a withdrawal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http:// britains-smallwars /Falklands/David/kent2.html |title=The Argentine Commandos on Mount Kent |publisher=Britains-smallwars |access-date=7 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328175325/http:// britains-smallwars /Falklands/David/kent2.html |archive-date=28 March 2010 }}</ref>

The Argentine operation also saw the extensive use of helicopter support to position and extract patrols; the [[601 Assault Helicopter Battalion|601st Combat Aviation Battalion]] also suffered casualties. At about 11:00 am on 30 May, an [[Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma]] helicopter was brought down by a shoulder-launched [[FIM-92 Stinger]] [[surface-to-air missile]] (SAM) fired by the SAS in the vicinity of Mount Kent. Six [[Argentine National Gendarmerie]] Special Forces were killed and eight more wounded in the crash.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://en.mercopress /2002/04/12/argentine-puma-shot-down-by-american-stinger-missile#prof |title=Argentine Puma Shot Down By American" Stinger "Missile |publisher=En.mercopress |date=12 April 2002 |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-date=28 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328101020/http://en.mercopress /2002/04/12/argentine-puma-shot-down-by-american-stinger-missile#prof |url-status=live }}</ref>

As Brigadier Thompson commented: {{quote|It was fortunate that I had ignored the views expressed by [[Northwood HQ]] that reconnaissance of Mount Kent before insertion of 42 Commando was superfluous. Had D Squadron not been there, the Argentine Special Forces would have caught the Commando before de-planing and, in the darkness and confusion on a strange landing zone, inflicted heavy casualties on men and helicopters.<ref name=" NoPicnic ">{{Cite book |last=Thompson |first=Julian |title=No picnic: 3 Commando Brigade in the South Atlantic, 1982 |date=1986 |publisher=Fontana/Collins |isbn=978-0-00-637013-0 |edition=2. impression |series=Fontana paperbacks |location=Glasgow |pages=93}}</ref>}}

=== Bluff Cove and Fitzroy ===
{{Main|Bluff Cove Air Attacks}}
By 1 June, with the arrival of a further {{formatnum:5000}} British troops of the 5th Infantry Brigade,<!-- landed at [[San Carlos, Falkland Islands|San Carlos]] from {{SS|Canberra|2}}, ''[[Norland]]'' and ''Stromness'' having transferred from the liner [[RMS Queen Elizabeth 2|''Q.E.II'']] at [[South Georgia Island]] --> the new British divisional commander, Major General [[Jeremy Moore]] RM, had sufficient force to start planning an offensive against [[Stanley, Falkland Islands|Stanley]]. During this build-up, the Argentine air assaults on the British naval forces continued, killing 56. Of the dead, 32 were from the [[Welsh Guards]] on [[RFA Sir Galahad (1966)|RFA ''Sir Galahad'']] and [[RFA Sir Tristram (L3505)|RFA ''Sir Tristram'']] on 8 June. According to Surgeon-Commander [[Rick Jolly]] of the Falklands Field Hospital, more than 150 men suffered burns and injuries of some kind in the attack, including [[Simon Weston]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jolly |first=Rick |title=The red and green life machine: a diary of the Falklands Field Hospital |date=1983 |publisher=Century Pub |isbn=978-0-7126-0158-0 |location=London |pages=124}}</ref>

The Guards were sent to support an advance along the southern approach to Stanley. On 2 June, a small advance party of 2 Para moved to Swan Inlet house in a number of Army [[Westland Scout]] helicopters. Telephoning ahead to [[Fitzroy, Falkland Islands|Fitzroy]], they discovered that the area was clear of Argentines and (exceeding their authority) commandeered the one remaining [[Boeing Chinook (UK variants)|RAF Chinook]] helicopter to frantically ferry another contingent of 2 Para ahead to [[Fitzroy, Falkland Islands|Fitzroy]] (a settlement on Port Pleasant) and [[Bluff Cove]] (a settlement on Port Fitzroy).<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|pp=297–298}}</ref>

[[File:Stanley.falklands.war.svg|thumb|upright=1.7|The road to Stanley]]

This uncoordinated advance caused great difficulties in planning for the commanders of the combined operation, as they now found themselves with {{convert|30|mi|km}} of indefensible positions, strung along their southern flank. Support could not be sent by air as the single remaining Chinook was already heavily oversubscribed. The soldiers could march, but their equipment and heavy supplies would need to be ferried by sea.

Plans were drawn up for half the Welsh Guards to march light on the night of 2 June, whilst the [[Scots Guards]] and the second half of the Welsh Guards were to be ferried from San Carlos Water in the [[Landing Ship Logistics]] (LSL) ''Sir Tristram'' and the [[amphibious transport dock|landing platform dock]] (LPD) ''Intrepid'' on the night of 5 June. ''Intrepid'' was planned to stay one day and unload itself and as much of ''Sir Tristram'' as possible, leaving the next evening for the relative safety of San Carlos. Escorts would be provided for this day, after which ''Sir Tristram'' would be left to unload using a [[Mexeflote]] (a powered raft) for as long as it took to finish.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|pp=298–299}}</ref>

Political pressure from above to not risk the LPD forced Commodore [[Michael Clapp]] to alter this plan. Two lower-value LSLs would be sent, but with no suitable beaches to land on, ''Intrepid''{{'}}s [[landing craft]] would need to accompany them to unload. A complicated operation across several nights with ''Intrepid'' and her sister ship {{HMS|Fearless|L10|2}} sailing half-way to dispatch their craft was devised.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p=301}}</ref>

The attempted overland march by half the Welsh Guards failed, possibly as they refused to march light and attempted to carry their equipment.<ref>{{harvnb|Freedman|2005b|pp=509}}</ref> They returned to San Carlos and landed directly at Bluff Cove when ''Fearless'' dispatched her landing craft. ''Sir Tristram'' sailed on the night of 6 June and was joined by ''Sir Galahad'' at dawn on 7 June. Anchored {{convert|1200|ft|m}} apart in Port Pleasant, the landing ships were near Fitzroy, the designated landing point. The landing craft should have been able to unload the ships to that point relatively quickly, but confusion over the ordered disembarkation point (the first half of the Guards going direct to Bluff Cove) resulted in the senior Welsh Guards infantry officer aboard insisting that his troops should be ferried the far longer distance directly to Port Fitzroy/Bluff Cove. The alternative was for the infantrymen to march via the recently repaired Bluff Cove bridge (destroyed by retreating Argentine [[combat engineering|combat engineers]]) to their destination, a journey of around {{convert|7|mi|km|spell=in}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p=303}}</ref>

There are conflicting accounts of the causes for the delay in disembarking the Welsh Guards contingent. One narrative posits that on ''Sir Galahad''{{'}}s stern ramp there was an argument about what to do. The officers on board were told that they could not sail to Bluff Cove in daylight. They were told that they had to get their men off ship and onto the beach as soon as possible as the ships were vulnerable to enemy aircraft. It would take 20 minutes to transport the men to shore using the LCU and Mexeflote. They would then have the choice of walking the seven miles to Bluff Cove or wait until dark to sail there. The officers on board said that they would remain on board until dark and then sail. They refused to take their men off the ship. They possibly doubted that the bridge had been repaired due to the presence on board ''Sir Galahad'' of the [[Royal Engineer]] Troop whose job it was to repair the bridge. The Welsh Guards were keen to rejoin the rest of their Battalion, who were potentially facing the enemy without their support. They had also not seen any enemy aircraft since landing at [[San Carlos, Falkland Islands|San Carlos]] and may have been overconfident in the air defences. Royal Marines Major [[Ewen Southby-Tailyour]] gave a direct order for the men to leave the ship and go to the beach; the order was ignored.<ref name=" SouthbyTailyour1990 ">{{Cite book |last=Tailyour |first=Ewen Southby |url=https://books.google /books?id=0NWkAwAAQBAJ |title=Reasons in writing: a commando's view of the Falkland War |date=2003 |publisher=Cooper |isbn=978-1-84415-014-4 |location=Barnsley |page=297}} ''" It was clear that I was achieving nothing and so, in desperation, I gave a direct order for the infantry to get ashore with or without their kit in order that we could get on with unloading Sir Tristram.<br /> The officers ignored my order. In doing so they explained to me quite clearly that no orders would be accepted from an officer of equivalent rank. "''</ref>

However, a contemporary Royal Navy report, partially declassified in 2024, throws into question the validity of this account. The investigative report states that" At no time was a direct order to disembark given to...[the officer commanding the Welsh Guards]...by a superior officer ".<ref name=BBC20240617>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-17 |title=Falklands War: Welsh Guards cleared of blame over Sir Galahad bombing |url=https:// bbc /news/articles/c80z0d152wzo |access-date=2024-05-18 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> Additionally, it is claimed that ''Sir Tristram'', although receiving signals advising of ''Sir Galahad''<nowiki/>'s arrival, failed to pass these onto the officers responsible for her unloading, who"...had not been warned of the arrival of the ship, nor of the nature of her cargo...no preparation had been made for the timely off-load of the new arrival. "<ref name=BBC20240617/>

The longer journey time of the landing craft taking the troops directly to Bluff Cove and the ambiguity over orders being issued to this effect caused an enormous delay in unloading. This had disastrous consequences, since the ships were visible to Argentine troops on Mount Harriet, some {{convert|10|mi|km|spell=in}} distant.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p=304}}</ref> Without escorts, having not yet established their air defence, and still almost fully laden, the two LSLs in Port Pleasant were sitting targets for eight Argentine [[Douglas A-4 Skyhawk|A-4 Skyhawks]]. A coordinated sortie by six Daggers attacked HMS ''Plymouth'', which had the effect of drawing off the patrolling Sea Harriers. At 17.00, the Skyhawks attacked from seaward, hitting ''Sir Galahad'' with three bombs; although none exploded, they caused fierce fires which quickly grew out of control. Two bombs hit ''Sir Tristram'', also starting fires and causing the ship to be abandoned, but the damage was not as serious. Three Sea King and a Wessex helicopter ferried the wounded to an advanced dressing station which was set up on the shore.<ref>{{harvnb|Freedman|2005b|pp=518}}</ref>

British casualties were 48 killed and 115 wounded.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/8/newsid_2500000/2500607.stm |work=BBC News |title=1982:Fifty die in Argentine air attack |date=8 June 1982 |access-date=2 September 2011 |archive-date=26 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326112625/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/8/newsid_2500000/2500607.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Three Argentine pilots were also killed. The air strike delayed the scheduled British ground attack on Stanley by two days.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Robert S |last=Bolia |title=The Falklands War:The Bluff Cove Disaster |journal=[[Military Review]] |issue=November–December 2004 |url=http://usacac.leavenworth.army.mil/CAC/milreview/download/English/NovDec04/bolia.pdf |page=71 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316102438/http://usacac.leavenworth.army.mil/CAC/milreview/download/English/NovDec04/bolia.pdf |archive-date=16 March 2012 }}</ref> The British casualties amounted to two [[Company (military unit)#British Army|infantry companies]], but it was decided not to release detailed casualty figures because intelligence indicated that Argentine commanders believed that a much more severe reverse had been inflicted. However, the [[Bluff Cove air attacks|disaster at Port Pleasant]] (although often known as Bluff Cove) would provide the world with some of the most sobering images of the war as [[ITV News]] video showed helicopters hovering in thick smoke to winch survivors from the burning landing ships.<ref>{{harvnb|Freedman|2005b|pp=519}}</ref>

=== Fall of Stanley ===
{{See also|Argentine surrender in the Falklands War}}
[[File:Cardiff anchored outside Port Stanley.JPG|thumb|HMS ''Cardiff'' anchored outside Port Stanley at the end of hostilities in 1982]]
[[File:Argentine prisoners of war - Port Stanley.JPG|thumb|Argentine prisoners of war in Port Stanley]]
On the night of 11 June, after several days of painstaking reconnaissance and logistic build-up, British forces launched a brigade-sized night attack against the heavily defended ring of high ground surrounding Stanley. Units of 3 Commando Brigade, supported by naval gunfire from several Royal Navy ships, simultaneously attacked in the [[Battle of Mount Harriet]], [[Battle of Two Sisters]], and [[Battle of Mount Longdon]]. Mount Harriet was taken at a cost of 2 British and 18 Argentine soldiers. At Two Sisters, the British faced both enemy resistance and [[friendly fire]] but managed to capture their objectives. The toughest battle was at [[Mount Longdon]]. British forces were bogged down by rifle, mortar, machine gun, artillery and sniper fire, and ambushes. Despite this, the British continued their advance.<ref>{{harvnb|Eddy|Gillman|Linklater|Sunday_Times_of_London_Insight_Team|1982|pp=244–250}}</ref>

During this battle, 14 were killed when {{HMS|Glamorgan|D19|6}}, straying too close to shore while returning from the gun line, was struck by an improvised trailer-based [[Exocet]] MM38 launcher taken from the destroyer {{ship|ARA|Seguí|D-25|6}} by Argentine Navy technicians.<ref>{{cite web |url=http:// fuerzasnavales /itb.html |title=An interview with CL (R) Ing. Julio Pérez, chief designer of Exocet trailer-based launcher |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080302010742/http:// fuerzasnavales /itb.html |archive-date=2 March 2008}}</ref> On the same day, Sergeant [[Ian McKay]] of 4 Platoon, B Company, 3 Para died in a grenade attack on an Argentine bunker; he received a posthumous [[Victoria Cross]] for his actions.<ref>{{cite ODNB |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/71667 |title=McKay, Ian John |last=Adkin |first=Mark |year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/71667 |access-date=28 March 2022}}</ref> After a night of fierce fighting, all objectives were secured. Both sides suffered heavy losses.<ref>{{harvnb|Freedman|2005b|pp=539}}</ref>

[[File:Discarded weapons, Stanley 1982.JPG|thumb|A pile of discarded Argentine weapons in Port Stanley]]

The second phase of attacks began on the night of 13 June, and the momentum of the initial assault was maintained. 2 Para, with light armour support from the [[Blues and Royals]], [[Battle of Wireless Ridge|captured Wireless Ridge]], with the loss of 3 British and 25 Argentine lives, and the 2nd Battalion, [[Scots Guards]] captured Mount Tumbledown at the [[Battle of Mount Tumbledown]], which cost 10 British and 30 Argentine lives.<ref>{{harvnb|Freedman|2005b|pp=544–546}}</ref> A simultaneous special forces raid by the SAS and SBS in fast boats to attack the oil tanks in Stanley Harbour was beaten off by anti-aircraft guns.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|pp= 372–373}}</ref>

With the last natural defence line at Mount Tumbledown breached, the Argentine town defences of [[Stanley, Falkland Islands|Stanley]] began to falter. In the morning gloom, one company commander got lost and his junior officers became despondent. Private Santiago Carrizo of the 3rd Regiment described how a platoon commander ordered them to take up positions in the houses and" if a [[kelpers|Kelper]] resists, shoot him ", but the entire company did nothing of the kind.<ref name=" fn_4 ">{{harvnb|Hastings|Jenkins|1984|p=307}}</ref> A daylight attack on Mount William by the [[Brigade of Gurkhas|Gurkhas]], delayed from the previous night by the fighting at Tumbledown, ended in anticlimax when the Argentine positions were found to be deserted.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|pp= 374–375}}</ref>

A ceasefire was declared on 14 June and [[White flags over Port Stanley|Thatcher announced the commencement of surrender negotiations]]. The commander of the Argentine garrison in Stanley, Brigade General Mario Menéndez, surrendered to Major General Jeremy Moore the same day.<ref>{{cite web |title=The British Army and the Falklands War |url=https:// nam.ac.uk/explore/british-army-and-falklands-war |website=National Army Museum |language=en |access-date=14 May 2021 |archive-date=14 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514161607/https:// nam.ac.uk/explore/british-army-and-falklands-war |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Recapture of South Sandwich Islands ===
{{Main|Operation Keyhole}}
[[File:Thule1981.jpg|thumb|The Argentine Thule Garrison at the Corbeta Uruguay base]]
On 20 June, the British retook the [[South Sandwich Islands]], which involved accepting the surrender of the [[Southern Thule]] Garrison at the [[Corbeta Uruguay base]] and declared hostilities over. Argentina had established Corbeta Uruguay in 1976, but prior to 1982 the United Kingdom had contested the existence of the Argentine base only through diplomatic channels.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://issuu /navynews/docs/198208|title=The race to regain Thule|newspaper=Navy News p.21|date=July 1982|access-date=10 July 2017|archive-date=31 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731051254/https://issuu /navynews/docs/198208|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Foreign involvement ==
===Commonwealth===
The UK received political support from member countries of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. Australia, Canada, and New Zealand withdrew their diplomats from Buenos Aires.<ref name=" Martin, Lisa L. ">{{cite journal |last1=Martin |first1=Lisa L. |title=Institutions and Cooperation: Sanctions during the Falkland Islands Conflict |journal=International Security |date=Spring 1992 |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=143–178 |location=p9|url=https://web.stanford.edu/class/ips216/Readings/martin_92.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701050238/http://web.stanford.edu/class/ips216/Readings/martin_92.pdf |archive-date=1 July 2015 |url-status=live |access-date=11 December 2018 |doi=10.2307/2539190|jstor=2539190 |s2cid=154742007 }}</ref>

====New Zealand====
The New Zealand government expelled the Argentine ambassador following the invasion. The Prime Minister, [[Robert Muldoon]], was in London when the war broke out<ref>{{cite web |title=Falklands War cartoon |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/falklands-war-cartoon |website=NZ History |publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage |access-date=17 September 2018 |date=20 November 2013 |archive-date=18 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918012310/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/falklands-war-cartoon |url-status=live }}</ref> and in an opinion piece published in ''[[The Times]]'' he said:" The military rulers of Argentina must not be appeased… New Zealand will back Britain all the way. "Broadcasting on the [[BBC World Service]], he told the Falkland Islanders:" This is Rob Muldoon. We are thinking of you and we are giving our full and total support to the British Government in its endeavours to rectify this situation and get rid of the people who have invaded your country. "<ref name=" when-rob-met-maggie ">{{cite web |last1=Black |first1=Joanne |title=From our archive: when Rob met Maggie |url=https:// noted.co.nz/archive/listener-nz-2013/from-our-archive-when-rob-met-maggie/ |work=New Zealand Listener |access-date=17 September 2018 |date=9 April 2013 |archive-date=30 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130125854/https:// noted.co.nz/archive/listener-nz-2013/from-our-archive-when-rob-met-maggie/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 20 May 1982, he announced that New Zealand would make {{ship|HMNZS|Canterbury|F421|6}}, a {{sclass|Leander|frigate}}, available for use where the British thought fit to release a Royal Navy vessel for the Falklands.<ref>New Zealand Foreign Affairs Review, Volume 32 p. 44, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1982</ref> In the House of Commons afterwards, [[Margaret Thatcher]] said:"…the New Zealand Government and people have been absolutely magnificent in their support for this country [and] the Falkland Islanders, for the rule of liberty and of law ".<ref name=" when-rob-met-maggie "/><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1982/may/20/engagements |title=United Kingdom, Parliamentary Debate, Debates, 20 May 1982. |access-date=25 September 2019 |archive-date=25 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925070302/https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1982/may/20/engagements |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Australia====
Encouraged by the generous response of New Zealand, the Australian prime minister, [[Malcolm Fraser]], was rushed into offering to cancel the intended purchase of HMS ''Invincible'', which was quickly accepted by the British. However, this left the [[Royal Australian Navy]] without a replacement for their only aircraft carrier, {{HMAS|Melbourne|R21|6}}, which was in the process of decommissioning.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p=183}}</ref>

===France===
The French president, [[François Mitterrand]], declared an embargo on French arms sales and assistance to Argentina.<ref name=" Thomson, Mike, 2012 ">{{Cite news | last=Thomson | first=Mike | title=How France helped both sides in the Falklands War | publisher=BBC | date=5 March 2012 | url=https:// bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17256975 | access-date=21 July 2018 | archive-date=18 October 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018223501/https:// bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17256975 | url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, France allowed UK aircraft and warships use of its port and airfield facilities at [[Dakar]] in [[Senegal]]<ref name=" A-Z of the Falklands War "/> and France provided [[Dissimilar air combat training|dissimilar aircraft training]] so that Harrier pilots could train against the French aircraft used by Argentina.<ref>{{cite web|quote=As soon as the conflict began [[Charles Hernu|Hernu]] (French Defence Minister) got in touch with me to make available a Super-Étendard and Mirage aircraft so our Harrier pilots could train against them before setting off to the South Atlantic. (John Nott, defence minister during the Falklands war) |first=Nott |last=John |title=Here Today, Gone Tomorrow |url=http:// falklands.info/history/hist82article17.html |year=2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122064540/http://falklands.info/history/hist82article17.html |archive-date=22 November 2010 }}</ref> French intelligence also cooperated with Britain to prevent Argentina from obtaining more [[Exocet]] missiles on the international market.<ref>{{cite web|quote=A remarkable world-wide operation then ensured to prevent further Exocets being bought by Argentina. I authorised our agents to pose as bona fide purchasers of equipment on the international market, ensuring that we outbid the Argentines. Other agents identified Exocet missiles in various markets and covertly rendered them inoperable, based on information from the French. (John Nott, defence minister during the Falklands war) |first=Nott |last=John |title=Here Today, Gone Tomorrow |url=http:// falklands.info/history/hist82article17.html |year=2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122064540/http://falklands.info/history/hist82article17.html |archive-date=22 November 2010 }}</ref> In a 2002 interview, and in reference to this support, [[John Nott]], the then British Defence Secretary, had described France as Britain's 'greatest ally'. In 2012, it came to light that while this support was taking place, a French technical team, employed by [[Dassault]] and already in Argentina, remained there throughout the war despite the presidential decree. The team had provided material support to the Argentines, identifying and fi xing faults in Exocet missile launchers. John Nott said he had known the French team was there but said its work was thought not to be of any importance. An adviser to the then French government denied any knowledge at the time that the technical team was there. The French [[DGSE]] did know the team was there as they had an informant in the team but decried any assistance the team gave:" It's bordering on an act of treason, or disobedience to an embargo ". John Nott, when asked if he felt let down by the French said" If you're asking me: 'Are the French duplicitous people?' the answer is: 'Of course they are, and they always have been ".<ref name=" Thomson, Mike, 2012 "/> Four Exocet missiles that had been ordered by Peru were prevented by the French government from being delivered by air and, after pressure from Britain who suspected that they would be passed on to Argentina, delayed their release to a Peruvian ship until the conflict was over.<ref>{{harvnb|White|2020|p=391}}</ref>

===United States===
Declassified cables show the United States both felt that Thatcher had not considered diplomatic options and feared that a protracted conflict could draw the [[Soviet Union]] on Argentina's side.<ref>{{cite news | url=https:// theguardian /world/2012/apr/01/us-feared-falklands-war-documents | work=The Guardian | first=Julian | last=Borger | title=U.S. feared Falklands war would be 'close-run thing', documents reveal | date=1 April 2012 | location=London | access-date=11 December 2016 | archive-date=21 April 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160421073528/http:// theguardian /world/2012/apr/01/us-feared-falklands-war-documents | url-status=live }}</ref> The US initially tried to mediate an end to the conflict through [[shuttle diplomacy]], but when Argentina refused the American peace overtures, US Secretary of State [[Alexander Haig]] announced that the United States would prohibit arms sales to Argentina and provide material support for British operations. Both houses of the [[US Congress]] passed resolutions supporting the American action siding with the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |first=Richard F. |last=Grimmett |url=https://fpc.state.gov/6172.htm#President_as_Initiator |title=Foreign Policy Roles of the President and Congress |publisher=U.S. Department of State |date=1 June 1999 |access-date=24 February 2010 |archive-date=25 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100225092813/http://fpc.state.gov/6172.htm#President_as_Initiator |url-status=live }}</ref>

The US provided the United Kingdom with 200 [[AIM-9 Sidewinder|Sidewinder]] missiles for use by the Harrier jets,<ref>Paul Reynolds," [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4854962.stm Obituary: Caspar Weinberger] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030051858/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4854962.stm |date=30 October 2012 }}, "BBC News, 28 March 2006.</ref><ref>Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher would later write," Without the Harriers... using the latest version of the Sidewinder air-to-air missile supplied by Caspar Weinberger, we could not have retaken the Falklands. "in {{Cite book |last1=Snow |first1=Peter |title=20th century battlefields |last2=Snow |first2=Dan |date=2008 |publisher=BBC Books |isbn=978-1-84607-286-4 |location=London |pages=270}}</ref> eight Stinger surface-to-air missile systems, [[Harpoon (missile)|Harpoon anti-ship missiles]] and mortar bombs.<ref>{{Cite news|date=29 May 1988|title=Lehman: British Would Have Lost Falklands War Without U.S. Support|work=AP News|url=https://apnews /article/62abef3ba2a854e0c1707d5d5a884b42|access-date=5 November 2021|archive-date=14 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614195156/https://apnews /article/62abef3ba2a854e0c1707d5d5a884b42|url-status=live}}</ref> On Ascension Island, the underground fuel tanks were empty when the British Task Force arrived in mid-April 1982 and the leading assault ship, {{HMS|Fearless|L10|6}}, did not have enough fuel to dock when it arrived off the island. The United States diverted a [[supertanker]] to replenish both the fuel tanks of ships at anchor there and the storage tanks on the island with approximately {{convert|2,000,000|USgal}} of fuel.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Fo|first=Robert|date=4 April 2012|title=CIA files reveal how US helped Britain retake the Falklands|work=Evening Standard|url=https:// standard.co.uk/news/world/cia-files-reveal-how-us-helped-britain-retake-the-falklands-7618420.html|access-date=5 November 2021|archive-date=5 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105101330/https:// standard.co.uk/news/world/cia-files-reveal-how-us-helped-britain-retake-the-falklands-7618420.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Pentagon further committed to providing additional support in the event that the war dragged on into the Southern Hemisphere's winter. In that scenario, the US committed tanker aircraft to support Royal Air Force missions in Europe, releasing RAF aircraft to support operations over the Falklands.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Halloran|first=Richard|date=21 May 1982|title=U.S. Plans Supplies If Fighting Lasts|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https:// cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00552R000201050001-4.pdf|access-date=5 November 2021|archive-date=6 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906232524/https:// cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00552R000201050001-4.pdf|url-status=live}} via CIA Reading Room</ref>

The United States allowed the United Kingdom to use American communication satellites for secure communications between submarines in the Southern Ocean and Naval HQ in Britain. The US also passed on satellite imagery (which it publicly denied<ref>{{Cite news|last=Wilson|first=George C.|date=16 April 1982|title=U.S.: No Spy Satellites Operating Over Falklands|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https:// cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00552R000201050001-4.pdf|access-date=5 November 2021|archive-date=6 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906232524/https:// cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00552R000201050001-4.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>) and weather forecast data to the British Fleet.<ref>{{Cite AV media|url=https:// cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP88-01070R000100140012-7.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105101330/https:// cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP88-01070R000100140012-7.pdf |archive-date=5 November 2021 |url-status=live|title=U.S. and the Falklands|date=13 April 1982|last=Koppel|first=Ted|type=TV News Report|language=English|publisher=CIA|others=Haig, Alexander; Laurence, John; Bernstein, Carl; Von Fremd, Mike; Clinton-Davis, Stanley; Quijano, Raul; Vanocur, Sander; Dunsmore, Barrie}}</ref>

US President Ronald Reagan approved the Royal Navy's request to borrow a [[Sea Harrier]]-capable {{sclass|Iwo Jima|amphibious assault ship}} (the US Navy had earmarked {{USS|Guam|LPH-9}} for this<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews /article/62abef3ba2a854e0c1707d5d5a884b42|title=Lehman: British Would Have Lost Falklands War Without U.S. Support|website=AP News|access-date=28 November 2020|archive-date=8 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208223208/https://apnews /article/62abef3ba2a854e0c1707d5d5a884b42|url-status=live}}</ref>) in the event a British aircraft carrier was lost. The [[US Navy]] developed a plan to help the British man the ship with American [[military contractors]], who would likely be retired sailors with knowledge of the ship's systems.<ref name=" usni20120627 ">{{cite news | url=http://news.usni.org/news-analysis/news/reagan-readied-us-warship-82-falklands-war-0 | title=Reagan Readied U.S. Warship for '82 Falklands War | work=News and Analysis, U.S. Naval Institute | date=27 June 2012 | access-date=27 June 2012 | archive-date=30 June 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630111528/http://news.usni.org/news-analysis/news/reagan-readied-us-warship-82-falklands-war-0 | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Other OAS members===
====Cuba====
Argentina itself was politically backed by a number of countries in [[Latin America]] (though, notably, not [[Chile]]). Several members of the [[Non-Aligned Movement]] also backed Argentina's position; notably, [[Cuba]] and [[Nicaragua]] led a diplomatic effort to rally non-aligned countries from Africa and Asia to Argentina's position. This initiative came as a surprise to Western observers, as Cuba had no diplomatic relations with Argentina's right-leaning military junta. British diplomats complained that Cuba had" cynically exploited "the crisis to pursue its normalization of relations with Latin American countries; Argentina eventually resumed relations with Cuba in 1983; Brazil did so in 1986.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Krepp|first1=Stella Paresa|date=April 2017|title=Between the Cold War and the Global South: Argentina and Third World Solidarity in the Falklands/Malvinas Crisis|journal=Estudos Históricos (Rio de Janeiro)|volume=30|issue=60|pages=141–160|doi=10.1590/s2178-14942017000100008|issn=0103-2186|doi-access=free}}</ref> According to [[Leycester Coltman]], Cuban president [[Fidel Castro]] offered to send troops to reinforce the Argentine garrison in the Falklands and to deploy the Cuban submarine fleet to attack British warships en route to the South Atlantic.<ref>[https:// express.co.uk/news/world/739484/fidel-castro-cuban-leader-falklands-war-wanted-to-bomb-british-ships REVEALED: Tyrant Fidel Castro wanted to bomb BRITISH SHIPS in Falklands War] </ref>

====Peru====
[[Peru]] attempted to purchase 12 Exocet missiles from France, to be delivered to Argentina in a failed secret operation.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://en.mercopress /2012/04/03/the-peruvian-exocet-connection-in-the-falklands-malvinas-war | title=The Peruvian Exocet connection in the Falklands/Malvinas war | work=Mercopress | date=3 April 2012 | access-date=21 April 2012 | archive-date=8 April 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120408032756/http://en.mercopress /2012/04/03/the-peruvian-exocet-connection-in-the-falklands-malvinas-war | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://america.infobae /notas/47496-El-otro-rol-de-Peru-durante-la-guerra-de-Malvinas | title=El otro rol de Peru durante la guerra de Malvinas | work=Infobae | date=1 April 2012 | access-date=21 April 2012 | language=es | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120505053041/http://america.infobae /notas/47496-El-otro-rol-de-Peru-durante-la-guerra-de-Malvinas | archive-date=5 May 2012 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> Peru also openly sent" [[Dassault Mirage|Mirages]], pilots and missiles "to Argentina during the war.<ref>[http://edant.clarin /diario/2010/03/24/elpais/p-02165910.htm" Tras el pedido de perdón y en medio de elogios, Cristina regresó de Perú "] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023004623/http://edant.clarin /diario/2010/03/24/elpais/p-02165910.htm |date=23 October 2012 }} in Argentine newspaper ''[[Clarín (Argentine newspaper)|Clarín]]'' on 24 March 2010 {{in lang|es}}</ref>That nation also supplied the Argentine forces with 40 Strela-2M shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile launchers and three experienced operators to help train in the use of those weapons.<ref>[https:// infobae /sociedad/2019/06/19/malvinas-documentos-desclasificados-peru-y-libia-ayudaron-a-la-argentina-con-misiles-sovieticos/ Perú y Libia ayudaron a la Argentina con misiles soviéticos]</ref>Peru had earlier transferred ten Hercules transport planes to Argentina soon after the British Task Force had set sail in April 1982.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Burns |first=Jimmy |title=The land that lost its heroes: how Argentina lost the Falklands War |date=2002 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-0-7475-5872-9 |location=London |pages=190}}</ref> Nick van der Bijl records that, after the Argentine defeat at Goose Green, [[Venezuela]] and [[Guatemala]] offered to send [[paratrooper]]s to the Falklands.<ref>{{cite book |last=van der Bijl |first=Nick |date=1999 |title=Nine battles to Stanley |publisher=Leo Cooper |isbn=978-0850526196 |page=141 |quote=The Junta were slow to admit defeat, but when the news was broadcast, Venezuela and Guatemala offered to send airborne units to 'smash the British in the Falklands'. }}</ref>

====Chile====
At the outbreak of the war, [[Chile]] was in negotiations with Argentina for control over the [[Beagle Channel]] and feared Argentina would use similar tactics to secure the channel.<ref name=":0 ">{{Cite report|url=https:// cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP84B00049R000701780020-2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413090319/https:// cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP84B00049R000701780020-2.pdf |archive-date=13 April 2021 |url-status=live|title=Falkland Islands Situation Report #1|date=2 April 1982|publisher=CIA|publication-date=14 February 2008|access-date=5 November 2021}}</ref> During this [[Beagle conflict|conflict]], Argentina had already rejected two attempts at international mediation and tried to exert military pressure on Chile with an operation to occupy the disputed territory. Considering the situation, Chile refused to support the Argentine position during the war<ref>{{Cite report|url=https:// cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP84B00049R000701780021-1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105101331/https:// cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP84B00049R000701780021-1.pdf |archive-date=5 November 2021 |url-status=live|title=Falkland Islands Situation Report #2|date=3 April 1982|publisher=CIA|publication-date=14 February 2008|access-date=5 November 2021}}</ref> and gave support to the UK in the form of intelligence about the Argentine military and early warning intelligence on Argentine air movements.<ref>Interview with [[Chilean Air Force]] Chief during the Falklands War Fernando Matthei [http://edant.clarin /diario/2005/09/01/elpais/p-01201.htm Malvinas:" Hice todo lo posible para que Argentina perdiera la guerra "] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526000240/http://edant.clarin /diario/2005/09/01/elpais/p-01201.htm |date=26 May 2011 }} in [[Clarín (Argentine newspaper)|Clarin]], Buenos Aires on 1. September 2005. Retrieved 11 Jule 2011</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Freedman|2005b|pp=397}}</ref> Throughout the war, Argentina was afraid of a Chilean military intervention in [[Patagonia]] and kept some of its best mountain regiments away from the Falklands near the Chilean border as a precaution.<ref>''" The best trained units of the Argentine army, the 6th and 8th Mountain Brigades and the 11th Cold Weather Brigade were left behind to guard the frontier with Chile. "'' in {{Cite book |last=Barua |first=Pradeep |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004249110 |title=The Military Effectiveness of Post-Colonial States |date=2013 |publisher=BRILL |doi=10.1163/9789004249110 |isbn=978-90-04-24324-8 |publication-date=152}}</ref> The Chilean government also allowed the United Kingdom to requisition the refuelling vessel {{ship|RFA|Tidepool|A76|6}}, which Chile had recently purchased and which had arrived at [[Arica]] in Chile on 4 April. The ship left port soon afterwards, bound for [[Ascension Island]] through the [[Panama Canal]] and stopping at [[Curaçao]] en route.<ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Fleet Auxiliary Tidepool |url=http://historicalrfa.org/rfa-tidepool-ships-details |website=RFA Historical Society |access-date=4 July 2019 |archive-date=27 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527162636/http://historicalrfa.org/rfa-tidepool-ships-details |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Oyarzún Lemonnier |first=Agustín |date=1983 |title=Guerra en las Falklands |language=es |publisher=Editorial Cumbres |page=199 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Lepot |first=François |date=2002 |title=Malvinas desde Londres |language=es |publisher=Ciudad Argentina |page=254 }}</ref>

====Brazil====
At the end of May, Brazilian authorities allowed FAA Boeing 707s to refuel at [[Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport|Recife International Airport]] carrying arms shipments from [[Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya|Libya]]. When the British Embassy in [[Brasilia]] became aware of this, the British [[Secret Intelligence Service]] devised a plan to sabotage the next flight on the ground, but diplomatic pressure on the Brazilian government to observe their legal duties as a [[neutral country]] resulted in no further flights being accepted.<ref>{{harvnb|White|2020|pp=391–392}}</ref> On 3 June, an RAF Vulcan on returning from a Black Buck raid on the Falklands, was forced to make an emergency landing at [[Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport|Rio de Janeiro International Airport]] after damage to its refuelling probe prevented it returning to Ascension Island. The Vulcan and her crew were interned and released seven days later, although an unused Shrike missile that the aircraft had been carrying was retained.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p=293}}</ref>

===Soviet Union===
The [[Soviet Union]] described the Falklands as" a disputed territory ", recognising Argentina's ambitions over the islands, and called for restraint on all sides. Soviet media frequently criticised the UK and US during the war. Significantly, however, the Soviet Union refrained from vetoing and thus made possible [[United Nations Security Council|UN Security Council]] [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 502|Resolution 502]] demanding the immediate withdrawal of all Argentine troops from the Falklands. However, the Soviet Union mounted some clandestine logistics operations to assist the Argentines.<ref name=" brazil-ussr ">{{cite news | url=http://en.mercopress /2012/04/23/brazil-helped-soviet-support-operation-for-argentina-during-the-falklands-conflict | title=Brazil helped Soviet support operation for Argentina during the Falklands conflict | work=MercoPress | date=23 April 2012 | access-date=6 June 2012 | archive-date=30 May 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530115548/http://en.mercopress /2012/04/23/brazil-helped-soviet-support-operation-for-argentina-during-the-falklands-conflict | url-status=live }}</ref> Days after the invasion by the Argentine forces, the Soviets launched additional intelligence satellites into [[low Earth orbit]] covering the southern Atlantic Ocean. Conflicting reports exist on whether Soviet ocean surveillance data might have played a role in the sinking of {{HMS|Sheffield|D80|6}} and {{HMS|Coventry|D118|6}}.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Jonson|first=Nicholas L.|date=1 March 1983|title=Soviet Strides in Space|work=Air Force Magazine|url=https:// airforcemag /article/0383soviet/|access-date=5 November 2021|archive-date=6 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006203317/https:// airforcemag /article/0383soviet/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mastny|first=Vojtech|date=1983|title=The Soviet Union and the Falklands War|url=https:// jstor.org/stable/44636371|journal=Naval War College Review|volume=36|issue=3|pages=46–55|jstor=44636371|issn=0028-1484|access-date=17 September 2020|archive-date=21 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221233747/https:// jstor.org/stable/44636371|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Russian book confirms Soviet intelligence support for Argentina in Malvinas war|url=https://en.mercopress /2010/05/31/russian-book-confirms-soviet-intelligence-support-for-argentina-in-malvinas-war|access-date=17 September 2020|website=MercoPress|language=en|archive-date=26 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026131226/https://en.mercopress /2010/05/31/russian-book-confirms-soviet-intelligence-support-for-argentina-in-malvinas-war|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Spain ===
Spain's position was one of ambiguity, underpinning the basic dilemma of the Spanish foreign policy regarding the articulation of relationships with Latin America and European communities.<ref>{{Cite journal|page=224|journal=Estudios Internacionales|volume=27|issue=106|year=1994|first=Esther|publisher=[[Universidad de Chile]]|doi=10.5354/0719-3769.1994.15349|url=https://revistaei.uchile.cl/index.php/REI/article/view/15349/24852|last=Barbé|title=Entre Europa y América Latina: la diplomacia española frente al conflicto de las Malvinas|jstor=41391473|format=pdf|access-date=17 May 2021|archive-date=17 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517000455/https://revistaei.uchile.cl/index.php/REI/article/view/15349/24852|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}</ref> On 2 April 1982, the [[Council of Ministers (Spain)|Council of Ministers]] issued an official note defending principles of decolonisation and against the use of force.{{Sfn|Barbé|1994|p=228}} Spain abstained in the vote of UN Security Council Resolution 502, a position that Spanish UN representative [[Jaime de Piniés]] justified by pointing out that the resolution did not mention the underlying problem of decolonisation.{{Sfn|Barbé|1994|p=228}} The Spanish stance throughout the conflict contrasted with those of the countries in its immediate vicinity (EEC members and Portugal).{{Sfn|Barbé|1994|pp=222–223}}

Spanish authorities also foiled a covert attack by the [[Servicio de Inteligencia Naval (Argentina)|Argentine Naval Intelligence Service]] on a British warship at [[Gibraltar]], code named [[Operation Algeciras]]. Three [[frogmen]], recruited from a former anti-government insurgent group, were to plant mines on a ship's hull. The divers travelled to Spain through France, where French security services noted their military diving equipment and alerted their Spanish counterparts. They were covertly monitored as they moved from the Argentine embassy in Madrid to [[Algeciras]], where they were arrested on 17 May by the ''[[Guardia Civil]]'' and [[Deportation|deported]].<ref>Southby-Tailyour 2014, pp. 32-34</ref>

=== Portugal ===
Portugal supported its [[Anglo-Portuguese Alliance|long-standing ally]] Britain and the facilities of the [[Azores]] were offered to the Royal Navy.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fergusson |first1=George |last2=Trowbridge |first2=Benjamin |title=History's Unparalleled Alliance: the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of Windsor, 9th May 1386 |website=History of British Government |date=9 May 2016 |url=https://history.blog.gov.uk/2016/05/09/historys-unparalleled-alliance-the-anglo-portuguese-treaty-of-windsor-9th-may-1386/}}</ref>

=== EEC ===
The [[European Economic Community]] provided economic support by imposing [[economic sanctions]] on Argentina. In a meeting on [[Good Friday]], 9 April, at the [[Egmont Palace]], the EEC Political Committee proposed a total import ban from Argentina. Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Luxembourg and Ireland agreed immediately; France, Germany and the Netherlands were persuaded before the meeting ended. Italy, which had close cultural ties with Argentina, consented on the next day.<ref>{{harvnb|Eddy|Gillman|Linklater|Sunday_Times_of_London_Insight_Team|1982|p=118}}</ref>

===Other countries===
====Ireland====
Ireland's position altered during the war. As a rotating member of the United Nations Security Council, it supported Resolution 502. However, on 4 May, the [[Government of the 23rd Dáil|Fianna Fáil government]] led by [[Charles Haughey]] decided to oppose EEC sanctions and called for a ceasefire. Haughey justified this as complying with [[Irish neutrality]]. Historians have suggested it was an opportunistic appeal to anti-British sentiment and reaction to Haughey's being sidelined during the [[1981 Irish hunger strike|1981 republican hunger strike]]. The strain on [[Ireland–United Kingdom relations|British–Irish relations]] eased when Haughey's government fell [[November 1982 Irish general election|in November 1982]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=MacQueen|first1=Norman|date=March 1985|title=The Expedience of Tradition: Ireland, International Organization and the Falklands Crisis|journal=Political Studies|volume=33|issue=1|pages=38–55|doi=10.1111/j.1467-9248.1985.tb01560.x|s2cid=143438196}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Tonra|first1=Ben|title=Domestic sources of foreign policy: West European reactions to the Falklands Conflict|date=1996|publisher=Berg|isbn=978-1-85973-088-1|editor1-last=Stavridis|editor1-first=Stelios|location=Oxford|pages=132–150|chapter=The internal dissenter (II): Ireland|editor2-last=Hill|editor2-first=Christopher|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/domesticsourceso0000unse/page/132/|via=Internet Archive|chapter-url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kelly|first1=Stephen|date=October 2016|title=An Opportunistic Anglophobe: Charles J. Haughey, the Irish Government and the Falklands War, 1982|url=https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/1202/|journal=Contemporary British History|volume=30|issue=4|pages=522–541|doi=10.1080/13619462.2016.1162158|access-date=18 May 2021|s2cid=146944559|archive-date=18 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518174619/https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/1202/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Israel====
According to the book ''Operation Israel'', advisers from [[Israel Aerospace Industries]] were already in Argentina and continued their work during the conflict. The book also claims that Israel sold weapons and [[drop tank]]s to Argentina in a secret operation via Peru.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Yapp |first=Robin |date=20 April 2011 |title=Israel 'supplied arms to Argentina during Falklands War' |url=https:// telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/falklandislands/8463934/Israel-supplied-arms-to-Argentina-during-Falklands-War.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https:// telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/falklandislands/8463934/Israel-supplied-arms-to-Argentina-during-Falklands-War.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |access-date=18 April 2012 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http:// haaretz /news/diplomacy-defense/begin-aided-argentina-during-falklands-war-to-avenge-the-british-1.357246 |title=Begin aided Argentina during Falklands War to avenge the British |newspaper=Haaretz |date=21 April 2011 |access-date=18 April 2012 |archive-date=15 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015225941/http:// haaretz /news/diplomacy-defense/begin-aided-argentina-during-falklands-war-to-avenge-the-british-1.357246 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Sierra Leone====
The [[Government of Sierra Leone]] allowed British task force ships to refuel at [[Freetown]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Falklands: MT message to President Stevens of Sierra Leone (thanks for allowing Navy ships to refuel at Freetown) |url=https:// margaretthatcher.org/document/123285 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation |access-date=8 October 2018 |date=24 April 1982 |archive-date=8 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008135040/https:// margaretthatcher.org/document/123285 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====The Gambia====
VC10 transport aircraft landed at [[Banjul]] in [[The Gambia]] while flying between the UK and [[Ascension Island]].<ref name=" A-Z of the Falklands War ">{{cite web |last1=Fremont-Barnes |first1=Gregory |title=An A-Z of the Falklands War |url=https:// thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/an-a-z-of-the-falklands-war/ |website=The History Press |access-date=16 October 2018 |archive-date=16 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016164850/https:// thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/an-a-z-of-the-falklands-war/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Libya====
Through [[Libyan Arab Jamahiriya|Libya]], under [[Muammar Gaddafi]], Argentina received 20 launchers and 60 [[SA-7]] missiles (which Argentina later described as" not effective "), as well as machine guns, mortars and mines. To retrieve the weapons, four trips were made using two Argentine Air Force [[Boeing 707]]s{{clarify|reason=What is the AAF?|date=April 2022}} which refuelled in [[Recife]] with the consent of the Brazilian government.<ref>Hernan Dobry in article [http:// diarioperfil.ar/edimp/0551/articulo.php?art=27476&ed=0551 Kadafi fue un amigo solidario de la dictadura durante Malvinas] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110917020027/http:// diarioperfil.ar/edimp/0551/articulo.php?art=27476&ed=0551 |date=17 September 2011 }}, in Argentine newspaper ''[[Perfil]]'' on 27 February 2011, in Spanish language</ref>

== Casualties ==
[[File:Argentinegraveseastfalkland.jpg|thumb|The [[Argentine Military Cemetery]] on [[East Falkland]]]]
[[File:San-Carlos-Cemetery.JPG|thumb|[[Blue Beach Military Cemetery at San Carlos|The British Military Cemetery at San Carlos on East Falkland]]]]
In total, 907 people were killed during the 74 days of the conflict. Additionally, there were {{formatnum:1188}} Argentine and 777 British injured or wounded.

=== Argentina ===
A total of 649 Argentine servicemen were killed:<ref>{{cite web |date=18 March 1998 |title=Ley 24.950: Decláranse" Héroes nacionales "a los combatientes argentinos fallecidos durante la guerra de Malvinas |url=http:// infoleg.gov.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/50000-54999/50278/norma.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318213642/http:// infoleg.gov.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/50000-54999/50278/norma.htm |archive-date=18 March 2015 |access-date=11 March 2015 |website=InfoLEG |language=es}}</ref>
* [[Argentine Army|Ejército Argentino]] (''Army'') – 194 (16 officers, 35 [[non-commissioned officer]]s (NCOs) and 143 [[conscript]] privates)<ref>{{cite web|url=http:// ejercito.mil.ar/InMemori/ListadeCaidosporMalvinas.asp |title=list |publisher=Ejercito.mil.ar |access-date=7 February 2010|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100406011315/http:// ejercito.mil.ar/InMemori/ListadeCaidosporMalvinas.asp |archive-date = 6 April 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Argentine Navy|Armada de la República Argentina]] (''Navy'') – 341 (including 321<!--total of 323 is with 2 civilians--> in {{ship|ARA|General Belgrano}} and 4 naval aviators)
** [[Naval Infantry Command|IMARA]] (''Marines'') – 34<ref>[http:// escueladeim.mil.ar/ list] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204021319/http:// escueladeim.mil.ar/ |date=4 February 2010 }}</ref>
* [[Argentine Air Force|Fuerza Aérea Argentina]] (''Air Force'') – 55 (including 31 pilots and 14 ground crew)<ref>{{cite web |url=http:// fuerzaaerea.mil.ar/conflicto/caidos.html |title=list |publisher=Fuerzaaerea.mil.ar |access-date=7 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406031933/http:// fuerzaaerea.mil.ar/conflicto/caidos.html |archive-date=6 April 2010 }}</ref>
* [[Argentine National Gendarmerie|Gendarmería Nacional Argentina]] (''Border Guard'') – 7
* [[Argentine Naval Prefecture|Prefectura Naval Argentina]] (''Coast Guard'') – 2

=== United Kingdom ===
A total of 255 British servicemen were killed:<ref>{{cite web |title=Databases – Falklands War 1982 |url=http:// roll-of-honour /Databases/Falklands/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121230020405/http:// roll-of-honour /Databases/Falklands/ |archive-date=30 December 2012 |access-date=4 January 2013 |publisher=Roll of Honour}}</ref>
* Royal Navy – 86 + 2 Hong Kong laundrymen (see below)<ref>{{cite web|url=http:// raf.mod.uk/falklands/navyroll.html |title=list |publisher=Raf.mod.uk |date=1 October 2004 |access-date=7 February 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110606074719/http:// raf.mod.uk/falklands/navyroll.html |archive-date = 6 June 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Royal Marines – 27 (2 officers, 14 NCOs and 11 marines)<ref>{{cite web|url=http:// raf.mod.uk/falklands/marineroll.html |title=list |publisher=Raf.mod.uk |date=1 October 2004 |access-date=7 February 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110606075557/http:// raf.mod.uk/falklands/marineroll.html |archive-date = 6 June 2011|url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Royal Fleet Auxiliary – 4 + 6 Hong Kong sailors<ref name=" rafetcroll ">{{cite web|url=http:// raf.mod.uk/falklands/rafetcroll.html |title=Falkland Islands – A history of the 1982 conflict |publisher=Raf.mod.uk |date=1 October 2004 |access-date=7 February 2010|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090321125256/http:// raf.mod.uk/falklands/rafetcroll.html |archive-date = 21 March 2009|url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>''Force 4: The Newsletter of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary'', April 1983</ref>
* Merchant Navy – 6<ref name=" rafetcroll "/>
* British Army – 123 (7 officers, 40 NCOs and 76 privates)<ref>{{cite web |url=http:// raf.mod.uk/falklands/pararoll.html |title=Para |publisher=Raf.mod.uk |date=1 October 2004 |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091211182736/http:// raf.mod.uk/falklands/pararoll.html |archive-date=11 December 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http:// raf.mod.uk/falklands/sasroll.html |title=SAS |publisher=Raf.mod.uk |date=1 October 2004 |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091211182735/http:// raf.mod.uk/falklands/sasroll.html |archive-date=11 December 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http:// raf.mod.uk/falklands/armyroll.html |title=rest of army |publisher=Raf.mod.uk |date=1 October 2004 |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091211182731/http:// raf.mod.uk/falklands/armyroll.html |archive-date=11 December 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Royal Air Force – 1 (1 officer)<ref name=" rafetcroll "/>
Of the 86 Royal Navy personnel, 22 were lost in {{HMS|Ardent|F184|6}}, 19 + 1 lost in {{HMS|Sheffield|D80|6}}, 19 + 1 lost in {{HMS|Coventry|D118|6}} and 13 lost in {{HMS|Glamorgan|D19|6}}. Fourteen naval cooks were among the dead, the largest number from any one branch in the Royal Navy.

Thirty-three of the British Army's dead came from the Welsh Guards (32 of whom died on the [[RFA Sir Galahad (1966)|RFA ''Sir Galahad'']] in the [[Bluff Cove Air Attacks]]), 21 from the 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, 18 from the 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, 19 from the Special Air Service, 3 each from [[Royal Signals]] and [[Royal Army Medical Corps]] and 8 from each of the Scots Guards and Royal Engineers. The 1st battalion/[[7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles]] lost one man.

=== Civilians ===
Three civilians on the Falkland Islands were accidentally killed by British shelling during the night of 11/12 June.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p=410}}</ref><ref name=" rafetcroll "/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Argentina blames Britain for civilian casualties |url=https:// upi /Archives/1982/06/12/Argentina-blames-Britain-for-civilian-casualties/1756392702400/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121002532/https:// upi /Archives/1982/06/12/Argentina-blames-Britain-for-civilian-casualties/1756392702400/ |archive-date=21 January 2022 |access-date=21 January 2022 |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref> It was also reported that [[HMS Brilliant (F90)|HMS Brilliant]], on an anti-submarine patrol, detected and torpedoed three whales by accident.<ref>{{cite web |title=British Navy mistook whales for submarines and torpedoed them, killing three, during Falklands War |url=https:// news.au/world/british-navy-mistakes-whales-for-submarines-and-torpedoes-them-killing-three-during-falklands-war/news-story/92e895efd40db654fa41a62a3312f4c0 |website=news.au |publisher=News Corp Australia Network |access-date=4 December 2023}}</ref>

=== Red Cross Box ===
[[File:HMS Hecla 1982 Gibraltar.jpg|thumb|''Hecla'' at HM Naval Base Gibraltar, during conversion to a hospital ship for service during the Falklands War]]
Before British offensive operations began, the British and Argentine governments agreed to establish an area on the high seas where both sides could station hospital ships without fear of attack by the other side. This area, a circle 20 nautical miles in diameter, was referred to as the Red Cross Box ({{coord|48|30|S|53|45|W|scale:10000000}}) and located about {{convert|45|mi|km}} north of [[Falkland Sound]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/argentinaunited-kingdom-red-cross-box |title=Argentina/United Kingdom, The Red Cross Box |author=International Committee of the Red Cross |author-link=International Committee of the Red Cross |access-date=1 October 2019 |archive-date=1 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001162242/https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/argentinaunited-kingdom-red-cross-box |url-status=live}}</ref> Ultimately, the British stationed four ships ({{HMS|Hydra|A144|6}}, {{HMS|Hecla|A133|6}} and {{HMS|Herald|H138|6}} and the primary hospital ship [[SS Uganda (1952)|SS ''Uganda'']]) within the box,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Arthur |title=Logistics in The Falklands War |url=https://jmvh.org/article/logistics-in-the-falklands-war/ |website=jmvh.org |publisher=Journal of Military and Veterans' Health |access-date=15 September 2020 |ref=Volume 25 No. 1 Book Reviews |pages=41–43 |language=en |date=January 2017 |archive-date=14 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714045748/https://jmvh.org/article/logistics-in-the-falklands-war/ |url-status=live }}</ref> while the Argentines stationed three ({{ship|ARA|Almirante Irízar|Q-5|6}}, {{ship|ARA|Bahía Paraíso|B-1|6}} and {{ship|ARA|Puerto Deseado|Q-20|2}}).

The hospital ships were non-warships converted to serve as hospital ships.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Arthur |title=Logistics in The Falklands War |url=https://jmvh.org/article/logistics-in-the-falklands-war/ |website=jmvh.org |publisher=Journal of Military and Veterans' Health |access-date=15 September 2020 |ref=Volume 25 No. 1 Book Reviews |page=42 |language=en |date=January 2017 |archive-date=14 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714045748/https://jmvh.org/article/logistics-in-the-falklands-war/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The three British naval vessels were survey vessels and ''Uganda'' was a passenger liner. ''Almirante Irizar'' was an icebreaker, ''Bahia Paraiso'' was an Antarctic supply transport and ''Puerto Deseado'' was a survey ship. British and Argentine vessels operating within the Box were in radio contact and there was some transfer of patients between hospital ships. For example, the ''Uganda'' transferred patients to an Argentine hospital ship on four occasions.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Albon|first=Christopher|date=29 June 2011|title=The Red Cross Box|url=https://blog.usni.org/posts/2011/06/29/the-red-cross-box|access-date=5 November 2021|website=U.S. Naval Institute Blog|archive-date=5 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105101332/https://blog.usni.org/posts/2011/06/29/the-red-cross-box|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Hydra'' worked with ''Hecla'' and ''Herald'' to take casualties from ''Uganda'' to [[Montevideo]], [[Uruguay]], where a fleet of Uruguayan ambulances met them. [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] [[VC10]] aircraft then flew the casualties to the UK for transfer to the [[RAF Princess Alexandra Hospital|Princess Alexandra Hospital]] at [[RAF Wroughton]], near [[Swindon]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://natowatch.org/node/1558|title=NATO's Ebola 'capability gap': where are the hospital ships?|last=Davis|first=Ian|date=17 October 2014|website=NATO Watch|publisher=NATO|access-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203081938/http://natowatch.org/node/1558|archive-date=3 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Throughout the conflict, officials of the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]] (ICRC) conducted inspections to verify that all concerned were abiding by the rules of the [[Geneva Conventions]]. Argentine naval officers also inspected the British casualty ferries in the estuary of the [[Río de la Plata|River Plate]].

== Aftermath ==
{{Main|Aftermath of the Falklands War}}
[[File:Malvimasmemorial.jpg|thumb|left|The ''Monumento a los Caídos en Malvinas'' (" Monument for the Fallen in the Falklands ") in [[Plaza San Martín (Buenos Aires)|Plaza San Martín]], Buenos Aires; a member of the historic ''Patricios'' regiment stands guard{{refn|Buenos Aires War Memorial is at coordinates {{Coord|-34.59373|-58.374782|type:landmark|name=Buenos Aires War Memorial}}|group=nb}}]]
This brief war brought many consequences for all the parties involved, besides the considerable casualty rate and large [[materiel]] loss, especially of shipping and aircraft, relative to the deployed military strengths of the opposing sides.

In the United Kingdom, [[Margaret Thatcher]]'s popularity increased. The success of the Falklands campaign was widely regarded as a factor in the turnaround in fortunes for the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] government, who had been trailing behind the [[SDP–Liberal Alliance]] in the opinion polls for months before the conflict began. Following the success in the Falklands, the Conservatives returned to the top of the opinion polls by a wide margin and went on to win the following year's [[1983 United Kingdom general election|general election]] by a landslide.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/vote_2005/basics/4393313.stm |title= 1983: Thatcher triumphs again |work= BBC News |access-date= 8 June 2010 |date= 5 April 2005 |archive-date= 22 April 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090422033837/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/basics/4393313.stm |url-status= live }}</ref> Subsequently, Defence Secretary Nott's proposed cuts to the Royal Navy were abandoned.

The islanders had full British citizenship restored in 1983; their quality of life improved through investments made by the UK after the war and by economic liberalisation that had been stalled for fear of angering Argentina. In 1985, a [[Constitution of the Falkland Islands|new constitution]] was enacted, promoting self-government which has continued to [[Devolution|devolve]] power to the islanders. The result of the [[2013 Falkland Islands sovereignty referendum]] was 99.8% of the electorate voting for the islands to remain a British territory, with a [[voter turnout]] of 92%.<ref>{{cite report |url=http:// staff.city.ac.uk/p.willetts/SAC/OP/OCCPAP12.HTM#cnts-ref-12 |title= A Report on the Referendum on the Political Status of the Falkland Islands |first=Peter |last=Willett |date=June 2013}}</ref>

In Argentina, defeat in the Falklands War meant that a [[Beagle conflict|possible war with Chile]] was avoided. Further, Argentina returned to a democratic government in the [[1983 Argentine general election|1983 general election]], the first free general election since 1973. It also had a major social impact, destroying the military's image as the" moral reserve of the nation "that they had maintained through most of the 20th century.

A detailed study<ref>{{Cite report|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/365217/Falkland-deaths-31_december_2012.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725084917/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/365217/Falkland-deaths-31_december_2012.pdf |archive-date=25 July 2019 |url-status=live|title=A study of deaths among UK Armed Forces personnel deployed to the 1982 Falklands Campaign: 1982 to 2012|date=14 May 2013|publisher=Defence Statistics, Ministry of Defence|access-date=5 November 2021}}</ref> of {{formatnum:21432}} British veterans of the war commissioned by the UK Ministry of Defence found that between 1982 and 2012, 95 had died from" intentional self-harm and events of undetermined intent (suicides and open verdict deaths) ", a proportion lower than would be expected within the general population over the same period.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https:// theguardian /uk/defence-and-security-blog/2013/may/14/falklands-veterans-suicide-army |title=Falklands war: new study debunks claims of high suicide rates |work=The Guardian |access-date=12 July 2013 |date=14 May 2013 |location=London |first=Richard |last=Norton-Taylor |archive-date=4 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004204604/http:// theguardian /uk/defence-and-security-blog/2013/may/14/falklands-veterans-suicide-army |url-status=live }}</ref> However, a study of British combat veterans conducted five years after the conflict found that half of the sample group had suffered some symptoms of [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] (PTSD), while 22% were assessed to have the complete syndrome.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=O'Brien |first1=L. S. |last2=Hughes |first2=S. J. |date=July 1991 |title=Symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Falklands Veterans Five Years After the Conflict |url=https:// cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/abs/symptoms-of-posttraumatic-stress-disorder-in-falklands-veterans-five-years-after-the-conflict/E72309043217C2BCF2E2644F5F4FFB5A |journal=The British Journal of Psychiatry |volume=159 |issue=1 |pages=135–141 |doi=10.1192/bjp.159.1.135 |pmid=1888961 |s2cid=30060754 |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113173603/https:// cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/abs/symptoms-of-posttraumatic-stress-disorder-in-falklands-veterans-five-years-after-the-conflict/E72309043217C2BCF2E2644F5F4FFB5A |url-status=live }}</ref>

===" Fortress Falklands "===
[[File:Tornado F3's flying over the Falkland islands. MOD 45147767.jpg|thumb|Two RAF [[Tornado F3]] fighters flying over the Falkland Islands in 2007]]
{{main|Military of the Falkland Islands}}
In the immediate aftermath of the conflict, the British government embarked on a long-term policy of providing the islands with a viable military garrison, known informally as" Fortress Falklands ". Initially, an aircraft carrier was kept in the area until the runway at Stanley Airport could be improved to take conventional RAF fighters. A permanent military complex with a runway designed to take long-haul airliners was constructed in the south of East Falkland, [[RAF Mount Pleasant]], which opened in 1985; an associated deep-water port at [[Mare Harbour]] was also constructed. A small military outpost was established at [[King Edward Point]] on South Georgia, but it was closed in 2001.<ref>Phillips 2014, Ch." After the Conflict "</ref>

=== Military analysis ===
Militarily, the Falklands conflict remains one of the largest air-naval combat operations between modern forces since the end of the Second World War. As such, it has been the subject of intense study by military analysts and historians. Significant takeaways include the vulnerability of surface ships to anti-ship missiles and submarines, the challenges of co-ordinating logistical support for long-distance projections of power, and reconfirmation of the importance of tactical air power, including helicopters.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blog.usni.org/posts/2017/05/24/lessons-learned-from-the-falklands-war |title=Lessons Learned From the Falklands War |last=Giddings |first=Samuel L. |date=24 May 2017 |website=usni.org |publisher=US Naval Institute |access-date=22 January 2024}}</ref>

In 1986, the [[BBC]] broadcast the ''[[Horizon (BBC TV series)|Horizon]]'' programme ''In the Wake of HMS Sheffield'', which discussed lessons learned from the conflict, and measures taken to implement them, such as incorporating greater [[stealth ship|stealth capabilities]] and providing better [[close-in weapon system]]s for the fleet. The principal British military responses to the Falklands War were the measures adopted in the [[1981 Defence White Paper#Impact of the Falklands War: December 1982 White Paper|December 1982 Defence White Paper]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Falkland Islands (White Paper) |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1982/dec/14/falkland-islands-white-paper |website=api.parliament.uk |date=14 December 1982 |access-date=10 November 2021 |archive-date=10 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110152223/https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1982/dec/14/falkland-islands-white-paper |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Memorials ===
[[File:1982 Liberation Memorial in Stanley (5612271774).jpg|thumb|upright|The [[1982 Liberation Memorial]] in [[Stanley, Falkland Islands|Stanley]]]]
There are several memorials on the Falkland Islands themselves, the most notable of which is the [[1982 Liberation Memorial]], unveiled in 1984 on the second anniversary of the end of the war. It lists the names of the 255 British military personnel who died during the war and is located in front of the Secretariat Building in Stanley, overlooking [[Stanley Harbour]]. The Memorial was funded entirely by the Islanders and is inscribed with the words" In Memory of Those Who Liberated Us ".<ref name=" FITB ">{{Cite web|url=https:// falklandislands /things-to-do/1982-liberation-memorial-p673571|title=1982 Liberation Memorial – Things to Do in the Falkland Islands|website=falklandislands |access-date=14 February 2018|archive-date=15 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215023946/https:// falklandislands /things-to-do/1982-liberation-memorial-p673571|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the war, British dead were put into plastic [[body bag]]s and buried in mass graves. After the war, the bodies were recovered; 14 were reburied at [[Blue Beach Military Cemetery at San Carlos|Blue Beach Military Cemetery]] and 64 were returned to the United Kingdom. Many of the Argentine dead are buried in the [[Argentine Military Cemetery]] two kilometers northeast of the small settlement of Darwin, approximately 82 kilometers west of Stanley. The Argentine government declined an offer by the UK to have the bodies repatriated to Argentina.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=1982 Falklands |url=http:// bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007t0w9 |access-date=20 October 2011 |series=20th Century Battlefields |credits=Peter Snow, Dan Snow |network=BBC |station=BBC Two |airdate=16 July 2008 |quote=" After the war the British government offered to return the bodies of the Argentine dead to Argentina for burial, but their government refused. They said that these islands were part of Argentina, and the bodies would remain here. For the Falkland islanders, these graves are daily reminder that Argentina refuses to drop its claim their homeland. "|archive-date=29 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629203051/http:// bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007t0w9 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In addition to memorials on the islands, there is a memorial in the crypt of [[St Paul's Cathedral]], London to the British war dead.<ref>{{cite web |url=http:// stpauls.co.uk/page.aspx?theLang=001lngdef&pointerid=33482Ddydm53CFIDyVPL1jOMfZOSZUUk |title=Lady Thatcher marks Falklands anniversary at St Paul's |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080303174702/http:// stpauls.co.uk/page.aspx?theLang=001lngdef&pointerid=33482Ddydm53CFIDyVPL1jOMfZOSZUUk |archive-date=3 March 2008}}</ref> At the [[National Memorial Arboretum]] in [[Staffordshire]], a Falklands War memorial was unveiled in May 2012 in a service attended by 600 veterans and their families; the names of the fallen were also inscribed on the [[Armed Forces Memorial]] at the arboretum, which commemorates all British servicemen killed in action since the end of the Second World War.<ref>{{cite web |url=https:// bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18135404 |title=Falklands War memorial unveiled at National Arboretum |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=20 May 2012 |website= bbc.co.uk |publisher=BBC News |access-date=27 May 2022 |archive-date=27 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527144529/https:// bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18135404 |url-status=live }}</ref> A memorial to the seamen of the [[Merchant Navy (United Kingdom)|Merchant Navy]] who died in the war stands at the [[Tower Hill Memorial]] in [[Trinity Square Gardens]], London.<ref>{{cite web |url=https:// cornwallfhs /cornwallswarhistory/national-and-international-memorials/falkland-memorial-london/ |title=Falklands Memorial London |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website= cornwallfhs |publisher=Cornwall Family History Society |access-date=27 May 2022 |archive-date=28 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628051133/https:// cornwallfhs /cornwallswarhistory/national-and-international-memorials/falkland-memorial-london/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A memorial to the Royal Marines, known as" [[Yomp#Memorial|The Yomper]] "was unveiled by Margaret Thatcher in 1992 outside the former [[Eastney Barracks]] near Portsmouth.<ref>{{cite web |url=http:// memorialsinportsmouth.co.uk/rm-museum/yomper.htm |title=Royal Marines Museum - The Yomper - |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website= memorialsinportsmouth.co.uk |publisher=Memorials & Monuments In Portsmouth |access-date=1 October 2023}}</ref> The [[Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel]] at [[Pangbourne College]] was opened in March 2000 as a commemoration of the lives and sacrifice of all those who served and died in the South Atlantic in 1982.<ref>{{cite web|url=http:// falklands-chapel.org.uk/about-the-chapel/|title=About the Chapel|website=The Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel website|access-date=12 June 2016|quote=The Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel at Pangbourne College has been built to commemorate the lives and sacrifice of all those who died in the South Atlantic in 1982 – to stand as a permanent and ‘living’ memorial to remember them – and the courage of the thousands of Servicemen and women who served with them to protect the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands|date=4 January 2013|archive-date=16 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616225406/http:// falklands-chapel.org.uk/about-the-chapel/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In Argentina, there are many memorials, museums and murals all over the country.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mapa Federal de Memoriales |url=https://museomalvinas.cultura.gob.ar/mapa-federal-de-memoriales/ |publisher=Museo Malvinas - [[Ministry of Culture (Argentina)|Ministry of Culture of Argentina]] |access-date=8 April 2024 |language=es}}</ref> The most important are [[Monumento a los caídos en Malvinas|a cenotaph]] at [[Plaza San Martín (Buenos Aires)|Plaza San Martín]] in Buenos Aires,<ref>{{cite web|url=http:// gregoryferdinandsen /EZE2001/Falklands_Memorial.htm |title=Falklands (Las Malvinas) War Memorial Wall |access-date=16 July 2007|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070716141025/http:// gregoryferdinandsen /EZE2001/Falklands_Memorial.htm |archive-date=16 July 2007 }}</ref> and [[:File:UshuaiaFalklandsWarVictimsMonument.jpg|a memorial]] in [[Ushuaia]], declared National Monument.

=== Minefields ===
{{Main|Land mines in the Falkland Islands}}

[[File:Falklands-Minefield.JPG|thumb|left|Former minefield located at [[Port William, Falkland Islands|Port William]], [[East Falkland]].]]

In 2011 there were 113 uncleared minefields plus [[unexploded ordnance]] (UXOs) covering an area of {{convert|13|sqkm|acre|abbr=on}} on the Falkland Islands. Of this area, {{convert|5.5|sqkm|acre|abbr=on}} on the Murrell Peninsula were classified as being" suspected minefields "—the area had been heavily pastured for 25 years without incident. It was estimated that these minefields had {{formatnum:20000}} anti-personnel mines and {{formatnum:5000}} anti-tank mines.

The UK reported six military personnel injured by mines or UXO in 1982, then two more in 1983. Most military accidents took place in the immediate aftermath of the conflict, while clearing minefields or trying to establish the extent of minefield perimeters, particularly where no detailed records existed. No civilian mine casualties have ever occurred on the islands, and no human casualties from mines or UXO have been reported since 1984.

On 9 May 2008, the Falkland Islands Government asserted that the minefields, which represent 0.1% of the available farmland on the islands" present no long term social or economic difficulties for the Falklands ", and that the impact of clearing the mines would cause more problems than containing them. However, the British Government, in accordance with its commitments under the [[Mine Ban Treaty]] had a commitment to clear the mines by the end of 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url = http:// the-monitor.org/index.php/cp/display/region_profiles/theme/2282|publisher = Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor|title = United Kingdom – Mine Action, Contamination and Impact|date = 21 September 2011|access-date = 16 June 2012|archive-date = 24 February 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150224221630/http:// the-monitor.org/index.php/cp/display/region_profiles/theme/2282|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=8 December 2011|title=Falklands' land mine clearance set to enter a new expanded phase in early 2012|newspaper=MercoPress|location=Montevideo|url=https://en.mercopress /2011/12/08/falklands-land-mine-clearance-set-to-enter-a-new-expanded-phase-in-early-2012|access-date=5 November 2021|archive-date=20 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180120124555/http://en.mercopress /2011/12/08/falklands-land-mine-clearance-set-to-enter-a-new-expanded-phase-in-early-2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

In May 2012, it was announced that {{convert|3.7|sqkm|abbr=on}} of Stanley Common (which lies between the Stanley – Mount Pleasant road and the shoreline) was made safe and had been opened to the public, opening up a {{convert|3|km|adj=on|abbr=on}} stretch of coastline and a further two kilometres of shoreline along [[Mullet Creek]].<ref>{{cite news|url = http://en.mercopress /2012/05/17/falklands-recover-370-hectares-of-stanley-common-made-minefields-in-1982-by-argentine-forces|newspaper = MercoPress|location = Montevideo|date = 17 May 2012|access-date = 17 June 2012|title = Falklands recover 370 hectares of Stanley Common made minefields in 1982 by Argentine forces|archive-date = 23 June 2012|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120623085150/http://en.mercopress /2012/05/17/falklands-recover-370-hectares-of-stanley-common-made-minefields-in-1982-by-argentine-forces|url-status = live}}</ref>

In November 2020, after a final clearance campaign by contractors from Zimbabwe,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Davies |first1=Lizzy |title=Zimbabwean who cleared Falklands mines urges rethink on 75% cut to clearance programmes |url=https:// theguardian /global-development/2021/oct/08/zimbabwean-mine-clearance-expert-uk-aid-cut-falklands-funding |website=The Guardian |access-date=12 January 2024 |date=8 October 2021}}</ref> it was declared that the Falkland Islands were now free of all landmines. A celebration of the event took place on the weekend of 14 November where the final landmine was detonated.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https:// theguardian /uk-news/2020/nov/10/falklands-cleared-landmines-uk-argentina-war|title=Falklands cleared of nearly all landmines, 38 years on from war|first=Kevin|last=Rawlinson|date=10 November 2020|website=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=7 December 2020|archive-date=30 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130185602/https:// theguardian /uk-news/2020/nov/10/falklands-cleared-landmines-uk-argentina-war|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Press and publicity ==
=== Argentina ===
[[File:GuerradeMalvinas.ogv|thumb|250x250px|News from Argentina's Televisora Color during the Falklands War.]]
[[File:Gentemayo1982.jpg|thumb|''Gente''{{'}}s" Estamos ganando "headline (" We're winning ")]]
Selected war correspondents were regularly flown to Port Stanley in military aircraft to report on the war. Back in Buenos Aires, newspapers and magazines reported on" the heroic actions of the largely conscript army and its successes ".<ref name=" Jimmy Burns,1987 "/>

Officers from the intelligence services were attached to the newspapers and 'leaked' information corroborating the official communiqués from the government. The glossy magazines ''Gente'' and ''[[Siete Días]]'' swelled to 60 pages with colour photographs of British warships in flames—many of them faked—and bogus eyewitness reports of the Argentine commandos' guerrilla war on South Georgia (6 May) and an already dead Pucará pilot's attack on HMS ''Hermes''<ref name=" Jimmy Burns,1987 "/> (Lt. Daniel Antonio Jukic had been killed at Goose Green during a British air strike on 1 May). Most of the faked photos actually came from the tabloid press. One of the best remembered headlines was" Estamos ganando "(" We're winning ") from the magazine ''Gente'', that would later use variations of it.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http:// minutouno.ar/minutouno/nota/20414/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706082632/http:// minutouno.ar/minutouno/nota/20414/|title=El periodismo argentino y su papel en la Guerra de Malvinas|archive-date=6 July 2011}}</ref>

The Argentine troops on the Falkland Islands could read ''Gaceta Argentina''—a newspaper intended to boost morale among the servicemen. Some of its untruths could easily be unveiled by the soldiers who recovered corpses.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|1989|p=94}}:" First of May. Menéndez ordered the publication of a newspaper for the troops on the Falkland Islands called ''Gaceta Argentina''. It stated that one of the Mirages lost on 1 May had collided with a Sea Harrier and the Argentine pilot survived. In fact Argentine AAA at Stanley shot down the Mirage when it tried an emergency landing there. It was a blatant lie for all those Argentine servicemen who had seen the Mirage being shot down by Argentine guns and had removed the dead pilot from the crashed aeroplane. Similarly, the junta's press office in Buenos Aires informed that Lieutenant Antonio Jukic, who actually was killed in his Pucará on the ground at Goose Green, had perished in a gallant, single-handed Pucará attack on HMS ''Hermes'', setting it on fire. This statement was illustrated with dramatic sketches. The men at Goose Green knew that Lieutenant Jukic had died on the ground there.<br />
''Gaceta Argentina'' summed up the British losses up to 25 May as: 5 warship sunk (correct number 3), 3 transport ships including SS ''Canberra'' (1; ''Atlantic Conveyor''), 14 Sea Harriers (2 shot down & 3 accidents) and many ships damaged, including HMS ''Hermes''. ''Gaceta Argentina'' even wrote: 'All of these details refer only to proven claims and not to estimated or unproven claims...'. "</ref>

The ''Malvinas cause'' united the Argentines in a patriotic atmosphere that protected the junta from critics, and even opponents of the military government supported Galtieri; [[Ernesto Sabato]] said:
{{blockquote|In Argentina, it is not a military dictatorship that is fighting. It is the whole people, her women, her children, her old people, regardless of their political persuasion. Opponents to the regime like myself are fighting for our dignity, fighting to extricate the last vestiges of colonialism. Don't be mistaken, Europe, it is not a dictatorship that is fighting for the Malvinas; it is the whole nation.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Welch |first1=David A. |title=Justice and the Genesis of War |date=1993 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |page=175 |isbn=9780521558686 |url=https://books.google /books?id=i2Z5blE1KGoC&q=In+Argentina+it+is+not+a+military+dictatorship+that+is+fighting.+It+is+the+whole+people%2C+her+women%2C+her+children%2C+her+old+people%2C+regardless+of+their+political+persuasion.+Opponents+to+the+regime+like+myself+are+fighting+for+our+dignity%2C+fighting+to+extricate+the+last+vestiges+of+colonialism.+Don%27t+be+mistaken%2C+Europe%2C+it+is+not+a+dictatorship+that+is+fighting+for+the+Malvinas%3B+it+is+the+whole+nation&pg=PA175 |access-date=3 October 2020 |archive-date=8 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408073521/https://books.google /books?id=i2Z5blE1KGoC&q=In+Argentina+it+is+not+a+military+dictatorship+that+is+fighting.+It+is+the+whole+people%2C+her+women%2C+her+children%2C+her+old+people%2C+regardless+of+their+political+persuasion.+Opponents+to+the+regime+like+myself+are+fighting+for+our+dignity%2C+fighting+to+extricate+the+last+vestiges+of+colonialism.+Don%27t+be+mistaken%2C+Europe%2C+it+is+not+a+dictatorship+that+is+fighting+for+the+Malvinas%3B+it+is+the+whole+nation&pg=PA175 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

In the Argentine press, false reports that HMS ''Hermes'' was sunk and HMS ''Invincible'' had been damaged were circulated after the weekly magazines ''Gente'' and ''La Semana'' had received information of naval action from an air force officer in the president's office.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Graham-Yooll |first1=Andrew |title=South Atlantic, 1982: A Forgotten War (Part II) |journal=The Antioch Review |date=2008 |volume=66 |issue=1 |page=25 |jstor=25475515 |url=https:// jstor.org/stable/25475515 |access-date=3 October 2020 |archive-date=22 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122034825/https:// jstor.org/stable/25475515 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 30 April 1982 the Argentine magazine ''Tal Cual'' showed Prime Minister Thatcher with an eyepatch and the text: ''Pirate, witch and assassin. Guilty!''<ref>{{cite web |title=Margaret Thatcher portrayed as a pirate, 30 April 1982. |work=Science and Society Picture Library |url=http:// scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10438336&wwwflag=2&imagepos=12 |access-date=1 July 2011 |archive-date=6 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606042824/http:// scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10438336&wwwflag=2&imagepos=12 |url-status=live }}</ref> Three British reporters sent to Argentina to cover the war from the Argentine perspective were jailed until the end of the war.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Ian |last=Mather |url=https:// theguardian /falklands/story/0,,2047324,00.html |title=I went as a reporter but ended up a prisoner of war |work=The Observer |location=London |date=1 April 2007 |access-date=11 December 2016 |archive-date=24 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124120107/https:// theguardian /media/2007/apr/01/pressandpublishing.business |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''[[Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo|Madres de Plaza de Mayo]]'' were even exposed to [[death threat]]s from ordinary people.<ref name=" Jimmy Burns,1987 "/>

=== United Kingdom ===
[[File:The Sun (Gotcha).png|thumb|''The Sun''{{'}}s infamous [[Gotcha (headline)|" Gotcha "headline]]]]
Seventeen newspaper reporters, two photographers, two radio reporters and three television reporters with five technicians sailed with the Task Force to the war. The [[Newspaper Publishers' Association]] selected them from among 160 applicants, excluding foreign media. The hasty selection resulted in the inclusion of two journalists among the war reporters who were interested only in Queen Elizabeth II's son Prince [[Prince Andrew, Duke of York|Andrew]], who was serving in the conflict.<ref>Freedman," two journalists on ''Invincible'' were interested in no issue other than what Prince Andrew, a helicopter pilot as well as the Queen's son, was up to ".</ref> The prince flew a helicopter on multiple missions, including [[Exocet missile]] decoy and casualty evacuation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Prince Andrew used his helicopter to decoy deadly Exocet... |url=https:// upi /Archives/1982/06/18/Prince-Andrew-used-his-helicopter-to-decoy-deadly-Exocet/7872393220800/ |website=UPI |access-date=3 June 2021 |language=en |archive-date=3 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603180214/https:// upi /Archives/1982/06/18/Prince-Andrew-used-his-helicopter-to-decoy-deadly-Exocet/7872393220800/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Merchant vessels had the civilian [[Inmarsat]] uplink, which enabled written [[Teletypewriter message|telex]] and voice report transmissions via satellite. {{SS|Canberra}} had a [[fax|facsimile machine]] that was used to upload 202 pictures from the South Atlantic over the course of the war. The Royal Navy leased bandwidth on the U.S. [[Defense Satellite Communications System]] for worldwide communications. Television demands a thousand times the data rate of telephone, but the Ministry of Defence was unsuccessful in convincing the U.S. to allocate more bandwidth.<ref name=" Freedman ">{{harvnb|Freedman|2005b|p=36}}</ref>

TV producers suspected that the enquiry was half-hearted, since the [[Vietnam War]] television pictures of casualties and traumatised soldiers were recognised as having negative propaganda value. However, the technology only allowed uploading a single frame per 20 minutes—and only if the military satellites were allocated 100% to television transmissions. Videotapes were shipped to Ascension Island, where a broadband satellite uplink was available, resulting in TV coverage being delayed by three weeks.<ref name=" Freedman "/>

The press was very dependent on the Royal Navy and was [[censorship|censored]] on site. Many reporters in the UK knew more about the war than those with the Task Force.<ref name=" Freedman "/> Ministry of Defence press briefings in London were characterised by the restrained dictation-speed delivery of its spokesman, [[Ian McDonald (civil servant)|Ian McDonald]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https:// forces.net/news/falklands/voice-falklands-war-ian-mcdonald-dies|title='Voice of Falklands War' Ian McDonald Remembered|date=10 April 2019|website=Forces Network|access-date=11 April 2019|archive-date=11 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411221407/https:// forces.net/news/falklands/voice-falklands-war-ian-mcdonald-dies|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Royal Navy expected [[Fleet Street]] to conduct a Second World War-style positive news campaign<ref>{{harvnb|Harris|1983}}:" You must have been told you couldn't report bad news... You were expected to do a 1940 propaganda job. "{{page needed|date=March 2015}}</ref> but the majority of the British media, especially the BBC, reported the war in a neutral fashion.<ref>{{harvnb|Hastings|Jenkins|1984}}{{Page needed|date=August 2010}}</ref> These reporters referred to" the British troops "and" the Argentinian troops "instead of" our lads "and the" Argies ".<ref>{{cite web |title=When Britain Went to War |url=http:// channel4 /history/microsites/F/falklands/imagesofwar.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003020625/http:// channel4 /history/microsites/F/falklands/imagesofwar.html |archive-date=3 October 2011 |access-date=7 February 2010 |website=Channel 4 |publisher=}}</ref> The two main tabloid papers presented opposing viewpoints: The ''[[Daily Mirror]]'' was decidedly anti-war, whilst ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|The Sun]]'' became well known for headlines such as" Stick It Up Your Junta! ", which, along with the reporting in other tabloids,<ref name=" Dawn "/> led to accusations of xenophobia<ref name=" Dawn ">{{cite web|last=Fowler|first=Dawn|title=Margaret Thatcher And Falklands War Drama|url=http:// psa.ac.uk/journals/pdf/5/2010/280_630.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127055147/https:// psa.ac.uk/journals/pdf/5/2010/280_630.pdf|archive-date=27 November 2022|access-date=9 February 2011}}</ref><ref name=Harris>{{harvnb|Harris|1983}}{{Page needed|date=September 2011}}</ref><ref name=" McKenzie ">{{Cite news |url=https:// theguardian /media/2002/feb/25/pressandpublishing.falklands |access-date=9 February 2011 |work=The Guardian |title=A new Britain, a new kind of newspaper |date=25 February 2002 |location=London |archive-date=26 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826001249/https:// theguardian /media/2002/feb/25/pressandpublishing.falklands |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[jingoism]].<ref name=Harris /><ref name=" McKenzie "/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hauk |first=Stefanie |date=7 April 2003 |title=Between censorship and rude sensationalism – Falkland and" the information war "|url=http:// forfurtherdetails.net/chronicles-of-conflict/termpapers/StefanieHauk.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501183429/http:// forfurtherdetails.net/chronicles-of-conflict/termpapers/StefanieHauk.pdf |archive-date=1 May 2013 |access-date=9 February 2011 |website=ForFurtherDetails.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google /books?id=gnxWaFyEE0QC&pg=PA425 |access-date=9 February 2011 |page=425 |first1=George |last1=Kassimeris |first2=John D. |last2=Buckley |title=The Ashgate research companion to modern warfare |quote=The Falklands conflict was no different, although the excessively jingoistic headlines of ''The Sun'' newspaper ('UP YOURS GALTIERI!', 'ARGIE BARGEY' and 'GOTCHA') resulted in a downturn in readership. |isbn=978-0-7546-7410-8 |date=16 February 2010 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |archive-date=24 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124120105/https://books.google /books?id=gnxWaFyEE0QC&pg=PA425 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''The Sun'' was criticised for its" Gotcha "headline following the sinking of the {{ship|ARA|General Belgrano}}.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https:// theguardian /falklands/story/0,11707,657850,00.html |title=The Sun newspaper on the Falklands |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=25 February 2002 |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-date=24 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124120108/https:// theguardian /media/2002/feb/25/pressandpublishing.falklands |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Douglas |first=Torin |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3654446.stm |title=UK &#124; Forty years of The Sun |work=BBC News |date=14 September 2004 |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-date=12 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912042605/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3654446.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http:// british-library.uk/learning/histcitizen/fpage/conflict/conflict.html |title=War |publisher=British-library.uk |date=4 May 1982 |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-date=2 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002072948/http:// british-library.uk/learning/histcitizen/fpage/conflict/conflict.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The British Ministry of Defence operated a [[psychological warfare]] operation under the codename" Moonshine ", which took the form of a spurious radio station purporting to be from a neutral South American country, but was actually in London, broadcasting to the Falklands and Argentina via a transmitter on Ascension which had been requisitioned from the BBC. Under the name of {{Ill|Operation Moonshine|lt=Radio Atlántico del Sur|es|Radio Atlántico del Sur}} (" Radio South Atlantic "), the station was operated by a small team of civilians and Spanish-speaking military officers. The first three-hour broadcast was on 19 May and a total of 47 had been made by 15 June when the operation was cancelled. There is some evidence that the Argentines attempted to jam the broadcasts and that some civilian radio receivers were confiscated from soldiers, but the results overall were difficult to assess.<ref>{{harvnb|Freedman|2005b|pp=352–354}}</ref>

== Cultural impact ==
{{main|Cultural impact of the Falklands War}}
There were wide-ranging influences on popular culture in both the UK and Argentina, from the immediate postwar period to the present. The Argentine writer [[Jorge Luis Borges]] described the war as" a fight between two bald men over a comb. "<ref>{{Cite news|url=https:// theguardian /commentisfree/2010/feb/19/falkland-islands-editorial|title=Falkland Islands: Imperial pride|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=2 October 2014|date=19 February 2010|archive-date=9 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009005724/http:// theguardian /commentisfree/2010/feb/19/falkland-islands-editorial|url-status=live}}</ref> The words ''[[yomp]]'' and ''[[Exocet]]'' entered the British vernacular as a result of the war. The Falklands War also provided material for theatre, film and TV drama and influenced the output of musicians. In Argentina, the military government banned the broadcasting of music in the English language, giving way to the rise of local rock musicians, like the famous [[:es:Trova rosarina|" Trova Rosarina "movement]] as well as solo musicians such as [[Charly García]], [[Luis Alberto Spinetta]], [[Fito Paez]] and [[Gustavo Santaolalla]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Reilly Sánchez |first=Fi |date=May 16, 2022 |title=40 years ago, the Falkland-Malvinas War transformed Latin rock |url=https:// npr.org/2022/05/16/1099089642/40-years-ago-the-falkland-malvinas-war-transformed-latin-rock |website=[[NPR]]}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|1980s|Argentina|United Kingdom}}
* [[London Victory Parade of 1982]], victory parade held in London in October 1982 to celebrate the victory.
* [[Beagle conflict]], a border dispute between Chile and Argentina that involved island territory.
* [[Hope Bay incident]] and [[Deception Island incident]], confrontations between Argentine and British forces in Antarctica, 1952{{Ndash}}53
* [[Operation Algeciras]], a failed Argentine plan to send [[Montoneros]] to sabotage British military facilities in [[Gibraltar]]
* [[Operation Soberanía]], plans for Argentina's invasion of Chile in 1978 and later.
* [[Reassertion of British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (1833)]]
* [[Argentina–United Kingdom relations]]
* [[British naval forces in the Falklands War]]
* [[British ground forces in the Falklands War]]
* [[British nuclear weapons and the Falklands War]]
* [[List of leaders of the Falklands War]]
* [[Top Gear controversies]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=nb|30em}}

== References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last1=Barnett |first1=Anthony |author-link1=Anthony Barnett (writer) |date=1982 |title=Iron Britannia: Why Parliament Waged Its Falklands War |publisher=Allison & Busby |isbn=978-0-85031-493-9 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/ironbritannia0000unse }}
* {{cite book |first1=Neville |last1=Bennett |first2=Valerie |last2=Bennett |date=May 2021 |title=A Falklands Family at War: Diaries of the 1982 Conflict |publisher=Pen & Sword Books Limited |pages= |isbn=978-1-399-01023-8 |url=https://books.google /books?id=iTg8zgEACAAJ |access-date=19 January 2022 |archive-date=24 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124120117/https://books.google /books?id=iTg8zgEACAAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Bicheno |first1=Hugh |author-link1=Hugh Bicheno |date=2006 |title=Razor's edge: the unofficial history of the Falklands War |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |isbn=978-0-297-84633-8 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Blakeway |first1=Denys |author-link1=Denys Blakeway |date=1992 |title=The Falklands War |publisher=Sidgwick & Jackson |isbn=978-0-283-06101-1 }}
* {{cite book | last1 = Bound | first1 = Graham | date = 2006 | title = Falkland Islanders at War | publisher = Pen & Sword Books Limited | pages = | isbn = 978-1-84415-429-6 | url = https://books.google /books?id=WO2oAAAACAAJ | access-date = 19 January 2022 | archive-date = 24 January 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230124120109/https://books.google /books?id=WO2oAAAACAAJ | url-status = live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=David |date=1987 |title=The Royal Navy and the Falklands War |publisher=Leo Cooper |isbn=978-0-85052-059-0 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Burden |first1=Rodney A. |first2=Michael A. |last2=Draper |first3=Douglas A. |last3=Rough |first4=Colin A. |last4=Smith |first5=David |last5=Wilton |title=Falklands: The Air War |year=1986 |location= Twickenham, UK |publisher=British Air Review Group |isbn=0-906339-05-7}}
* {{cite book | last = Cahill | first = Kevin | title = Who Owns the World: The Surprising Truth About Every Piece of Land on the Planet | year = 2010 | publisher = Grand Central Publishing | location = New York | isbn = 978-0-446-55139-7 }}
* {{cite book |last=Chun |first=Clatton K. S. |date=2001 |title=Aerospace Power in the Twenty-First Century: a Basic Primer |url=https://books.google /books?id=DVQ-k6caVD0C |location=Colorado Springs |publisher=Air University Press |isbn=1-58566-091-4 |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-date=24 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124120117/https://books.google /books?id=DVQ-k6caVD0C |url-status=live }}
* Clapp, Michael and Ewen Southby-Tailyour," Amphibious Assault Falklands: The Battle of San Carlos Water, "(Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Swords Military, 2007).
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Cullen |editor1-first=Tony |editor2-last=Foss |editor2-first=Christopher F. |title=Jane's Land-Based Air Defence 1992–93 |year=1992 |edition=5th |location=Coulsdon, UK |publisher=Jane's Data Division |isbn=0-7106-0979-5}}
* {{cite book |last1=Dalyell |first1=Tam |author-link1=Tam Dalyell |date=1982 |title=One man's Falklands |publisher=Cecil Woolf |isbn=978-0-900821-65-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/onemansfalklands0000daly }}
* {{cite book |last1=Dalyell |first1=Tam |author-link1=Tam Dalyell |date=1983 |title=Thatcher's Torpedo |publisher=Cecil Woolf |isbn=978-0-900821-66-0 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Eddy |first1=Paul |last2=Gillman |first2=Peter |last3=Linklater |first3=Magnus |author-link3=Magnus Linklater |last4=Sunday Times of London Insight Team |date=1982 |title=The Falklands War |publisher=Sphere Books |isbn=978-0-7221-8282-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/falklandswar0000eddy }}
* {{cite book |last1=Femenia |first1=Nora |date=1996 |title=National identity in times of crises: The scripts of the Falklands-Malvinas War |publisher=Nova Science Publishers |isbn=978-1-56072-196-3 }}
* {{cite book |last=Finlan |first=Alastair |title=The Royal Navy in the Falklands Conflict and the Gulf War: Culture and Strategy |year=2004 |publisher=Psychology Press }}
* {{cite book |last1=Fremont-Barnes |first1=Gregory |date=2012 |title=The Falklands 1982: Ground operations in the South Atlantic |publisher=Osprey Publishing |issue=244 |isbn=978-1-84908-607-3 }}
* {{cite report |author1=Franks |author2=Barber |author3=Lever |author4=Patrick Nairne |author5=Merlyn Rees |author6=Watkinson |author7=A. R. Rawsthorne |author8=P. G. Moulson |display-authors=1 |date=January 1983 |title=Falkland Islands Review: Report of a Committee of Privy Counsellors |url=http://fc95d419f4478b3b6e5f-3f71d0fe2b653c4f00f32175760e96e7.r87.cf1.rackcdn /E415E0802DAA482297D889B9B43B70DE.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903224815/http://fc95d419f4478b3b6e5f-3f71d0fe2b653c4f00f32175760e96e7.r87.cf1.rackcdn /E415E0802DAA482297D889B9B43B70DE.pdf |archive-date=3 September 2015 |url-status=live |publisher=[[Office of Public Sector Information|HMSO]] |id=Cmnd. 8787 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Freedman |first1=Lawrence |author-link1=Lawrence Freedman |date=2005a |title=The official history of the Falklands Campaign |publisher=Routledge |volume=1 |isbn=978-0-7146-5206-1 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Freedman |first1=Lawrence |author-link1=Lawrence Freedman |date=2005b |title=The official history of the Falklands Campaign |publisher=Routledge |volume=2 |isbn=978-0-7146-5207-8 }}
* {{cite book | first1 = Edward | last1 = Fursdon | date = 19 September 1988 | title = Falklands Aftermath: Picking Up The Pieces | publisher = Pen and Sword | pages = | isbn = 978-0-85052-205-1 | url = https://books.google /books?id=ePqRAwAAQBAJ | access-date = 19 January 2022 | archive-date = 24 January 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230124120107/https://books.google /books?id=ePqRAwAAQBAJ | url-status = live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Gavshon |first1=Arthur |author-link1=Arthur Gavshon |last2=Rice |first2=Desmond |date=1984 |title=The sinking of the Belgrano |publisher=Secker & Warburg |isbn=978-0-436-41332-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/sinkingofbelgran0000gavs }}
* {{cite book | last=Gold | first=Peter | title=Gibraltar, British or Spanish? | publisher=Routledge | year=2005 | isbn=978-0-415-34795-2 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Harris |first1=Robert |author-link1=Robert Harris (novelist) |date=1983 |title=GOTCHA! The Media, the Government and the Falklands Crisis |publisher=Faber and Faber |isbn=978-0-571-13052-8 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Hastings |first1=Max |author-link1=Max Hastings |last2=Jenkins |first2=Simon |author-link2=Simon Jenkins |date=1984 |title=The battle for the Falklands |publisher=Norton |isbn=978-0-393-30198-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/battleforfalklan00hast_0 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Hobson |first1=Chris |first2=Andrew |last2=Noble |editor1-last=Munro |editor1-first=Bob |date=2002 |title=Falklands air war |publisher=North American trade distribution, Specialty Press Publishers & Wholesalers |isbn=978-1-85780-126-2 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Hunt |first1=Rex |author-link1=Rex Masterman Hunt |date=1992 |title=My Falkland Days |publisher=Politico's Publishing |isbn=978-1-84275-017-9 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Iacono |first1=Steven |date=April 2022 |title=A Failure in the Falklands |url=https:// usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2022/april/failure-falklands |journal=Naval History|publisher=US Naval Institute |volume=36 |issue=2 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Kon |first1=Daniel |date=1983 |title=Los chicos de la guerra = The boys of the war |publisher=New English Library |isbn=978-0-450-05611-6 }} (English translation)
* {{cite journal |last1=McClure |first1=Jason |date=November 2004 |title=The Falklands War: Causes and Lessons |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA524486.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408131849/http:// dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA524486 |url-status=live |archive-date=8 April 2013 |journal=Strategic Insights |volume=3 |issue=11 }}
* {{cite book |last1=McManners |first1=Hugh |author-link1=Hugh McManners |date=2007 |title=Forgotten Voices of the Falklands |publisher=[[Random House|Ebury]] |isbn=978-0-09-190880-5 |title-link=Forgotten Voices of the Falklands }}
* {{cite book |last1=Middlebrook |first1=Martin |author-link1=Martin Middlebrook |date=1985 |title=Operation Corporate: The story of the Falklands War, 1982 |publisher=Viking |isbn=978-0-670-80223-4}}
* {{cite book |last1=Middlebrook |first1=Martin |author-link1=Martin Middlebrook |date=1989 |title=The fight for the" Malvinas ": The Argentine Forces in the Falklands War |publisher=Viking |isbn=978-0-670-82106-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Middlebrook |first=Martin |title=The Falklands War |year=2012 |location=Barnsley, UK |publisher=Pen & Sword Military |isbn=978-1-84884-636-4}}
* {{cite book|first=David|last=Morgan|title=Hostile Skies|url=https://books.google /books?id=wDtxAAAACAAJ|year=2007|publisher=Phoenix|isbn=978-0-7538-2199-2|access-date=17 August 2020|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124121118/https://books.google /books?id=wDtxAAAACAAJ|url-status=live}}
* Norman, Mike and Michael Jones," The Falklands War: There and Back. The Story of Naval Party 8901, (Barnsley, Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Books Limited, 2019).
* {{cite book |last1=Norton-Taylor |first1=Richard |author-link1=Richard Norton-Taylor |date=1985 |title=The Ponting affair |publisher=Cecil Woolf |isbn=978-0-900821-73-8 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Ponting |first1=Clive |author-link1=Clive Ponting |date=1985 |title=The right to know: The inside story of the Belgrano affair |publisher=Sphere |isbn=978-0-7221-6944-5 }}
* {{cite book|first=Jerry|last=Pook|title=RAF Harrier Ground Attack: Falklands|url=https://books.google /books?id=xuskCwAAQBAJ|date=2008|publisher=Pen and Sword|isbn=978-1-84884-556-5|access-date=17 August 2020|archive-date=24 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124121120/https://books.google /books?id=xuskCwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}
* Prince, Stephen. "British command and control in the Falklands Campaign." ''Defense & Security Analysis'' 18.4 (2002): 333-349.
* {{cite book |last=Southby-Tailyour |first=Ewan |author-link=Ewen Southby-Tailyour |date=2014 |title=Exocet Falklands: The Untold Story of Special Forces Operations |url=https://books.google /books?id=q4vPBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA33 |location=Barnsley, S. Yorkshire |publisher=Pen & Sword Military |isbn=978-1783463879 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Tinker |first1=David |author-link1=David Tinker |date=1982 |title=A message from the Falklands: The life and gallant death of David Tinker: From his letters and poems |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-14-006778-1 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Thornton |first1=Richard C. |date=1998 |title=The Falklands sting: Reagan, Thatcher, and Argentina's bomb |publisher=Brassey's |isbn=978-1-57488-155-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/falklandsstingre00thor }}
* {{cite book |last1=Underwood |first1=Geoffrey |date=1983 |title=Our Falklands war: The men of the task force tell their story |publisher=Maritime Books |isbn=978-0-907771-08-1 }}
* {{cite book |last=van der Bijl |first=Nicholas |date=2023 |title=Argentine Perspectives on the Falklands War: The Recovery and Loss of Las Malvinas |url=https://books.google /books?id=v0SmzgEACAAJ|location=Havertown|publisher=Casemate Publishers|isbn=978-1-63624-164-7}}
* {{cite book |last1=Ward |first1=Nigel |author-link1=Nigel Ward |date=2000 |title=Sea Harrier over the Falklands |publisher=Cassell |isbn=978-0-304-35542-6 }}
* {{cite book |last=White |first=Rowland |author-link=Rowland White (British writer) |date=2020 |title=Harrier 809: Britain's Legendary Jump Jet and the Untold Story of the Falklands War |url=https://books.google /books?id=loDSzQEACAAJ |location=London |publisher=Penguin Random House |isbn=978-0-55217-635-4}}
* {{cite book |last1=Woodward |first1=Sandy |author-link1=Sandy Woodward |last2=Robinson |first2=Patrick |author-link2=Patrick Robinson (author) |date=1997 |title=One hundred days: The memoirs of the Falklands battle group commander |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=978-1-55750-652-8 }}
{{Refend}}

=== Historiography ===
*{{cite journal |last1=Bluth |first1=Christoph |date=1987 |title=The British Resort to Force in the Falklands/Malvinas Conflict 1982: International Law and Just War Theory.|journal=Journal of Peace Research|volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=5–20 |doi= 10.1177/002234338702400102|s2cid=145424339 }}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Caviedes | first1 = César N | year = 1994 | title = Conflict over the Falkland Islands: A never-ending story? | journal = Latin American Research Review | volume = 29 | issue = 2| pages = 172–87 | doi = 10.1017/S0023879100024171 | s2cid = 252749716 | doi-access = free }}
* Little, Walter. "The Falklands Affair: A Review of the Literature," ''Political Studies,'' (June 1984) 32#2 pp 296–310
* {{cite journal | last1 = Tulchin | first1 = Joseph S | year = 1987 | title = The Malvinas War of 1982: An Inevitable Conflict That Never Should Have Occurred | journal = Latin American Research Review | volume = 22 | issue = 3| pages = 123–141 | doi = 10.1017/S0023879100037079 | s2cid = 252936590 | doi-access = free }}

== Further reading ==
*{{cite journal |last1=Gibson |first1=Chris |title=Meanwhile... An Ocean Apart: The British Perspective |journal=The Aviation Historian |date=2023 |issue=44 |pages=87–90 |issn=2051-1930}}
*Privratsky, Kenneth L.: ''Logistics in the Falklands War - A Case Study in Expeditionary Warfare'', 2017, Pen & Sword, Great Britain, {{ISBN|978-1473899049}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Sciaroni |first1=Mariano|last2=Gibson|first2=Chris |title=The Vulcans are Coming! Argentina's Mainland Air Defences, Falklands 1982 |journal=The Aviation Historian |date=2023 |issue=44 |pages=78–86 |issn=2051-1930|name-list-style=amp}}
* Shields, John: ''Air Power in the Falklands Conflict - An Operational Level Insight into Air Warfare in the South Atlantic'', 2021, Pen & Sword, Great Britain, {{ISBN|9781399007528}}

== External links ==
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{{Commons category}}
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* [http:// fundacionmalvinas.org Argentine website with opinion pieces and photos of the war]
* [http://dag.un.org/handle/11176/89711 Interview with the then British UN ambassador about initial post invasion peace efforts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190917045409/http://dag.un.org/handle/11176/89711 |date=17 September 2019 }}
* {{cite web |url=http:// raf.mod.uk/history/FalklandIslandsHistoryRollofHonour.cfm |title=Falkland Islands History Roll of Honour |website=[[Royal Air Force]] |access-date=8 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402162858/http:// raf.mod.uk/history/FalklandIslandsHistoryRollofHonour.cfm |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite web |url=http:// falklandswar.org.uk |title=The Falkland Islands Conflict 1982 |website=falklandswar.org.uk}}
* {{cite web |last1=Schumann |first1=Peter B. |url=http:// dradio.de/dlf/sendungen/einewelt/485782/ |title=Argentiniens unbewältigte Vergangenheit |trans-title=Argentina's unresolved past |website=[[Deutschlandfunk]] |language=de }}
* {{cite web |url=http:// sama82.org.uk |title=The South Atlantic Medal Association 1982 |website=sama82.org.uk}}
* {{cite web |url=http:// naval-history.net/NAVAL1982FALKLANDS.htm |title=Battle atlas of the Falklands war 1982 by land, sea and air |website=naval-history.net }}
* {{London Gazette|issue=49134|pages=12831–12861 |supp=y|date=8 October 1982|ref=none}} Victoria Cross and other decorations
* {{London Gazette|issue=48999 |supp=y|pages=7421–7422|date=3 June 1982|ref=none}} Decorations specifically for the defence of South Georgia
* {{cite journal|year=2002 |title=ITB Batería Costera Exocet en Malvinas: Entrevista con el CL (R) Ing. Julio Pérez |trans-title=ITB Exocet battery: Interview with Julio Pérez |url=http:// fuerzasnavales /itb.html |journal=Fuerzas Navales Magazine |issue=14 |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080302010742/http:// fuerzasnavales /itb.html |archive-date=2 March 2008 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051013064840/http:// cecim.org.ar/ ex-7th Argentine Infantry Regiment veterans] {{in lang|es}}
* {{cite web |url=http://radiotapes /specialpostings.html#Falklands |title=Coverage of the Falklands war |website=RadioTapes }}
* {{cite wikisource |display-authors=2 |last1=Rey |first1=Carlos Alberto |last2=Rattenbach |first2=Benjamín |last3=Vago |first3=Alberto Pablo |last4=Boffi |first4=Jorge Alberto |last5=De Bustamante |first5=Tomas Sanchez |last6=Cabrera |first6=Francisco |title=Report Rattenbach: Report of the commission for analysis and evaluation of responsibility in the conflict 'South Atlantic' |wslink=Informe Rattenbach |wslanguage=es}}
* {{Cite report |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA566546.pdf |title=Operation Corporate: Operational Art and Implications for the Joint Operational Access Concept |last=A Olsen |first=Paul |date=17 May 2012 |publisher=DTIC |id=ADA566546 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615094411/http:// dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA566546 |archive-date=15 June 2013 |url-status=live |work=[[School of Advanced Military Studies]]}}
* {{cite report |url=http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA133333 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622113848/http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA133333 |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 June 2015 |title=Lessons of the Falklands |work=Department of the Navy |publisher=DTIC |id=ADA133333 |date=February 1983}}

{{Falklands War|style=wide}}
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