Falklands War

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Falklands War (2 Apr.-14 June 1982) The war over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. These had been first discovered by the British in 1592, and became home to a British settlement in 1833. Argentina also claimed them (as the Malvinas) on the basis of a Spanish settlement dating to the 1760s, and their geographic location around 600 km (385 miles) off the Argentinian coast. Argentina revived its claim after 1945, and from 1965 it negotiated with Britain through the United Nations. By the 1970s, Britain appeared to be willing to transfer sovereignty to Argentina. One solution was ‘leaseback’, whereby Argentina would be given sovereignty, but Britain would administer the islands. However, the Falkland Islanders wished to remain under British rule, and negotiations broke down in 1982. In late March 1982 the Argentine President, Galtieri, sent three warships to South Georgia (a dependency of the Falklands), in order to deflect Argentinian attention from the poor economic and human rights record of his regime. This was followed by an invasion of the Falkland Islands on 2 April.

Negotiations were attempted by the UN, the USA, and Peru, but despite international pressure (backed by UN Resolution 502) calling on Argentina to withdraw, Galtieri stood firm. By 5 April, a British task force was ready to depart to the Falklands, eventually numbering twenty warships, along with supporting vessels and 6,000 troops. Having sailed 13,000 km to the South Atlantic, it easily recaptured South Georgia on 25 April, and began to attack East Falkland. On 7 April, Britain had declared a 200–mile ‘exclusion zone’ around the Falklands; in one of the most controversial acts of the war, on 2 May the Argentinian cruiser, General Belgrano, was sunk (at the cost of 370 lives) despite the fact that it was sailing away from the Falklands. There were commando landings on West Falkland on 14 May, and the main British invasion was launched on the night of 20/21 May, at Port San Carlos on East Falkland. Extensive fighting took place, 21–7 May, by which time a bridgehead had been established. The major battle between the opposing land forces took place at Goose Green on 28 May. After this, despite Argentine counter-attacks at Fitzroy and Bluff Cove, British troops made steady progress and recaptured Port Stanley on 14 June.

The war cost 225 British lives, and approximately 750 Argentinian. The Argentinian defeat resulted in the fall of Galtieri, and it helped to portray Margaret Thatcher as a strong and decisive leader. Britain has since refused to reopen discussions over sovereignty, but after the accession of Menem relations with Argentina have been normalized.

Falklands War (1982). The Falkland Islands had been under British control since 1833, but Argentina had become increasingly anxious to acquire them. On 19 March 1982 a group of Argentine scrap metal merchants landed on South Georgia without permission, and this was followed on 2 April by full invasion. The Foreign Office was caught largely unawares and Lord Carrington described the invasion as a ‘great national humiliation’. The British government acted swiftly, assembling a task force consisting of 10,000 troops and 44 warships with auxiliary and aircraft support. It was dispatched 8,000 miles to the south Atlantic, using Ascension Island as a forward base.

The USA, anxious to retain good relations with both countries, tried to mediate through Secretary of State Alexander Haig but to no avail. On 25 April marines recaptured South Georgia. On 2 May the Argentine battleship General Belgrano was sunk by a British submarine with large loss of life and two days later the British destroyer HMS Sheffield was hit by an Exocet missile and sunk.

British troops, under aerial attack, landed on the Falklands at San Carlos on 21 May and established a bridgehead. After fierce fighting the settlements at Darwin and Goose Green were retaken and the capital, Stanley, came under fire. On 14 June the Argentine garrisons surrendered. The war cost the lives of 236 British and 750 Argentine soldiers. It was the turning-point in the fortunes of the Thatcher Conservative government, but in Argentina, General Galtieri's military junta fell from power a year later.

Richard A. Smith

Falklands War (1982). The Falkland Islands had been under British control since 1833, but Argentina had become increasingly anxious to acquire them. On 19 March 1982 a group of Argentine scrap metal merchants landed on South Georgia, and this was followed on 2 April by full invasion. The British government acted swiftly, assembling a task force consisting of 10,000 troops and 44 warships. It was dispatched 8,000 miles to the South Atlantic, using Ascension Island as a forward base.

British troops, under aerial attack, landed on the Falklands at San Carlos on 21 May. After fierce fighting the settlements at Darwin and Goose Green were retaken and on 14 June the Argentine garrisons surrendered. The war cost the lives of 236 British and 750 Argentine soldiers. It was the turning‐point in the fortunes of the Thatcher Conservative government, but in Argentina, General Galtieri's military junta fell from power a year later.

Falklands War (April–June 1982) Military conflict between Great Britain and Argentina on the issue of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. On April 2, after the breakdown of negotiations, Argentine forces invaded and occupied the Falklands, South Georgia, and South Sandwich Islands, which had been administered and occupied by Great Britain since the 19th century. Despite attempts by the UN to negotiate a settlement, the Argentine government refused to withdraw. The British established a blockade of the islands and staged an amphibious landing at Port San Carlos. They surrounded the Argentine troops at the capital, Port Stanley, and forced them to surrender (June 14). The war cost 254 British and 750 Argentine lives. Although Britain resumed administration of the islands, the basic issue of sovereignty remains unresolved. Britain's victory helped secure a second term for Margaret Thatcher.

Falklands War an armed conflict between Britain and Argentina in 1982, which came about when on the orders of General Galtieri's military junta, Argentinian forces invaded the Falkland Islands, a group of islands in the South Atlantic, forming a British Crown Colony, originally occupied and colonized by Britain in 1832–3, following the expulsion of an Argentinian garrison. In response Britain sent a task force of ships and aircraft, which forced the Argentinians to surrender six weeks after its arrival.