Victory at the Falklands!

On 14 June 1982, the Falklands War ended with the surrender of the occupying argentinian forces that had garrisoned the Falklands capital, Stanley.

Those desolate and cheerless islands had been under uninterrupted British sovereignty since 1833.

In 1982, the argentinian junta of Leopoldo Galtieri, in an effort to divert public attention away from its oppressive practices, launched an invasion and occupied the Falklands.

The argentinians did not really believe that Britain would respond decisively because of the distance and the huge logistic difficulties that such an endeavour presented, especially after the crippling cuts of military expenditures that were undertaken to support the thatcherist economy doctrine.

However it was unthinkable that an insignificant country like Argentina would ivade and occupy Her Majesty's territories. Despite the enormous difficulties of the task, the British Prime Minister, the Iron Lady of Britain, the Right Honourable Margaret Thatcher (now The Baroness Thatcher , LG, OM, PC) decided to prove that Britannia still rules the waves.



The British task force assembled in the mid-Atlantic British island of Ascension and then, off to the Falklands!


The island of South Georgia was recaptured immediately (April 25) and the argentinian submarine Santa Fe was crippled and abandoned:

"Be pleased to inform Her Majesty that the White Ensign flies alongside the Union Jack in South Georgia. God Save the Queen."

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the Secetary of Defence, John Nott break the news of the recapture of South Georgia at 10 Downing Str. reporters crowd:

"Just rejoice at the news", the Iron Lady said.


In any case, the argentinian airforce outnumbered the aircraft of the British task force. The operations became progressively more difficult and the British lost a number of ships to Exocet missiles and air bombing.

Final moments and sinking of the HMS Antelope, her magazines exploding in the fires that followed her bombing by argentinian aircraft (video by some argentinian nationalist).


The HMS Sheffield burning.

Despite all that, Her Majesty's SAS commandos dominated land warfare, the argentinian navy never left port (to be discussed below) and the Harriers proved very tough opponents in air combat. The argentinian forces were doomed and the stupidity of the junta to challenge British supremacy caused its downfall after the war ended.

I will not go into lengthy details. I will simply note two things:

1. The modern strategic importance of the submarines.

The HMS Conqueror, a Churchill-class nuclear-powered submarine sank early in the conflict the ARA General Belgrano.

Final moments of the Belgrano. She is listing to port, her bow missing fore of gun turret no.1, after being hit by two torpedoes.

THE SUN cover misrepresenting the facts in the initial confusion. In fact, it was the cruiser that was sunk. (And another issue: Unions fighting thatcherist policy were boycotting the war:Hence the anti-union slogan of the times: "Call off the rail strike or we'll call an air strike!"

With the sinking of the Belgrano, the british submarine threat forced the argentinian navy to never leave port again for the duration of the conflict. How about that?

2. Even though the British had relatively modern anti-aircraft capabilities, they suffered heavy losses in ships and equipment. If all argentinian bombs that hit the ships exploded, the outcome of the war would have ben different. Indeed, the only system that can reliably provide fleet-wide anti-aircraft and anti-missile coverage is the US Navy AEGIS system. This is the strategic importance behind Taiwan's intentions to aquire AEGIS-able frigates from the US.


Anyway, in the end: Margaret Thatcher's first statements, with the crowd in the background singing "Rule Britannia!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFXOw_nAPh0

"We knew what we had to do and... and we went about it!"

Aaaaand.....

Della Jones and John Tomlinson, "Rule Britannia" with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, cond. by Barry Wordsworth at the 1993 BBC Last Night of the Proms, at the Royal Albert Hall.



Cymru!!! (see her dress...)

.