By
Ryan "Fitz" Green
Jon Zurinskas
Andrew Montgomery
Tara Taggart
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Also known as the Malvinas Islands
Almost 300 miles from Argentine mainland
Capital: Stanley
Two main islands
 West and East Falkland
 Hundreds of small islands
Population: 3,140
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Colonial period
 Claims by Britain, Spain and France
Post-Colonial period
 Napoleonic Wars liberated Argentina
 Argentina made claims, settlers expelled by British
1833
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British power on the decline
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However, British still believe in self-determination
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Decolonization is gaining momentum
Population clearly in favor of staying British possession
Argentine government tries coercive diplomacy 1976
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Fails, government becomes impatient
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New leaders come to forefront of the Junta
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General Leopoldo Galtieri
Admiral Jorge Anaya
Brigadier Basilio Lami Dozo
Possible causes of the war
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Popular domestic unrest
Misperceptions of motivations
Growth of Argentine military
Decline of British power
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Argentine troops set up flag on South Georgia
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Seen as first event of Falklands war
Argentina invades the Islands
April 2, 1982
 Formal Declaration of War about a
month later
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• April 2nd 1982 Argentina launches an amphibious landing on the
Falkland Island
• Argentine Marines quickly seized the capital of the Falklands, Port
Stanley.
• The small garrison of marines were
largely outnumbered, and forced to
surrender to Argentine forces.
• The following day the island of South
Georgia was invaded.
• After a brief firefight, the small
presence of Royal marines were
forced to surrender to Argentine forces
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Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher ordered the assembly of naval
task force to retake the island. In mid April Admiral Sir John
Fieldhouse began moving south
On April 25th British forces recaptured South Georgia Island after
sinking a Argentine Submarine.
Shortly after RAF bombers began bombing Argentine controlled
airfields and radar towers.
May 2nd, HMS Conqueror sank ARA
Belgrano, killing 323 and capturing
over 700 seamen
May 4th A successful missile strike
claimed HMS Sheffield killing 20
crew members
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May 21st British Amphibious Task group mounted operation
Sutton, this led to the British securing a beachhead at Port San
Carlos to conduct offensive operations.
On the same day HMS Ardent
was sunk followed by HMS
Antelope on the 24th and HMS
Coventry on the 25th.
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Early on May 27th British forces attacked Darwin and Goose Green which was
occupied by Argentine Infantry forces.
After a grueling two day battle British forces pushed the Argentine forces
back.The result was 961 Argentine forces were captured.
Meanwhile British Commando’s and SAS were moved onto Mount Kent. They
met resistance from Argentine Commando’s.
On May 31st after waging an intense
hit and run battle British forces
defeated the Argentine Commando’s
at the Battle of Top Malo House.
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June 1st 5000 British troops arrived to attack Port
Stanley
British ships were attacked and badly damaged by
Argentine bombers.
BBC television recorded
this happening,
which were seen around
the world.
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June 11 1982 – British launch as brigade sized
attack against high grounds surrounding Stanley.
The battles of Mount Harriet, Two Sisters and
Mount Longdon resulted, followed by the Battle of
Wireless Ridge and Mount Tumbledown
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British Victory at Mount Tumbledown, last line
of natural defense.
Argentine forces in Stanley became worried.
June 14th General Menendez surrendered to
MG Jeremy Moore
June 20th British
retook S. Sandwich
Islands and declared
an end to hostilities
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British
British Army - 122
Royal Navy - 87
Royal Marines - 26
Merchant Navy - 9
Royal Fleet Auxiliary - 7
Falkland Islanders - 3
Royal Air Force - 1
Total 255
Total wounded - 777
Argentines
Navy - 392 (323 in ARA Belgrano,
rest most marines)
Army - 179 (11 officers, 30 sc, 138
conscripts)
Air Force - 55 (36 pilots)
Gendarmeria (border guard) - 7
Prefectura (coast guard) - 2
Total 635
Total wounded - 1068
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U.S. Treaty Obligations
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NATO
Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance
Debate
Mediation
Secretary of State, Alexander Haig
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Intelligence Information
Military equipment
U.S. Secretary of Defense, Caspar Weinberger
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Built by U.S. task force during World War II
Re-opened in 1957
Used as staging base for RAF during Falklands
War
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Reagan and Weinberger both awarded Knight
Commander of British Empire
September 2001-Vicente Fox
End of the War
•June 14, 1982- Commander agrees to cease fire and 9,800
argentine troops dropped their weapons
•British Major Jeremy Moore flew into Port Stanley to
meet with General Menendez
•Menendez is allowed to strike “unconditional” from
surrender document
– His surrender would be with “dignity and honor” according to
British podcasts
•General Moore does not allow him to insert the
Argentina propaganda “Las Malvinas” after “Falklands”
•Document was formally signed and the war is over.
War Results
•War lasted 72 days and claimed the lives of 236
British and 655 Argentine Troops
•War cost of at least $2 billion
•9,800 Argentine troops were made POWS and were
repatriated to Argentina on liner Canberra
•June 25- Governor Rex Hunt returns as
Commissioner of the Falklands at Stanley
•British Government decreed all classified
information would be available to public in 2002.
War Results
•War helped revive and reelect Margaret Thatcher
–1990, she supplied the backbone to George Bush and urged
him to take military action when Iraq invaded Kuwait
•Defeat severely discredited the military government
and forced the resignation of Leopoldo Galtieri
–This paved the way for restoration of democracy in
Argentina
–Elections were held in October 1983
•Falkland war is made a public holiday in Argetina
called: “Dia del Veterano de Guerra y los Caidos en
Malvinas”
Military Analysis
•Naval battle after WWII proved vulnerability of
surface-ships to anti-ship missiles
•Reaffirmed effectiveness of aircraft in naval
warfare and re-emphasized the importance of
total air supremacy.
•Missiles proved lethality so ships used close-in
weapons system (CIWS)
•UK decided to build Harrier Aircraft- can
operate from forward bases with no runways
Britain’s Tactical Errors
•British Ministry of Defense had been accused of
failing to prepare service personnel for war and
for care afterwards
–Ignored issue of PTSD
•More veterans have committed suicide since
the Falkland War ended than the number of
troops killed in action
Argentina’s Tactical errors
•Britain had spread disinformation that their
hunter-killer subs were deployed in number and
this failed to be true, but the Argentinians
believed the reports
•The army did not use their troops effectively,
majority stayed near Port Stanley
Political Analysis
•War illustrates role of political miscalculation
and miscommunication
–Both sides underestimated the importance of the
Falklands to the other
•Since the UK is an integral U.S. ally and
important part of NATO, to permit a loss would
have been a signal to the USSR that the NATO
alliance was militarily and politically weak.
•Victory was not over-looked by USSR and they
increased troop levels facing the British Army of
the Rhine
Falkland Islands Today
•Economic prosperity and modernization
through establishment of fisheries regime
•Offshore oil exploration, onshore mineral
prospects are ongoing processes
•Tourism is expanding quickly, especially from
expedition ships
•an international airport, an all-purpose jetty,
the creation of a development corporation and
more have all been accomplished
•Now an overseas territory of the UK and a
member of the Commonwealth family
Questions
• What were the causes of the Falkland Wars?
• Why did the Argentine general surrender so quickly?
• Did the U.S. make the correct choice in supporting the U.K.?