The Falklands War was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial dependency, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The conflict began on 2 April 1982, when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands, followed by the invasion of South Georgia the next day. On 5 April, the British government dispatched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Air Force before making an amphibious assault on the islands. The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with an Argentine surrender on 14 June, returning the islands to British control. In total, 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel, and three Falkland Islanders were killed during the hostilities.
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) is a British Overseas Territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote and inhospitable collection of islands, consisting of South Georgia and a chain of smaller islands known as the South Sandwich Islands. South Georgia is 165 kilometres (103 mi) long and 35 kilometres (22 mi) wide and is by far the largest island in the territory. The South Sandwich Islands lie about 700 kilometres (430 mi) southeast of South Georgia. The territory's total land area is 3,903 km2 (1,507 sq mi). The Falkland Islands are about 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) west from its nearest point.
The geography of Argentina is heavily diverse, consisting of the Andes Mountains, pampas, and various rivers and lakes. Bordered by the Andes in the west and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east, its neighbouring countries are Chile to the west, Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, and Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast.
Stanley is the capital city of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2016 census, the city had a population of 2,460. The entire population of the Falkland Islands was 3,398 on Census Day - 9 October 2016.
The Battle of Two Sisters was an engagement of the Falklands War during the British advance towards the capital, Port Stanley. It took place from 11 to 12 June 1982 and was one of three battles in a Brigade-size operation all on the same night, the other two being the Battle of Mount Longdon and the Battle of Mount Harriet. It was fought mainly between an assaulting British force consisting of Royal Marines of 45 Commando and an Argentine Company drawn from 4th Infantry Regiment.
The Battle of Wireless Ridge was an engagement of the Falklands War which took place on the night from 13 to 14 June 1982, between British and Argentine forces during the advance towards the Argentine-occupied capital of the Falkland Islands, Port Stanley.
The Battle of Mount Longdon was fought between the British 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment and elements of the Argentine 7th Infantry Regiment on 11–12 June 1982, towards the end of the Falklands War. It was one of three engagements in a Brigade-size operation that night, along with the Battle of Mount Harriet and the Battle of Two Sisters. A mixture of hand-to-hand fighting and ranged combat resulted in the British occupying this key position around the Argentine garrison at Port Stanley. The battle ended in a British victory.
The Battle of Mount Tumbledown was an engagement during the Falklands War. The engagement was an attack by the British Army and the Royal Marines on the heights overlooking Stanley, the Falkland Islands capital. Mount Tumbledown, Mount William and Sapper Hill lie west of the capital. Due to their proximity to the capital, they were of strategic importance during the 1982 War. They were held by the Argentine 5th Naval Infantry Battalion, a reinforced, cold weather trained and equipped Marine battalion.
East Falkland is the largest island of the Falklands in the South Atlantic, having an area of 6,605 km2 or 54% of the total area of the Falklands. The island consists of two main land masses, of which the more southerly is known as Lafonia; it is joined by a narrow isthmus where the settlement of Goose Green is located, and it was the scene of the Battle of Goose Green during the Falklands War.
Goose Green, also known simply as Goose, is a hamlet in Lafonia on East Falkland in the Falkland Islands. It lies on Choiseul Sound, on the east side of the island's central isthmus, 2 miles (3.2 km) south-southwest of Darwin. With a population of about 40, it is the third-largest settlement of the Falkland Islands, after Stanley and Mount Pleasant.
This is a list of the ground forces from Argentina that took part in the Falklands War. For a list of ground forces from the United Kingdom, see British ground forces in the Falklands War.
The Falkland Islands is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about 300 mi (480 km) east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about 752 mi (1,210 km) from Cape Dubouzet at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, at a latitude of about 52°S. The archipelago, with an area of 4,700 sq mi (12,000 km2), comprises East Falkland, West Falkland, and 776 smaller islands. As a British Overseas Territory, the Falklands have internal self-governance, but the United Kingdom takes responsibility for their defence and foreign affairs. The capital and largest settlement is Stanley on East Falkland.
Terence John Peck was a member of the Falkland Islands Defence Force who during the 1982 Falklands War became a war hero by spying on the Argentine invaders, subsequently escaping to British lines, acting as a scout for 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, and taking part in the fighting for Mount Longdon. A fiercely patriotic Islander, he vehemently opposed Argentina's claim to the Islands. He later met and befriended an Argentine conscript who served during the war.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Falkland Islands:
Duplicate: List of Falkland Islands–related topics
Mario Benjamin Menéndez was the Argentine governor of the Falklands during the 1982 Argentine occupation of the islands. He also served in the Argentine Army. Menéndez surrendered Argentine forces to Britain during the Falklands War.
The Battle of Mount Kent was a series of engagements during the Falklands War, primarily between British and Argentine special forces.
The Burdwood Bank, called Namuncurá in Argentina and other countries, is an undersea bank with a prominence of approximately 200 metres, part of the Scotia Arc projecting some 600 km (370 mi) from Cape Horn in the South Atlantic Ocean and located some 200 kilometres (120 mi) south of the Falkland Islands. Argentina claims economic rights over the whole of the bank, while the United Kingdom has designated about half of the bank as part of the Falklands Outer Economic Zone.
At 10:15 pm (BST) on the night of 14 June 1982, British prime minister Margaret Thatcher announced to the House of Commons that negotiations had begun for the surrender of the Argentine invasion force in the Falkland Islands, ending the Falklands War. Her statement noted that "they are reported to be flying white flags over Port Stanley", the capital of the Falklands. This was based on an erroneous report from a front-line unit; in fact, no white flags are known to have been flown, though Argentine resistance ended, and a ceasefire was in place. The surrender was finalised by 1:30 am BST on 15 June. Thatcher's statement was welcomed from all sides in the House, and she left to join celebrating crowds in Downing Street. She later described the statement as "perhaps the proudest moment of my life".
