The true watershed event of the Falklands/Malvinas War came on May 21 when 3 Marine Commando Brigade conducted an amphibious landing near the settlement of San Carlos. Encountering only light opposition upon landing, the brigade’s 4,000 troops moved quickly to expand the beachhead and commence offensive operations. Although that part of the operation went well, Argentine aircraft responded with a series of devastating attacks against the Royal Navy warships supporting the force ashore. To protect the troops on the beachhead from low-level strafing attacks, the British used another legendary American firearm: the M2HB .50 BMG machine gun. While the air and sea campaign raged, British ground forces began to push-out from the invasion beaches with the ultimate goal of conducting a direct assault against Stanley, 50 miles away.

With a mountainous interior and an almost total absence of roads, moving the assault force into position around Stanley presented the British with an enormous challenge. The original plan called for the troops to be flown across the island, but almost all of the helicopters that were supposed to do the job went down when the Atlantic Conveyor was sunk. This development meant that some British units would have to walk—or “yomp” —their way across rugged terrain in the worst possible weather.

During the pre-dawn hours of May 28 the first significant land battle of the war began when the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment attacked the airfield at Goose Green. Under the command of Lt. Col. Herbert “H” Jones, the men of 2 Para carried the typical assortment of automatic arms organic to a battalion in the British Army in 1982. Some of the men were armed with 9 mm L2A3 Sterling submachine guns, while the majority carried another derivative of the FN FAL—the L1A1 Self Loading Rifle (SLR). Just like their Argentine adversaries, the Brits also carried a version of the FN MAG—the L7A2 General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG). They also used a few U.S.-made 40 mm M79 grenade launchers. Finally, the battalion’s officers carried the L9A1 pistol—Britain’s version of the renowned FN/Browning 9 mm Hi-Power. The men of 2 Para struck out to capture Goose Green “before breakfast,” but stiff resistance from Argentine troops dug-in on Darwin Ridge caused the attackers to lose momentum. The British surged forward several times throughout the morning only to be stopped by heavy automatic fire from Argentine infantrymen on the ridge. At a critical moment in the battle, Lt. Col. Jones decided to lead an attack on a machine gun position and sprinted toward the enemy firing his L2A3 submachine gun. Half way up the hill, he paused to reload the Sterling and, as he started off again, a single 7.62 mm bullet struck him just behind his right collarbone and exited through his abdomen. He was killed instantly and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his leadership and courage. The battle reached its official conclusion the following day when more 1,000 Argentine troops surrendered.

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9/17/2010

The next phase of the advance toward Stanley commenced immediately following the victory at Goose Green when all British units began to push eastward. In the north, 3 Para and 45 Commando departed San Carlos on foot and yomped to Teal Inlet and Mount Estancia. In the center, 42 Commando and the SAS moved by helicopter over the center of the island to Mount Kent. In the south, 2 Para and the newly arrived 5th Infantry Brigade moved by helicopter and ship from Goose Green to the Fitzroy/Bluff Cove area. With those elements in place, British forces were positioned to launch their final attack. The effort kicked-off in the bitter cold of the night of June 11 with a brigade-sized operation that produced a trio of intense battles. Five miles west of the city, 45 Commando assaulted into positions occupied by the Argentine 4th Infantry Regiment on the Two Sisters hill mass. Silhouetted by the moonlight, the Brits came under devastating fire from Argentine M2 HB .50-cal. machine guns as mortar rounds rained down around them. With fire support from the guns of the destroyer HMS Glamorgan, the Royal Marines ultimately prevailed. Less than a mile away to the south, 42 Commando and the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards fought a desperate battle on Mount Harriet.

Across the valley floor to the northeast, the men of 3 Para simultaneously assaulted positions occupied by the Argentine 7th Mechanized Infantry Regiment on Mount Longdon. As the men of 3 Para attempted to advance up the slopes, they ran headlong into opponents who met their attack with a mixture of DGFM PAM-II Grease Guns, FAL rifles, FAP light machine guns and MAG belt-fed machine guns. In addition to that, a Marine heavy-weapons platoon manned several M2HBs on the mountain. In the confused darkness, paratroopers stormed the Argentine positions and engaged their adversaries in vicious hand-to-hand combat with buttstocks and bayonets. At a critical point in the fight, the 4th Platoon of B Company/3 Para received orders to conduct a reconnaissance of the north side of the ridge in an attempt to outflank the enemy positions.

Unknowingly, the recce force moved into the field of fire of yet another concealed Argentine machine gun. With no other option, the platoon leader charged the position only to be wounded. Without hesitating, 29-year-old Platoon Sgt. Ian John McKay took-over and rushed the machine gun firing his L1A1 SLR. After covering the distance rapidly, he hurled fragmentation hand grenades at the position—neutralizing it and killing the men inside. However, gunfire from elsewhere on the mountain then struck and killed Sgt. McKay. The courage and inspirational leadership he displayed that night on Mount Longdon was ultimately recognized when he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

The British resumed the attack during the night of the 13th when 2 Para attacked Wireless Ridge and the 1st Battalion/7th Gurkha Rifles attacked Mount William. Meanwhile, the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards went up against the Argentine 5th Marine Infantry Battalion in a dramatic action on Mount Tumbledown that concluded with a bayonet charge. Driven out of their defensive positions in the surrounding hills, Argentine units retreated back into Stanley in disorder. Soon, a white flag could be seen waving over the city, and then at 9:30 p.m. local time June 14, 1982, the surrender was signed, ending the war. Shortly thereafter, Maj. Gen. Jeremy Moore announced: “The Falkland Islands are once more under the Government desired by their inhabitants—God Save the Queen.”

More than 10,000 Argentine men became prisoners of war the next day. As they marched off into captivity, they piled-up thousands of DGFM rifles and machine guns at several collecting points in Port Stanley—a testament to Argentina’s failed attempt to control the Falkland Islands. This failed attempt resulted in the loss of 649 Argentine and 258 British lives and forever altered the future of both nations. Although more than 25 years have passed since the Falklands/Malvinas War, in Argentina it remains a sensitive subject. Throughout that country today, bumper stickers and signs can be seen that announce: “After 25 years it’s the same feeling: they were, they are and they will always be Argentine! MALVINAS!”

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