The Dumbest Military Kerfuffle Ever

42 Years Ago, The Falkland Islands War Started

If you look at a map of Argentina, and follow the coastline down to the Straits of Magellan, then look out into the Atlantic a few hundred miles about 750 miles north of Antarctica, you’ll see a small set of islands known as the “Falkland Islands.”¹ There’s not much there, and there’s really not many reasons to go there either. The shores are rocky, it’s got a number of hills and a couple mountains, but otherwise it’s kind of a treeless, shrubby, pastoral landscape used for raising sheep and as an animal sanctuary. It has populations of elephant seals, penguins and even albatross that are substantially larger than its human population there. There are only about 3600 people on the islands outside of a small Naval outpost used by the British Military. From it’s geographic location it offers no real tactical military advantage other than as a random outpost in the middle of nowhere. Back when whaling was a thing it was a port for a number of whaling vessels but with the decline (practical elimination) of commercial whaling it is no longer used as such. Essentially, it’s a few grass covered rocks smaller than the size of Connecticut in the middle of the Atlantic used for shepherding and commercial fishing.

Yet on this day, 42 years ago, it was at the center of one of the biggest military operations of the 1980s. In fact, if you know anything about the Falkland Islands at all, including just knowing there is such a place, it’s more likely because of the War that occurred there in the early 1980s than it is any other feature or attribute about it.

How It All Began

The Falkland Islands, along with some other south Atlantic islands (South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands) have been British Crown colonies since 1841. For the most part, they were shipping and whaling stations for British transports.² The inhabitants of the island are largely descendents of Brits manning the islands. The islands are geographically closest to Argentina, who has always maintained a claim of sovereignty over the islands. During the 1800’s and most of the 1900’s, Britain maintained a military and economic advantage that prevented any real challenge to its claim on the Falklands. But as the British Empire receded and the costs of maintaining overseas territories increased, the crown began to negotiate with closer local governments for peaceful transfers. During the 1970s, they gave Jamaica their independence, and later eventually negotiated the transfer of Hong Kong to China. During the 1960s and 1970’s, they were also negotiating the transfer of the Falklands to Argentina, as British claim on the islands was inhibiting trade in Latin America. That is, until the local Falklanders completely rejected the idea.

In the period leading up to the war—and, in particular, following the transfer of power between the military dictators General Jorge Rafael Videla and General Roberto Eduardo Viola late in March 1981—Argentina had been in the midst of devastating economic stagnation and large-scale civil unrest against the National Reorganization Process, the military junta that had been governing the country since 1976. In December 1981, there was a further change in the Argentine military regime, bringing to office a new junta headed by General Leopoldo Galtieri. He played into growing nationalism and believed that by taking over the islands, the UK would never respond militarily. By opting for military action, the Galtieri government hoped to mobilize the long-standing patriotic feelings of Argentines towards the islands, diverting public attention from the chronic economic problems and the ongoing human rights violations in the country, bolstering the junta's dwindling legitimacy.

The ongoing tension between the two countries over the islands increased on 19 March, when a group of Argentine scrap metal merchants (which had been infiltrated by Argentine Marines) raised the Argentine flag at South Georgia Island, an act that would later be seen as the first offensive action in the war. The Royal Navy ice patrol vessel HMS Endurance was dispatched from Stanley (the capital of the Falklands) to South Georgia on the 25th in response. The Argentine military junta, suspecting that the UK would reinforce its South Atlantic Forces, ordered the invasion of the Falkland Islands to be brought forward on April 2nd.

The UK was initially taken by surprise by the Argentine attack. On 2 April 1982, Argentine forces mounted amphibious landings, known as Operation Rosario, on the Falkland Islands. The invasion was met with a fierce but brief defence organized by the Falkland Islands' Governor Sir Rex Hunt, giving command to Major Mike Norman of the Royal Marines. When the Argentine 2nd Marine Infantry Battalion with Assault Amphibious Vehicles arrived, the governor ordered a ceasefire and surrendered. The governor, his family and the British military personnel were flown to Argentina that afternoon and later repatriated to the United Kingdom.

So the Argentines had invaded the islands, evicted the British government and military there along with some people they considered opposition, and with an occupying force of about 13,000 conscript soldiers (the largest population it has ever had), had taken control of some rocks in the Atlantic that offered little as far as food, production or military advantage. For the Brits, they had been effectively kicked out of the south Atlantic, with the closest forward operating base 4,600 miles away on Ascension Island off the coast of Africa. They were trying to negotiate getting rid of the islands a mere 3 years earlier even. All settled right? Just let the Argentinians have them, right? Well, everyone failed to consider the will of the British Prime Minister, someone most of the tabloids referred to as a real “bitch.”³

The Iron Lady

The retaking of the Falkland Islands was considered extremely difficult. The chances of a British counter-invasion succeeding were assessed by the US Navy, according to historian Arthur L. Herman, as "a military impossibility". Nonetheless, preparations were already underway when the Argentines had earlier invaded South Georgia Island. On 1 April, at the direction of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, U.K. Admiral Leach sent orders to a Royal Navy force carrying out exercises in the Mediterranean to prepare to sail south. Following the invasion on 2 April, after an emergency meeting of the cabinet, approval was given to form a task force to retake the islands. This was backed in an emergency sitting of the House of Commons the next day. The whole task force eventually comprised 127 ships: 43 Royal Navy vessels, 22 Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships, and 62 merchant ships. Thatcher had made the determination that she and the U.K. were not going to give up the Falklands without a fight.

British battleships from the Mediterranean Sea pass the Rock of Gibraltar.

As for the Argentine conscripts, mostly 25 year olds or younger, defending the island wasn’t worthwhile. It’s autumn in April in the southern hemisphere and getting colder. It’s a very cold and windy terrain. There isn’t much to eat. Argentine officers handed out rough field punishments; ration packs were bare and troops garrisoning Port Howard were starved. According to Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins in their book The Battle for the Falklands (Norton, 1984), "Attempts to go absent without leave were punished by beatings or forcing the offender to sit for hours with his naked feet in the freezing water on the mountainside."Two Argentine privates were reported to have been executed or died because of mistreatment by their own officers. By the time the Brits landed on the islands, morale among the Argentine occupying army was already low.

Air support was important, and the Falklands contained only three small airstrips the Argentinians could use to shuttle in supplies. Meanwhile, the RAF was launching Harrier attacks through the air off of carriers in the Atlantic; their unique “vertical take off and landing” made them ideal for this type of warfare. What a U.S. analyst had described as a military impossibility was beginning to look like it would be a rout.

By June 11th, a mere 9 weeks after the Falklands were invaded by Argentina, the U.K. had retaken the capital of Stanley and a surrender and cease fire were declared. The casualties?

The Aftermath

The fallout of the war had brief but lasting impact on the nations. Thatcher, after the successful retaking of the islands, she and her Conservative Party cruised through the next elections in a landslide. The rising conservative nationalism enjoyed in the UK and the US helped create a solid global conservative movement on both sides of the Atlantic, which would continue through the decade.

The military junta that had held control of Argentina and launched the attacks quickly fell out of favor and by the end of 1983, Argentinian elections were held again bringing the country back towards democracy.

As for the Falklanders, the U.K. maintained control of the island and a base there, but they began devolving governance of the islands to more local control. Today, the islands maintain one of the lowest GDPs (221 out of 229 countries or territories) but also one of the highest per capita GDPs (10th) in the world. Boosted by an influx of Chilean migrants, the economy is supported largely by commercial fishing, agriculture (mostly sheepherding and wool wear) and tourism being the major drivers. Falkland Island wool is considered some of the finest in the world.

However, as an event that was at the top of the newscasts for months, the Falkland Islands “War” is largely seen as a footnote and inconsequential. No longstanding changes were made, and very few people were directly affected long term from the events. From the United States’ perspective, it was the equivalent of Grenada in 1983; something that happened briefly that was quickly forgotten. Nonethless, the political world was greatly impacted by the success and failure of the two combatants. To go to the Falklands today, there is little evidence from the war remaining, and little reason to believe that so much ado was made about two little grass covered rocks in the south Atlantic.

PurpleAmerica’s Cultural Corner

This is how CBS covered the end of the Falkland Islands War back in 1982.

And this is how the Falkland Islands looks today…

PurpleAmerica’s Obscure Facts of the Day

In 2013, there was a referendum on the islands on whether the Falklands wanted to remain a protectorate territory of the British crown. “Yes” won with a resounding 99.8% of the vote, and over 93% of the entire territory voting. Only three people had voted “No.”

Over 70% of the 3500+ population lives in the Capital of “Stanley.” The average age: 38.

There is only one newspaper, “The Penguin News” which publishes every Friday. There is very little Internet and Television and what there is is expensive. When you go there, you’re pretty isolated from the outside world in most every way.

PurpleAmerica’s Final Word on the Subject

Let’s give it to the Iron Lady herself…

Many of you who follow this Substack know that I am all about civility, moderation and nuanced, smart policy. I’m not about throwing polemic broadsides out there or appealing to the more monotonous base compulsions. I find those very off putting and counterproductive. It’s always better to be nice, casual and understanding. Thatcher’s comment above is a bit of a political commandment in that regard. The way to win is by addition, not subtraction. If you have the opportunity to turn someone with whom you disagreed with into a friend and supporter, take that chance. It just usually relies on being receptive, polite and civil on the front end to get there.⁴

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Footnotes and Fun Stuff

1. In Argentina and some Latin American countries, their known as the Islas Malvinas.

2. When Ernest Shackleton was snowbound in the Antarctic after his ship the Endurance was crushed by the ice, he and some of his team managed to take a rowboat across some of the worst open waters in the world to South Georgia and find rescue at a whaling station. He then had them rescue the rest of his party still marooned on Antarctica.

3. Before I get a lot of grief from readers about calling Margaret Thatcher a “bitch,” the UK tabloids were the ones who did it. Thatcher though, to her credit, turned and took the moniker and wore it like a badge of honor. She once said “A bunch of old men calling a powerful woman a ‘bitch’ only shows how useless they really are.”

4. I had taken a leave of absence for awhile, because I saw myself getting more frustrated and angry at those base voters out there, and didn’t want to resort to the kind of hate filled anger they routinely spout online. I saw myself as getting more spiteful, and didn’t like who I was becoming. It’s the reason I took a step back and it has done wonders for my mental health. I strongly encourage others to do so if needed.