At Falkland Islands, an archipelago located about 500 kilometers off the Argentine coast, was the scene of one of the shortest, bloodiest and most unnecessary wars that took place in the 20th century. The region was occupied by the British since the 19th century and was part of a small portion of the vast territories that made up the immense British empire. After World War II, even with the decolonization process, the South American region remained under British tutelage.
In the 1980s, with almost a century of British domination in the archipelago, the military dictatorship that controlled Argentina decided to promote a plan to control the territory. It is important to note that at that time, the Argentine dictatorship - then commanded by General Galtieri – felt pressured by the social and economic problems that pitted the population against the government. In that way, the plan would be a desperate way to restore the government's image through war.
Shortly before the start of the war, the Argentine government's high command devised Operation Rosario as a way to plan the strategies used by its military forces. At the same time, at the international political level, the Argentines believed that they would have the support of the United States to regain the Falklands territory or that the British would give up the island through a quick negotiation diplomatic. However, the plans of the Galtieri government did not turn out as expected.
In March 1982, a fleet of merchant ships escorted by military vessels began prowling the archipelago. Suspicious of that strange maneuver, the British forces that watched over the protection of the island demanded that those vessels immediately move away from English territory. This small indisposition ended up serving as a pretext for the Argentine forces to declare war on England carrying out the Malvinas invasion on the 2nd of April of that same year.
The conflict in the Falklands, despite its small territorial extension, required that the military forces involved were prepared to face the hostile climate marked by snow and rain constants. The first invasion carried out by the Argentines was successful and resulted in the control of Port Stanley, which, with the conquest, changed the name of the city to Puerto Argentino. As the regime publicized its victory in the media, the British tried to negotiate a peaceful withdrawal by the Argentine military.
Upon the refusal of the Galtieri government, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher ordered the preparation of British forces for a conflict against the Argentines. The evident superiority of English warfare could foresee the result of this conflict. After a phase of relative balance between the military forces involved in the war, the British side put into action the so-called Operation Sutton, sending a large number of weapons and marines to participate in the war.
Taking advantage of the geographic accidents that took over the entire archipelago, the Argentines organized an aerial counterattack commanded by Fuerza Aérea Sur. Using Exocet missiles, the Argentines managed to shoot down two British vessels. Despite this, the greatest Argentine defeats took place on land, when the British had no greater difficulty in defeating a large but extremely ill-prepared army.
Before long, the British organized a siege of the city of Port Stanley. The victory of the British took place during the month of June 1982. The lack of powerful armaments and the tactical preparation of the British impelled the Argentine troops to surrender without offering any further resistance. On June 14, 1982, England had finally re-established its hegemony over the Falkland Islands, the name officially given by the British to the region.
After the conflict, the galloping inflationary crisis – which then hit 600% a year – and popular movements against military repression caused the fall of the Argentine dictatorship. In a brusque redemocratization process, the Argentines deposed Galtieri and, the following year, held the elections that brought Raúl Alfonsín to power. In England, the conflict strengthened the political image of Margaret Thatcher, who managed to get re-elected as prime minister.
By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/guerras/guerra-das-malvinas.htm