Operation Rosario – Argentine-style blitzkrieg
South Georgia, the largest settlement today. In 1982, this "megalopolis" didn't exist...
Today, the population of this remarkable place is astonishingly large: the island's capital, Grytviken, had a population of 23 in 2001. Seals and penguins also abound. However, the island was abundant in scrap metal: whalers regularly stopped here. A businessman from Buenos Aires with the purely Spanish surname Davidov signed a contract with the British company Christian Salvesen to dismantle old whaling factories for scrap. Meanwhile, the wily Argentine military decided to disguise themselves as workers and bring their contingent to South Georgia and establish a secret base there.
"Almirante Iriscar"
The area is remote, so the Argentines made no attempt to observe diplomatic formalities when visiting the island (and they had been there many times by then). When a party of "workers" landed on the island on March 19, 1982, from the Argentine military icebreaker Almirante Irizar, their first act was to raise the Argentine flag over a pile of rocks and scrap metal. The British population of Grytviken observed these actions (at least it was a bit of amusement!) and reported them. The British Foreign Office protested to Buenos Aires and sent the icebreaker Endurance with 22 marines to drive these scoundrels off the island.
A British icebreaker set out for the island but encountered a pair of Argentine corvettes, the Drummond and the Granville, deployed between the Falklands and South Georgia. They explained that they were evacuating their crews themselves. When the Endurance reached Lee Bay, it encountered the Argentine Arctic surveillance ship Bahia Paraiso, from which 10 Argentine naval commandos landed. The Foreign Office, realizing that trouble was brewing, proposed a compromise: issuing temporary residence permits to the "workers." The Argentines responded that they didn't need documents—they were allowed to be there under a liaison treaty concluded in 1971. The British considered this interpretation of the treaty inappropriate, as it applied exclusively to the Falkland Islands.
While the Endurance with British Marines and the Bahia Paraiso with Argentine commandos were sparring on South Georgia, Operation Rosario, commonly referred to as "Operation Rosario," began on April 2, 1982. There are indications that it was originally named "Azul" (Blue). Whatever the truth, the landing plan was developed by Vice Admiral Juan Lombardo, under the direction of Admiral Jorge Anaya, Commander-in-Chief of the Argentine Navy. The main force of the invasion was the 2nd Marine Battalion, 600 strong, in amphibious armored personnel carriers (LVTPs). The landing force was carried out by the landing ship Cabo de San Antonio and the destroyer Santísima Trinidad. Task Force 20, comprising the aircraft carrier 25 de Mayo, the destroyers Comodoro Pi, Hipólito Bouchard, Piedra Buena, and Segui, and the tanker Punta Médanos, provided cover. The operation was planned to be swift and bloodless! In this case, the Argentine junta calculated, Britain would not respond militarily, limiting itself to diplomatic means.
The landing was to take place in several areas at once, with commando groups capturing the most important targets on East Falkland in a prescribed order, the last of which were to be the Marine barracks and the airport.
"Buzos tacticos" today
The first to land on the islands, according to the plan, were the "Buzo Tacticos," a 13-man frogman under the command of Lieutenant Commander Alfredo Cufré, delivered by the submarine Santa Fe and reaching the shore in three inflatable boats. They conducted reconnaissance and mapped out the landing sites—Playa Rojo, where the 2nd Marine Battalion was to land. The battalion's objective was to capture the Camber Peninsula, along which ran the 5,6-kilometer-long local narrow-gauge railway (the so-called "Falkland Express"), connecting the naval depot located on the peninsula (during World War II, Britain built a pier and fuel pier on the peninsula) with Port Stanley. After that, the battalion was to occupy the islands' capital and its airport, which was later planned to be used for landing aircraft carrying troops.
The Argentine command's main mistake was haste. The operation was planned for May 15, but on March 26, orders were received to begin 45 days earlier. The problem was that Argentina had purchased 10 Mirage 5Ps from France via Peru, but the Argentine pilots had not had time to master the aircraft before the end of the conflict. Furthermore, two Canberra bombers purchased from England and anti-aircraft guns had not arrived in time for the conflict to begin. missile Tigercat and Blowpipe systems. And only five of the 14 Super Etendard aircraft purchased have arrived, along with five of the 28 Exocet missiles ordered.
Leopoldo Galtieri speaks to his loving people (sarcasm, by the way)
The secrecy with which the operation was prepared... What secrecy could there be in Latin America? Everyone knew about the impending landing. On April 1, then-US President Ronald Reagan contacted Galtieri and asked him to cancel the operation (which meant he was aware of it). Señor Leopoldo waited an hour and a half before picking up the phone: he waited until contact with the task force was lost and it would be impossible to roll back the operation. In the conversation, the American president declared that Britain was for the US "a very special ally", but this made no visible impression on the Argentine leader.
"England is a very special ally!"
Although Galtieri had hopes for a more benevolent US stance. The fact is, the US supported the junta in every way: in 1976, Henry Kissinger secured a 50 million dollar loan for Argentina, and in 1977-1978, they sold 120 million dollars worth of military spare parts and 700 dollars for the training of 217 Argentine soldiers in the US. True, under Carter, there was a slight tension between the two countries—the Democrats weren't particularly fond of the "dirty war" and other Argentine national pastimes, but... After Carter, Reagan came, who was happy with anything, as long as he could throw people the US wanted out of planes. Furthermore, the Argentines provided the CIA with various minor services; for example, the 601st Reconnaissance Battalion trained the Nicaraguan Contras at the American Lepaterique base in Honduras. And anyway, there's the Monroe Doctrine, America for Americans, and all that. And most importantly, the 1947 Rio Pact, essentially an inter-American mutual assistance treaty, a sort of "American NATO," according to which an attack on one country constitutes an attack on all signatory countries, including the United States. In short, Galtieri counted on American benevolent neutrality regarding the Malvinas Islands and their forced return.
TDC "Cabo de San Antonio"
On March 28, 1982, Task Force 20, divided into two task groups: FT-40 and FT-20, departed Puerto Belgrano, the main base of the Argentine Navy. The force steamed at 14 knots in a circular formation, protecting "My Precious," the tank landing ship Cabo San Antonio, with its landing force aboard. The icebreaker Almirante Irizar joined the armada offshore. A southwesterly wind soon strengthened, forcing FT-40 to reduce speed to 6 knots. Ultimately, the lousy Falklands weather prevented the operation from being completed on time: the landings were only able to begin on April 2. Aerial reconnaissance was provided by Grumman S-2 Tracker aircraft from the aircraft carrier USS 25 de Mayo.
RPG "Karl Gustav" - a hero of the Falklands War
And what about the British? On May 30, the British destroyer Antrim and several other ships and submarines departed for South Georgia to assist the Endurance and intimidate the Argentines, so the landing was straightforward. Port Stanley usually had 85 marines, but 22 departed with the Endurance, leaving a total of 57 marines on the islands, plus 25 local militiamen (the exact figures are highly convoluted, but these are the most reliable). The militiamen were tasked with guarding the telephone exchange, radio station, and power station. Furthermore, Jack Sollis, skipper of the coastal vessel Forrest, offered to use his pyroscaphe as a makeshift radar. The Marines had several Bren light machine guns, Carl Gustav RPGs and automatic rifles, while the islands' governor, Rex Hunt, had a 9mm Browning pistol.
Among the islands' defense measures, it's worth noting the arrest of 30 Argentine citizens (including Falklanders married to Argentine women), who were placed in the Town Hall canteen, not far from the police station. A lieutenant of the Royal Marines was assigned to guard them. fleet Richard Ball. In addition, the beacon was extinguished, and the local airfield's runway was closed with the help of trucks and tractors.
"Buzos Tactikos" in Malvinas
On March 31 at 10:00 PM, the submarine Santa Fe detected the coastal steamship Forrest through its periscope while it was playing radar. It became clear that surprise had failed, and the operation plan was hastily rehashed. Fourteen "Buzos Tacticos" in Zodiac inflatable boats departed the submarine at 1:40 PM and headed for Pembroke Peninsula. From there, they crossed into York Bay at 4:30 AM on April 2. Here, they set up signal lights for the main landing force and set out to capture the lighthouse and airfield. The frogmen encountered no resistance.
Lieutenant Commander Pedro Edgardo Jaquino
Meanwhile, the destroyer Santísima Trinidad dropped anchor 500 meters from the mouth of the local Mallet Kirk River. The ship launched 21 Gemini inflatable boats carrying 84 Argentine commandos from the 1st Amphibious Group, commanded by Lieutenant Commanders Guillermo Sánchez-Sabarotas and Pedro Edgardo Jaquino. Rear Admiral Pedro Allara radioed the Falklands Governor Rex Hunt to offer surrender. The governor refused. Jaquino's force set out to seize the British Marine barracks at Mundy Brook.
The site of the Mundy Brook Barracks is today
Lieutenant Commander Sanchez-Sabarotas described the night march to the barracks as follows:
The night was beautiful, the moon was shining, but it was mostly obscured by clouds. Carrying heavy loads was difficult... Eventually, we split into three groups. We had only one night sight—that of one of the groups' commanders, Lieutenant Arias. One group was separated when a vehicle drove along the road we were supposed to cross. We thought it was a military patrol. The second group lost contact, and the third was separated because someone was moving too fast. Because of this, my second-in-command, Lieutenant Bardi, fell, suffered a microfracture of the ankle, and had to be left with the person who was supposed to help him. We arrived at Mundy Brook at 5:30 a.m., right on schedule, but without time for the hour-long reconnaissance we had hoped for.
The barracks were quiet, but a light was on in the commander's office. No sounds indicating the main force had begun landing were audible, and the Argentine Marine commander didn't notice any sentries at the barracks, but decided to launch an assault. The Argentines claim it was important to them to take the islands without casualties, since, as Galtieri believed, there was a chance the British wouldn't be too upset by the seizure of disputed territory. According to their version, the commandos positioned machine guns around the barracks and threw tear gas grenades through the windows. The gas was wasted—the barracks were empty. However, the explosions made it clear to the Marine commander, Major Michael Norman, that the Argentines were already on the islands. He ordered all available fighters to assemble at Government House. However, the governor instructed the militia to offer no resistance under any circumstances, but to surrender immediately.
An interesting detail: the Argentines describe the assault on the Mundi Brook barracks exactly as I described above (the British, for obvious reasons, have no recollection of this moment). The British, however, after returning to the islands, described the barracks as riddled with machine-gun fire, and that the grenades dropped inside were not tear gas, but white phosphorus grenades. The Argentines claim that the bullet holes are from Harrier fighter-bombers strafing the barracks during the liberation of the islands, but they have not commented on the presence of white phosphorus.
Argentine amphibious armored personnel carriers on the streets of Port Stanley.
Meanwhile, at 6:00 a.m., the lights on the Cabo San Antonio went out, the exhaust fans turned on, and the bow ramps opened. At 6:22 a.m., the command was given "First wave - to the water!"The landing of the main landing force, commanded by Captain 2nd Rank Alfredo Raúl Weinstabl, began. From the landing craft Cabo San Antonio, 20 LVTP-7A1 armored personnel carriers, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Carlos Alberto Cazzaniga, carrying personnel from Companies D and E of the 2nd Marine Battalion, landed in York Bay. Due to darkness, the armored personnel carriers were guided only by lights set up by combat swimmers. A detachment of Royal Marines under Lieutenant William Trollope oversaw the landing. After the landing, the Argentine armored vehicles moved in a column toward Port Stanley, led by three Amtrac armored personnel carriers.
Amtraks in the Falklands
The first engagement between the Argentines and the island defenders occurred at 7:15 a.m. near the ionospheric research station. Lieutenant Commander Hugo Santillan's official report describes it as follows:
We were on the last stretch of road to Stanley. A machine gun fired from one of the three white houses, about 500 meters away, hitting the right Amtrac. The fire was very accurate. Then we heard grenade launcher shots, but they were inaccurate, the shells falling far from us. We followed standard procedure and took evasive action. The first Amtrac returned fire and took cover in a small depression. Once it was out of danger, I ordered all three vehicles to disembark. I ordered the recoilless rifle crew (the paratroopers were armed with 75mm recoilless rifles – G.T.) to fire one HEAT round at the ridge of the roof of the house where the machine gun was located, causing an explosion but not a bang. We still followed the order not to inflict casualties. The first round missed by about 100 meters, but the second hit the roof. Then the British troops threw a purple smoke grenade; I thought it was their signal to retreat. They stopped firing, so Captain 2nd Rank Weinstabl began advancing two companies around the position. Several riflemen opened fire from one of the houses; it was quite unpleasant. I couldn't pinpoint the location, but one of my amtracs did and asked permission to open fire with the mortar he was carrying. I granted permission, but only with two mortars, and only at the rooftops. Two shots missed, but the third hit right in the center of the roof; it was incredible. After that, the British ceased firing.
The British thought the armored personnel carrier had crashed into the low ground. The Argentines claim it was hit by 97 bullets, and the second armored personnel carrier lost its tracks. Royal Marine Lieutenant Trollope describes the battle as follows:
Six armored personnel carriers began advancing rapidly along the road toward the airport. The first APC was fired upon from a range of 200-250 meters. The first three rounds, two 84mm and one 66mm (from a Carl Gustav grenade launcher), missed. Then one 66mm round, fired by Marine Mark Gibbs, hit the passenger compartment, and one 84mm round, fired by Marines George Brown and Danny Betts, hit the front. Both rounds detonated, and no further fire was heard from that vehicle. The remaining five APCs, approximately 600-700 meters away, disembarked their soldiers and opened fire. We fired at them with a machine gun, automatic rifle, and sniper rifle (Sergeant Ernie Shepherd) for about a minute, then threw a white phosphorus smoke grenade and retreated back to the cover of the garden. The fire was intense, but mostly inaccurate.
In short, the British claim that in the first engagement they managed to knock out one Argentine armored personnel carrier with a Carl Gustav grenade launcher. The Argentines have not confirmed the destruction of the armored personnel carrier, but they point out that in this engagement they suffered their only irreparable loss of the entire operation—the death of Marine Horacio Tello. So, most likely, the British did hit the passenger compartment of the APC...
Falklands Governor Rex Hunt in 1985
Meanwhile, the Royal Marines retreated toward Government House. Not everyone made it: 16 men led by Corporals Lou Armour and David Carr, moving along the outskirts of Port Stanley, came under fire and were unable to reach the center. The two corporals decided to search for Troll, which required crossing a football field and crawling along a hedge leading to the gardens, where they came under friendly fire: the Argentines were just attacking Government House and the Marines were mistaken for another enemy unit. They managed to enter Government House through the kitchen window, shouting beforehand: "Royal Marines!".
Earlier, Corporal Stefan York and his squad had been taking cover on the western side of Navy Point. Seeing Argentine armored personnel carriers approaching Port Stanley Harbor, Marine Rick Overhall fired a Carl Gustav RPG, which, according to him, hit a landing craft (?) and killed everyone on board. Basically, Bismarck's saying that nowhere do they lie so much as in war and on the hunt is omnipotent, because it's true! Most likely, the APC with the missing tracks was mistaken for the damaged "landing craft."
Providing first aid to the wounded Lieutenant Commander Jaquino
The fiercest fighting erupted for the Government House. Lieutenant Commander Pedro Jaquino, who launched the assault, had only 16 marines and no radio communications. He divided his men, placing a group against each wall. The Argentine commander was unaware that almost all of the British marines, outnumbering his detachment three to one, were inside the building.
The Argentines launched their first attack at 6:30 a.m., an hour before the main landing force arrived. While Lieutenant Gustavo Adolf Lugo's detachment engaged the building's defenders in a firefight, the lieutenant commander himself, with four commandos, entered the servants' annex, mistaking it for the back entrance to the governor's residence. Inside, they were met with fire from four British Marines: Corporals Mick Sillen and Colin Jones, and Privates Harry Dorey and Murray Paterson.
Giachino was immediately seriously wounded, and Lieutenant Diego García Quiroga also received a bullet in the arm. A combat medic, Corporal Ernesto Urbina, attempted to reach Giachino, but was wounded by a hand grenade. Giachino pulled the pin and threatened to blow himself up along with the British Marines. The Marines tried to persuade the wounded officer to give up the grenade so they could provide him with medical attention, but he refused. Three hours later, after the surrender of Government House, he was taken to Port Stanley Hospital, but he died of blood loss. An interesting point is the casualty counting system: Giachino is not counted as killed during the landing on the Falklands; he died in the hospital.
Meanwhile, Corporal York on the Camber Peninsula reported to Major Norman about the possible entry of Argentine ships into Port Stanley harbor. As I already wrote, York's group had the Carl Gustav with them, and he asked the commander: which ship should they fire on? The answer was: "Target number one is the aircraft carrier, target number two is the cruiser."What's the point of firing an RPG at a cruiser or an aircraft carrier? British humor is quite subtle... Nevertheless, the British marines hid in their inflatable motorboat in the shadows beneath the Polish trawler, and didn't fire their grenade launcher at anyone.
Argentine troops and local population
Meanwhile, the Argentines continued their assault on Government House. The British had no idea how many men were actually storming it: the commandos were constantly changing positions, and the British confused the use of stun grenades with grenades from underbarrel grenade launchers or even mortar rounds. After Giachino was wounded, his deputy, Lieutenant Lugo, commanded a dozen commandos. The Argentines were quite effective: Governor Hunt called Radio Stanley and assured host Patrick Watts that an assault company was attempting to take Government House:
We're staying here, but we're pinned down. We can't move... There must be 200 people around us now. They're firing rifle grenades at us, I think there might be mortars, I don't know. They came very quickly and very close, and then retreated. Maybe they're waiting for the armored personnel carriers to arrive, thinking they'll lose fewer people that way.
British snipers, Corporals George Gill and Terry Pares, claimed to have shot several Argentines during the assault—at least five. They also wounded another seventeen. In total, the losses were 22 out of 14 men (Jachino and Quiroga were already out of action)—a phenomenal loss!
The Argentine flag over Puerto Argentina!
However, the fighting was so intense that when local resident Henry Holliday arrived at Government House for work (!), Police Chief Ronnie Lamb dispatched two officers to escort the civilian out. At 8:30 a.m., Major Norman informed the governor that their defense would be "decisive, relentless, but relatively short-lived", after which Hunt decided to open negotiations with the Argentines. The deputy governor, along with Héctor Gilobert, a representative of the Argentine airline LADE, waving a white flag, went to the Argentine headquarters. The Argentine commander, Rear Admiral Carlos Büsser, was headquartered in Port Stanley Town Hall, where the agreement for the British garrison to surrender at 9:30 a.m. was reached. For Hunt, it was a difficult decision:
With a heavy heart I turned to Mike and told him to give the order to lay down weaponI couldn't bring myself to utter the word "surrender." Mike's expression was a mixture of relief and anguish: surrender wasn't part of his training, but common sense dictated there was no real alternative. While Gary accompanied Busser to tend to the wounded around Government House, Mike ordered his radio operator to instruct all units to lay down their arms and wait to be picked up.
Along with the marines, all the British militiamen who had not participated in the battle were captured. Corporal York's group hid for several days on Long Island Farm but were forced to surrender under threat of starvation. Minor clashes occurred at Navy Point on the Camber Peninsula and at Port Stanley Airport. However, Port Stanley became Puerto Argentina, and an Argentine naval base was established on the islands.
Rear Admiral Carlos Büsser, who commanded the invasion
And what about South Georgia, where the Argentine "workers" raised their flag back on March 18? British marines from the icebreaker Endurance, led by Lieutenant Keith Mills, fortified the island, not far from the British Antarctic Station buildings, lining their positions with mines. After the fall of Port Stanley, they were ordered to resist until their lives were put at risk.
On April 3, the corvette Guerrico and the Arctic surveillance ship Bahia Paraíso arrived at the island. They decided to take the island by helicopter: Guerrico sent the Alluet for reconnaissance, while the landing force was to take the Puma from Bahia Paraíso. At 5:00 AM, the British polar explorers were asked to surrender. They refused, and the marines, having sheltered the station personnel in the church, prepared for defense. The Argentines were unaware of the presence of marines on the island, so a Puma helicopter carrying 15 commandos and a machine gun was dispatched to the island to organize a flag-raising operation.
The helicopter began to land in full view of the marines, who opened fire with automatic weapons. The pilot attempted to steer the helicopter to the other end of the island, but two commandos were killed, four wounded, and the helicopter was lost. The corvette Guerrico was tasked with flushing the marines out of their position. According to the Argentine commander, the 100mm cannon jammed after the first shot, the 20mm guns suffered the same fate, and the 40mm Bofors had only fired six shots when the ship was hit by an 84mm grenade from a Carl Gustav RPG. The impact killed Captain 1st Rank Patricio Gaunca, wounded four more sailors, and damaged wiring, the 40mm anti-aircraft gun, Exocet missiles, and the 100mm cannon.
The ship turned to leave and came under fire from automatic rifles. The Argentines claim the Guerrico was hit by over 200 bullets. Soon, the Allouet transported 10 Argentine marines to the island, and the corvette repaired its 40mm Bofors and began shelling British positions. Lieutenant Keith Mills then decided to surrender. Thus, the battle for unfortunate South Georgia cost the Argentines more casualties than the fighting for the Falklands.
Argentine helicopter shot down over South Georgia
Victory? Absolutely! And here, the hot-blooded Latin American guys made a fatal mistake. Having captured 175 British prisoners at Port Stanley, including 85 marines, the Argentines forced them face down on the asphalt in front of cameras. There was no practical need for this, but the muchachos wanted to demonstrate their victory. Idiots. When the photos were splashed across newspapers worldwide, the operation to return the Falkland Islands to British harbour was a foregone conclusion. No one would have let Thatcher let such a thing slide. And she herself wasn't exactly burning with such a desire...
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