The Falklands War

[SparrowHawk62]

I've wondered for quite some time why US Naval Units who assisted the Brits, never got any recognition! I know the USS Independence assisted, why wasn't she awarded some sort of ribbon for this action.
I can only guess that the US wanted to stay out of the fray. Who'd ever know if we transfered fuel and supplies to the Brits? It sure wasn't going to get printed in any US newspaper.
Just kinda sucks that we helped, and never got so much as a thank you.



The Causes of The Falklands War

It is very easy to point at the Falkland Islands sovereignty and assume that the war was inevitable, but history is rarely so simple. After all the sovereignty issue between Britain and Argentina had been running for over 150 years and had not resulted in war until 1982. Perhaps then the real question about the cause of the war should be why 1982? Why after 150 years of non-violence did Argentina decide that force was the answer?

Firstly, the government of Argentina in 1982 was a military Junta that had assumed power in 1981 in a coup and had begun planning to invade the Malvina's as soon as they came to office. This is important to our understanding why, since the military leaders believed they would achieve what previous politicians had been to weak to achieve. The peaceful negotiations had achieved nothing as Britain dragged her feet and prevented any resolution (or at least one that guaranteed the islands would be returned to Argentina). The lack of a democratically elected leader may also explain why the political wishes of the Islanders themselves were not considered in the equation. However, the situation of Argentina in 1982 with rocketing inflation had seen popular demonstrations against the government. The Junta was under pressure and by a stroke of fate the Malvinas Issue was headline news at the time because of the actions of an Argentine businessman Davidoff who had landed at South Georgia and had been asked to leave by Britain. Argentine naval vessels had arrived and landed over 100 marines. The Junta's original plan had been to invade later in the year after HMS Endurance had been withdrawn and by nature of the extreme South Atlantic weather ruling out any British counterattack that year.Crucially the decision was reached to use the Davidoff incident to launch their invasion immediately with the added bonus of naval manoeuvres with Uruguay preventing suspicion of the invasion fleet sailing. So on the Argentine side the Falklands War happened in 1982 because of peripheral circumstances (in the South Georgia Scrap Metal Affair) and central policy in the desire of the military government to leave their place in Argentine history as the men who recaptured the Malvinas.

The power of Britain during the last century and the first half of this one meant armed conflict by Argentina was out of the question, as it was inevitable that Britain would triumph in any conflict between the two nations. The great prestige of the Empire in Britain would mean that any invasion would be bound to be met with force and result in a war. In 1982 this empire had been greatly reduced and only a few scattered islands remained wholly under British rule. Britain had even hinted diplomatically to Argentina that it wanted to be rid of the Falklands, which for so long had soured relations between the two countries. British Naval power, once the world leader had been drastically reduced and it was clear that the British Government intended to reduce the Royal Navy to a mere NATO Anti-Submarine force. Although still significantly larger than the Argentine Navy the size difference between the two was the lowest it had ever been and was still falling. British military presence in the South Atlantic was confined to a garrison of Royal marines and the Ice Patrol Vessel HMS Endurance, and of these it had been announced that the ship was to be withdrawn. These considerations led to two important decisions being reached:

1) That any invasion would be successful against such a small military force;

2)That although Britain would be annoyed it would have neither the resources nor the political will to fight for a group of islands, with no strategic or economic value;

3)That the UN (and in particular the United States) would not intervene;

In view of these decisions it was planned that during the invasion British and Islanders casualties were to be kept to an absolute minimum, to avoid any demand to avenge British blood stirring a political will in London, as well as causing international indignation. As had already been stated the original plan had been for the invasion to occur later in the year, when the South Atlantic weather would prevent any British counterattack. Ironically if the Argentinean Government had waited many of the ships used in the Task Force would have been scrapped in the the British Defense Review, including the all important aircraft carriers, virtually ruling out the Falklands Operation. Nevertheless, Britain's supposed weakness and apathy to the Falklands, the logistical unfeasibly combined with the cost of mounting any recovery operation, and perhaps even a touch of assumed democratic weakness led to the Argentinean invasion of 1982. What insured that the invasion began a war, was largely the complete misunderstanding of political opinion in both Britain and the UN. The Argentinean take-over against the wishes of the Islanders themselves, ensured the invasion received virtually no support internationally, whilst Britain's government, equally unpopular and suffering economic difficulties would not tolerate British citizens under a foreign occupation. To have accepted this might have encouraged aggression on other more important colonial possessions namely Gibraltar and Hong Kong. Both governments became popular almost overnight in going to war over islands that had never been part of Argentina and of which less than 1 in 10 of the British population could correctly locate on a world map.

It is clear then that the Falklands War was inevitable after 1981 and the coup which brought the Junta to power. What is also clear is that circumstances on the ground led to the invasion being moved forward, which fatally surrendered the initiative over to the British, in that they could counterattack before the winter and by expelling the Argentineans before winter ensure that their victory was complete by not having to negotiate and possibly give concessions. If the Junta intended the Falklands invasion to settle the issue, they in fact succeeded but only in the complete reverse. Negotiations on the islands future, painfully slow before the conflict, were now suspended permanently. There could be no handover from London now British blood had been sacrificed. In this regard the overriding cause can be seen as Argentine frustration, but the war would see this frustration replaced by the humiliation of surrender and the ignominy of defeat.

[Jerry D]

A good historical account of the Falkland War. Thanks for posting the rest of the story