A war that spans half the world

April 2, 1982

The Falklands War broke out

April 2, 1982, early morning.

Near Port Stanley, the capital of the British Malvinas Islands in the South Atlantic, a large number of Argentine soldiers with loaded guns appeared.

Under the cover of night, Argentine soldiers swooped down on the British Governor's Palace in Port Stanley, where the entire British garrison together numbered less than 200 men.

Faced with such a huge disparity in strength, the British governor quickly confirmed his unconditional surrender.

After the sky brightened, a 5-meter-long and 3-meter-wide Argentine flag was slowly raised in Port Stanley, and the lowered British flag was sent to the British Embassy in Argentina.

Argentina declared sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands.

There was jubilation in Argentina.

The whole country in Britain was shocked.

UN Secretary-General de Cuéllar, who had just taken office for a short time, hurriedly ran around, calling on the two sides to sit down and negotiate and not resort to force.

But all in vain.

One of the world's largest naval battles since World War II began.

Let's start with the island, the Malvinas Islands.

The Malvinas Islands, referred to as the Falklands, are located in the South Atlantic Ocean and consist of more than 700 small islands with a total area of 12,200 square kilometers.

The history of the island's discovery and possession has been disputed.

The Portuguese and the Dutch claimed to have discovered the island first, but the French established settlements on the Falklands in 1764, but the British were the first to settle a year later. Troublesomely, the Spaniards bought all the settlements from the French in 1767 and expelled all foreigners in 1770, although the British never recognized the Spanish occupation.

In 1816, the Argentines joined in, the year they became independent from Spanish colonial rule, so they declared that they should "inherit" the Spanish possessions.

But the British simply didn't buy it. In 1833, the British expelled all Argentines from the Falklands by force, declaring formal colonization of the Falklands. In fact, the British never used the term "Falklands", they always referred to it as the "Falkland Islands" – and still refer to it in their history books and official documents (we will refer to it collectively hereinafter).

Where the Falklands are located.

Argentina's reasoning, in addition to emphasizing that it was "inherited from Spain", the most justified reason is:

The Falklands are only 500 kilometers from Argentina, but more than 13,000 kilometers from the United Kingdom.

And the British have their own reasons:

Since 1833, we have had "open, continuous, and effective possession, occupation, and management" of the Falklands.

To put it simply, Argentina's reason is "close to my home", while the UK's reason is that "it has been my home since ancient times".

This account was calculated from the 1950s to the early 1980s, and it was still not settled.

When it came time to 1982, Argentina couldn't wait.

So it's time to talk about Argentina.

Argentina is a country that is hard to describe – the "magnanimity" of their ancestors is staggering.

Argentina has less than 1.3 times the land area of the United States, a population of just over 40 million, and a per capita arable land area twice that of the United States. God has given Argentina too many gifts: a long coastline, high-quality grasslands, abundant fresh water, and a large number of mineral resources, so Argentina is also known as "the breadbasket and meat bank of the world".

At the beginning of the last century, Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world, with the eighth largest economy in the world. At that time, Argentina's per capita income was higher than that of Europe's old imperialists Germany and France, and the gap between rich and poor was very small.

This can be seen from two titles at the time: Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, was called the "Paris of South America", and the country was called "the United States of South America".

At that time, the Argentines were seen by the whole world as we see the Middle Easterners now.

General Perón and his wife - Madame Peron. The famous song "Don't Cry for Me in Argentina" (don'T Cry for Me Argentina) is written for her.

That year, inflation in Argentina was over 600% and GDP fell by 114%, and manufacturing output fell to 229 percent, but only 19 percent salary increases2%。

In this context, opposition voices arose all over the country, demanding that the military who had already practiced cruel ** rule *** as the *** galtieri at that time, after racking his brains, he could only think of a way to divert attention.

What's the solution? Start a war with the outside world.

Galtieri's eyes soon fell on the Falklands, which had always been disputed.

Argentina admits that it is still a little confident.

Because the ancestors were once broad, Argentina's military strength at that time was second only to Brazil in South America, and it was known as the "Little Overlord of South America".

The army has about 200,000 regular troops, and the air force has "Mirage" fighters imported from France as well as "Super Flag" fighters. In addition to various types of ships, the Navy also had a regular aircraft carrier "May 25" (named after the Argentine National Day) equipped with catapults - one of the few countries that had aircraft carriers at that time.

Coupled with the fact that the Falklands are geographically so advantageous to Argentina, Galtieri decided to use the "recovery of the Falklands" as the biggest bargaining chip to save the domestic situation at all costs.

Genting was Galtieri at the time, and before that he was commander-in-chief of the Argentine Army.

Argentina was jubilant, all opposition parties declared their support for Galtieri**, and even the parties that opposed ** chanted "Long live Galtieri"; Young men from all over the country lined up at the recruitment office, vowing to fight to the death for the country and defend the Falklands; **There have been rallies and marches outside the province, chanting patriotic slogans and expressing full support.

So, Galtieri's plan is only one step away from success:

The British Empire, which was 13,000 kilometers away, was already in its twilight, and would not fight back.

It's the UK's turn.

In the early 1980s, the British Empire also lost the style of the "empire on which the sun never sets", whose territory accounted for 25% of the total land area of the earth. The trauma of World War I and World War II devastated Britain from the big brother of the United States to a small henchman. The domestic economic situation is also not optimistic, and the national defense strength is in serious decline.

However, they have a prime minister who has been in office for less than three years, and he is still a woman.

She was Margaret Hilda Thatcher.

Thatcher, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

However, Argentina did not declare war, but it provoked the "Iron Lady" Thatcher.

Thatcher was not having a good time at the time.

Her liberal economic policies have provoked the very ** factions and forces, and the public's support for her current ** has been declining for a long time, and Britain's international image is also declining, and its majesty is no longer strong.

If Argentina went to war to divert domestic attention, Thatcher also had such an urgent need.

In the shortest possible time, Thatcher made a decision: resolutely fight back!

Thatcher's decision was also under tremendous pressure.

In the 1980s, there were only 2 aircraft carriers left in the Royal Navy, which was powerful all over the world and crisscrossed the world, one of which was built after World War II and has been in service for almost 40 years and is ready to be sold to India; The other is the light aircraft carrier "Invincible", which has just been commissioned and is ready to be sold to the Australian Navy as a flagship. None of these two aircraft carriers has a tonnage of more than 20,000 tons, and there is not even a catapult, so it can only take off and land subsonic "Harrier" fighters with a small vertical combat radius.

But even with only two light aircraft carriers that were not at all suitable for ocean-going operations, Thatcher still tried her best to persuade all sides of the opposition to resolutely send troops.

Thatcher gave an interview to Britain** and tried to make the British feel that the loss of the Falklands was "an intolerable shame".

Britain's heritage as an old military power was revealed at this time:

On 3 April, Thatcher decided to send troops, and on 4 April, a task force dominated by two aircraft carriers, the "Athletic" and the "Invincible," carrying dozens of combat planes and thousands of marines, sailed out of the British mainland and headed for the Falklands, thousands of miles away.

Among the troops on the expedition was a pilot whose identity was known only to the commander of the Navy and the military authorities - he was Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II.

The British royal family was shocked by Andrew's entry into the war and tried to put pressure on the naval commander to stop him, but Andrew ignored the prevention and became a combatant on Aquaman***, and performed well in the war. To the final relief of the British royal family, Andrew returned home unscathed.

The enthusiasm of the British to participate in the war at that time can be seen.

When the British task force set out for the expedition, the cover of Newsweek magazine in the United States quoted the name of the latest episode of the movie "Star Wars" as a striking headline:

The Empire Strikesback".

On April 26, 1982, the British Expeditionary Force first regained South Georgia and declared a military exclusion zone within 200 nautical miles.

The Falklands War officially began.

According to Argentina's plan, as long as they can remain undefeated in this war and hold off the British ** team, they can basically win the final victory - for the British troops on the labor expedition, one day of delay, the supply line will be dangerous for one day.

Route map of the British Expedition.

The disadvantages are manifested first of all on the naval side.

In the face of the world's oldest navy, which is almost exhausted, the Argentine Navy is actually self-aware and has adopted a strategy of "avoiding war" from the beginning. However, the British Navy has been looking for fighters, hoping to sink one of the opponent's capital ships to boost morale and undermine the opponent's confidence.

The opportunity came on May 2nd.

One of the two nuclear submarines sent by Britain to the war, the Conqueror, spotted the cruiser "General Belgrano" of the Argentine Navy outside the 200-nautical-mile exclusion zone they had demarcated. The "Conqueror" immediately fired three World War II torpedoes at the cruiser with a displacement of 10,000 tons, two of which hit.

The "General Belgrano", which used to be MacArthur's ship, escaped unscathed from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II (and was later sold to Argentina by the United States for $1 million), but in the end it did not escape this doom - two torpedoes caused a large ** that killed or disappeared 323 Argentine soldiers on board, and the cruiser sank 45 minutes later.

The scene when the "General Belgrano" sank.

After the sinking of the "General Belgrano", the British ** used a striking title. "Gotcha" is a continuous reading of "got you", which means "got you!" ”

In comparison, Argentina's air force performed remarkably well in this war.

Against the background of the loss of naval support, the Argentine Air Force went out on its own, breaking into the air defense circle of the British fleet at great risk and forcibly launching air strikes.

On May 4, two Argentine Air Force Super Flag fighters took to the skies, and their Exocet missiles accurately hit the British Navy's guided-missile destroyer Sheffield.

The Sheffield was Britain's most advanced guided missile destroyer at that time, costing as much as $200 million, while the Exocet missile that hit it was only $300,000. After being hit by a "Exocet" missile, the "Sheffield" *** and then sank in a few hours.

Hit "Sheffield".

Although the British "Harrier" fighters had the advantage in this air battle, the Argentine Air Force sank the British destroyer Coventry and the Antelope and the frigate Zealous of the British fleet by virtue of almost deadly air raids, and 2 destroyers (Glasgow and Antrim) and 5 frigates (Broadsword, Argo Mariner, Plymouth, Arrow, and Agility) were damaged, and more than half of the main combat ships of the British task force were sunk and wounded.

In the entire air battle, the Argentine Air Force lost 107 combat aircraft, more than three times the losses of the British Air Force, but they still did their best.

France's "Super Flag" gained fame after World War I.

Harrier fighter of the British Navy.

Despite the enthusiasm of young people in Argentina, the Argentine Army was not prepared for war - they did not expect that Britain would actually cross half the world to chase after them.

Later information showed that Argentina had intended to launch an attack on the Falklands in mid-September 1982. In fact, this time was well chosen - at that time, not only would all kinds of ** purchased by Argentina be in place, but the two British aircraft carriers participating in the war would probably have already been delivered to other countries. And without aircraft carriers, Britain would not have been able to go to the ocean to recover the Falklands.

However, it may be that due to the domestic situation, or it may be necessary to pay a gift for the National Day on May 25, Argentina launched an offensive in advance.

In fact, Argentina has never experienced the brutal wars of modernization, and its experience is seriously lacking. They implemented a one-year "compulsory military system", and a large number of Argentine recruits who had only been trained for a few months were temporarily conscripted and sent to the Falklands. Although the Argentine garrison on the Falklands is close to 10,000 people, they are basically soldiers with no combat experience, the defense line is loose, the deployment is chaotic, the logistics are short, and even the equipment to resist the cold zone of the South Pacific is not complete.

On the other hand, the British army has two years or even.

Professional soldiers with more than three or four years of experience will conduct a lot of special training every year because of joint military exercises with NATO allies, and they have rich experience, strict tactical discipline, and sufficient supplies - this is also a ridiculous scene: after the war ended, the British soldiers could eat three hot meals a day, while the Argentine defenders, who were close to their hometown, were short of supplies, and they could only eat a field ration for a day or even two days.

The 45th Commando Group of the British Navy is marching towards Port Stanley.

The Falklands are geographically close to the Antarctic Circle and have a cold climate. Because of the many internal factions in the Argentine military, the defenders sent to the Falklands actually have garrisons from the ** belt. The British soldiers, on the other hand, often conducted exercises on Greenland, were far more resistant to cold than Argentine soldiers.

However, the real outcome of the "Falklands War" is already doomed outside the battlefield.

In the modern international situation, the behind-the-scenes standing and game actually largely determine the victory or defeat of the wrench in front of the stage.

The day after Argentina occupied the Falklands, the United Nations, at the urging of British representatives, adopted Resolution 502: demanding that Argentina immediately withdraw its troops in full and immediately – which also marked the designation of Britain as a "victim".

Thatcher then characterized the act: There are many territorial disputes in the world, and it would set a "dangerous precedent" if they all used force instead of negotiations, as Argentina did – so many countries with territorial disputes at the time expressed their support for Britain.

Then, there is the standing between countries.

Britain is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and the former leading big brother of the Western world, so the powerful Western world supports Britain on the one hand, and Argentina is mainly supported by some South American countries that have weak intentions.

The point is that the support of the Western world is not rhetorical.

Before the Falklands War began, Argentina actually ordered a total of 14 Exocet missiles from France, and delivered five first. As soon as the Falklands war began, the "Exocet" missiles showed their might, and Britain immediately exerted pressure on France, and France began to delay the delivery of the remaining nine "Exocet" missiles for various reasons. Argentina learned that neighboring Peru had also ordered eight "Exocet" missiles from France, so it wanted to buy them from Peru.

The Exocet anti-ship missile developed by France.

Not only that, but the "Super Flag" and "Mirage" fighters of the Argentine Air Force were actually bought from France. As soon as the Falklands war began, France immediately provided Britain with various data on these two types of fighters, and even let the British "Harrier" fighters exercise together with the "Mirage" and "Super Banner" fighters.

Also playing an important role behind the Falklands War was the United States.

The backer behind Argentina's Galtieri** is actually the United States, so after the Falklands crisis broke out, the United States initially played a neutral role of "mediation". But as the war progressed, the United States turned to its more important ally, the United Kingdom, announcing sanctions on the grounds that Argentina refused to "mediate."

Beginning on 30 April 1982, the United States** suspended all exports of military materiel to Argentina and suspended all loans and guarantees from export banks to Argentina.

On the other hand, the United States provided Britain with military facilities on the island of Ascension, 5,000 kilometers from the Falklands, giving Britain a very important intermediate station. In addition, the United States has mobilized 47 listening stations around the world and a number of high-performance reconnaissance satellites to continuously provide intelligence to the United Kingdom. According to Britain's disclosure after the war, 98 percent of the intelligence on the Argentine side obtained by Britain in the Falklands War came from the United States, including the location of the cruiser "General Belgrano" that was sunk by Argentina, which was discovered and provided to Britain by American satellites.

Ascension Island's strategic significance speaks for itself.

Therefore, on the surface, the "Falklands War" was a war between two countries, Argentina and the United Kingdom, but in fact, Argentina singled out the entire Western world with the strength of one country.

Against this backdrop, Argentina watched helplessly as the situation deteriorated day by day.

On June 13, 1982, the British radio listening group intercepted a telegram sent by the Argentine defenders of the Falklands to Galtieri, knowing that the other side had run out of ammunition and food.

Immediately, the British army invested all its reserves and launched a general attack on Port Stanley, the last stronghold of the Argentine army on the Falklands, and only paid less than 20 men to break through the "Galtieri Line" that the Argentines were proud of.

At 2 p.m. on June 14, the Argentine army trapped in the city of Port Stanley hoisted a white flag - about 12,000 Argentine soldiers surrendered unconditionally to the 8,000 British troops who landed on the island.

The next day, the Argentine ** Galtieri declared the end of the war.

Argentine officers and soldiers who surrendered.

Looking back, it was easy to find losers in this war, but it was hard to find winners.

The price Argentina paid for the war was: more than 1,000 soldiers killed, about 1,300 wounded, and about 12,000 captured; 11 ships were lost (5 sunk, 6 damaged), 107 aircraft. The total cost is more than 1 billion US dollars, and the indirect economic loss is more than 2 billion US dollars.

The price Britain paid for the war was: more than 250 killed, more than 770 wounded, more than 200 captured, and more than $1.2 billion.

Galtieri** of Argentina quickly collapsed the following year because of his defeat in the war; Because of this victory, Thatcher's Conservative Party won a big victory in ** the following year, and Thatcher was re-elected.

However, because of this war that spanned half the world, Britain also shed its afterglow and exhausted its energy. The point is that Argentina did not recognize British sovereignty over the Falklands because of the defeat in this war, and still has a tough attitude.

To this day, Britain and Argentina continue to disagree on the Falklands.

Against the backdrop of the discovery of 60 billion barrels of oil reserves near the Falklands, the struggle for sovereignty over the Falklands is far from over.

In the quarterfinals of the 1998 World Cup in France, England and Argentina met in a narrow way. It was a game that was full of excitement. Beckham, who was playing in the World Cup for the first time at the time, was retaliated by Simeone after a malicious foul and was sent off with a red card. In the end, England lost on penalties (2-2 at 90 minutes, leaving two classic goals).

For example, the Korean War, the Iran-Iraq War, the Middle East War, the Gulf War, the Vietnam War, and so on.

But in this 74-day war, there are a lot of things worth playing on the list of high-quality authors.

On the battlefield, there is the subversion of the concept of "time and place" in classical warfare, the evolution of modern three-dimensional warfare with sea, land and air coordination, and the impact of equipment and soldier quality on the victory or defeat of the war. Outside the battlefield, there is the control and application of the first to wage war, the cooperation of the Western world after the outbreak of war, the impact of a country's military industrial strength on military strength, and so on.

What impressed me the most was the stimulation of national sentiment and the calm reflection on the situation.

In today's cruel and realistic world, it is rare to have enthusiasm, but what really works is a country's scientific, technological, economic, and military strength. Sometimes, we take it for granted that what we get caught may not end up like we imagined.

In today's environment, the use of force is the last move in any case, and any issue that can be resolved through negotiation should not be resorted to in a hot-headed manner. In fact, there are too many cards that can be played at the negotiating table, and when it really comes to the point of using force, it is already a lose-lose situation.

Of course, this does not mean that there is a need to commit to the renunciation of force. As a last resort, force is, of course, also a final option. However, once it is decided to use force, what is needed is not passionate slogans, but calm planning and preparation.

Those who are good at fighting do not fight, and the battle will be won.