Encyclopedia of world history (facts on file library of world history) 7 volume set ( PDFDrive ) 2967

F Falklands War (1982) The Falklands War was a short war between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), occurring between March and June of 1982 The Falklands consist of two large—and many small— islands in the South Atlantic Ocean east of Argentina, rich in subaquatic offshore oil reserves Disputes over the sovereignty of the islands have occurred since the 18th century, as the islands are actually located within the Argentinean continental platform However, in spite of many Argentinean claims, in 1833 British troops and inhabitants took possession of the islands At the beginning of the 1980s Argentina’s military government had become less powerful Argentina faced a devastating economic crisis and large-scale civil unrest, with many people clamoring for the return of democracy As a way of recovering some power and maintaining the military dictatorship, the Argentine government—headed in 1982 by General Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri—decided to play off long-standing feelings of nationalism by launching what it thought would be a quick and easy war to reclaim the Falkland Islands Most of Argentina’s military experts likely misjudged the political climate in Britain and did not anticipate that the British would move their fleet halfway across the globe to reclaim their rights over the islands After days of tension, the war finally began on April 2, 1982, when General Galtieri ordered the invasion of the Falkland Islands, triggering the Falklands War During the first weeks Argentina’s troops moved quickly, invading the islands, defeating the improvised British troops, and gaining domain of the islands Britain quickly organized a naval task force, consisting of the HMS Conqueror submarine, helicopters, Royal Air Force bombers and fighters, destroyers, and a large number of naval fighting boats In comparison to Argentina’s task force technologically, in quantity, and in the areas of military professionalism and experience, British troops by far were better prepared than the Argentinean troops Although there was a huge difference in military power between the two forces, the war lasted four months and resulted in 255 killed and 746 wounded on the British side and 655 killed, 1,100 wounded, and 11,313 prisoners on the Argentinean side One of the war crimes most sadly remembered by the Argentineans was the sinking of the General Belgrano light cruiser The cruiser was located in the “total exclusion zone” of 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) that had been established by the British before commencing operations in order to keep neutral shipping out of the way during the war In spite of that, on May the British HMS Conqueror submarine fired torpedoes, hit the boat, and sank it, taking the lives of 321 Argentinean soldiers In response to that, the Argentine air force launched an air attack and sank the destroyer HMS Sheffield As a result, 22 British sailors were killed and 24 were injured Given the difference in military force between the sides, the war quickly turned in Britain’s (United Kingdom’s, or U.K.’s) favor In addition to their military advantage, the U.K government received strong international support from the United States, France, and Chile, among other countries 147