Falklands War

The British ship HMS Antelope after it was hit by Argentine weapons

The Falklands War was a war between the United Kingdom and Argentina over the Falkland Islands in 1982. The Falkland Islands are 480 kilometres from Argentina in the southern Atlantic Ocean.

Argentina and the United Kingdom have argued over which country the Falklands Islands belongs to since the 1800s. In the 1760s and 1770s, the British set up a town at Port Egmont, which nearly led to a war with Spain who had a town at Port Louis. Then Argentina became a separate country from Spain in 1817 and set up a colony on the islands (which they call "Malvinas") in 1820. An American warship later destroyed this town, and the British took the islands again in 1833.

1982

The British kept the islands until Argentinian Special Forces invaded on 2 April 1982 and took control of the island.

The United Nations Security Council asked Argentina to withdraw, and tried to end the crisis with diplomacy. After seven weeks, Argentina did not withdraw, so the British Armed Forces traveled more than 12,000 km to attack. After a short battle in the air and at sea, the British landed on 21 May and fought on land until Argentina's army surrendered on 14 June.

The British captured 11,313 soldiers, and killed about 650. Almost half of these Argentinian deaths were when the warship ARA General Belgrano was sunk by the British submarine HMS Conqueror. In total there were 258 British deaths.

Relations after the war

The diplomatic relations between the two countries were broken because of the war. Relations between the two countries came back in 1990.

Falklands War Media

• ARASantísimaTrinidadD-2.jpg

  The Argentine destroyer ARA Santísima Trinidad landed special forces south of Stanley

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  Argentine soldiers and Falklanders in 1982

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  Some of the Advanced Group, pennant numbers painted over, off Gibraltar, March 1982

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  Margaret Thatcher meets Alexander Haig in London.

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  HMS Invincible, one of two available aircraft carriers for the task force

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  Royal Navy FAA Sea Harrier FRS1

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  ARA Santa Fe