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On 2 April 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, a remote British colony in the South Atlantic. The Argentinian amphibious operation, [[Operación Rosario]], led to a brief, but bitter war.
 
On 2 April 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, a remote British colony in the South Atlantic. The Argentinian amphibious operation, [[Operación Rosario]], led to a brief, but bitter war.
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Argentina's military junta under [[Lieutenant-General Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri]] hoped to restore its support at a time of economic crisis, by reclaiming sovereignty of the islands. It said it had inherited them from Spain in 1810 and they were close to South America.
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Great Britain, which had ruled the islands for 150 years, quickly chose to fight. British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] said the 1,800 Falklanders were ''"of British tradition and stock"''. A naval task force was sent to reclaim the islands, 8,000 miles away.
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In the 74 days of fighting that followed, 655 Argentine and 255 British servicemen lost their lives, as did three Falkland Islanders.
    
==References==
 
==References==
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