Difference between revisions of "Falklands/Malvinas War"
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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== | ||
Revision as of 13:50, February 12, 2017
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.
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.
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.
In the 74 days of fighting that followed, 655 Argentine and 255 British servicemen lost their lives, as did three Falkland Islanders.