Battle of Darwin and Goose Green

Following Operation Rosario (Falklands/Malvinas War), the Argentinian occupation of the Falkland/Malvinas Islands in early April 1982, the 2nd and 3rd British Parachute Battalions (2 and 3 PARA) of the British 1st Parachute Regiment were deployed as part of Brigadier Julian Thompson's 3 Commando Brigade to retake the islands in Operation Corporate.

Goose Green, about 44 miles west of Port Stanley, lies at a neck of land a mile wide and five miles long that prevents East Falkland being sliced in two. Halfway down the isthmus lies a long series of low hills, Darwin Ridge. It was here that Lieutenant-Colonel Herbert 'H' Jones (Commanding Officer 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment or 2 PARA) was killed when, followed by his bodyguard, Sergeant Barry Norman, he went off to outflank the Argentinian and was hit by automatic rifle fire.

Argentinian garrison

On April 4th, the first Argentinian unit arrived at Goose Green. It was 27-year-old Senior Lieutenant Carlos Daniel Esteban's C Company of the 25th (Ranger-type) Infantry Regiment (Regimiento de Infantería 'Especial' 25 or RI 25) under 49-year-old Lieutenant-Colonel Mohamed Alí Seineldín. Later, the Argentinian Army High Command (Estado Mayor General del Ejército or EMGE) decided to reinforce the RI 25's C Company in the area and sent in 47-year-old Lieutenant-Colonel Ítalo Ángel Piaggi's 12th (Jungle) Infantry Regiment (Regimiento de Infanteria 12 'Juan Antonio Alvarez de Arenales' or RI 12) along with other supporting units.

They arrived in helicopters between April 30th and May 21st. Then the troops responsible for the defences of Darwin-Goose Green were placed under joint command and named Task Force 'Mercedes'. The main unit was the 12th Regiment, whose home base in Argentina was at Mercedes in Corrientes Province, hence the name of the task force. However, this regiment was incomplete; its B Company (named Combat Team 'Solari') remained on Mount Kent, from which it was sent by helicopters to Goose Green too late to have any real effect in the battle. Combat Team 'Güemes', which consisted of one rifle platoon of C Company from the 25th 'Special' Regiment and a heavy weapons platoon of A Company from RI 12 was helicoptered north of Goose Green to San Carlos on May 15th.

The 125 troops of the 25th 'Special' Regiment's 'C' Company waited in reserve in and around Darwin School where they regularly practiced counterattacks. Led by Lieutenant-Colonel Mohamed Alí Seineldín, the Argentinian Army Green Berets founder and first commanding officer, the 25th Regiment conscripts wore a shoulder patch depicting the 'Malvinas'. They were well armed, well trained and cadred by Commandos and Paratroopers.

Private Esteban Roberto Avalos fought in the Falklands as a sniper in RI 12's B Company. In all, some fifty hand-picked 12th Regiment conscripts and NCOs had also received ranger training from visiting Halcón 8 (Falcon 8) army commandos in 1981, and then returned to their respective companies:

In my particular case, I ended up being a sharpshooter for which I had been preparing since the time we were out in the field, where I had the opportunity to shoot with a FAL. During the 45 days we spent there, we had to practice shooting three or four times a week, and those moments were taken advantage of to learn the shooting positions and familiarize ourselves with the weapon. The dealings with the superiors, in general, were excellent, although if somebody screwed up, we all paid the price. The most common punishments were taking us to the showers at night, forcing us to do push-ups or demand from us heaps of frog leaps and crawling. If someone took the wrong step, for example, it was reasonable to be pulled out of training, and they would make you 'dance' a little with push-ups on the thistles or the mud. Now, going back to the subject of instruction, I would say that it was generally satisfactory, at least as far as our group was concerned, since we had basic training in the use of explosives and we were even given some classes in self-defense."

During the occupation, 114 inhabitants of Goose Green were kept under armed guard in the Social Hall until liberated by the British following the 14-hour long Battle for Goose Green. Piaggi explainied that the lockdown was necessary in order to protect the locals from "the rage of the air force men, who had lost so many colleagues."

According to local farm manager Eric Goss: "Sanitation in the hall was grim. We ran out of water on the third day, the toilets were blocked and there was some dysentery. We persuaded the Argentinians to bring sea water in barrels for the toilets; and old chap, Mike Robson, did sterling work keeping them going. Two young men, Bob McLeod and Ray Robson, both radio hams, found an old broken radio, part of the club equipment, in a junk cupboard. They made this work and we listened each evening to the B.B.C. World Service; the others made noise at the windows to cover the crackling of the broadcast and we were never discovered."

Indeed one local female resident reported that life in the Social Club was far from grim: "After the first week the Argentines let two women go out each day to the galley in the cookhouse, where all the men would normally eat together. They were allowed to cook up a big meal, with bread and cakes, and bring it down to the hall. Considering we were all cramped together in a small place everybody got on very well . People were generally good-natured."

San Carlos

3 Commando Brigade went ashore at San Carlos on the night of May 21/22. 2 PARA (Lieutenant-Colonel Herbert Jones) established itself on Sussex Mountain protecting the south of the Bridgehead without opposition. 3 PARA landed in the near Port San Carlos driving off a platoon of 40 Argentinians (under 2d Lieutenant José Alberto Vázquez), but not before shooting down 2 British Gazelle helicopter gunships.

On May 26, 2 PARA was ordered to move south and engage the Argentinian 12th 'Juan Antonio Alvarez de Arenales' Infantry Regiment and 'Condor' Military Airbase on the Darwin/Goose Green Peninsula.

On the eve of the first battle of the ground war there were 684 Argentinian Army personnel at Goose Green, including half a 105 mm howitzer battery of the 4th Airborne Artillery Group. Air defence was provided by a battery of 20 mm Rheinmetall pieces manned by the Air Force and two radar-guided 35 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns from the 601st Air Defence Artillery Group. In overall command was Wing Commander Wilson Rosier Pedrozo, but it would by Lieutenant-Colonel Piaggi's responsability to handle the coming battle. Contrary to British reports all of the airworthy Pucaras had been withdrawn to Stanle

Darwin Parks

The attack began under the cover of darkness of 28 May with heavy naval and artillery support.

At 3.35 AM, Major Dair Farrar-Hockley's A Company moved off on the left and attacked Burntside House believed to be occupied by the Argentinian 12th Regiment's Reconnaissance Platoon (Lieutenant Carlos Marcelo Morales), but found no-one there other than four civilians. Major John Crosland's B Company started forward from the other side of Burntside Pond down the right flank with Major Philip Neame's D Company following them long the middle. With artillery support on both sides, B and D Companies were soon in close-quarter combat with the 12th Regiment's A Company (under Senior Lieutenant Jorge Antonio Manresa and Sergeant-Major Juan Carlos Coelho). During the fight for Burntside Hill, Corporal Edmundo Federico Marcial and Privates Juan Carlos Monzón, Carlos Agustín Díaz and Fernando Jesús Lugo from the 2nd Rifle Platoon (under Second Lieutenant Gustavo Adolfo Malacalza), gave their lives to cover the retreat despite British calls for them to surrender. While this fighting was in progress Senior Lieutenant Carlos Alberto Chanampa and his airborne gunners from the 4th Airborne Artillery Group brought their Italian-built Oto Melara 105 mm pack howitzers into action with considerable accuracy. Fortunately for the British parachute battalion, the damp peaty ground absorbed the impact of the shells and reduced the killing power of the splinters.

Back in the Argentinian Command Post (CP) Lieutenant-Colonel Ítalo Piaggi felt that the defence of Manresa's original company positions was going to be critical at this point of the battle, so he ordered that no more ground be lost. Manresa ordered Second Lieutenant Marcelo Martin Bracco's 3rd Rifle Platoon on Coronation Ridge to hold their trenches at all cost. As the Paras continued their advance, the platoon lay in wait concealed in the terrain.

The British march became confused as companies lost touch with each other. Lieutenant-Colonel 'H' Jones' Tactical Headquarters headed for Port Darwin, but came under heavy fire from the Argentinians entrenched on Coronation Ridge. Advancing towards Darwin Settlement, three Paras in Major Philip Neame's 'D' Company were shot dead by Argentinians hunkered along Coronation Ridge. Much valuable time was lost clearing this position, but Neame's company took Coronation Ridge at about 6 am.

The 12th Regiment's 'A' Company delayed the Paras for six hours, but with tragic loss. Twelve members of 'A ' Company were killed during the night action.

Leaving No. 3 Platoon ((under Second Lieutenant Guy Wallis) of A Company to provide covering fire from the north side of Darwin Bay, the remainder in the company started to circle round to take Darwin Settlement.

Perceiving an urgent need to stabilize the precarious defence line on Darwin Ridge, Piaggi ordered 24-year-old Lieutenant Roberto Nestor Estévez's 1st Rifle Platoon, C Company 25th 'Special' Infantry Regiment to take Middle Hill, the hillock south of Coronation Ridge. As Estévez's platoon moved away from Goose Green Settlement, the green-bereted conscripts sang the 'Malvinas March' and that certainly raised their spirits. Reaching Darwin Ridge around 7 AM local time, the first British soldiers suddenly appeared out of the mist on the shoreline that was Darwin Bay.

The Argentinians mistook the British as Argentinians and greetings were exchanged at times. "It was a very confusing situation when we saw troops approaching", said 2nd Lt. Peluffo. "At first we were not sure whether it was the enemy or part of our 12th Regiment that was withdrawing towards our line. We thought they could be our troops".

Eventually shots were exchanged and the fight for Darwin Ridge really got underway. With daylight the nature of the battle changed. The British companies who had had the initiative under cover of darkness, were now caught in the open, holed up in small hollows in the ground or behind tufts of heather. The situation provided the Argentinians a brief session of revenge as they cut them down as the Paras scurried from cover in search of more suitable protection.

In the meantime, the supporting British mortarmen were stuffing bombs down their barrels as fast they could, plastering any group large enough to engage while the machineguns, manned by Number 3 Platoon from 'A' Company, were now engaging the Argentinian platoons from Coronation Ridge.

Lieutenant Estévez, although hit and bleeding heavily, kept his platoon organized and under control. Estévez was hit in the right leg and left arm as he moved about in the confusion encouraging his men and finally a British sniper marked him down and put a bullet into his right eye. Finding their way blocked by Major Farrar-Hockley's 'A' Company, Corporal Mario Rodolfo Castro took the radio from his dying lieutenant and was shot dead shortly afterwards. Private Fabricio Carrascull took over the radio and he too met the same fate.But the sacrifice of Estévez's soldiers proved not to have been in vain. At 09.30 local time, 2 PARA's A and B Companies disengaged and started to withdraw.

Before the British withdrawal, 'H' Jones, armed with a Sterling sub-machine-gun, went up to examine the situation and ordered Major Farrar-Hockly to try outflanking to the left of the defenders. It was a fatal move. While he was leading from the front, an Argentinian Army Green Beret sniper in the form of Corporal Osvaldo Faustino Olmos found his mark, dropping Lieutenant-Colonel Jones into the Goose Green mud at about 10.30 am local time. Corporal Olmos shot the British battalion commander again within 50 metres of his position, as 'H' Jones tried to take out his trench with hand grenades.

Darwin Ridge

By daylight, the British attack was clearly held up by Second Lieutenant Ernesto Orlando Peluffo's 12th Regiment platoon on Darwin Hill and Second Lieutenant Guillermo Ricardo Aliaga's 8th Regiment platoon (3rd Platoon, C Company) on Boca Hill. The Paras were suffering heavy casualties, but continued to press home their attack. During the morning fighting, the British fired over 1,000 81mm mortar rounds to suppress Argentinian defenders, otherwise British casualties would have been horrendous.

An ammunition resupply by Land Rover and artillery and aggressive small arms fire stopped the many British assaults. Private Stephen Illingsworth was just 20 years old when he died during the fighting for Boca Hill. Illinsgworth, a member of 2 PARA's 'B' Company, rescued a wounded Para but was then shot dead as he strove to retrieve abandoned machine-gun ammunition to help the company, running desperately low after fierce fighting. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, although he had in fact been recommended for the Victoria Cross.

The 12th Regiment platoon under Peluffo, responsible for holding the central hillock, was typical. Half of the platoon were Guarani Indians. On Darwin Ridge Peluffo and his platoon uttered cries of 'Sapukay!'. This war-cry shouted by these young soldiers with their blood up and automatic rifle in hand no doubt sounded both strange and savage to British ears. Afterwards Captain Rod Bell, a Spanish-speaking Royal Marine Commando attached to 2 PARA, had an interesting conversation with Brigadier-General Omar Edgardo Parada and expressed his admiration for Peluffo. Peluffo had been a tireless platoon commander throughout the action, taking a hand in the sniping and shouting encouragement to his men. Volunteering for parachute training after the war, he served with the Argentinian Army 4th Airborne Infantry Brigade.

During a lull in the fighting the Regimental Medical Officer, Senior Lieutenant Juan Carlos Adjigogovich summoned over the radio, was up with Manresa on Darwin Ridge, organizing Private Claudio Cesar García and others, to act as stretcher bearers. The respite in the action also gave Second Lieutenant Aliaga the opportunity to send one jeep loaded with wounded down the track linking Goose Green and Darwin.

At this point 44 men of 'Combat Team Eagle' (under Senior Lieutenant. Carlos Daniel Esteban) were flown by helicopter to Goose Green. It took sixty minutes for 'Combat Team Eagle' to spread over the schoolhouse position to face an attack coming from Darwin Ridge. It is an interesting speculation that if, 'Combat Team Eagle' occupied Darwin Ridge, the British battalion would probably have been forced to withdraw and the battle might have taken a different course.

In the meantime, 'Malvinas Military Air Base' near Port Stanley, flew in support missions. The first air strike took place in the morning when a 'Grupo 3' Pucara was hit, probably by a Blowpipe shoulder-launched SAM, but the aircraft limped back to Stanley airbase. The next sortie by two more Pucaras caught two Royal Marine Scouts on their way in to evacuate Lieutenant-Colonel Jones. Captain Jeff Niblett managed to evade them, but Lieutenant Richard Nunn was killed by cannon fire and crashed down near Camilla Creek House. One of the Pucaras was later found to have crashed into high ground returning to Stanley after chasing Sea King Helicopters near San Carlos.

Not until 1.15 pm where the British Paratroopers able to climb Darwin Ridge and winkle the Argentinians out. Now Major Neame moved to the assistance of Major Crosland who had taken casualties in their attempt to take Boca Hill. The new plan called for D Company to outflank the stubborn defenders on Boca Hill along the seashore, which they did.

No less than 18 Argentinians were killed on Darwin Ridge, and many more wounded, including Peluffo and Aliaga. Lance-Corporal Framingham and Private O' Rourke moved among the Argentinians and began to treat the wounded. The place smelt of cordite. British military historian Peter Harclerode in 'Para!: Fifty Years Of The Parachute Regiment' (Arms & Armour Press, 1993) revealed that 2 PARA had fired over 1,000 mortar rounds into the Darwin hillocks. The 25th Regiment platoon lost 5 men killed on Darwin Ridge. For their contribution to the defence, Lieutenant Estévez was posthumously awarded the Heroic Valour Cross, Corporal Castro was posthumously awarded the Gallantry In Combat Medal, and Private Carrascull received the same posthumous award for bravery. So far the British battalion had suffered 12 killed and 30 wounded.

The Argentinian defenders had courageously held the ridge for over six hours against a numerically superior British force. Gradually as the British companies managed in early April to obtain sixty-eight 7.62 mm machine-guns, they started to clear the Argentinian strong-points.

Company Sergeant-Major Colin Price of A Company, who was interviewed by BBC war correspondent Robert Fox soon after the fall of Darwin Ridge, is reported to have said he "admired the way the enemy machine-gunners had fought".

For exemplary leadership in the fight for Darwin Ridge, Majors Farrar-Hockley and Crosland each won the Military Cross.The Paras completed the job under Major Chris Keeble, second in command of 2 PARA. Keeble ordered 'D' Company to seize the airfield from Boca Hill, while 'C' Company moved through Darwin School to Goose Green and 'B' Company, which had reorganized, were brought forward to capture the ground south of Goose Green Settlement.

Condor Military Air Base ( the "White Flag" incident)

At 2.15 pm the final British attacks began. Elements of the 1st Anti-Aircraft Regiment (under Lieutenant Darío Del Valle Valazza) of the Argentinian Air Force tried to defend Condor Military Airbase, but withdrew under intense British mortar fire. However, as Major Hugh Jenner's C Company moved down the forward slope of Darwin Ridge, Second Lieutenant Claudio Cesar Braghini brought his 35 mm anti-aircraft guns into action and they did some damage, killing one paratrooper (Private Stephen Dixon), wounding eleven and destroying Darwin Schoolhouse.

Still under fire, D and C Companies headed towards the Goose Green air base while B Company circled east to cut off Goose Green Settlement. During the attack, three Paratroopers were killed in an ambush involving 'Romeo' platoon under Second Lieutenant Juan José Gómez-Centurión (2nd Rifle Platoon, C Company, 25th Regiment).

Piaggi reasoned that the British would go for the airbase and neutralize the 20 mm anti-aircraft guns there so that reinforcement could be landed there. Accordingly he had organized 2d Lieutenant Juan José Gómez-Centurión's rifle platoon there. Gómez-Centurión had all the usual Special Forces skills. He was a trained parachutist,frogman, skilled climber and abseiler. With only 37 men, however, the platoon commander knew he had an impossible job. The task he set himself, therefore, was to hold out as long as possible. He ordered his conscripts on a rise overlooking Goose Green airbase to await the Paras. They did so, their hands tensely gripping their weapons.

Gómez-Centurión gave out the orders: only one round at a time. Lying down in the cover of trenches the Argentinians began shooting into the air in order to make the British believe that the Argentinians obstructing their advance were weak in numbers, badly trained, inexperienced and not ready for an all-out assault. It was a ruse. Gómez-Centurión was waiting for the British to swarm forward in one human wave and then wipe them out with grenades and automatic fire. He kept his 3rd Section back in reserve. To assist Gómez-Centurión the Pucaras from Stanley were to provide a napalm strike on those Paras that had survived.

According to Private Graham Carter from 12 Platoon, D Company, 2 PARA:

“

We found the first enemy position when one of the lads actually fell into a trench. There were weapons and ammo all covered in mud, just left there. They'd all bugged out, so we never saw anybody. After an hour or so, we began getting effective fire on us. We started taking cover when we heard rounds whistling around us ... we saw who was firing at us and fired back .... the section commander (Corporal Paul Sullivan) who was behind me, was hit in the knee and screamed out, and then took two more straight through the head and was killed. I got on the radio to bring up some reserves into the dead ground to the left - to go through the enemy position. When they arrived back, the sergeant sent me back to see if Paul could be helped. It was no use. He'd gone.

”

What happened is well known is well known among members of the Argentinian platoon. The Argentinian fire eventually slackened and died. Then 2d Lieutenant James Barry, 29, came out to urge the Argentinians to surrender, promising good treatment. Gómez-Centurión had wondered for a moment, "Are the English in such a bad state that surrender is their only option? Well best for us." The 25th Regiment platoon commander answered Barry succinctly, in perfect American English: "Son of a bitch! You've got two minutes to return to your lines before I give the order to open fire: Get out of here!"

Barry started walking back and was just climbing over a barbed wire cattle fence when the rattle of machinegun fire came from the British machine-gun platoon on Darwin Ridge. The 25th Regiment platoon was hit by machinegun fire and Corporal Héctor Rubén Oviedo was killed. The enraged Argentinians opened fire and Barry was killed. Lance-Corporal Nigel Smith then tried to fire a 66mm anti-tank rocket using his left shoulder as the cattle fence was obstructing his aim. Although the British NCO managed to fire the projectile, its "back blast" hit him the face and chest and Smith soon succumbed to his injuries.

Private John Graham from No. 11 Platoon (under Lieutenant Chris Waddington) D Company, told a different account of the incident: "I saw the white flag incident; I was in 11 Platoon. We were going up the hill and the flag went up. The officer called the sergeant, and the got halfway up the hill. Bang! They let rip into them. Killed them. One guy was hit in the knee and one of the bastards (Ricardo Andrés Austin or Jose Luis Allende) came forward and shot him in the head. He moved forward out of his position and shot him."

During that fight the British Paratroopers watched transfixed for a moment, while two conscripts, Ricardo Andrés Austin and Jose Luis Allende, crawled towards them, one trying to draw their rifle fire, while the other clutched hand grenades. Then they were shot. Both Argentinians received posthumously the Gallantry In Combat Medal.

The fighting for Goose Green airbase was cold, hard and brutal. 'Romeo' Platoon ambushed Number 12 Platoon, killing three men. Captain Hugh McManners in 'The Scars of War' (HarperCollins, 1993) noted that:

“

He (Private Graham Carter) had been involved in a savage ambush which, as the Paras regained their initiative and fought back, turned into a vicious gun battle. His platoon commander had been killed, and his section effectively put out of action, with section commander (Corporal Paul Sullivan) killed and 2 ic (Lance-Corporal Nigel Smith) seriously wounded. Despite being the most inexperienced man in the platoon, Private Carter had fought off the enemy, attended to the wounded, then got control of the section and called up the rest of the platoon to make a counterattack- all under continuous fire.

”

Only at about 5.45 pm did Gómez-Centurión realize that his ambush had gone seriously wrong and that he was being trapped. Unfortunately for the Argentinians, the platoon's radio was damaged and the 120 mm mortars at Goose Green Settlement couldn't be used. Gómez-Centurión yelled to his platoon to get out and his men hurried away in good order, dragging their wounded. Sergeant García continued to hold his position with his machine-gun against repeated British attempts to cut their withdrawal route. But he was eventually shot dead through the head, shoulder and spine. His bravery was later recognized by the award of the Gallantry In Combat Medal.while Álamo won the Argentinian Military Commendation Medal (Medalla al Merito Militar).

Private Carter led the dispersed paratroopers forward in a counter-ambush to clear the Argentinian positions, winning the Military Medal in the process. Second Lieutenant Gómez-Centurión disengaged, and covered by Private Domingo Víctor Álamo, managed to join the survivors in his platoon.

Sergeant John Meredith, armed with a machine-gun, saw gobsmacked 2d Lieutenant Barry and Corporals Sullivan and Smith shot dead in the ambush. The British platoon sergeant showed “outstanding gallantry and leadership” by taking command of several men in No. 12 Platoon and joining Corporal Carter in the counter-attack to take the disputed airbase, and in so doing saved the lives of five of his pinned down Paratroopers.

During the action at Goose Green airbase two naval Aeromacchis from Stanley attacked D Company and one of them was shot down by a Blowpipe missile at 4.36 pm. The jet crashed, and its pilot (Lieutenant Daniel Enrique Miguel) was killed. Shortly after 5 pm two Pucaras attacked British troops near the airbase. The second Pucara was caught in a blizzard of small arms fire, which caused the Argentinian pilot (Lieutenant Miguel Antonio Cruzado) to eject among British troops and was taken prisoner.

Argentinian surrender

As night fell some Paras in the Darwin School area began to snipe at Goose Green Settlement and in response 2d Lieutenant Braghini concentrated his 35 mm guns on the schoolhouse, and the building was destroyed. During this time D Company came under heavy fire from the 35 mm guns, and a splinter hit Private Steve Dixon in the chest and killed him. It was here that 2 PARA's advance stalled again. Under heavy mortar fire 2 PARA's C Company had no choice but to withdraw into the safety of the shoreline of Carcass Bay. Just as their position seemed quite hopeless, three Royal Air Force Harrier jets swept overhead, almost at ground level, and their cluster bombs and rockets rained down on where the two Army 35 mm guns were gathered, knocking out the generator for the radar-guided guns.

Mindful of the possibility of being counterattacked, Major John Crosland decided to pull back B Company and go firm on high ground near Boca Hill. A fierce sniper battle ensued with 2d Lieutenant Orlando Lucero's 12th Regiment platoon, now dug in Goose Green Settlement's outskirt. There were some close calls, and Private John Burridge from 12 Platoon, D Company, was wounded and a Sea King helicopter was hit by machine-gun fire from Lucero's men.

Time was running out for 'Task Force Mercedes'. The settlement was encircled, artillery shells and mortar rounds were pounding the outskirts. The situation at Goose Green was such that Major Oscar Ramón Jaimet's B Company, 6th 'General Viamontes' Regiment at Stanley Common (Outskirts), was ordered to concentrate near Murrell River and given a warning order to be prepared to move by helicopter to Cerritos Arroyo at first light. By then, however, Piaggi, surrounded and threatened with aerial attack, offered to surrender his force to the 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment and the helicopter-borne operation was cancelled. Piaggi had recieved orders from Parada to resist as long as his troops were physically capable of doing so, but allowing Piaggi to be the judge.

Negotiations with the Argentinians produced their surrender the next day. The Argentinian troops had a short parade, burned their regimental flag and lay down their weapons. Around 50 Argentinians were killed and 140 wounded, with the The Official History of the Falklands Campaign reporting that 961 Argentinians were captured. The British Paratroopers at the time reported a much larger count of 250 Argentinians killed and 1,600 prisoners. British losses in 2 PARA were 15 killed and 64 wounded. A Sea Harrier pilot (Lieutenant Nick Taylor on 4 May), a Royal Engineer (Corporal Michael Melia), a Scout pilot (Lieutenant Richard Nunn) and a Gurkha (Lance-Corporal Budhaprasad Limbu) were also reported killed taking and clearing Goose Green.

Aftermath

The Battle of Darwin and Goose Green was a resounding British military victory against a resolute and well dug-in enemy. But many within the Task Force and 2 PARA itself, questioned the need to fight a strong enemy force, which could have been isolated and bypassed.

It also came as a profound shock that a largely conscript Army could fight so professionally and doggedly.The skill and bravery of the Argentinian Air Force had already been proven and recognized, but the Argentinian defense of Darwin and Goose Green was a salutary experience.

The fighting showed that "H" Jones was a strict CO who had to have complete control over every aspect and demanded his company commanders to not stray from the battle plan. Major Neame was the only officer who commanded his company with flexibility and allowed initiative among his officers and NCOs, something which benefited his platoons greatly.

History was not kind to Lieutenant-Colonel Piaggi. Because he surrendered on National Army Day he was forced to resign from the Argentinian Army. And his military competence was called into question.

The performance of Lieutenant-Colonel Piaggi, was better than British and Argentinian assessments would indicate. During the battle, Piaggi did not panic when he was out of touch with what was happening and took up the reins as soon as it became possible. At no time did he completely surrender the initiative―his artillery, mortars and anti-aircraft guns and infantry were used to counter every move made by the British. At the critical point his rifle platoons plugged the gaps. On a personal level, his calm and determination inspired his men in the line of fire. During the evening fighting, Piaggi was observed rallying the troops and had stood exposed while cursing and firing several 9 mm rounds from his side-arm at the 3 low-flying GR-3 Harriers sent to silence his 35 mm anti-aircraft guns.

After a long fight in the military and civilian courts, Piaggi had his retired military rank and pension reinstated. He died in 2012.