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Line 5: − + + + − Second Lieutenant Juan Domingo Baldini's 1st Platoon was positioned on the rocky outcrops running west of 'Fly Half', the western peak of Mount Longdon. To the south of 'Fly Half' Senior Lieutenant Enrique Eneas Neirotti's 3rd Platoon was placed. First Sergeant Raul Roberto Gonzalez's 2nd was placed to the north of Baldini and his platoon. The Argentinian command post and Lieutenant Hugo Aníbal Quiroga's engineer platoon which was acting as the local reserve were on 'Full Back', the eastern summit of Longdon. There was also a platoon of Marine Captain Sergio Andrés Dachary's Machine-Gun Company of 136 Marines which took an important part in nearly every major engagement until the end of the campaign. This 24-man platoon used their six Browning 12.7 mm machineguns protected by Marine riflemen, very effectively during the night of battle. Contrary to British reports, there were no 'Buzos Tacticos' or Army snipers from the 601st Commando Company present.
Battles of Mount Longdon and Wireless Ridge (view source)
Revision as of 00:50, July 13, 2022
, 00:50, July 13, 2022→No Man's Land: British intelligence officer confirms no Argie Special Forces fought on Longdon
Having landed at Port San Carlos on May 21, 3 PARA (under Lieutenant-Colonel Hew Pike) marched across the East Falkland via Teal Inlet to the sheep farm settlement of Estancia House from where they began to send out patrols to harass the defenders and map out the area around Mount Longdon situated to the north west of [[Port Stanley]], the capital of the Islands.
Having landed at Port San Carlos on May 21, 3 PARA (under Lieutenant-Colonel Hew Pike) marched across the East Falkland via Teal Inlet to the sheep farm settlement of Estancia House from where they began to send out patrols to harass the defenders and map out the area around Mount Longdon situated to the north west of [[Port Stanley]], the capital of the Islands.
The 7th Regiment under Lieutenant-Colonel Omar Giménez, had been sent to dig in on Mount Longdon and Wireless Ridge. More specifically, the regiment was supposed to counter a British force coming from Berkeley Sound. The garrison on Mount Longdon was made up of the 7th Regiment's 'B' Company. 34-year-old Major Carlos Carrizo-Salvadores had been selected to command all the Argentinian forces on Mount Longdon. He seemed an excellent choice when taking into account his aggressive nature as a parachute officer that had served as a company commander in the 17th Airborne Infantry Regiment in Catamarca Province.
The 7th 'La Plata' Infantry Regiment under Lieutenant-Colonel Omar Giménez, had been sent to dig in on Mount Longdon and Wireless Ridge. More specifically, the regiment was supposed to counter a British force coming from Berkeley Sound. The garrison on Mount Longdon was made up of the 7th Regiment's 'B' Company. 34-year-old Major Carlos Carrizo-Salvadores (second-in-command of the 7th Regiment) had been selected to command all the Argentinian forces on Mount Longdon. He seemed an excellent choice when taking into account his aggressive nature as a parachute officer that had served as a company commander in the 17th Airborne Infantry Regiment and had seen action against the 'Ramón Rosa Jiménez Company' from the People's Revolutionary Army (Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo or ERP) operating in Catamarca Province.
Second Lieutenant Juan Domingo Baldini's 1st Platoon was positioned on the rocky outcrops running west of 'Fly Half', the western peak of Mount Longdon. To the south of 'Fly Half' Senior Lieutenant Enrique Eneas Neirotti's 3rd Platoon was placed. First Sergeant Raul Roberto Gonzalez's 2nd was placed to the north of Baldini and his platoon. The Argentinian command post and Lieutenant Hugo Aníbal Quiroga's engineer platoon which was acting as the local reserve were on 'Full Back', the eastern summit of Longdon. There was also a platoon of Marine Captain Sergio Andrés Dachary's Machine-Gun Company of 136 Marines which took an important part in nearly every major engagement until the end of the campaign. This 24-man platoon used their six Browning 12.7 mm machineguns protected by Marine riflemen, very effectively on Longdon during the night of battle. Contrary to British reports, there were no 'Buzos Tacticos/Comandos Anfibios' or Army snipers from the 601st Commando Company present, according to 3 PARA's intelligence officer, Captain Giles Orpen-Smellie.<ref>“However, notwithstanding the mention in 3 PARA's Post Operational Report that 7 Infantry Regiment had been 'reinforced by specialist elements and snipers from 601 Commando Company', I have found no evidence to substantiate the suggestion that Argentine special forces were deployed on Mount Longdon ... Carrizo-Salvadores also denies that Argentine special forces were present ...My reading suggests that that much of the damage done to 3 PARA was inflicted by a small number of Argentine marine conscripts ... A number of 3 PARA's casualties were inflicted by Argentine snipers, although Carrizo-Salvadores claims that some of this 'devilishly accurate aiming I have read about in British accounts was achieved as a result of the markmanship training on the rifle ranges and the good aim of the riflemen, nothing more'.” Jigsaw Puzzles: Tactical Intelligence in the Falklands Campaign, Giles Orpen-Smellie, Amberley Publishing Limited, 2022</ref>
Major Carrizo-Salvadores would later be at special pains to explain that he did his best to arrange some measure of comfort for his men on Mount Longdon:{{cquote|We took good care of the personnel. We did what we could do to set an example. Captain Eduardo López-Astore was there with the platoons, with news-updates and nougat bars. The soldiers had everything you can imagine in their kitbags, including thermos flasks and transistor radios. Some of the soldiers heard that the British had disembarked at San Carlos and captured Goose Green by tuning radios on to the BBC. In the mornings the soldiers had a mug of the green Guarani herb 'mate' which contains around the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee; it is stimulating and helps register a feeling of fullness. Meals were served in the open and consumed in mugs. I remember that mutton and pasta figured largely on the menu. There was a strict ration of one ratpack per man per week, eaten slowly to make it last.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120220160416/http://www.britains-smallwars.com/Falklands/David/Longdon.htm Mount Longdon: The Argentinian Story]</ref>}}
Major Carrizo-Salvadores would later be at special pains to explain that he did his best to arrange some measure of comfort for his men on Mount Longdon:{{cquote|We took good care of the personnel. We did what we could do to set an example. Captain Eduardo López-Astore was there with the platoons, with news-updates and nougat bars. The soldiers had everything you can imagine in their kitbags, including thermos flasks and transistor radios. Some of the soldiers heard that the British had disembarked at San Carlos and captured Goose Green by tuning radios on to the BBC. In the mornings the soldiers had a mug of the green Guarani herb 'mate' which contains around the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee; it is stimulating and helps register a feeling of fullness. Meals were served in the open and consumed in mugs. I remember that mutton and pasta figured largely on the menu. There was a strict ration of one ratpack per man per week, eaten slowly to make it last.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120220160416/http://www.britains-smallwars.com/Falklands/David/Longdon.htm Mount Longdon: The Argentinian Story]</ref>}}