The Anglo-Argentine War was a local war with high-tech characteristics, a large-scale naval and air operation and a battle between Haiden Island and Kangdeng Island.
President Galtieri's wishful thinking
The sovereignty dispute over the Island of Anglo-Argentine Island has a long history, and has not been resolved after many United Nations trials and mediations, as well as negotiations between the British and Argentine sides. In the late 1970s, Argentina experienced economic recession and political instability, growing popular discontent and declining government prestige. In the crisis-ridden domestic situation, President Galtieri believes that if the Falklands can be recaptured from the British in one fell swoop and the desire of the people in the country to recover the Falklands for more than 100 years, it will certainly enhance the prestige of the government and stabilize the political situation. As for the prospects for war, President Galtieri made a full "brilliant calculation" when he argued:
After the end of World War II, Britain has lost its status as a maritime military power, and the number of aircraft carriers has dropped from 12 at the end of World War II to 2, and the number of main ships has dropped from 1350 to less than 100; at the same time, Britain is also a major member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the main forces of the army, navy, and air force are deployed on the European continent.
President Galtieri
In view of the confrontation between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, the United States and other NATO members will not agree to Britain's deployment of large forces from the European continent to deal with Argentina.
Britain has no military base in the South Atlantic, long transport lines (the British mainland is about 7,000 nautical miles from the Falklands), difficulty in supply, and no place to fight.
The United States is Argentina's largest investor, and the Relationship between The United States and the United States is very close, and most of the weapons and equipment of the Argentine army are provided by the United States. The United States wants to safeguard its strategic interests in South America, and since Britain and Argentina are good friends of the United States, it is estimated that the United States will take a neutral attitude in the Anglo-Arab conflict. Argentina also has close relations with the countries of the European Union, and France and West Germany are also the main suppliers of Arms to Afghanistan. The Countries of Western Europe in the Argentine Judgment Conflict will also take a neutral position and will work with the United States to mediate between Britain and Argentina.
-- After Afghanistan retakes the Falklands, Britain may react as follows: First, it will go all out to fight a large-scale war with Afghanistan and retake the Falklands; second, it will dispatch a certain number of troops to impose a sea blockade on the coast of the Argentine mainland or the falklands and attack the ships on the Argentine sea or the garrison troops stationed on the falklands as retaliation; third, it will mobilize its forces and pose as a posture of fighting a big war, so as to strengthen its position in subsequent negotiations with the threat of war; fourth, it will break off diplomatic relations with Afghanistan and freeze Afghanistan's overseas assets. President Galtieri optimistically estimated that Britain would not be able to fight a major war with Afghanistan, that even a naval blockade and retaliation for attacks would be unlikely, and that Britain's most likely response would be threats of force, negotiations, severance of diplomatic relations and the freezing of Afghan assets abroad.
On April 13, 1982, shortly after the Occupation of the Falklands, Argentine troops began delivering military supplies to the islands
Based on the above analysis, President Galtieri is determined to take a risk and retake the Falklands by force, ending the people's century-old wish. On 18 March 1982, 60 "workers" from Argentina, in the name of demolishing an old whale processing plant, landed on South Georgia, where the blue-and-white Argentine flag was raised, knocked on the door to war, and carried out a military operation code-named "Operation Rosario". Although the Afghan army effortlessly captured the Falklands, the final outcome of the war is well known, and Galtieri's optimistic "magic plan" was exchanged for a tragic ending.
Thatcher's strategic blunder
Full recognition of the important status and value of the Falklands Islands, but poor protection The strategic position of the Falklands is very important, and the shipping routes of the South Atlantic and the South Pacific are at stake. During the war, once the Panama Canal was blocked, the Drake Strait and the shipping route between Cape Horn and the Antarctic Peninsula in South America became the only way to communicate between the two oceans, and the Falklands were located at the crossroads of this route, so in both world wars, the British army had a naval base in the Falklands and a naval fleet.
In December 1914 and December 1939, there were several engagements with German fleets that disturbed the safety of the waterway; the Falklands were also the most convenient forward base and intermediate supply station for Antarctic exploration and development. In today's era of increasing attention to the development and utilization of the Antarctic continent, the importance and role of the Falklands has become more and more favored by people; the southern waters of the Falklands, including South Georgia and South Sandwich Island, contain at least 200 billion barrels of oil and a large amount of LPG resources, and some predict that this area is expected to find oil fields as large as the British North Sea oil fields, or even several times larger.
The British fleet that took part in the Falklands War
For the Falklands, which were so important and controversial, britain only sent nearly a hundred troops to defend the islands, led by the governor of the Falklands, Rex Hunt. The Malvinas Islands are numerous and extensive, the terrain is complex, the coastline is tortuous and long, there are many beaches available for landing, and military experts estimate that at least 50,000 people will be deployed to implement an effective and comprehensive defense of the Falklands, so the British nearly 100-man island defense force is useless.
Ignoring the War Warnings of the Afghan Side and Being Unprepared In February 1982, the last negotiations between the two sides broke down in New York, and relations between the two sides became increasingly tense, with Azerbaijan accusing The British of "lack of sincerity in serious negotiations" and declaring: "On the issue of sovereignty over the Falklands, Afghanistan reserves the right to resort to other means." At one point, the two countries recalled their ambassadors and suspended diplomatic relations.
In this tense situation, Margaret Thatcher did not take the Warning of the Afghan side during the negotiations seriously. Because in the two world wars, Britain was in a very difficult period, and Argentina, as a neutral country, did not take advantage of the danger. Thatcher therefore wishfully concluded that Argentina could not have taken the Falklands by force. As a result, no corresponding preventive measures were taken, resulting in an extremely passive situation in the early stages of the war. Even after the narrow victory in the Falklands War, when Margaret Thatcher came to Beijing to negotiate the Hong Kong issue, the ghost of the British soldiers killed on the Falklands was still haunting her, causing the "Iron Woman" to fall on the stone steps.
Thatcher's war mobilization
Emergency response On April 2, the Afghan army captured the Falklands, which shocked the British government and the public, and various opposition parties issued statements and statements, slamming the Conservative government for failing to take early and effective measures to protect the Falklands, demanding that the cabinet be held accountable and even asking Margaret Thatcher to step down. The Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing Street in London was immediately plunged into extreme tension, and in the face of strong pressures and challenges at home and abroad, Margaret Thatcher, known as the "Iron Woman", made a decisive determination:
• Immediately sever diplomatic relations with Argentina, acknowledging that "hostilities" have taken place between the two countries, but not declaring war on Afghanistan;
• Immediately retaliate against Afghanistan, freeze all assets of the Afghan government and private individuals in britain, and suspend credit assistance to Afghanistan;
• Actively carry out diplomatic activities as a "victim", win international support and sympathy, and demand that the United Nations declare Afghanistan an "aggressor";
• Demanded that the European Community convene an emergency conference to impose collective economic sanctions and arms embargoes on Afghanistan;
• Accept the mediation of the United Nations or the United States on the condition that Afghanistan first withdraw its troops from the Falklands;
• Immediately dispatched task force teams to the South Atlantic To force Afghanistan to withdraw and retake the Falklands.
The "Shining Sheffield" was sunk by the Flying Fish missile
At this time, all the political, economic, and diplomatic struggles in Britain revolved around maintaining maximum military pressure on Argentina. On 3 April, the British Parliament broke with the practice of not meeting on weekends and convened an emergency meeting to hear and consider Thatcher's report on the handling of the Falklands issue delivered by Margaret Thatcher on behalf of the Cabinet. In order to implement and implement the strategic decisions of the government approved by the Parliament, Margaret Thatcher reorganized the Cabinet on the same day and established a five-member "Wartime Cabinet" chaired by herself, as the highest strategic decision-making body, the "Wartime Cabinet" decided to immediately consult with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, withdraw the British aircraft carriers and 12 warships and submarines incorporated into nato's mobile forces, and form a task force with some domestic ships to go to the Falklands.
On the third day after the occupation of the isle of Malaysia, the main force of the British task force set sail for the war zone, and the ships at the nearest port were dispatched urgently, and the ships that were practicing in the Atlantic Ocean and the Strait of Gibraltar did not return to the mainland and moved directly to the theater, forming formations in the voyage and conducting pre-war exercises. In this way, it took only 3 days from the occurrence of the incident to the completion of the preparation for the voyage and the departure of the port.
From the sudden departure of the task force to the end of the Falklands War, the British lost a total of 2 guided-missile destroyers (HMS Sheffield and HMS Coventry), 2 guided-missile frigates, 1 civilian merchant ship and 1 landing ship, 12 wounded ships, 34 aircraft lost, 255 British dead and missing, 777 wounded, and 91 captured; costing $2.1 billion in war costs, an average of $1.2 million per hour. Although the Falklands were lost and regained, all these losses can be said to have been caused by Thatcher's strategic judgment and decision-making errors.
The British landed
President Galtieri's life was a failure
Galtieri was originally a highly respected general in the Afghan military circles, who was ordered to take over as president and lead the Afghan people out of the predicament. Due to his serious mistakes in strategic decision-making, the Falklands were regained and the Albanian army suffered heavy losses.
After the war, President Galtieri said: "I never expected Britain to make such a big fuss. "President Galtieri was not prepared to fight a large-scale war with Britain, and out of the wrong judgment that Britain would not use force, he rashly sent troops to capture the Falklands. When the Inter-Task Force had set out and war was imminent, President Galtieri confidently said: "This is intimidation, not war".
The erroneous judgment led to its rather inadequate preparations for war: in political diplomacy, despite the arab occupation of the Falklands, the whole country celebrated, and the crowd boiled over, due to the lack of political mobilization, there was almost no support for the actual battle; after the outbreak of the Falklands War, Argentina signed an oil agreement with Britain as usual; English newspapers continued to be distributed in Afghanistan; diplomatic exchanges continued to proceed in the traditional way; and Did not freeze or confiscate Britain's huge property and investment in Afghanistan... All of this is extremely rare in the history of war.
Argentine soldiers suffering from harsh environments
In terms of combat material preparations, in the 28 days before the Afghan army captured the Falklands and the arrival of the British task force, although a batch of combat materials and supplies were urgently delivered to the Falklands, they could not meet the minimum standards for the combat and life of the defending troops who maintained more than 13,000 people. Someone reminded that the Falklands food will be tight, but President Galtieri said: "There are 650,000 sheep in the Falklands, but they can be fed on the spot, and the troops guarding the islands will never be stupid enough to even think of this, right?" “
In fact, the island guard troops were really stupid enough not to even think of this, the troops only ate one meal for two days, and they were so hungry that they could not fight at all. Due to the lack of cold protection materials, many people have had their limbs amputated due to severe frostbite. The island-guarding troops are not only short of food and clothing, but also have a serious shortage of weapons, ammunition, medical equipment and medicines, which seriously affects morale and weakens the combat effectiveness of the troops. In addition, the construction of the Afghan battlefield is not satisfactory, and a general before the war suggested: "A large air base should be built immediately on the Falklands, otherwise most aircraft will have to take off from the Afghan continent, and only two minutes of combat will be possible over the Falklands." President Galtieri said, "Enough, the Israelis can fight a beautiful air battle in a minute." ”
Misjudgment of the Attitude of the United States and NATO Allies The attitude of the United States and ITS allies is completely opposite to the judgment of President Galtieri. When Britain requested the withdrawal of British aircraft carriers and 12 warships and nuclear submarines incorporated into NATO's mobile forces, the NATO Group High Command immediately agreed and supported Britain's military operations; France, West Germany and other member states announced an arms embargo on Afghanistan on April 7; the United States expressed its consent to the British ships to set up a forward base on Ascension Island in the middle of the Atlantic under the jurisdiction of the United States for replenishment and rest, and agreed to Britain's use of military strategic materials stored in britain by NATO groups.
Ascension Island is located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, about 3718 nautical miles north of the British mainland and about 3300 nautical miles south of the Falklands, with an area of 88 square kilometers. It was occupied by the British in 1815. During World War II, the British established a number of port facilities on the island as a berthing point for their navy. In 1962, in order to save military expenditure, Britain leased the island to the United States under the condition of retaining sovereignty, as an important military base for the United States in the middle of the Atlantic. In addition to the modern dock facilities on the island, the United States also built an airfield that can accommodate more than 30 large long-range strategic bombers, which is the most ideal material transit station for the British army.
The United States fully supported british military operations against Argentina, providing Britain with access to all military installations and warehouses on the island, and providing 1.5 million gallons of aviation fuel and weapons parts to the British, in addition to providing a large number of satellite reconnaissance photographs to Britain. During the war, British bombers essentially took off from Ascension Island to support task forces and landing forces. The British army also used the high-power radio stations built by the United States on the island to launch a propaganda war against Afghanistan and shake the hearts and minds of the Afghan army. It can be said that without Ascension Island as a forward base, the outcome of the Falklands War was unpredictable, and President Galtieri's "friends" betrayed him.
Insufficient understanding of the strategic significance of attacking The British transport supply line Due to British strategic mistakes, the war preparations were very hasty, and because its naval strength was indeed as Argentina expected, it was no longer what it used to be, so the British mobilized a large number of merchant ships and oil tankers to accompany the task force to the Falklands to undertake the logistical support tasks of the task force. The 45,000-ton passenger ship "Canberra" was requisitioned on April 5, and after being converted into a transport ship, it carried a parachute battalion on the 7th; the large passenger ship "Queen Elizabeth II" just returned from the United States and was converted into a large troop carrier in a week to accompany the task force; the container ship "Atlantic Transporter" was converted into a combat ship after 7 to 10 days; the merchant ship "Uganda" was converted into a medical ship equipped with a full set of medical equipment in 2 days...
Signed after the Battle of the Falklands
Argentina has a "super flag" fighter that has "stunned" Margaret Thatcher because of the sinking of the British "Sheffield" guided-missile destroyer, and it is believed that it is more than enough to attack the British civilian ships for transporting supplies; the large passenger ship "Queen Elizabeth II" of the Argentine Navy to attack the British "Queen Elizabeth II" must be "cattle knife killing chickens"... In fact, when the English mixed fleet marched south toward the theater of operations, the Afghan Navy and Air Force did almost nothing, and at this time President Galtieri hoped to take a non-war approach to the Falklands crisis and pinned this hope on the mediation of the United States government, which was in fact completely on the side of Britain.
In the end, the loss of the Falklands was repeated, and the Afghan army also suffered heavy losses: 1 cruiser (the only Cruiser "General Belgrano"), 1 submarine, 6 other ships, 94 downed aircraft, another 23 aircraft were destroyed on the ground, 15 aircraft were captured by the British, a total loss of 132 aircraft of various types, accounting for 53.4% of the total number of various types of aircraft of the Afghan army; the Afghan army killed 746 people, wounded 1053 people, captured 11845 people; more than 1 billion US dollars in war costs. These losses and the gains and losses of the Falklands weigh heavily on President Galtieri's heart and become an eternal pain in his heart.
Although many years have passed since the Anglo-Argentine War, only the Falklands War was the largest and most fierce naval and air operation since the end of World War II, and the crossing of Hayden Island and the anti-deng island operation, and the strategic mistakes of the Anglo-Afghan sides are even more eye-catching. Therefore, the Falklands War has more realistic reference significance for island operations far from the mainland.