Harbin Island , full name Malvinas Islands , it is just a small place with a population of only about 3,400 people and has no economic value. It is a controversial famous archipelago. 40 years ago, Argentina and the United Kingdom fought for it and wrote a wonderful page in contemporary military history.
Why did Argentina, a relatively backward South American country, start fighting with the United Kingdom, which is thousands of miles away?
We know that Britain is an old colonial country in Europe, and it was even known as the empire of the sun never set in the 19th century. Therefore, they have a lot of colonies overseas. As early as 1833, British troops had landed on the Cavalier Islands and declared sovereignty over it, calling it the "Fox Islands."
. Argentina, before the 19th century, was a colony of Spanish . It was not until 1816 that it barely declared independence, and then Argentina was in a civil strife that lasted for half a century. Therefore, at that time, Argentina did not have the strength to compete with Britain for control of the Horse Island, so she could only speak out, claiming that it had sovereignty over the Horse Island, and the Horse Island was actually under the control of the British.
Argentina has always felt wronged. It is obviously at its doorstep, but how did it become someone else's territory? You are the justice side and you must not keep talking! Moreover, the Horse Island is separated from the British mainland by an Atlantic Ocean, which is far more than ten thousand miles away. How expensive is the UK to maintain this land that is ten thousand miles away? The British cannot always occupy it, so let's test it step by step.
The Argentine government has released the news of recapturing the Cavaliers from time to time. They want to see what attitude the UK will have. As a result, the British authorities seemed to be a little aware of it and didn't take this matter seriously at all.
In fact, like the territorial and territorial sea disputes of many countries, the Malay Island is not of high value to Britain and Afghanistan, but it is of great significance. The UK was feeling that it was "out of reach" and the high maintenance cost, and once intended to give the archipelago to Argentina. However, most of the residents on the island were descendants of Welsh and Scots . They firmly opposed the incorporation into relatively backward Argentina. The British authorities could only give up, but maintained diplomatic consultations with Argentina. If Argentina continues to work hard, it may be able to peacefully recover the Cabernet Island.
But by 1982, the situation changed drastically!
In the face of the domestic economic downturn and the dilemma of protests and protests, the Argentine military ruling group decided to take risks and win back the hearts of the people with the slogan of "recovering lost land". On April 2, the Argentine army launched the "Operation Rosario" to land on the Falkland Islands by force. The British Marine Corps on the island resisted bravely, but was outnumbered and was soon suppressed. The capital and the largest port of Stanley Port fell one after another. British Governor Rex Hunter realized something was wrong and led his troops to retreat. The next day, the Arab army captured the neighboring South Georgia Island.
As expected, Argentine military leader Galtiri expected. The people of Argentine nationwide were excited about the recovery of the Cabernet Island and took to the streets to thank Galtiri for his wise leadership. Of course, the British side could only stand up to fight. " Iron Lady " Mrs. Thatcher accepted the military's suggestion and launched a "joint combat" and formed an expeditionary force composed of 127 ships in just a few days, including two aircraft carriers Athletic God , Invincible, and the nuclear-powered submarine Conqueror. Even the luxury cruise ship Queen Elizabeth II was requisitioned, and the fleet drove to the war zone 13,000 kilometers away. This is the first time that the British Army, Navy and Air Force will be deployed simultaneously after World War II in 1945.
At that time, major Western European countries supported the United Kingdom, and most European countries suspended military cooperation with Argentina. Latin American countries mostly sympathize with Argentina, but because of the sovereignty dispute between Chile and the island in Bigao Strait, they still maintain military alert for Argentina, forcing Argentina to keep most of its elite troops on the ground, which has a great impact on the subsequent battle situation. The most important "third party" is of course the United States. Argentina expects the United States to remain neutral. As a result, after the failure of mediation, , Washington, fully supports the United Kingdom, and responds to the United Kingdom's request from arms, communications and intelligence.
htmlOn April 25, the British sirens, supported by most developed countries, recaptured South Georgia Island.On May 2, the British submarine Conqueror sank the Argentine cruiser Belgrano , causing 323 Afghans to be killed. Since then, most of the Argentine ships dare not leave the port.
On May 4, the Arab army fighter jets sunk the British destroyer Sheffield with a "Flying Fish" missile, killing 20 British officers and soldiers. The Afghan Air Force's performance in the entire war was remarkable, sinking up to 7 British ships, but it also lost 20% to 30% of its fighter jets.
above picture: The sunken British destroyer Sheffield.
Although the losses exceeded expectations, the British army still launched a landing war against the north coast of East Falkland Island on May 21. 4,000 troops advanced all the way. Most of the Arab army on the island were volunteers, which lacked training and insufficient equipment supply. The 3-to-1 advantage in terms of quantity did not help them much. The British army had no air superiority, no air close support, and no helicopter transport. In the harsh weather, they walked through the rugged terrain and the minefields laid by the Armenian army, and fought fiercely with the Armenian army, heading towards the Port of Stanley 90 kilometers away.
In early June, the British army surrounded Stanley Port and captured the surrounding highlands. The Armenian army in the city was like a turtle in a jar, with assistance cut off and no way out of the siege. On June 14, 1982, Brigadier General Menandez, the commander of the Afghan Army, surrendered. The 74-day war in the Cabernets ended. 649 Afghan Army, 255 British Army, and 3 islanders were killed. Menandez and 11,400 Afghan prisoners of war were sent back to the country. Of course, this is incomparable to the battles in and during World War II, but after World War II, wars of this scale were already quite terrifying.
Above: In the Falkland War, Argentine officers and soldiers captured by the British Expeditionary Force.
This war left the Argentine military ruling group covered in dust and discredited. The regime, which was originally in danger of incompetence and corruption, finally came the end of the world. Military leader Galtieri was expelled from the presidential palace four days after the Argentina surrendered. Argentina was blessed in disguise and officially embarked on the democratization process. Iron Lady Thatcher gained fame and later became the British Prime Minister for 8 years.
As for the Cambridge Island, it is still the British overseas territory and the "Malvinas Islands" that the Argentines are waiting to be regained.
If you want to know more details of this battle, you can watch the "Far Island War" book from the perspective of Argentina, recording a series of interesting and thrilling events in Argentina from the decision to occupy the Falkland Islands to the defeat. The content focuses on important military activities of Britain and Argentina in the Falklands region, such as the "General Belgrano" cruiser sunk by the British nuclear submarine "Conqueror", and the British ship "Sheffield" attack aircraft, etc. It also analyzes the deep reasons for the failure of the Argentine army from the political and military aspects and puts forward new insights.
After reading this book, I felt even more that the most passionate battle stage in the war that I had paid attention to the most before was like the final decisive slash in the duel between two warriors. It seemed that the victory or defeat was settled in the bloody sword shadow in the blink of an eye. In fact, the countless previous battles and tests have already suggested who is in the upper hand, and the final one is just a summary speech. (Refer to the paragraph of Jet Li and Donnie Yen in the heroes). In this war, the "fight" between Argentina and Britain is logistics support, competition for air and sea power, intelligence collection and early warning and reconnaissance. Whoever has the advantage in these aspects will be the final winner. Being able to shift the focus from the frontline of fighting to these links, I feel that I have truly touched the skills of experts from outsiders in war.
Finally, the genuine link to "The War of the Horse Island". Friends who want to buy it should not miss it ↓↓↓
