Countdown To Conflict
The tiny Falkland Islands have been in dispute for centuries. First sighted by English navigator John Davies in 1592, it wasn’t until a century later that Captain Strong landed on the islands to replenish his ship’s water supplies. He named them after the Treasurer to the Navy, Lord Falkland.
During the intense trade wars of the 18th century, England, France and Spain all made claims on the Falklands. Argentina claimed the islands as their territory in the early 19th century. In 1833, Britain repossessed them.
From the 1960s, there were ongoing discussions with Argentina over the future sovereignty of the Falklands. In 1981, General Galtieri took over the presidency of Argentina in a coup. Planning began in earnest to retake the Falkland Islands, or Las Malvinas as they are known in Argentina.
Falklands War Timeline: 1982
| April 2nd | Argentine forces invade the Falkland Islands | |
| April 2nd | First ships of the British Task Force set sail for the South Atlantic | |
| April 3rd | South Georgia invaded | |
| April 9th | Canberra sails from Southampton | |
| April 12th | The British introduce a 200-mile exclusion zone around the Falkland Islands | |
| April 25th | South Georgia retaken | |
| May 1st | Stanley airfield bombed | |
| May 2nd | ARA General Belgrano sunk by the submarine HMS Conqueror | |
| May 4th | HMS Sheffield is hit by an Argentine Exocet missile | |
| May 14-15th | Special forces attack the Argentine base on Pebble Island, destroying 11 aircraft | |
| May 21st | HMS Ardent is bombed and sinks next day | |
| May 23rd | HMS Antelope is bombed and sinks the next day | |
| May 24th | 18 Argentine aircraft shot down over San Carlos Bay | |
| May 25th | HMS Coventry and Atlantic Conveyor are lost | |
| May 28th | 2 Para retake Goose Green | |
| June 3rd | Bluff Cove and Fitzroy occupied | |
| June 8th | RFA Sir Galahad and RFA Sir Tristram are bombed | |
| June 11-12th | British troops recapture Mount Harriet, Two Sisters and Mount Langdon | |
| June 12th | HMS Glamorgan badly damaged by an Exocet missile | |
| June 13-14th | British troops take Tumbledown Mountain, Wireless Ridge and Mount William | |
| June 14th | Argentine forces surrender; Port Stanley is liberated and the white flag flies above the town | |
