The Malvinas Islands are a small archipelago located in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It consists of 2 large and many small pieces of land, the number of which is approximately equal to 776. The area of all combined sites is 12 thousand km 2 . Falklands is the second and more common name by the name of the Malvinas Islands. The coordinates of the archipelago are 51.75 ° S. w. 59 ° C e. The history of this corner of paradise is overshadowed by the struggle of two states that are trying to consolidate their territory.
The story of the origin of the conflict
The 16th century was marked by the discovery of many previously uncharted territories. The Malvinas Islands are no exception. The debate over their discoverer continues to this day. Argentina insists that the Spanish sailor Esteban Gomez became the first European to set foot on this land, and this happened in 1520. But Great Britain claims that it was opened only in 1592 by the British John Dwich. History tells us that for more than 200 years the Spanish garrison was located on the territory of the archipelago. That is, the Malvinas Islands were part of Spain. But in 1810, Argentina declared independence, and the military sailed from these lands to their homeland. Such active events in Argentina led to the fact that they simply forgot about the Falkland archipelago. And only ten years later, Captain Dzhuetom with a detachment of paratroopers arrived here and announced the rights of his state to this territory.
This distribution of power lasted 12 years. But the British naval expedition arrived on the islands and made a coup, subjugating the Malvinas Islands of Great Britain. Argentina at that time was still a very young state and could not repulse the invaders. But she also did not intend to transfer submissively part of her lands to another country. Thus, the conflict on the Malvinas Islands arose due to the seizure by England of foreign territory.
Peaceful search period
As you know, Britain was one of the largest colonial countries in the world. But in the 60s of the twentieth century, this system crashed. Argentina, taking advantage of the situation, tried to regain power over the Falklands through diplomacy. So, during this period, an airfield and telephone communications appeared on the island. Most UN members supported this initiative. But England did not want to give up the territory on any terms. After all, it was not only a piece of land, which is located quite far from the main part of the state. The British were interested in deposits of natural resources such as gas and oil. Another factor was the fact that England was practically a monopolist in catching sea crustaceans - krill, and she was not going to share with anyone.
Then in power in the UK stood the well-known iron lady Margaret Thatcher. Having begun military operations against Argentina, she strengthened her position in power. The Malvinas (Falkland Islands) were given a separate place in its policy of returning England the status of a great state.
Argentina's military gain
The dispute between England and Argentina over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) was beneficial not only to the first of them. In 1981, Argentina survived a military coup and dictator Leopoldo Galtieri seized power. He just needed to enlist the support of ordinary citizens, and victory in a quick little war had to fulfill his destiny. After all, if the Malvinas Islands returned, Argentina would show the whole world that it is a strong and independent state.
Start of war
General Galtieri began to carefully prepare the operation to return the archipelago. It was decided to name it in honor of the ship of captain Juet - "Rosario". The beginning was to be May 25, 1982. This date was not chosen by chance, because on this day Argentina celebrated its national holiday, which was subsequently to be proclaimed as Malvinas Island Day. But a traitor crept into the ranks of the Argentines, and British intelligence received all the data about this plan. The response to such actions from England was the Spartan submarine, which was sent to patrol the waters of the South Atlantic. Upon learning about this, Galtieri moved the start to April 2, 1982, and on that day Argentinean troops landed on the Malvins and easily managed a small group of Britons.
England took a tough stance because she believed that her national interests were affected. And she expected support from all countries of the European continent. Latin America, on the contrary, was on the side of Argentina, because the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands, in their opinion, had long had time to recognize the power of their real homeland. But France did not take an unequivocal position in this conflict, because it was not profitable for her to turn away from Argentina. This country bought military aircraft from France. In addition, the Republic of Peru, as an ally of Argentina, bought anti-ship missiles from the French.
A look at the war between the USA and the USSR
In this war, the USSR was ready to support Argentina with its military equipment for lowering food prices. But at that time, the Soviet Union itself was in a state of unresolved military conflict (war in Afghanistan). Therefore, all the support that Argentina received was expressed in lengthy speeches at UN meetings. We didn’t even talk about vigorous activity. Even the opposite happened: the USSR simply washed its hands and completely pulled away from the Anglo-Argentine conflict.
The United States, on the contrary, did not withdraw to the side. At that time, the President of the United States was R. Reagan, who, after the persuasion of Secretary of Defense C. Weinberg, fully supported Great Britain. The United States immediately imposed sanctions against Argentina. And at the UN Security Council, the United States, along with England, vetoed a resolution on the Falkland conflict. These two states even agreed on a possible pressure on the USSR if he decides to intervene.
Active hostilities
After taking control of the archipelago, Great Britain immediately sent a large naval force so that this territory was returned to the British Crown. Since April 12, 1982, the British government put a blockade on the Malvinas Islands. The war was already in full swing. The Secretary of Defense of Great Britain said that if Argentine ships are seen within a radius of 200 miles from this territory, they will be immediately sunk. The response of Argentina was a ban on the use of the services of English banks for its citizens.
Argentinean aviation also could not take an active part in hostilities, especially in maintaining the garrison and supplying it with everything necessary. This happened due to the fact that jet combat aircraft could not land on the strip that was on the island, since it was too short.
With US support, Britain had the opportunity to use their military base on Ascension Island. This facilitated access to a remote area. On April 25, the British captured the island of South Georgia, which had previously been ruled by Argentina. The military surrendered without a fight and gave up their post without resistance. Then began a new phase of the war.
Marine and air phase
Since May 1, 1982, the Falkland area was finally engulfed in war. British planes raided Port Stanley, and Argentina responded by sending aircraft to attack British ships. The next day, an event occurred that became the most difficult for Argentina in the entire war. An English submarine sank an enemy cruiser, which killed 323 people. This was the reason that the Argentine fleet was recalled back to the shores of their native country. He did not take more part in hostilities.
Argentina was in a difficult situation, and she could only hope for aviation. At the same time, obsolete freely falling bombs fell on the British fleet, which in most cases did not even explode.
But the British side also had losses that shocked the whole country. On May 4, an anti-ship missile, delivered from France, hit one of the UK destroyers. This caused its flooding. But at that time Argentina had only five such missiles, which led to the rapid exhaustion of this reserve.
Calm before the storm
Such a military breakthrough in Argentina led to two weeks of relative calm. Of course, skirmishes continued, but there were few of them. These include Britain’s military operation to destroy 11 Argentinean aircraft on Pebble Island. At the same time, the UN was trying to persuade the parties to end the war and come to an agreement in a peaceful way. But no one wanted to give up. Argentina, in turn, decided to respond to the sanctions of other countries against it. She forbade her citizens to fly to countries that have adopted anti-Argentine sanctions.
Land war
England prepared its marines in advance for landing on the islands. This happened on the night of May 21-22. The landing occurred in the bay of San Carlos, where this was not expected at all. The resistance of the Argentines was weak, but the next morning the situation changed. Argentine Air Force raided ships that were moored in the bay.
On May 25, one of the planes knocked out a British ship that was transporting helicopters. A few days later it sank. A British land detachment has already taken a strong position on the island itself. On May 28, near the villages of Guz Nrin and Darwin, a garrison of Argentines was attacked, as a result of which, after a very difficult battle, he was forced to retreat.
On June 12, with heavy losses, British troops occupied the Heights of Mount Sisters, Mount Harriet and Moonit Longdon previously controlled by the Argentines. June 14 and all other heights were subordinated to the troops of England.
British forces also took the blockade of the Argentine city of Stanley. The command understood that no one would come to their aid, so on June 14 they refused to fight and surrendered. The Falkland Islands were again returned to British control. The official end date for the war is June 20. On this day, the British occupied the South Sandwich Islands.
Britain for some time did not release 600 Argentines from captivity, thus trying to manipulate their homeland to sign a more favorable peace treaty.
Loss of parties
During the 74-day military conflict, Argentina lost 649 people, one cruiser, one submarine, one patrol boat, four transport vessels, one fishing trawler, 22 attack aircraft, 11 fighters, about 100 planes and helicopters. 11 thousand people were taken prisoner. In addition, it became resonant that after the end of the war 3 more soldiers were taken prisoner by England.
The United Kingdom lost 258 people in this war, two frigates, two destroyers, one container ship, one landing ship, one landing boat, 34 helicopters and aircraft.
The current stage of conflict
At the end of the war, an official treaty was not signed between the warring countries. Only in the 90th year diplomatic relations were established again. In recent years, the conflict has gained momentum again. The reason for this was the receipt of a permit by one of the British companies for oil production near the Malvinas Islands. Argentina opposed this state of affairs, because oil will actually be produced near the shores of this state.
The response of Argentina was also the law of February 16, 2010, which states that only those ships that have received permission to swim at a distance of 500 km from the coast of the country. But this did not stop the British, and the oil production platform was installed on February 21.
In 2013, the public once again drew attention to the Malvinas Islands. The referendum, which would determine the country's affiliation, was to be held on March 10 and 11. Residents had the opportunity to choose for themselves which state they would like to relate to. When the results were calculated, it turned out that 91% of the inhabitants of the islands came to the polls. With an indisputable result of 99.8%, the United Kingdom won, leaving Argentina no chance to object.
Thus, in the last century there was a short war for the Falkland Islands, or the Malvinas Islands. The Shantar Islands, located in the Sea of Okhotsk, somewhat resemble this archipelago. After all, this is also a small piece of territory beyond the outskirts of the mainland. But if two states decide to fight for it, many people will die. The history of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) proves that a more informed, purposeful and well-planned opponent wins the fight.
The history of past wars did not yet know such as this. She is a unique occurrence. Although it was very short, the rivals fought a fierce battle, applying for this all the latest achievements of the technical process. And for Great Britain, it was also a war at a great distance. The main goal was not the territory itself, but the resources that it could give to the victorious country.