The Falklands War

[Philip Reinders]

no speaking/reading espanola

[chrisharley9]

Originally Posted by Drew5233

Another ditty I remember ref James 'We'll go with what we've got'.

The 5th Inf Bde was a very bad choice to send down South they had quite a few poorly equiped Battalions. I believe the Welsh or Scots Guards - I'm sure it was the Welsh had just come off their stint at Wellington Barracks and had no kit. A compulsary purchase for civilian bergans was made and they were painted green on the way South.

One thing that I have always admired about the British Army is their ability to 'make do with what we've got-lets just get going attitude'. Even today that tradition is alive and well, the Americans nicknamed us the 'Borrowers' in 2003

In the main you are correct; Brigadier Thomson wanted infantry units that recently had completed arctic warfare training; 1 PWO & 1 R Anglian were in the frame. However 1 Royal Anglian were in the process of an arms plot move from Celle to Oakington at the time. Most R Signals units at the time in Germany provided a limited number of personnel which had to be done without any of the NATO HQs knowing about it as the NATO comitted units in Germany were not available to for use by the Britiish government (mad I know). The Ace Mobile Force infantry bn at Tidworth would have been the ideal choice to send to the Falklands with the Marines, but NATO would not give permission for them to be used.

Much of the feeling within the NATO HQs at the time was anti British as they seemed to think we were going on a colonial war which they had all done away with years ago. The only real supporters were the Dutch (bless em)

Talking about kit at the time most lads in my troop had purchased their own Bergans, bivvy bags etc. The only thing we could not get away with was boots; the RSM would only let us wear DMS. What with this insistence of having a pair of best boots in your locker you never had a spare pair of boots to change into in the field. The problem was an insistence on bull over operational readiness. Thank god when I got out to NI attitudes were different but then im going off topic

Chris

[James Daly]

Originally Posted by chrisharley9

Most R Signals units at the time in Germany provided a limited number of personnel which had to be done without any of the NATO HQs knowing about it as the NATO comitted units in Germany were not available to for use by the Britiish government (mad I know). The Ace Mobile Force infantry bn at Tidworth would have been the ideal choice to send to the Falklands with the Marines, but NATO would not give permission for them to be used.

Much of the feeling within the NATO HQs at the time was anti British as they seemed to think we were going on a colonial war which they had all done away with years ago. The only real supporters were the Dutch (bless em)

Very good points. People dont seem to realise that although we had a much larger army in 1982 much of it was tied up in Germany or NI, if not by arms plot but also by treaty. I've heard a lot of talk about 'how come whenever theres a crisis its always Marines and Paras?' - probably because they were the only units designated for out of area operations that we actually had the freedom to use.

[chrisharley9]

Without the Navy we would have been up shit creek any way

[James Daly]

Originally Posted by chrisharley9

Without the Navy we would have been up shit creek any way

I think - with a few small gaps - that had been British Defence policy for hundreds of years. The Army was a small force to be landed and then retrieved by the Navy wherever the Government saw fit - a la the Peninsular War. Based very much on the maritime nature of the British Empire.

[Drew5233]

I wonder if it was a coincidence that that chap paid this thread a visit?

The UK has made "all the preparations that are necessary" to protect the Falkland Islands, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said. However, the Ministry of Defence has denied reports that a naval taskforce is on its way to the Falklands.

Looks like this has been bubbling away for a few weeks now under the media radar.

BBC News - Gordon Brown says UK is prepared in Falkland Islands

[slaphead]

Originally Posted by Drew5233

I wonder if it was a coincidence that that chap paid this thread a visit?

What chap?

I remember when all this kicked off the first time my brother was on the North Sea oil rigs and when I said I didnt understand why we were bothering to defend the islands he said one word.. OIL
Though then the percieved wisdom was that there was / is a vast lake of the stuff under Antarctica and whoever controls the Falklands has the right to 1/6th of the mineral wealth of Antarctica should anyone ever be allowed to drill or mine there. There are currently shed loads of international treaties banning any exploration but who knows how long that will last..

[Gage]

They are some stories saying the RN are sending more ships but the MoD have denied these.

[Za Rodinu]

From the link Drew provided 3 posts above:

However, it was Argentina that unilaterally decided in 2007 to scrap an agreement with the UK to share the proceeds of any oil discoveries in Falklands waters.
The decision was taken by the government of Nestor Kirchner, the predecessor and husband of the current president.
Under the Kirchners, Argentina has increased pressure on the UK to reopen talks on the sovereignty of the islands.
It's a far cry from the 1990s, when the foreign minister of the time, the late Guido di Tella, launched a charm offensive aimed at winning over the hearts and minds of the islanders.
This included sending annual Christmas cards to every household, accompanied by presents such as video cassettes featuring children's character Pingu and books including the adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
Now, however, the gloves are off again - and diplomatic strife plus the lure of financial gain could prove to be a potent combination.

It looks like WW2Talk will be having short duration visitors from that region for the long, long future...

And while I'm no expert in International Law, it appears that national waters claimed by Argentina extend all the way to Timbuktu!



If it's water why does the legend call it 'territory'??

[Rich Payne]

If the continental shelf argument is valid then I think that the French have a good claim on the British Isles.

But then Ted Heath obviously thought they did when he sold out and gave away the fishing rights.