Falklands War (1982)

The Falklands War (in Spanish, Guerra de las Malvinas) began on 2 April 1982, when Argentine forces under the military junta led by General Leopoldo Galtieri invaded the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic that Argentina had long claimed. South Georgia was seized the following day. The United Kingdom, under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, severed diplomatic relations and dispatched a naval task force of over 100 ships across roughly 8,000 nautical miles to retake the islands.

The UN Security Council passed Resolution 502 on 3 April 1982, demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities and Argentine withdrawal. Diplomatic mediation efforts by US Secretary of State Alexander Haig and later by Peruvian President Fernando Belaúnde Terry failed. The United States ultimately backed the UK, while several Latin American states sympathised with Argentina.

Major military events included:

• The British recapture of South Georgia (25 April).
• The sinking of the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano by the submarine HMS Conqueror on 2 May, killing 323 sailors.
• The sinking of HMS Sheffield on 4 May by an Exocet missile.
• British amphibious landings at San Carlos Water on 21 May.
• Land battles at Goose Green, Mount Longdon, Tumbledown, and Wireless Ridge.

Argentine forces in Port Stanley surrendered on 14 June 1982. Total deaths numbered 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel, and 3 Falkland Islanders.

The war's political consequences were substantial. The defeat accelerated the collapse of Argentina's military junta and the country's return to civilian democratic rule under Raúl Alfonsín in 1983. In Britain, the victory boosted Thatcher's domestic standing and contributed to the Conservatives' 1983 election win. Sovereignty remains formally disputed: Argentina maintains its claim, while a 2013 referendum in the Falklands recorded 99.8% in favour of remaining a British overseas territory.