Falklands War facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Falklands War
Top row: Argentine forces at Port Stanley, 2 April 1982; HMS Hermes and HMS Broadsword of the British Task Force Middle row: two Super Étendards of the Argentine Navy; Argentine ARA General Belgrano sinking Bottom row: British HMS Antelope after being hit (she later sank); Argentine Army POWs in Stanley
Date 2 April – 14 June 1982 (1982-04-02 – 1982-06-14) Location Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Argentina
Commanders and leaders
Margaret Thatcher Terence Lewin John Fieldhouse Sandy Woodward Jeremy Moore Julian Thompson Tony Wilson	Leopoldo Galtieri Jorge Anaya Basilio Lami Dozo Juan Lombardo Ernesto Horacio Crespo Mario Menéndez
Casualties and losses
Casualties 255 killed 775 wounded 115 captured Losses 2 destroyers 2 frigates 1 landing ship 1 landing craft 1 container ship 24 helicopters 10 fighters 1 bomber interned	Casualties 649 killed 1,657 wounded 11,313 captured Losses 1 cruiser 1 submarine 4 cargo vessels 2 patrol boats 1 naval trawler 25 helicopters 35 fighters 2 bombers 4 cargo aircraft 25 COIN aircraft 9 armed trainers
3 Falkland Islanders killed by friendly fire

The British ship HMS Antelope after it was hit by Argentine weapons

The Falklands War was a war between the United Kingdom and Argentina over the Falkland Islands in 1982. The Falkland Islands are 480 kilometres from Argentina in the southern Atlantic Ocean.

Background

Argentina and the United Kingdom have both argued over which country the Falklands Islands belongs to since the 1800s. In the 1760s and 1770s, the British set up a town at Port Egmont, which nearly led to a war with Spain who had a town at Port Louis. Then Argentina became a separate country from Spain in 1817 and set up a colony on the islands in 1820. An American warship later destroyed this town, and the British took the islands again in 1833.

The British kept the islands until 2 April 1982, when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands (and, the following day, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands) in an attempt to establish the sovereignty it had claimed over them. On 5 April, the British government dispatched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Air Force before making an amphibious assault on the islands.

Aftermath

Although some minefields have been cleared, a substantial number of them still exist in the islands, such as this one at Port William on East Falkland.

The conflict has had a strong effect in both countries and has been the subject of various books, articles, films, and songs. Patriotic sentiment ran high in Argentina, but the outcome prompted large protests against the ruling military government, hastening its downfall. The cultural and political effect of the conflict has been less in Britain than in Argentina, where it remains a common topic for discussion.

Diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Argentina were restored in 1989 following a meeting in Madrid, at which the two governments issued a joint statement. In 1994, Argentina's claim to the territories was added to its constitution.

Images for kids

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  The Argentine destroyer ARA Santísima Trinidad landed special forces south of Stanley

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  Argentinian soldiers and Falklanders in 1982

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  Vandalism of a Falkland Islander's home by Argentine soldiers, the message reads Inglese puto, an insult against people considered weak, unmasculine and contemptible

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  Margaret Thatcher meets Alexander Haig in London.

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  HMS Invincible, one of two available aircraft carriers for the task force

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  Royal Navy FAA Sea Harrier FRS1

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  ARA Santa Fe

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  RAF Avro Vulcan B.Mk.2 strategic bomber

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  French-built Super Étendard of the Argentine Naval Aviation

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  ARA General Belgrano sinking

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  Alferez Sobral

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  HMS Sheffield

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  HMS Coventry in 1981

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  Argentinean A4 SkyHawk Attack on HMS Brilliant and HMS Glasgow, 12 May 1982

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  Atlantic Conveyor approaching the Falklands, on or about 19 May 1982

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  HMS Broadsword and HMS Hermes during the war

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  British sailors in anti-flash gear at action stations on HMS Cardiff near San Carlos, June 1982

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  HMS Cardiff anchored outside Port Stanley at the end of hostilities in 1982

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  Argentine prisoners of war in Port Stanley

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  A pile of discarded Argentine weapons in Port Stanley

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  The Argentine Thule Garrison at the Corbeta Uruguay base

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  The Argentine Military Cemetery on East Falkland

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  The British Military Cemetery at San Carlos on East Falkland

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  Hecla at HM Naval Base Gibraltar, during conversion to a hospital ship for service during the Falklands War

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  The Monumento a los Caídos en Malvinas ("Monument for the Fallen in the Falklands") in Plaza San Martín, Buenos Aires; a member of the historic Patricios regiment stands guard

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  Two RAF Tornado F3 fighters flying over the Falkland Islands in 2007

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  The 1982 Liberation Memorial in Stanley

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  Gente's "Estamos ganando" headline ("We're winning")

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  The Sun's infamous "Gotcha" headline

See also

In Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas para niños