Falkland War

Since the 1800’s, Argentina has claimed the Falkland islands, as they were owned by Spain, and the Latin American countries have taken Spain’s territory. However, these islands were settled by the U.K in 1833, infuriating Argentina. Argentina has openly claimed the islands since, but the U.K has rejected their claims. Fast forward to 1982 when Leopoldo Galtieri, the Argentinian de-facto military dictator, was being criticized for his handling of the nation. Galtieri realized that if he “re-captured” the Falkland islands, his public approval would skyrocket. Therefore, he ordered an all-out invasion of the Falkland islands that purposefully did not injure or kill any British civilians/soldiers. The Argentinians captured the island on April 2nd of 1982, but the British immediately assembled a task force and sent it out to get the islands back. In the initial stages of the war, the British Navy was forced to remain far away from the islands due to Argentinian air strikes, but the U.K still managed to sink an Argentinian cruiser, causing the single largest loss of life in the war. In their attacks, Argentina lost many planes, leaving them vulnerable to a land invasion, which the British immediately carried out. The British made a beeline for the settlements Goose Green and Darwin, which were key to securing Port Stanley, the most valuable Argentine possession.The Argentinians had dug in very well, resulting in heavy fighting, but the U.K still managed to capture the two settlements, sealing Argentina’s fate. Soon after, British soldiers encircled and laid siege to Port Stanley, forcing the acting Argentine commander, Mario Menéndez, to surrender on June 14th, 1982, leaving the islands to the U.K. Almost immediately after, due to his handling of the invasion he ordered that resulted in the loss of 650 Argentine lives, Leopoldo Galtieri was ousted from power and replaced with a democratically elected president. On the other hand, European nations and the populace of England applauded Margaret Thatcher, the prime minister of the U.K at the time, for leading the outnumbered British soldiers to victory, losing only 225 soldiers and capturing 11,450 soldiers. The U.K still controls the Falkland Islands to this day, despite strong Argentinian disapproval.