Book Description
This is the history of the Falklands War, told by a former Royal Marine. Illustrated with more than 200 action photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not unpleasant to read.
Positive about the book is the number of pictures and also the descripton of the planned SAS mission 'Mikado'. The war is covered well, but the book contains a lot of errors and overclaims. And unfortunately the number of maps is unsufficient. ... Read more

Book Description

Drawing on a vast range of previously classified government archives as well as interviews with key participants, this first volume of the official history of the Falklands Campaign is the most authoritative account of the origins of the 1982 war.

In the first chapters the author analyses the long history of the dispute between Argentina and Britain over the sovereignty of the Islands, the difficulties faced by successive governments in finding a way to reconcile the opposed interests of the Argentines and the islanders, and the constant struggle to keep the Islands viable. He subsequently gives a complete account of how what started as an apparently trivial incident over an illegal landing by scrap-metal merchants on the island of South Georgia turned into a major crisis. Thanks to his access to classified material, Sir Lawrence Freedman has been able to produce a detailed and authoritative analysis which extends the coverage given by the Franks Committee Report of 1983.

This volume is ultimately an extremely readable account of these events, charting the growing realisation within the British government of the seriousness of the situation, culminating in the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands at the start of April 1982.

Book Description

Book Description
The Argentine invasion of the Falklands in 1982 sparked national outrage and Britain felt she had to avenge the humiliation and protect her own. This volume explores both the military and political dimensions of this important conflict, including detailed accounts of the air / sea battle, the Battle for San Carlos Water, Goose Green, Mt Harriet, Tumbledown and many others. It explains how success in the Falklands set the stage for the years of Thatcher's dominance, and restored British prestige. Including first hand accounts from both soldiers and civilians, this is an interesting and thoroughly up to date appraisal. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A good account of the war
As usual, Osprey describes war histories in a very effective way. This book is ideal for anyone who wants to have a neat idea of what happened in Falkland/Malvinas in 1982.

Not enough sources, too many errors
If you are looking for a narration of the Falklands War from the English point of view, this is the right book for you: brief, exciting and with many illustrations. However, if you want an exhaustive, updated and impartial chronicle of this conflict, you will be disappointed with this work ofDuncan Anderson.
The reasons are not difficult to guess. In the section "Select bibliography", the author mentions NINE books; only "half-book" (the work of Virginia Gamba-Stonehouse with Lawrence Freedman) have Argentine origins. Hardly surprising, the text of Anderson is strongly unilateral and full of errors. Here a brief selection:
3) Page 11: no mention to the first English invasion of Buenos Aires in 1806 under the command of Popham and Beresford (the same expedition who occupied Cape Colony before)
"...an along with [Argentine] independence in 1820..."
Argentine independence took place in 1816, not 1820
"In 1831 the American frigate Lemington..."
The US-American ship's name was Lexington
8) Page 25: "...Harriers...would have to face some 120 Argentine machines of equal of superior performance."
A quarter of these 118 Argentine aircraft were COIN/trainer turboprops (Pucará & Turbo Mentor) with a maximum speed of 500 km/h. Only 32 machines (8 Mirage III and 24 Daggers) were theoretically superior to the Sea Harrier, but they operated at the limit of their range (they wouldn't perform any air refuelling) and their missiles were very inferior to the AIM-9L Sidewinder
12) Page 32 (photo): "Douglas A-4C Skyhawks."
These are A-4B of the Grupo 5 de Caza (Fight Group 5)
14) Page 35 (map): "Task Group 79.1 & 2 (Aircraft-carrier and 2 destroyers)" and "Task Group 79.4 (3 frigates)"
These groups included four destroyers (Hércules, Santísima Trinidad, Comodoro Py and Comodoro Seguí) and three corvettes (Drummond, Granville and Guerrico)
15) Page 37: "Unknown to the RAF, the Argentine engineers who had constructed the airfield had made a mistake when plotting its position on survey maps. As a consequence, the airfield's position on maps the crew was using was 1,000 m from its actual position."
Really? Perhaps the Argentine engineers made this error on purpose for the British maps; or perhaps that was only an excuse of the British pilots for their failure to hit a 1,250 m runway meanwhile their Argentine colleagues hit frigates that were ten times smaller...
"...one bomb hit the centre of the runway, cratering it badly and ensuring it could not be used by fast jets."
The bomb hit only a border of the runway, that was never able to operations with fast jets because it was still too short
17) Page 40: "She [the Belgrano] sank within 45 minutes, with the loss of 368 lives."
The Belgrano sank within one hour, with the loss of 323 lives
18) Page 41: "During the next 24 hours Lynx helicopters sank and disabled two Argentine patrol boats on their way to the islands."
No Argentine patrol boat was sunk. The Skua missiles were unable to sink the 800-ton Alférez Sobral: damaged and with seven killed it was able to reach Puerto Deseado without help. The Sobral wasn't on the way to the island but on the search of the crew of the Canberra shot down at 1 May: the two airmen were never found
19) Page 43: "The first success came on 9 May when Coventry, a Type 42, shot down two Skyhawks and a Puma helicopter."
The two A-4C were not hit by Sea Darts missiles but they crashed due to bad weather (like two Sea Harriers three days before)
"...a bomb from the second attack wave hit Glasgow, but passed through her without exploding."
Right, but Glasgow was so badly damaged that some days later it had to take the way back to England
21) Page 50: "In fact, the settlements [at Goose Green] held 1,500; with added reinforcements the number was to rise to 1,630."
At 26 May, the settlements held only 845 men (included 202 ground crew from the airfield). At 28 May two reinforcements came: a platoon of the Regiment 25 (44 men) and the Company B of the Regiment 12 (132 men)
23) Page 53: "As he [Jones] single-handedly stormed an Argentine trench from the rear, he was cut down by a burst of machine gun fire from behind".
I don't want to offend the memory of "H" Jones, but I must tell you the other version of his death:
As the Company A was stopped by the fire of the defenders of Darwin in a path between two minefields, three Paras took off und shuttled their helmets. The Argentine officer, Lt Juan José Gómez Centurión, accepted the parliament's offer and met one of the enemy soldiers who introduced him as Lieutenant Colonel Jones and demanded the surrender of the Argentines. Surprised and annoyed, Gómez Centurión broke up the parliament and both officers went back to their men. At this moment a British MG that used the break to flank the Argentine's position opened fire and hit three Argentine soldiers. Gómez Centurión saw Jones behind a fence and fired twice with his rifle: Jones was hit from a bullet in the neck and died.
24) Page 54: "...the Argentines [suffered] 55 dead and 86 wounded. In addition, 1,536 physically uninjured Argentines became prisoners of war."
The Argentines suffered 50 dead and almost 120 men were wounded. Only 1,083 soldiers surrendered
"...the Argentines...were...equipped with automatic weapons...and supported by mortar and artillery fire and ground attack aircraft."
The Argentines had only four machine guns (one 12,7mm and three 7,62 mm), whereas their enemy had 56 MG (14 to 1). As the Argentines, the Paras had 105mm guns (at the end six), 81 mm mortars (at the end eight) and air-ground support. And they had something that the Argentines didn't have: 12 granade-throwers M79, MILAN and Blowpipes missiles and naval fire support from the 114mm gun of the frigate Arrow
26) Page 58: "The frigate Cardiff, returning from bombarding Stanley, sighted the landing craft."
Cardiff was not a frigate but a Type 42 destroyer. By the way, one hour before a British Gazelle helicopter was shot down by "over-anxious" crew of Cardiff: four men were killed
27) "The landing craft [Foxtrot 4] was saved from almost certain destruction by the arrival of two Sea Harriers..."
The Foxtrot 4 was sunk together with the transported material
29) "...British gunners were trained to a much higher standard."
The principal advantage of British artillery was the 17 km range of their guns compared with the 10,5 km range of Argentine OTO Melara howitzers
"...additional fire support was to be provided by automatic 4." guns of four warships..."
The standard gun of British warships is 4,5in (114mm)
36) Page 86: "Nearly 100 Argentine dead were found in positions on the ridge [Wireless Ridge]..."
The Regimiento 7 lost in Longdon and Wireless Ridge only 35 killed
Finally: in this book I couldn't find any reference to the help of the Chilean dictatorship to Britain (military intelligence, aggressive movements of his army and navy against Argentine, a British Recce-Canberra unit that operated with Chilean colours from the Patagonia, etc): this help was acknowledged in public by Margaret Thatcher in 1999, when her friend, ex-dictator Augusto Pinochet, was arrested in England.

More than twenty years after the conflict, such inaccuracy is simply unacceptable. It is lamentable that Anderson, in spite of his notables academic records (he is head of the Department of War Studies at Sandhurst), has been incapable to write a true valuable work on this tragic conflict.

Fantastic history of the Falklands war
I found this to be extremely informative as well a gripping read.Excellently written and involves the reader to make the material come alive.If you have any interest in this conflict this is *the* authoritative read. ... Read more

Book Description
In the second volume of his official history of the Falklands Campaign, Lawrence Freedman provides a detailed and authoritative account of one of the most extraordinary periods in recent British political history and a vivid portrayal of a government at war.

After the shock of the Argentine invasion of the Falklands in April 1982, Margaret Thatcher faced the crisis that came to define her premiership as she determined to recover the islands. The book covers all aspects of th campaign-economic and diplomatic as well as military and demonstrates the extent of the gamble that the government took. There are important accounts of the tensions in relations with the United States, concerns among the military commanders about the risks they were expected to take, the problems of dealing with the media and the attempts to reach a negotiated settlement. War and Diplomacy describes in dramatic detail events such as the sinking of the Belgrano, the battle of Goose Green and the final push to Stanley. Attention is also paid to the aftermath of the war, including the various enquiries, and the eventual restoration of diplomatic relations with Argentina. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

A brief, yet through explanation of what the Falklands war was all about

The war between Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas to the Argentines) was a short but relatively bloody one. Even though relatively small numbers of fighting people were involved, it had enormous repercussions around the world. The military junta that was ruling Argentina at the time was engaging in a dirty war against the Argentine people. Thousands were referred to as the disappeared, as they were abducted and disappeared without a trace. This war and the economic problems had led to a tremendous decline in the support the ruling junta had among the Argentine people. Their solution was to engage in a popular war of "conquest." The thought was that Britain would be unwilling or unable to execute an effective military response across thousands of miles of Atlantic Ocean in order to retake the islands.
The Argentine military leaders also believed that the Reagan administration would come down on their side or at least avoid any overt aid to the British. At the time, the Reagan administration was involved in the funding of the Nicaraguan Contras, a group of anti-Communist rebels fighting the government of Nicaragua. The Argentine military was providing a great deal of political and material support to the Contras and the Argentines thought that Reagan would not jeopardize that.
All of these thoughts proved to be fallacious, as the Reagan administration was more concerned about the Soviet threat. Britain was a NATO ally and could not in any way be allowed to fail. Therefore, when it became clear that war was inevitable, the United States came down squarely on the side of the British. Argentina was thoroughly defeated and the military leaders were removed from power. It led to the restoration of democracy in Argentina and the ultimate trial of those who engaged in the policy of disappearing people.
This book captures all of what the Falklands War was about. The murky arguments about sovereignty, the inaccurate assumptions of the Argentines, the determination of the British people to prevail, the political situation in Latin America and the role of the United States. The war was small, remote and there was almost no real-time journalistic coverage. Yet it changed a great deal around the world and demonstrated how vulnerable surface ships were to missiles and torpedoes. A large percentage of the casualties on both sides were from the damage to ships and the world learned a new phrase, "the Exocet missile."
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

First class, gripping account of the 1982 Falklands War !
Noted military historian / writer Martin Middlebrook has excelled himself with this fastidiously researched & tightly written account of the short lived, but bloody, 1982 war between Britain & Argentina over the tiny Falklands Islands in the South Atlantic. The author has effectively covered both the British & Argentinian perspective's of the campaign, and gives a fairly unbiased approach to the subject matter at hand.

Middlebrook provides a comprehensive, historical background to the issue of how the crisis developed in the Falklands, and the political climate in Argentina prior to the ill fated invasion. Middlebrook additionally illustrates how the British Lion then roused from it's slumber, swung swiftly into action and assembled a formidable task force, and sailed them thousands of miles away into the South Atlantic to battle against a numerically superior force.

The book provides detailed and intriguing insights into the naval aspects of the campaign including the loss of the Argentinian cruiser, General Belgrano and several English ships such as Sheffield, Sir Galahad & Atlantic Conveyor.The author examines the constant threat & fear that the Excocet missile posed to British shipping & their crews, and a bold plan to land SAS troops at Rio Grande to destroy Argentinian Super Etendard jets, the only jets capable of air launching the deadly Exocet. In addition, Middlebrook paints a gripping picture of the air war between British Harriers & Argentinian Skyhawks & Daggers, and the fight for supremacy of the skies over the Falklands. Finally, he covers the land campaign and the hard fought battles by Britsh Paratroop & Commando units against a dug in opposition & bitterly cold weather for key points including Goose Green, Tumbledown Mountain, Darwin Hill & finally the capital of Stanley.

A key aspect of the book that maintains the readers interest is the many, enthralling first hand comments by participants in the war including serviceman & politicians from both sides, Falkland Islanders, and the relatives of those involved in the crisis.Middlebrook combines details on the military technology that are easy to follow for the layman, with a fluid and well paced writing style that make the book compelling reading. Middlebook has written numerous other titles on military history, and this is another fine addition to his line up. Highly recommended for those seeking a concise, intriguing & well written book on the Falklands War. ... Read more

Book Description
This is the story of the SAS raid on Pebble Island during the Falklands War. In atrocious weather, 48 men of 22 SAS Regiment were landed by Sea King Helicopter on the Island. Their task was to destroy the 11 enemy aircraft located at the Airstrip on the Island and neutralize the Argentinean force posted there to guard it. The raid was successful and all the Aircraft were destroyed but debate still goes on as to whether the raid was a political gesture to give the British Public some action or whether it was to knock out the Airbase that could have made life difficult for the landings at San Carlos Bay later in the War. The book covers sections on: history of the engagement, training and planning involved, equipment used, weapons file, breakdown of forces engaged, consequences and controversies as well as personal accounts of those involved. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

First Strike In The Falklands
If you are a fan of the British Special Air Service (SAS) or the1982 Falkland's War, this book provides every detail, and from both sides, of the UK's first response to Argentina. It also notes that the U.S. provided much needed intelligence from satellites that was put to good use by UK forces. Cooksey also notes the large role of the Special Boat Squadron (SBS). Pebble Island ( the book explains the name )and its importance to the Falkland's campaign is usually just a footnote in larger histories. But as Cooksey demonstrates, without the destruction of the Argentina aircraft at the grass strip on the island, there could be no landing of mass troops to take the Falklands back. This book is first in anew series and is very readable and fair to both sides. Interestingly, as the "Falklands War" is being re-examined by other authors in a negative fashion,at this time,this book of just over a 100 pages honors courage and standing up to tyranny, something that is out of fashion today. Of particular interest is the sacrifice made by Captain John Hamilton (SAS), who was actually recommended for the Victoria Cross, after his death in combat, and behind Argentine lines, not by his own government, but by the Argentine forces who fought againist him. The book should be purchased. ... Read more

Book Description
Battle Atlas of the Falklands War 1982 from the occupation of South Georgia and the Falklands Islands/Malvinas by the Argentines, the assembly and dispatch of the British Task Force, to the reconquest of the islands. Includes 48 maps, 51 photographs, and appendices listing British ships and aircraft and Argentine aircraft losses and British gallantry awards ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A must have companion book for the Falklands War
This book is a must if you are reading any of the other books on the Falklands War. When a book mentions a place during the war, use this book to find the location and other information that happened at that location. Unless you were there this book is a must companion while reading other books on the Falklands War. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description
The Hundred Days that saw the British response to General Galtiere of Argentina's invasion of the Falklands are for many British people the most remarkable of their lives.There will be massive revival of interest in this period in 2007 and this book covers all the main events of that momentous time.It describes the dark days of early April, the feverish response and forming of the Task Force, the anxieties and uncertainties, the naval and air battles that preceded the landings by 3 Commando Brigade and 5th Infantry Brigade.

Customer Reviews (2)

Quite simply the finest account of the naval war yet written
Writen by the Head of the (Royal) Naval Historical Branch, The Royal Navy and the Falklands War is quite simply the finest account of the naval war yet written. With detailed access to official documents and widely illustrated with photographs form both official and private sources, the book traces the history of the campign from the naval perspective in a day by day, blow by blow account.
The narrative is easy to follow, either as a cover to cover read or a book to dip into for specific information about key events. There is a seperate chapter dealing with ships taken up from trade, (STUFT), and appendices listing all ships from both navies that took part in the war. An excellent read and a "must have" book for the serious reader.

Quite simply the finest account of the naval war yet written
Writen by the Head of the (Royal) Naval Historical Branch, The Royal Navy and the Falklands War is quite simply the finest account of the naval war yet written. With detailed access to official documents and widely illustrated with photographs form both official and private sources, the book traces the history of the campign from the naval perspective in a day by day, blow by blow account.
The narrative is easy to follow, either as a cover to cover read or a book to dip into for specific information about key events. There is a seperate chapter dealing with ships taken up from trade, (STUFT), and appendices listing all ships from both navies that took part in the war. An excellent read and a "must have" book for the serious reader. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

A special war
The Falklands war was one of the most peculiar wars of the 20th century.
Argentine`s Galtierei was a gambler who lost against the determined Mrs Thatcher and her "crew". But today he would perhaps have got away with it.

The authors have described the development of the conflict very thorougly,
with interesting descriptions of the considerations on both sides, and of the battles. Exciting subject - well written!

25th Anniversary of the Falklands War
The Falklands War has been described as the last of the old style conflicts, indeed a throw back to 19th century colonial wars.That being said it was also a classic example of warfare being politics by other means. Few other modern wars provide such a strong example of events influencing the political situation on a almost daily basis.

This book was consdiered at the time of its writing one of the best on the Falklands War.Max Hastings was the original embedded journalist.He managed to gain the trust of many British commanders because of the quality of his reporting, and thus was given access to events that others did not have.That having been said I was surprised that his book did not have more insights into the commanders of the conflict.When all is said and done this book reads pretty much like a standard history of the conflict.

The origins of the war are discussed by his co-writer.This account was not as clear as I would have wished.A lot was implied on the part of the reader in terms of being familier with the very intricate and protracted political dealings that lead up to the war.As is often the case with such a complicated process one tends to find diferent emphasis depending on who is writing.The lead-up was certainly complete, but different personages were mentioned in this book as being important as compared to others.The general impression is that while the British were playing for time in the on-going Falklands negotiations, the Argentine side was rapidly running out of it.The British Foriegn Office should have seen the writing on the wall, but didn't and so when the invasion took place some heads had to roll in Thatcher's government.

The military aspects of the war are described decently but without the kind of detail I was expecting from this highly regarded book.Still, the reader will find a nice and concise description of the action.In particular the 2nd Para's action at Goose Green is given the attention it deserves.This, the first land portion of the campaign was deffinitely infleunced by the daily political situation in London, with near fatal results.Not only was 2nd Para's impending attack announced in the British media just hours before it was launched, but the whole attack nearly fell afoul of bad intelligence work.Argentine strength was woefully underestimated and it was only the skill and determination of 2nd Para itself which prevailed.The battalion commander was himself killed in the attack. Had he lived he would have sued the BBC for their negligence.

The ongoing action in San Carlos Bay could have been a calamity for the Royal Navy had the Argentines fused their bombs more effectively.As it was the few air-launced exocet missiles came close to causing massive damage.Many British vessels were damaged, and not a few sunk, but fortunately not either of their two carriers.The Argentine Air Force, unskilled, though brave, could not sustain the high losses from the effective British aerial defenses.

The author provides a lenghy chatpter on the series of mishaps which lead to the Welsh Guards disasterous landing near Port Stanley.This could have been prevented had various commanders not stepped in when they did, but this was partly because of the passive Argentine defense so far.The British became reckless and fortunately for the them they did not lose more men than they did.

The final land battles in the mountains around Port Stanley show that once the British got on land with the better part of a division the Argentines were doomed.Their poorly trained troops simply could not stand up to the amazing professionalism of the British.Still, we must regard the Falklands conflict as a near run thing for the British on both land and sea.Had the Argentines fought with more coodination within their services, and with aggression they could have caused the British infinitely more loss, and perhaps won.Overall one is astonished by the relatively low casaualty counts.The fighting was certainly intense, but the losses were low consdiering this.Several factors may explain this: one that most of the land fighting was conducted at night time, and at sea many of the Argentine ordinance failed to explode on impact.

Still, the war cost almost a thousand lives, and with another equal number wounded as well.In the USA this conflict remains little known, at the time Americans were surprised at the reality of the situation. President Reagan was caught napping, and Haig stacked his career on trying to replicate Kissenger's shuttle diplomacy to prevent war at the last minute.On this 25th Anniversary of the conflict we should reflect on how even remote political situations can easily become military confrontations.The performance of the British army and navy was supurb throughout.At the time the US had stumbled in several low-level conflicts where the odds were overwhelmingly in our favor.Here in the Falkands the British made-do with the limited resources they had.

Max Hastings' book provides a good, but by no means deffinitive understanding of the war.More recent works can no doubt provide that, as well as fill out the Argentine side more.Still, this is a good basic work to start any serious study of that fascinating, and innane conflict.Like many I was just a kid at the time, but the memory of this war in the news brings to life many of the events discussed here.Worthwhile.

Readable, but a bit lacking
I was in college when the Falklands war broke out and never really understood what actually happened and why.

I bought "The Battle for the Falklands" as a way of finding out and whilst this book is easy to read and well written I found it lacked a certain personnel perspective.I researched other titles and ended up seeking out "9 battles to Stanley" by Nicholas Van De Bijl.

This told me more of what I wanted to know in terms of how hard both sides had actually fought and the reality of battle. It showed, in several cases,how close the British forces came to defeat and ultimately that victory was a result of superior training, ability and a certain amount of luck. Despite the rhetoric the Argentineans weren't a walk over and although this book only deals with the land base forces I think it is more realistic and informative.

It certainly helped me understand the sacrifices each side made and the futility of war.

Gripping - if one sided
A superb collection of the players and events leading up to the Falklands conflict.The comparisons between the infamous 1983 South Atlantic war and today's headlines are not accidental.Hastings and Jenkins lend a broad stage to the conflict and protray it well as it unfolded among the nations of the world.As the book unfolds, the challenges of an ill equipped force against an uncertain enemy and the politics of every move are made clear.One of the most telling lines was the reference to the revelation of the assault on Goose Green by the BBC prior to the actual attack, a revelation which cost the British and Argentinians additional lives and casualties.

Although there is some treatment of Argentina's perspective, this is largely a book about the UK effort.I was very impressed with the detail, honesty and flow of the work.And nary a mention of Prince Andrew!

Eminently Readable Account
The 1983 British bid to recapture the Falkland Islands is one of the most important and least studied military undertakings of recent history. Hastings' book has been around for a long time and it's probably the best known work about the short-lived campaign. It's well researched, well written, and well edited and the order of battle appendix is a nice addition too. The epic foot march across East Falkland (in artic conditions) by the Marines and Paras of the Commando Brigade is only one of a host of impressive accomplishments by British forces. This is a veritable cornucopia of "lessons learned" from infantry operations, to air defense conundrums, to fleet tactics, to logistical problem-solving, it's all in here. If you're a military professional, this is a must read. It's too bad there are not more titles available on this topic. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A Rare and Valuable Glimpse Into the Argentine Perspective
Prior to the publication of this book there were important gaps and inaccuracies in our understanding of the battles for the Falkland Islands.Were Argentinian ground troops cowardly slackards?Were their officersself-serving and tactically incompetent?Was a British officer attemptingnegotiation under a white flag at Goose Green intentionally fired upon? Was the Argentinian Air Force commanded by a political bureaucrat?Thesurprising answer to all these question is No, and in a careful andtouchingly human review of the activities and decisions of Argentinianforces Middlebrook reveals the tragic gap that developed betweenArgentinian political leaders and the troops and officers given thedifficult task of defending the islands without adequate support as winterclosed in.The junta's colossal mistake of assuming the UK would not fightfor the Falklands led to the isolation, suffering, and defeat of theoccupation forces and, while ultimately setting the stage for democracy inArgentina, seared a painful wound into the soul of a country alreadyconscious of past failures.Middlebrook's access to Argentiniancommanders, troops, and families helps reveal the complex social andpolitical landscape of a country which still sees the "Malvinas"in terms of classical European colonialism.It also reveals theoperational planning and situational understanding of air and landcommanders at critical points in the conflict.

A Rare and Valuable Glimpse Into the Argentine Perspective
Prior to the publication of this book there were important gaps and inaccuracies in our understanding of the battles for the Falkland Islands.Did Argentinian troops intentionally fire upon a British officer attemptingnegotiation under a white flag at Goose Green?Were Royal Marinessuccessful in their ambush of Argentinian armored vehicles during theinitial invasion?Was the Argentinian Air Force commanded by a fanaticalmaniac out to establish his service as the dominant domestic politicalforce?The surprising answer to all these question is No, and in a carefuland touchingly human review of the activities and decisions of Argentinianforces Middlebrook reveals the tragic gap that developed betweenArgentinian political leaders and the troops and officers given thedifficult task of defending the islands without adequate support as winterclosed in.The junta's colossal mistake of assuming the UK would not fightfor the Falklands led to the isolation, suffering, and defeat of theoccupation forces and, while ultimately setting the stage for democracy inArgentina, seared a painful wound into the soul of a country alreadycarrying conscious of past failures.Middlebrook's access to Argentiniancommanders, troops, and families helps reveal the complex social andpolitical landscape of a country which still sees the "Malvinas"in terms of classical European colonialism.It also reveals theoperational planning and situational understanding of air and landcommanders at critical points in the conflict.Students of this subjectwill recognize the author as a highly accomplished battle historian.

Excellent and Interesting Account
Martin Middlebrook has once again shown why he is one of the best British authors covering military history. His masterful account of the Falklands, 'Operation Corporate' now has a companion volume, this time covering thewar from the Argentinian point of view. The book is well told and is adelight to read and only one of very few covering this war from the 'otherside'. You really have to give it to the pilots flying their aircraftagainst the Britsh Fleet, they had guts, they knew what they were in forbut continued with their mission. This is a great story, if you can get acopy do so, you wont be disappointed! ... Read more

Book Description