Battle of Darwin and Goose Green

Background

Following Operation Rosario (Falklands/Malvinas War), Argentinian occupation of the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, the 2nd and 3rd British Parachute Battalions (2 and 3 PARA) of the British 1st Parachute Regiment were deployed as part of Brigadier Julian Thompson's 3 Commando Brigade to retake the islands in Operation Corporate.

San Carlos

3 Commando Brigade went ashore at San Carlos on the night of May 21/22. 2 PARA established itself on Sussex Mountain protecting the south of the Bridgehead without opposition. 3 PARA landed in the near Port San Carlos driving off a platoon of 40 enemy.

On May 26, 2 PARA was ordered to move south and engage the Argentinian 12th Infantry Regiment and Condor Military Airbase on the Darwin/Goose Green Peninsula.

Darwin Ridge

The attack began under the cover of darkness of 28 May with heavy naval and artillery support.

At 3.35 am, A Company moved off on the left and attacked Burntside House believed to be occupied by an Argentinian platoon, but found no-one there other than four civilians. B Company started forward from the other side of Burntside Pond down the right flank with D Company following them long the middle. With artillery support on both sides, B and D Companies were soon in close-quarter combat with the 12th Regiment's A Company (under 1st Lieutenant Jorge Antonio Manresa and Sergeant-Major Juan Carlos Coelho). Leaving No. 13 Platoon of A Company to provide covering fire from the north side of Darwin Bay, the remainder started to circle round to take Darwin Settlement.

By daylight, however, the British attack was held up by strong enemy defensive positions on Darwin Hill and Boca Hill (Darwin Ridge) and the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Herbert Jones, was killed trying to take out a machine-gun post. Major Chris Keeble was called up from the rear, and leaving A Company to slowly wrestle control of Darwin Hill and pulling B Company back to Middle Hill, ordered D Company to move round Boca Hill, advancing from the nearby beach. Support Company used MILAN anti-tank rockets to destroy these trenches. Approximately, 3 hours after the death of Jones, the last Argentinian defenders on Boca Hill surrendered.

In the meantime, the Argentinians helicoptered in their first reinforcements and the Stanley Air Base flew in support missions. The first attack took place earlier when a Grupo 3 Pucara was hit, probably by a Blowpipe shoulder-launched SAM, but the aircraft limped back to Stanley. The next sortie by two more Pucaras caught two Royal Marine Scouts on their way in to evacuate Lieutenant-Colonel Jones. Captain Jeff Niblett managed to evade them, but Lieutenant Richard Nunn was killed by cannon fire and crashed down near Camilla Creek House. One of the Pucaras was later found to have crashed into high ground returning to Stanley after attacking Sea King Helicopters near San Carlos.

Still under fire, D and C Companies headed towards the Argentinian Air Base while B Company circled east to cut off Goose Green Settlement. During the attack, three Paratroopers were killed in an ambush involving a 25th Regiment platoon.

In the late afternoon, aircraft from both sides intervened, starting with two Argentinian Navy MB.339's and two IA.58 Pucaras which attacked D Company. One of the Navy jets was brought down by a Royal Marine shoulder-launched Blowpipe, and minutes later the Pucaras dropped napalm with one shot down by small arms fire. Then three Harrier GR.3's brought much needed relief by silencing the anti-aircraft guns at Goose Green with cluster bombs and rockets.

Argentinian surrender

The assault continued with some ferocious close-quarter combat and by last light the whole peninsula less the Goose Green Settlement was taken. With evening approaching and the Argentinians squeezed in towards Goose Green, more reinforcements arrived to the south by helicopter, while to the north, Juliet Company 42 Commando was flown in reinforce 2 PARA but too late to join in the fighting. Mindful of the possibility of being counterattacked, Major John Crosland decided to pull back B Company and go firm on high ground near Boca Hill. A fierce sniper battle ensued with 1st Lieutenant Fernandez's C Company, 12th Regiment, now dug in around Goose Green Settlement. There were some close calls, and Private John Burridge from 12 Platoon, D Company, was wounded and a Sea King helicopter was hit by machine-gun fire from Goose Green's outskirts.

Negotiations with the Argentinians produced their surrender the next day. Around 50 Argentinians were killed, and The Official History of the Falklands Campaign reports that 961 Argentinians were captured, with other British accounts of the battle have reported a larger count of 1,400 prisoners. British losses were fifteen men from 2 PARA, a Royal Engineer, a Sea Harrier pilot, a Scout pilot, a Gurkha and 64 wounded.

Breakout

Meanwhile, on 27 May 3 PARA set off on foot by a Northern route to capture Teal Inlet Settlement which it did on May 29 taking some prisoners. On June 11, 2 PARA moved north to rejoin 3 Commando Brigade for the final Battle of Stanley. An early but vital objective was Mount Longdon and this was attacked by 3 PARA during the night of June 11/12. The enemy was well dug in and prepared and it was only after twelve hours of bloody fighting that 3 PARA secured the objective. They then held it for 48 hours under intense and accurate artillery fire.

Aftermath

Forty two members of The Parachute Regiment and attached personnel were killed in the Falklands War, with a further 140 personnel from the two Battalions wounded in action. Two Victoria Croses were posthumously awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel 'H' Jones, 2 PARA, and Sergeant Ian McKay of 3 PARA. In total, some 71 gallantry awards for actions in the Falklands were made to parachute members and attached personnel.

The fighting showed that "H" Jones was a strict CO who had to have complete control over every aspect and demanded his company commanders to stray from the battle plan. Major Neame was the only officer who commanded his company with flexibility and allowed initiative among his officers and NCOs, something which benefited his platoons greatly.