The Falklands Conflict 20 Years On: Lessons of the Future (Sandhurst Conference Series)

324 Pages·2005·1.02 MB·English

by  Dr. Badsey

THE FALKLANDS CONFLICT
TWENTY YEARS ON
In June 2002, exactly twenty years after the cessation of hostilities
between Britain and Argentina, many of the participants in the
‘Falklands Conflict’, as it became known, came together at a major
international conference. This conference, held at the Royal Military
Academy Sandhurst and organized jointly by RMA Sandhurst and her
sister institution Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, aimed to
re-examine the events of spring 1982 from the perspective that only twenty
intervening years can bring. The result was a fascinating discussion of
the origins of the conflict, the political and diplomatic response to the
Argentinian action as well as illuminating accounts of the military action
to retake the islands, at every level of command. This edited volume
brings together the various papers presented at the conference.
THE SANDHURST CONFERENCE SERIES
ISSN 1468–1153
Series Editor: Matthew Midlane
1 The Media and International Security
Edited by Stephen Badsey
2 Aspects of Peacekeeping
Edited by D.S. Gordon and F.H. Toase
3 Negotiation in International Conflict: Understanding Persuasion
Edited by Deborah Goodwin
4 Britain, NATO and the Lessons of the Balkan Conflicts
1991–1999
Edited by Stephen Badsey and Paul Latawski
5 The Falklands Conflict Twenty Years On: Lessons for the Future
Edited by Stephen Badsey, Rob Havers and Mark Grove
THE FALKLANDS
CONFLICT TWENTY
YEARS ON
Lessons for the Future
Edited by
Stephen Badsey, Rob Havers and
Mark Grove
First published 2005
by Frank Cass
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Frank Cass
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
This edition published in the Taylor and Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
Frank Cass is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
© 2005 Stephen Badsey, Rob Havers and Mark Grove
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced orutilised in any form orby any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN 0-203-00212-1 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0–415–35029–8 (hbk)
ISBN 0–415–35030–1 (pbk)
To those who died in the Falklands Conflict.

Contents
Notes on the Contributors ix
Series Editor’s Preface xii
Editor’s Preface xiv
List of Abbreviations and Glossary xviii
ADMIRAL SIR JOHN (SANDY) WOODWARD 1
Introduction: A Personal View
Part 1 The Falklands Conflict in History
1. LAWRENCE FREEDMAN The Impact of the Falklands Conflict 9
on International Affairs
2. GEOFFREYSLOANThe Geopolitics of the Falklands Conflict 23
3. VICE ADMIRAL SIR JONATHON BAND British 30
High Command during and after the Falklands Campaign
4. STEPHEN BADSEY The Falklands Conflict as a Media War 39
Part 2 The Falklands Conflict in Personal Memory
5. SIR JOHN NOTT A View from the Centre 57
6. ADMIRAL OF THE FLEET SIR HENRY LEACH Crisis 64
Management and the Assembly of the Task Force
7. BRIGADIER HORACIO MIR GONZALEZ An Argentinian 75
Airman in the South Atlantic
8. MAJOR GENERAL JULIAN THOMPSON Force Projection 81
and the Falklands Conflict
9. LIEUTENANT GENERAL J.P. KISZELY The Land Campaign: 99
A Company Commander’s Perspective
vii
Contents
10. COLONEL I.J. HELLBERG An Experience with the 109
Commando Logistic Regiment Royal Marines
Part 3 The Falklands Conflict in Wider Perspective
11. PETER HENNESSY ‘War Cabinetry’: The Political 131
Direction of the Falklands Conflict
12. FRANCIS TOASE The United Nations Security 147
Resolution 502
13. EDMUND YORKE ‘The Empire Strikes Back’? 170
The Commonwealth Response to the Falklands Conflict
14. ALASTAIR FINLAN War Culture: The Royal Navy and 193
the Falklands Conflict
15. CAPTAIN PETER HORE The ‘Logistics Miracle’ of 213
Ascension Island
16. PAUL LATAWSKI Invoking Munich, Expiating Suez: British 226
Leadership, Historical Analogy and the Falklands Crisis
Part 4 Lessons of the Falklands Conflict for Future
Military Operations
17. SIR ROGER JACKLING The Impact of the Falklands 239
Conflict on Defence Policy
18. GROUP CAPTAIN PETER W. GRAY Air Power: 253
Strategic Lessons from an Idiosyncratic Operation
19. PHILIP D. GROVE Falklands Conflict 1982 – 265
The Air War: A New Appraisal
20. MAJOR GENERAL JONATHAN BAILEY AND 282
COLONEL DAVID BENEST The Development of Joint
Doctrine since the Falklands Conflict
Index 295
viii
Notes on the Contributors
DR STEPHEN BADSEY is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of War
Studies at RMA Sandhurst. He is the editor of The Media and Inter-
national Security, and co-editor with Paul Latawski of Britain, NATO
and the Lessons of the Balkan Conflicts 1991–1999, both in the
Sandhurst Conference Series.
MAJOR GENERAL JONATHAN BAILEY MBE ADC is Director Development
and Doctrine. He served as a junior officer with the Royal Artillery in
the Falklands Conflict.
VICEADMIRALSIRJONATHONBANDKCB RN is Deputy Commander-in-Chief
Fleet. He served at Fleet HQ at Northwood during the Falklands Conflict.
COLONELDAVIDBENESTis Director of Defence Studies (Army). He served
as a junior officer with the 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, in
the Falklands Conflict.
DR ALASTAIR FINLAN teaches International History and International
Relations at the American University in Cairo, and is an honorary
Assistant Senior Lecturer at Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth.
PROFESSOR LAWRENCE FREEDMAN CBE DPhil is Professor of War Studies
at King’s College, University of London, and a Fellow of the British
Academy. His many publications include The Official History of the
Falklands Conflict (2003), Britain and the Falklands War (1988) and
(with Virginia Gamba-Stonehouse) Signals of War (1990).
BRIGADIER HORACIO MIR GONZALEZ FAA is Chief of Plans for the
Argentine Air Force General Staff. He is a veteran of the South Atlantic
conflict.
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