From then on we fought from crag to crag, rock to rock, taking out pockets of enemy and lone riflemen, all of whom resisted fiercely. A group of Sappers from Condor Troop went ahead to clear a path through the mines, losing Sergeant Peter Thorpe badly wounded in the process. On the morning of 13 June, the Scots Guards were moved by helicopter from their position at Bluff Cove to an assembly area near Goat Ridge, west of Mount Tumbledown. Alongside the Scots Guards, mortar troops from 42 Commando, Scorpion light tanks, 1/7, This battle saw 43 British soldiers injured and 9 men killed, while Argentinas 5. In the gathering gloom a force of some 30 Scots Guards of Headquarters Company, supported by four light tanks of the Blues and Royals, moved south toward nearby Mount William in a bid to draw the enemys attention. That done, Left Flank Company was to pass through the captured area and take the summit. MacLeod executed a very quick and professional landing in worrying circumstances. When a strategically placed machine-gun post stopped Left Flank cold, Right Flank Company made its way up the mountain in support. By mid-June, after grueling cross-country marches (yomps, in Royal Marine lingo) with full packs in bitter temps across the pitted Falklands tundra, British forces were within striking distance of Port Stanley, but they faced a strong defensive perimetera ring of hills occupied by dug-in Argentine army and marine units. In 1982 the notoriously oppressive and much-beleaguered military junta that governed Argentina saw the seizure of the Falklands as an opportunity to distract its citizens from the many economic and human rights issues plaguing the country and to unite Argentines behind a self-justifying campaign. The third phase began at 06:00, when RF Company began attacking their designated targets. It was rugged going, over scree that gave way under the soldiers boots. The Battle of Mount Tumbledown was an engagement in the Falklands War, one of a series of battles that took place during the British advance towards Stanley. This button displays the currently selected search type. The Argentinians refused to budge; the Guardsmen could hear some of the them shouting obscene phrases in English and even singing as they fought. "In the gloomy dawn, Captain Villarraza's Forward Observation Officer on Sapper Hill, Second Lieutenant Marcelo De Marco, radioed 3rd Artillery Group for airburst, which wounded eight Gurkhas." To Guardsman Tracy Evens, the Sapper Hill positions looked impregnable: During the battle, Guardsman Philip Williams was knocked unconscious by an explosion, and left for dead. [5] Two men were wounded covering the withdrawal and four more were wounded by mines. He said the project had helped him "get through the journey without too many hiccups". After two hours of hard fighting, the company withdrew to its main defences on William and the British secured the position. The unique project is documenting a number of Argentine defensive positions in the 1982. Solar PV. The British schedule called for a diversionary attack south of Mount Tumbledown by a small number of the Scots Guards, assisted by the four light tanks of the Blues and Royals, whilst the leading attack came as a three-phase . The next morning we started to move. Seeing an enemy soldier on the ground to his front, he bayoneted the man, later noting, He spun wildlyand my bayonet snapped. Using the only weapon he had, Lawrence recalled, I stabbed him and I stabbed him, again and again, in the mouth, in the face, in the guts, with a snapped bayonet. Fighting continued on the eastern flank of the mountain, butlow on ammunition and denied reinforcementsthe Argentine 5th Marine Battalion was ultimately forced to surrender. This battle saw 43 British soldiers injured and 9 men killed, while Argentinas 5thMarine Infantry Brigade lost 30 men and saw a further 30 taken as prisoners of war. At the time of the battle, N Company held Mount Tumbledown. The fighting was hard going for Left Flank. Wiser minds prevailed, and battalion commander Lt. Col. Michael Scott set the assault on Tumbledown for shortly after dusk on the 13th. However, when the Royal Marines and Welsh Guardsmen advanced they found Sapper Hill abandoned. And through each death paid the total price Halfway across the open ground 2 Platoon went to ground to give covering fire support, enabling us to gain a foothold on the enemy position. Max Arthur. Alongside the Scots Guards, mortar troops from 42 Commando, Scorpion light tanks, 1/7th Ghurkha Rifles and the Royal Marines also played a part in the attack. "A patrol from G Squadron SAS commandeered a civilian yacht at Bluff Cove, had its engine repaired by army engineers and sailed east along the coast in broad daylight. At the head of his platoon Lawrence tried to make myself disappear into the ground, face down in the dirt. Ultimately, he threw a phosphorous grenade directly into the enemy machine-gun position, halting the fire and netting the British several prisoners. Unwilling to abandon the hill, Commander Carlos Robacio on Sapper Hill was planning to counter-attack and drive back the Guardsmen. [14], After the battle, Pipe Major James Riddell of 2 SG stood near the top of the mountain and played his bagpipes. Europe largely supported the British action; most of Latin America sided with the Argentines. The bodies of 30 Argentine Army and Marine soldiers were found over the 5th Marine Battalion perimeter. As he gazed down at the lights of Port Stanley some 4 miles distant, an enemy rifle in each hand, a 7.62mm high-velocity armor-piercing round slammed into his head at 3,800 feet per second, destroying nearly 45 percent of his brain. Mount Tumbledown was where the war ended. Someone fired!" For further reading he recommends Tumbledown: When the Fighting Is Over, by John Lawrence and Robert Lawrence; Reassessing the Fighting Performance of Conscript Soldiers During the Malvinas/ Falklands War (1982), by Alejandro L. Corbacho; and The Battle for the Falklands, by Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins. "It has been the trip of a lifetime to be part of the project and facing a few demons; it has been a life-changer," he explained. Lieutenant Paul Allen and Marine Wayne McGregor of 7 Troop were both wounded activating anti-personnel mines. "Meeting the Falkland Islanders who are so grateful for their sacrifice meant that their war had not been forgotten.". On returning to England, his first words on seeing his father, a retired Royal Air Force wing commander, were, Oh, Daddyit wasnt worth it.. The Argentine Marine companies withdrew safely, although pursued by artillery fire and hit by a laser-guided bomb dropped by Flight Lieutenant Mark Hare in XZ133 killing two of the Marine canines, Negro and aro. On the night of 1314 June 1982 the British launched an assault on Mount Tumbledown, one of the highest points near the town of Stanley, the capital, and succeeded in driving Argentinian forces from the mountain. Close to the heart of any Scots. I went up through the roof and the vehicle went up and was turned right round by the explosion," recalled Major Brian Armitage. The project is a joint enterprise between Oxford University, Glasgow University, the veteran well-being charity Waterloo Uncovered and the Falkland Islands Museum and National Trust. The initial advance was unopposed, but a heavy firefight broke out when British troops made contact with Argentinian defences. Let your pride hover as does the hawk. Featuring artwork from leading armour painter David Pentland, this .999 silver plated commemorative depicts the night of 13 June when forces led by the Scots Guards assaulted Mount Tumbledown, near the town of Port Stanley. Oscar Luis Jofre and Flix Roberto Aguiar, "A small counter-attack did now take place, but was driven off, but not without further casualties, including a mortar bomb which killed two stretcher-bearers tending to the wounded.". [3] Two men were wounded covering the withdrawal and four more were wounded by mines. Its mission completed, the diversionary force withdrew, in the process losing one of its tanks to a booby trap. J. M. Kneen and D. J. Sutton, "Marine Vince Comb, seventeen and a half years old and the youngest man in the troop, was the machine gunner and was hit by bullets in the wrist and arm. These men earned his respect and the respect of the nation. We thought we had suffered before, but what luxury and comfort compared to this. The Battle of Mount Tumbledown was a night battle that lasted 12 hours. The attack was launched on 13 June, with the Scots Guards moving closer to the Mount, with assistance from the Royal Marines Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre. The Argentinian sniper (in fact Private Luis Jorge Bordn or Walter Ignacio Becerra, according to La Madrid[18]), armed with a FAL rifle, had helped cover the Argentinean retreat, firing shots at a Scout helicopter evacuating wounded off Tumbledown and wounding two men (including Guardsman Kenny Mains). Still, the commander of the Royal Marines 42 Commando unit praised the beaten Argentine marines: [They] marched smartly, holding their regimental colors high as they marched along the streets of Port Stanley. The British coveted the enemys regimental flags, but to their disappointment the Argentines doused their banners with gasoline and burned them to ashes as their enemies watched. The delay caused by the mines probably saved many lives. In argenteenish, "diversin" means "fun." But there was no fun in any of it. [8], Right Flank had achieved this at the cost of five wounded, including Lt. Lawrence. Eventually, we got the artillery and started blasting away with everything else we had as well. This footwear was "wholly inappropriate" for the Falklands weather and terrain but had been "carefully" placed there for safe keeping, said project co-director and Oxford University archaeologist Dr Tim Clack. Seeing their company commander among the Argentinians inspired 14 and 15 Platoons to make the final dash across open ground to get within bayoneting distance of the marines. Tumbledown was a key strategic position on the islands and its capture was essential for the British forces to . Reaching the rear positions of N Marine Company, Second Lieutenant Franco took the time to set free several German Shepherds left behind in the Argentine retreat from Tumbledown. In the second phase, Left Flank (company) would pass through the area taken by G company to capture the centre of the summit. Tumbledown: Directed by Richard Eyre. He is the only conscript soldier in his nation's recent history who has received this honour. This attack began at 20.30, and, just two hours later, the western side of Tumbledown Mountain had been successfully captured. I remember our Operations Officer requested the artillery to assist at 23.00 with star shells. Isidoro Ruiz-Moreno. Military Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. The Falklands presented a more daunting challenge. (In all, 18 German Shepherds under Sub-Lieutenant Paz were deployed in and around Stanley.). Mount Tumbledown. The insights the veterans provided, Prof Pollard said, created a "unique intersection" of physical remains, landscape and memory which "brought the past into the present". Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. I left six men in a line with one machinegun to cover our retreat, but really we were fighting all the time; we could not break contact. One guardsman sought to scale a rock shielding an enemy sniper and was shot off it. I decided that the only thing was to keep fighting this battle with artillery, otherwise, we were just going to have a lot of shit knocked out of ourselves." He played a quick march he had composed "on the back of a fag packet" [cigarette pack][51] during the battle, following a long tradition in which Pipe Majors were encouraged "to write tunes to commemorate any actions in which their regiments have been engaged". The 1st Battalion, 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles were held in reserve. At the foot of the hill, there was an enormous minefield. Although Margaret Thatchers government rode a wave of popular sentiment into another term of office, many Britons continued to question the necessity of an armed conflict that had claimed the lives of 649 Argentine and 255 British servicemen, as well as three Falkland Islanders, and left thousands more wounded over an ancient possession of questionable worth, thousands of miles distant, that few of their countrymen had even known existed. At one stage Lieutenant Colonel Michael Scott, (Commanding Officer of 2 SG), thought the battalion might have to withdraw and attack again the next night, The old nails were being bitten a bit, if we had been held on Tumbledown it might have encouraged them to keep on fighting.[6]. Men from 9 Para Squadron, Royal Engineers, were awarded two Military Medals and Captain Sam Drennan, the Army Air Corps Scout pilot who had picked up the injured soldiers under fire and a former Scots Guards NCO, received the Distinguished Flying Cross. The attack was supported by naval gunfire from HMS Active's 4.5 inch gun. I may be wrong but I think the Scots Guards battalion at the battle of Mount Tumbledown was the 1st Battalion Scots Guards - NOT 2nd Battalion Scots Guards. The Scots Guards, a regiment of the British Army, suffered significant casualties during the 1982 Falklands War while fighting on Tumbledown Mountain. Tim Spicer, Desde el Frente, Carlos H. Robacio, Jorge Hernandez, p. 180, Centro Naval, Instituto de Publicaciones Navales, 1996, "During the attack, Macleod's aircraft was hit by shrapnel which penetrated the rear equipment bay area of the aircraft and fractured the aft reaction control air pipe. We just fired our rifles, that's all. This, archaeologist Dr Stuart Eve said, would make it possible to "simulate the different fields of fire", and to record the conditions combatants faced during the course of the campaign. The battle started at about 830 pm on 13 June, beginning with a diversion, since the argentines are fond of diversion. Around 2 a.m., after pausing again to regroup, the Scots Guards lashed out at the 5th Marines positions from several directions, overcoming them one at a time. The film won several awards including the RTS Television Award 1989 for best male actor for Colin Firth's performance in the role of Lieutenant Lawrence. By 8 a.m., after what one British soldier referred to as hours of struggle inch by inch up the rocks, using phosphorous grenades and automatic weapons, Tumbledown was, for the most part, in the hands of the guardsmen. [44][45] Two parked British Sea Kings within range from Koch's Marines sustained minor damage from Sergeant Miguel Angel Vaca's machine-gun and rifle-grenades fired by Corporal Carlos Jorge Sini, but both remained operational. To subscribe, click here. Nick van der Bijl, 1st Battalion, 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles, Argentine Nation to the Valour in Combat Medal, Argentine Nation to the Heroic Valour in Combat Cross, http://www.britainssmallwars.com/Falklands/Tumbledown.htm, "Attenshun! According to Private Jos Luis Fazio: My companions from M Company opened fire on a Sea Harrier, with rifles. At 2:30a.m., however, a second British assault overwhelmed the men of the 4th and 12th Regiments but the survivors of Vazquez's 4th Platoon would continue fighting till about 7:00 am. I guessed that they were adjusting onto our muzzle flashes so I told all the company to stop firing with their small arms. It was, Lawrence wrote, out-and-out battle, the fullest possible fighting. Throwing himself into the thick of the fight, Major John Kiszely, Left Flanks commander, shot two enemy soldiers and bayoneted a third. On the morning of 13 June, the Scots Guards were moved by helicopter from their position at Bluff Cove to an assembly area nearly Goat Ridge, west of Mount Tumbledown. Grazing livestock doesn't help, either. However, Left Flank had lost two men killed and several wounded during the Argentine counterattack, when mortar fire controllers on Mount William targeted British wounded and stretcher bearers in error. Contact was maintained for over an hour before battalion headquarters ordered Obra Company to fall back What we did not realise at the time was that at least a wounded Marine made his way to the amphibious engineer platoon position and hurled a grenade wounding a Major. They also had been trained in night fightingand despite the assurances of the British PARAs, they didnt run. Backing them were six 81mm mortars, six 106mm mortars, a howitzer battery and two army artillery groups. One of a number of night battles that took place during the British advance towards Stanley, the battle led to British troops capturing all the heights above the town, allowing the town's capture and the surrender of the Argentine forces on the islands. Both sides took casualties, with the PARAs giving much worse than they received. The close quarter battle was such that the Argentine artillery was unable to drop shells on to the British attackers. Marine First Class Private Jos Luis Fazio fought against Bethell's force: At about 2230 hours our battalion had its first intensive gun battle with British companies which appeared out of nowhere. But for the two-and-a-half months previous to this final engagement, the high ground in front of the capital was where the Argentines had dug in - in what were cold, dark, windy and snowy conditions. A Scots Guardsman. They fired all around it so that it would run into the bullets, it tilted, began to smoke and was lost at sea. In the second phase, Left Flank (company) would pass through the area taken by G company to capture the centre of the summit. We had to wait for breaks in the firing, but I still lost a man killed there.[13]. They were detected, however, and the British were briefly pinned down by gunfire before a bayonet charge overwhelmed the Argentinian defenders. By 9:45 a.m., some 12 hours after the first shot rang out, the firing ceased. During the advance, they became bogged down in a minefield, which took them a very long and frustrating time to extract themselves from, after coming under fire from heavy mortars on Sapper Hill. Mount Tumbledown, Mount William and Sapper Hill lie west of the capital. About us| The Scots Guards eventually mortally wounded him in a hail of gunfire,[16] but not before the Argentine soldier generated more confusion, resulting in the wounding of the Forward Observation Officer (FOO, Captain Swinton) attached to the Gurkhas, while clearing the positions of Marine Sergeant Jorge Lucero's 3rd Platoon before advancing on to take Mount William. The Argentinians opened fire, killing two British soldiers and wounding four others. Among them was Lawrence. I hadn't fired directly at a British soldier, as they had been too hard to get a clear shot at. While this might well describe a scenario from World War I, the date was in fact June 13, 1982, and the trenches in which the British troops huddled were carved not across some stretch of French countryside but into near-frozen tundra by the base of Mount Tumbledown in the subarctic Falkland Islands. Fuel indications suggested a considerable fuel leak at the same time. Our commanding sahib was shouting. He played a quick march he had composed "on the back of a fag packet" [cigarette pack],[15] during the battle, following a long tradition in which Pipe Majors were encouraged "to write tunes to commemorate any actions in which their regiments have been engaged". According to Guardsman Mark Cape,[11] another three Guardsmen defending the summit were also wounded in this action, when Mio, De Marco and Privates Oscar Poltronieri and Carlos Muela attacked their position with hand grenades.[12]. For the courage displayed in the attack, men from 2 SG were awarded one Distinguished Service Order, two Military Crosses, two Distinguished Conduct Medals (one posthumously) and two Military Medals. In the centre and to the left of the 4th Platoon were Second Lieutenant scar Silva's RI 4 platoon, which had recently fought well on Goat Ridge. The British troops swarmed over the mountaintop and killed, wounded or captured several of the RI 4 and RI 12 defenders, at times fighting with fixed bayonets. At one stage Lieutenant Colonel Michael Scott, (Commanding Officer of 2 SG), thought the battalion might have to withdraw and attack again the next night, The old nails were being bitten a bit, if we had been held on Tumbledown it . By 9:00a.m., the Scots Guards had gained the high ground east of Tumbledown Mountain and the Gurkhas commenced deploying across the heavily shelled saddle from Tumbledown south to Mount William, which they took with the loss of eight wounded. One replied, Get within 200 meters of them, and theyll run away. Only later did the guardsmen learn the PARAs had faced mainly poorly outfitted and trained teenage conscripts. Nor the memory of our dead neglect, When he came to, the rest of the British soldiers had gone. By this time Lawrence was near the summit, desperately looking for an enemy administration and supply area. Read about our approach to external linking. With Colin Firth, Paul Rhys, David Calder, Barbara Leigh-Hunt. First into the fight, G Company was to seize the western flank of the mountain. List of aircraft of the Malaysian Armed Forces, (The Sinking of the Belgrano, Arthur Gavshon and Desmond Rice pg. Saved countless others from their own unknown. The explosions prompted the Argentine Marine Major Antonio Pernas to order the 81mm mortar platoon on Mount William and the longer-ranged 120mm mortars attached to 'C' Company, 3rd Infantry Regiment on Sapper Hill to open fire on the minefield and the likely withdrawal route of anyone attacking Mount William. The Argentinian forces defending the mountains were Commander Carlos Robacio's 5th Marine Infantry Battalion (BIM 5). By 6 a.m., Left Flank's attack had clearly stalled and had cost the British company seven men killed and 18 wounded. The number and variety of features had been a surprise, he added, and the survey had made it clear that events on other battlefields towards the end of the war, such as on Mount Longdon, had an effect on the Argentine defence of Tumbledown. Thule Island. The Scots Guards were tasked with taking the mountain from a well-entrenched Argentine force. We ran over a mine. Cold, exhausted and running low on ammunition, the Argentines finally surrendered. Due to the call for a swift response, transportation of troops to the war zone was, in some instances, haphazard at best. Terms of Use| The engagement was an attack by the British Army and the Royal Marines on the heights over-looking Stanley, the Falkland Islands capital. The project "opened my eyes to a whole bigger picture of what happened in all areas of Tumbledown during battle," he added. 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