The Battle for the Falklands

One can almost feel himself in the ships ongoing to the South Atlantic, on the battlefields of the Falklands or in the corridors of power, witnessing the political maneuvering.Of course it is written strictly on the british perspective of the conflict, but apart from that is a great piece of work.

Still the best account of the war (8/9 people found this helpful)

Max Hastings is a journalist who has an unerring knack of writing for publications that I would normally walk a thousand miles to avoid. Notwithstanding this, however, I have to say that he has done an absolutely sterling job with this book.

Although first published in the immediate aftermath of the war it has withstood the test of time well and, as a general history of the conflict, it will probably not be surpassed.

If you want to read the best written, most accessible account of the Falklands war then, without doubt, this is the book you should buy.

Surely You mean 3 Days? (5/9 people found this helpful)

Max Hastings was there so in a way this is a historically accurate account. The stuff back home in Blighty is also entralling, but leaves out the much later analyses such as MI6 buying up the world's supply of exocet missiles to prevent Argentina getting anymore than the 5 they posessed and used, showing up the Royal Navy's lack of readiness for such attacks (even though they possessed such missiles themselves!).

This book gives a broad picture too, that NATO was also threatened by the Falklands conflict (when a partner is away, the Soviets saw the weakness exposed in Europe), and the Americans apparently disapproved. The British Government are shown to have made quick decisions, but with communication letting really everyone down (as it does in all relationships). The problems of a war 8000 miles away are also covered, and what became then the longest bombing mission in history is mentioned.
The air battles were clearly what caused the British to come close to losing what was a morally important conflict to up-hold internbational law. The whole problem of the Falklands stemmed from an ambiguous history involving France, Britain, Spain and then Argentina by default. Still, Hastings makes it clear that the law is the law, and The Falklands were lawfully British. Another case of the law condemning us. I appreciated the comment that when Thatcher wsa told that the Task Force would take 3 weeks to sail tere, she shot back to the Admiral "Surely you nmean 3 days?", thus showing the ignorance at the top as well.
The interseting deployment of Harriers in all their British versions against not only the highly formidible Mirage/Daggers and Skyhawks, but also lumbering Canberras and Pucaras is noted. The invaluable latest Sidewinder air to air missiles from teh States also put the British at an advantage over the Argentinians, as well as the US "forgetting" to inform the Argenitinians that their (US made) bombs could be set to 0 feet detonation also spared many British soldiers, some not too far distant from the Author.
The book gets going down in the mud of the island when the troops were ashore after their baptism of fire thriough accurately delivered bombs on the Sir Galahad and various troop ships. From then on the SAS and Para's routed the Argentinians from teh islands, though not without lack of grace from the enemy (when surrendering troops were shot in the back) and the worst yomps they had until then undertaken.
A complete account really, with technical and political cdetails to round of the effort. One learns that the conflict brewed up relatively slowly, on South Georgia through to the Falklands themselves. What the Military Junta were thinmking would be their end-game though is not said. The fact that the war caused Argentina to undergo a fgreat fall in pride and become a nation that sought God in humility afterwards is also not covered.

A freak event in history (12/13 people found this helpful)

That’s what Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins call the battle between Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands. Their rather thorough study on the 1982 conflict makes a fascinating read.

The authors start off with covering the history of the Falklands, which is quite useful background. Simon Jenkins does a good job detailing the political developments right up to the invasion. It would appear that the conflict was as much a result of the fallacies of modern diplomacy as a perceived need by the Argentinean regime to deflect the population from the domestic situation. That’s at least the message I took home from reading the authors’ account of the Seventeen Years’ War and Galtieri’s Gamble.

The actual war is recounted in quite some detail, but largely from the British point of view as Argentinean sources were not freely available at the time of publication (1983). The book also gives the impression that the British were in a bit of trouble quite a number of times during the conflict, but that as a result of a lack of co-ordination (or call it rivalries) between the different services of the Argentinean forces, they got away with their own shortcomings. The authors note that if the different services had better co-ordinated their efforts, the British task of regaining the Islands would have been much harder if not impossible.

At the end of the narrative, there are three excellent appendices on the Falkland Islands Task Force, the Honours List and the ‘Frank Report’ examining the ‘why it hadn’t been prevented in the first place’ issue.

A fascinating book (15/16 people found this helpful)

This book is an in-depth study of the war fought between the United Kingdom and Argentina over the Falkland Islands from April to June 1982. The book begins with a highly informative history of the islands, focusing on the two countries' claims to the islands. The war is recounted in excellent depth, focusing heavily on the British side. The final chapter is on the aftermath of the war, which is severely limited, due to the fact that the book was published in 1983.

Finally, there are three excellent appendices: A covers the British task force, giving everything from silhouettes of the ships and airplanes through list of the units involved complete with their commanders; B lists the honors given to Falklands veterans; and appendix C contains the Franks Report on the conflict. The maps contained in the book are excellent, as are the numerous black-and-white pictures.

This book is quite fascinating, and highly informative on the war. I found myself completely unable to put this book down, but just had to read a little more, and a little more, and a little more... I wish that it contained more information on the Argentine side, which would give the book more all-around information. However, that said, it is a great book, giving the reader a good idea of what happened both on the battlefield, and in the halls of the politicians (a great deal of the British side was run for more political, rather than military reasons).

This is a great book, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in this fascinating war.

Max Hastings, Simon Jenkins

Reader Reviews:

A Great Military History Book (0/0 people found this helpful)

Still the best account of the war (8/9 people found this helpful)

Surely You mean 3 Days? (5/9 people found this helpful)

A freak event in history (12/13 people found this helpful)

A fascinating book (15/16 people found this helpful)

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