Malvinas Islands: history. Conflict over the Malvinas Islands

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:42

The Malvinas Islands are a small archipelago located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It consists of 2 large and many small pieces of land, the number of which is approximately 776. The area of \u200b\u200ball the sites taken together is 12 thousand km². The Falklands is the second and more common name given to the Malvinas Islands. The archipelago's location coordinates are 51, 75 ° S. sh. 59°W e. The history of this paradise is overshadowed by the struggle of two states that are trying to secure the territory for themselves.

History of the origin of the conflict

XVI century was marked by the discovery of many previously unexplored territories. The Malvinas Islands are no exception. The controversy over their discoverer continues to this day. Argentina insists that the first European to set foot on this piece of land was the Spanish sailor Esteban Gomez, and it happened in 1520. But Great Britain assures that it was discovered only in 1592 by the Briton John Deyvich. History tells us that for more than 200 years the Spanishgarrison. That is, the Malvinas Islands were part of Spain. But in 1810, independence was proclaimed by Argentina, and the military sailed from these lands to their homeland. Such active events in Argentina led to the fact that the Falkland archipelago was simply forgotten. And only ten years later, Captain Dzhyuetom with a detachment of paratroopers arrived here and declared the rights of his state to this territory.

This distribution of power lasted 12 years. But the British sea expedition arrived on the islands and made a coup, subjugating the Malvinas Islands to Great Britain. Argentina at that time was still a very young state and could not give the due rebuff to the invaders. But she also did not intend to humbly transfer part of her lands to another country. Thus, the conflict over the Malvinas Islands originated due to the seizure of foreign territory by England.

Period for seeking a peaceful solution

As you know, Great Britain was one of the largest colonial countries in the world. But in the 1960s, this system collapsed. Argentina, taking advantage of the situation, tried to regain power over the Falklands through diplomacy. So, during this period, an airfield and telephone communications appeared on the island. Most UN members supported such an initiative. But England did not want to give up the territory on any terms. After all, it was not only about a piece of land, which is located quite far from the main part of the state. The British were interested in deposits of natural resources such as gas and oil. Another factor was that England had a virtual monopoly in fishing.sea crustacean - krill, and she was not going to share with someone.

Then the well-known Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher was in power in the UK. Having started military operations against Argentina, she strengthened her position in power. The Malvinas (Falkland) Islands were given a special place in her policy of returning England to the status of a great state.

Argentina's military gain

The dispute between England and Argentina over the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands was beneficial not only to the first of them. In 1981, Argentina experienced a military coup and dictator Leopoldo G altieri seized power. He just needed to enlist the support of ordinary citizens, and victory in a quick little war should have served its purpose. After all, if the Malvinas Islands returned, Argentina would show the whole world that it is a strong and independent state.

Start of war

General G altieri began to carefully prepare the operation to return the archipelago. It was decided to name her in honor of the ship of Captain Juet - "Rosario". The beginning was to be May 25, 1982. This date was not chosen by chance, since on this day Argentina celebrated its national holiday, which later had to be proclaimed as the Day of the Malvinas Islands. But a traitor crept into the ranks of the Argentines, and British intelligence received all the data about this plan. The answer to such actions on the part of England was the Spartan submarine, which was sent to patrol the waters of the South Atlantic. Upon learning of this, G altieri movedbeginning on April 2, 1982, and on this day the Argentine troops landed on the Malvinas and easily coped with a small group of British.

England took a tough stance, as it believed that its national interests were hurt. And she expected support from all countries of the European continent. Latin America, on the contrary, was on the side of Argentina, because the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands, in their opinion, it was high time to recognize the authority of their real homeland. But France did not take an unequivocal position in this conflict, because it was unprofitable for her to turn away from Argentina. This country bought combat aircraft from France. In addition, the Republic of Peru, as an ally of Argentina, bought anti-ship missiles from the French.

A look at the US-USSR war

In this war, the USSR was ready to support Argentina with its military equipment for lowering food prices. But at that time the Soviet Union itself was in a state of unresolved military conflict (the war in Afghanistan). Therefore, all the support that Argentina received was expressed in long speeches at UN meetings. We didn't even talk about activity. The opposite even happened: the USSR simply washed its hands of it and completely pulled away from the Anglo-Argentine conflict.

The United States, on the contrary, did not move aside. At that time, the President of the United States was R. Reagan, who, after the persuasion of the Minister of Defense K. Weinberg, fully supported Great Britain. The United States immediately imposed sanctions against Argentina. And at the United Nations Security Council, the United StatesTogether with England, they vetoed a resolution regarding the Falklands conflict. The two states even agreed to put pressure on the USSR if it decides to intervene.

Active hostilities

After seizing control of the archipelago, Great Britain immediately sent a large naval force to ensure that this territory was returned to the rule of the English crown. On April 12, 1982, the British government placed a blockade on the Malvinas Islands. The war was already in full swing. The British Minister of Defense stated that if Argentine ships are seen within a radius of 200 miles from this territory, they will be immediately sunk. Argentina's response was a ban on the use of English banks for its citizens.

Argentine aviation also could not take an active part in hostilities, especially in maintaining the garrison and supplying it with everything necessary. This was due to the jet warplanes not being able to land on the runway available on the island as it was too short.

Thanks to the support of the United States, Britain was able to use their military base on Ascension Island. This facilitated access to remote areas. On April 25, the British captured the island of South Georgia, which had previously been under the rule of Argentina. The military surrendered without a fight and gave up their post without resistance. After that, a new phase of the war began.

Naval and air action phase

Since May 1, 1982the Falklands region was finally engulfed in war. British planes raided Port Stanley, and Argentina responded by sending aircraft to attack the British ships. The next day, an event occurred that became the most difficult for Argentina in the entire war. An English submarine sank an enemy cruiser, killing 323 people. This was the reason that the Argentine fleet was withdrawn back to the shores of their native country. He did not take any further part in hostilities.

Argentina was in a quandary, and she could only hope for aviation. At the same time, obsolete free-falling bombs were dropped on the British fleet, which in most cases did not even explode.

But the British side also had losses that shocked the whole country. On May 4, an anti-ship missile delivered from France hit one of the British destroyers badly. This caused it to flood. But at that time, Argentina had only five such missiles, which led to the rapid depletion of this stock.

The calm before the storm

This military breakthrough by Argentina led to two weeks of relative calm. Of course, skirmishes continued, but they were few. These include the British military operation to destroy 11 Argentine aircraft on Pebble Island. At the same time, the UN tried to persuade the parties to end the war and negotiate peacefully. But no one wanted to give up. Argentina, in turn, decided to respond to the sanctions of other countries against it. She banned her citizens from flying to countries that have adopted anti-Argentine sanctions.

Land war

England was preparing its marines in advance to land on the islands. This happened on the night of May 21-22. The landing took place in the bay of San Carlos, where this was not expected at all. The resistance of the Argentines was weak, but the next morning the situation changed. The Argentine Air Force raided the ships that were moored in the bay.

On May 25, one of the planes shot down a British ship carrying helicopters. It sank a few days later. And the British ground detachment has already taken strong positions on the island itself. On May 28, an Argentine garrison was attacked near the settlements of Guz-Nrin and Darwin, as a result of which, after a very difficult battle, he was forced to retreat.

On June 12, with heavy losses, British troops occupied the heights of the Two Sisters, Mount Harriet and Moonit Longdon, previously controlled by the Argentines. June 14 and all other heights were subordinated to the troops of England.

British troops also blockaded the Argentine city of Port Stanley. The command understood that no one would come to their aid, so on June 14 they gave up the fight and capitulated. The Falkland Islands were again returned to British control. The official date for the end of the war is June 20. On this day, the British occupied the South Sandwich Islands.

Britain did not release 600 Argentines from captivity for some time, trying to manipulate their homeland in this wayto sign a more favorable peace treaty.

Losses of the parties

During the 74-day military conflict, Argentina lost 649 people, one cruiser, one submarine, one patrol boat, four transport ships, one fishing trawler, 22 attack aircraft, 11 fighters, about 100 aircraft and helicopters. 11 thousand people were taken prisoner. In addition, it was resonant that after the end of the war, another 3 soldiers were killed, taken prisoner by England.

The United Kingdom lost 258 men, two frigates, two destroyers, one container ship, one landing ship, one landing boat, 34 helicopters and aircraft in this war.

The current stage of the conflict

At the end of the war, the warring countries never signed a formal treaty. Only in 1990 diplomatic relations were established again. In recent years, the conflict has again gained momentum. The reason for this was the receipt by one of the British companies of permission to produce oil near the Malvinas Islands. Argentina opposed this state of affairs, because oil will actually be produced near the coast of this state.

Argentina's response was also the law of February 16, 2010, which states that only those ships that have received permission to swim at a distance of 500 km from the country's coast are en titled to swim. But this did not stop the British, and the oil platform was installed on February 21.

In 2013, the public once again drew attention to the Malvinas Islands. The referendum, which would determine the country's ownership, was to be held on March 10 and 11. Residents had the opportunity to choose which state they would like to belong to. When the results were calculated, it turned out that 91% of the inhabitants of the islands came to the elections. With an undeniable score of 99.8%, the UK won, leaving no chance for Argentina to protest.

Thus, in the last century there was a short war for the Falklands, or Malvinas Islands. The Shantar Islands, located in the Sea of Okhotsk, are somewhat reminiscent of this archipelago. After all, this is also a small piece of territory beyond the outskirts of the mainland. But if two states decide to fight for it, many people will die. The history of the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands proves that the more informed, purposeful and well-planned opponent wins the fight.

The history of previous wars has not yet known such as this one. She is a unique phenomenon. Although it was very short, the rivals fought a fierce battle, using all the latest achievements of the technical process for this. And for Great Britain, it was also a war at a great distance. The main goal was not the territory itself, but the resources that it could give to the victorious country.