Major Simon Price sent 2 and 3 Platoons forward, preceded by a barrage of 66mm rockets to clear the Argentine reinforcements. They were detected, however, and the British were briefly pinned down by gunfire before a bayonet charge overwhelmed the Argentinian defenders. After the battle Pipe Maj. James Riddell of the 2nd Scots Guards stood near the rocky crest of Tumble- down, cradling his bagpipes to play a haunting quick-march he had composed to commemorate his regiments actions. Marine Sub-Lieutenant Hctor Mino's 5th Platoon, Amphibious Engineer Company, held the rocks to the right of Marine Sub-Lieutenant Carlos Vzquez's 4th Platoon, 5th Marines. Initially, naval action accounted for the greatest number of casualties, with heavy losses of ships and lives on both sides. They were well provisioned, outfitted for the frigid weather and, in some instances, better equipped than the British. First into the fight, G Company was to seize the western flank of the mountain. Moving up, the men of Left Flank, however, soon found themselves engaged in hand-to-hand fighting with fixed bayonets. [5] Two men were wounded covering the withdrawal and four more were wounded by mines. The 2nd Platoon, led by Marine Second Lieutenant Marcelo Oruezabala, was dug in between Tumbledown and William. Max Hastings, Simon Jenkins. The bodies of 30 Argentine Army and Marine soldiers were found in and around the 5th Marine Battalion perimeter. MacLeod executed a very quick and professional landing in worrying circumstances. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . 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. In their final and heroic act, I hadn't fired directly at a British soldier, as they had been too hard to get a clear shot at. It was the Guardsmen of the Crown The Battle of Mount Tumbledown was an engagement during the Falklands War. 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. At the time of the battle, Marine Teniente de Navio (Ship-of-the-Line Lieutenant) Eduardo Villarraza's N Company held Mount Tumbledown. 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. Saved countless others from their own unknown. As La Madrid withdrew after suffering five killed,[7] the platoons under Second Lieutenant Aldo Franco and Guillermo Robredo moved in from the eastern edge of the mountain to try to help La Madrid and the Marine 2nd platoon (under Second Lieutenant Marcelo Oruezabala) holding the saddle between Mounts Tumbledown and William. The Battle of Mount Tumbledown was an engagement during the Falklands War. The British battle plan was straightforward and hinged on Scots Guards rifle units divided into three companies. Marines Coombes was badly wounded in the arm and a second man, who was not wearing a helmet, suffered a head wound." Some of the guys had surrendered, but I didn't want to do this. The Argentinians, in the form of Second Lieutenant Augusto La Madrid's platoon from Major Jaimet's B Company and Marine Lieutenant Hector Mio's amphibious engineer platoon (rallied by Marine Lieutenant Waldemar Aquino and Marine Second Lieutenant De Marco), now counter-attacked and a burst of machine gun fire from La Madrid's men wounded three Guardsmen, including Lieutenant Alasdair Mitchell (commander of 15 Platoon). We ran over a mine. Mount William was just south of Tumbledown and the Marine battalion's O Company was on its lower slopes. [20], While the bulk of the 5th Marine Battalion was deployed on Mounts Tumbledown and William, M Company were stationed along the Sapper Hill slopes, along with supporting Tigercat SAM launchers and Hispano Suiza 30mm guns from the 1st Marine Anti-Aircraft Battalion, plus extra security in the form of 5 canines (aro, Nego, Vogel, Warner and Xuavia,[21] their handlers, and accompanying riflemen) of the Marine Dog Platoon (Puerto Belgrano-based, under Sub-Lieutenant Miguel Paz). 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. The fighting was hard going for Left Flank. In argenteenish, "diversin" means "fun." But there was no fun in any of it. It has been said that the soft ground on which the battle took place helped to save the Scots Guards from further injury as the peat absorbed the mortar shell explosions from the Argentine side, reducing their impact greatly. 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". They had been grievously misinformed. 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. After colonial conflicts with France and Spain over the islands, Britain claimed sovereignty in 1774, landed troops to reassert its dominion in 1833 and formally established the Falklands as a Crown colony in 1840. At 8:30p.m. on 13 June the diversionary attack began. "It's been emotionally very hard and enjoyable and a pleasure all at the same time - just like the four seasons in one day of weather in the Falklands.". 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. Williams' parents were informed that he had died and a memorial service was held for him. They soon stumbled upon Argentine trenches, and after an intense firefight in which two guardsmen were killed and four wounded, they withdrewstraight into an undetected minefield. Reaching its objective undetected, the company found the western end of the mountain undefended and occupied it easily, but later came under heavy shellfire that wounded Major Dalzel-Job in the head. "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. 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. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. I remember thinking, wrote Lawrence, that this was just like the movies.. In 2012, Argentine journalist Nicolas Kasanzew wrote a tango called "Carlos Daniel Vazquez's Thermopylae", which is sung by Carlos Longoni. "Battle for Mount Tumbledown". A group of Sappers went ahead to clear a path through the mines, but when the Welsh Guardsmen advanced they found Sapper Hill abandoned. After two hours of hard fighting, the British secured the position. "En la madrugada del da 31, dos ataques areos con aviones Vulcan y Harrier sobre las posiciones del RI 3, del RI 25 y la zona del aeropuerto, pusieron fuera de servicio, transitoriamente, el radar de vigilancia de la Fuerza Area." The battle was depicted in the BBC television play Tumbledown, about the experiences of Robert Lawrence before, during and after the war. Clark Mitchell MID 2022-11-13. The engagement was an attack by the British Army and the Royal Marines on the heights over-looking Stanley, the Falkland Islands capital. Second Lieutenant La Madrid later described the fighting: I went forward to make a reconnaissance and could see that the British had two machineguns and a missile launcher in action. Mount William was just south of Tumbledown and the Marine battalion's O Company under Marine Captain Ricardo Quiroga was on its lower slopes. "The servicemen and women who defended these freedoms should feel proud for what I see today: happy smiling faces of children, a growing economy, conservation of wildlife and a protected landscape," Mr Farthing said. When a strategically placed machine-gun post stopped Left Flank cold, Right Flank Company made its way up the mountain in support. The Argentine marines had suffered at least 30 killed and 100 wounded. These men earned his respect and the respect of the nation. 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. Nor the memory of our dead neglect, As part of the British plan, 1/7 GR was given the task of capturing the sub-hill of Mount William held by O Company, the 5th Marine Battalion's reserve, and then allowing the Welsh Guards through to seize Sapper Hill, the final obstacle before Stanley. In a sense the casualty figures are misleading. And fought that night a bloody fight 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. [8], Right Flank had achieved this at the cost of five wounded, including Lt. Lawrence. 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. Lead to British ownership of the Falkland Islands. The fight for the Falklands officially commenced on May 1, when a long-range Royal Air Force Vulcan bomber dropped its payload on Port Stanley Airport, and Royal Navy Sea Harrier FRS1s shot down three Argentine aircraft. On Mount William's southern slopes, one of the tanks was taken out of action by a booby trap. However, another seven hours were to pass before the summit was reached, with fighting continuing until the morning of 14 June before it was announced that the British had managed to take the mountain. Offshore, frigates including Active and the Avenger were also offshore to offer covering fire if and when it was needed in the fight against Argentinas 5thMarine Infantry Brigade. 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. He called it The Crags of Tumbledown Mountain, and it would become a staple at events featuring pipe music. 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. I popped up, fired a rifle grenade in the direction of 8 to 10 British soldiers to keep their heads down, and then ran for the 2nd Platoon. By that time British forces had taken nearby Mount Harriet, Two Sisters Ridge anddespite prolonged Argentine artillery fire and heavy casualtiesMount Longdon. Six Royal Marines were wounded by mines and small-arms fire[41][42][43] securing Sapper Hill, including four Marines from 40 Commando, one Sapper from Condor Troop and a forward officer (Major Brian Armitage) from 3 Commando Brigade HQs. Nor were they alone in their disapproval. By about 815 the following morning, the UK forces had overcome the argentines and held the hills. Mount Tumbledown was one of the key sites for the British Task Force to focus on during the conflict as its great height gave the Argentine troops a strong advantage and the Task Force aimed to remove this. The fighting was intense and brutal, with both sides suffering heavy casualties. Lance-Corporal Graham Rennie of 3 Platoon in the book 5th Infantry Brigade in the Falklands (Pen & Sword Books, 2003) later described the attack: Our assault was initiated by a Guardsman killing a sniper, which was followed by a volley of 66 mm anti-tank rounds. A Royal Marine had stepped on a mine, followed by another a few minutes later. Islanders have also got involved, as have British army veterans and even an artist. He was one of 43 British soldiers wounded on Tumbledown; nine had been killed. For John, one of the two former Scots Guards involved, it marked his first visit to the Falklands since fighting in the battle for Tumbledown. [34], After first light on 14 June, Major Phillip Neame's D Company of 2 PARA in the final stages of the Battle of Wireless Ridge reported seeing hundreds of Argentinians regrouping on Sapper Hill. "Fue destacada para su reconocimiento la primera seccin del teniente primero Jos M. Duarte, la cual desde temprano esper en el antiguo cuartel de los Royal Marines, en Moody Brook, que las condiciones meteorolgicas permitieran la salida de los helicpteros asignados a la operacin. The engagement was an attack by the British Army and the Royal Marines on the heights over-looking Stanley, the Falkland Islands capital. So those of you who live to talk, VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Dozens of girls treated after new Iran poisonings, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, Exploring the rigging claims in Nigeria's elections, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip, Ukraine war casts shadow over India's G20 ambitions, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. Unwilling to abandon the hill, Commander Carlos Robacio on Sapper Hill was planning to counter-attack and drive back the Guardsmen. The Falklands War Documentary - The Battle of Mount Longdon (Soldiers Interview HD) Lifeisaticket 178 subscribers Subscribe Like 79K views 6 years ago Heroes of the Falklands War talk candidly. On the eastern half of the mountain the platoon of conscripts of La Madrid were still holding out, so Colonel Scott ordered Right Flank to push on to clear the final positions. Europe largely supported the British action; most of Latin America sided with the Argentines. 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. Max Arthur. [5] Major John Kiszely's Left Flank passed through them and reached the central region of the peak unopposed, but then came under heavy fire. I took a rifle grenade and fired at where I had seen the first three men. Backing them were six 81mm mortars, six 106mm mortars, a howitzer battery and two army artillery groups. While 45 Commando were marching towards Sapper Hill, Alpha and Charlie Companies from 40 Commando had escaped from the attention of the Argentine defenders on Sapper Hill and they were picked up by helicopters. 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