Battle of Two Sisters

Battle of Two Sisters
Part of the Falklands War
Date11–12 June 1982
LocationTwo Sisters Ridge, Falkland Islands
Result British victory
Belligerents
Argentina Argentina United Kingdom United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Maj. Ricardo Cordón Lt. Col. Andrew Whitehead
Strength
350 troops (RI 4)

600 Royal Marines (45 Co)

HMS Glamorgan
Casualties and losses
20 killed
50 wounded[1]
54 captured[1]		 21 killed[2]
17 wounded

The Battle of Two Sisters was an engagement of the Falklands War during the British advance towards the capital, Port Stanley; it took place from 11 to 12 June 1982.

Prelude

Composition of forces

The British force, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Whitehead, consisted of the Royal Marines of 45 Commando and 40 Commando anti-tank troop with support from six 105-mm guns of 29 Commando Regiment. The 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment (2 Para), was held in reserve. Naval gunfire support was provided by HMS Glamorgan's two 4.5-inch (114 mm) guns.

The Argentinian force originally occupying Mount Challenger, commanded by Major Ricardo Cordón, consisted of the 4th Infantry Regiment, with the bulk of the defenders drawn from C Company with the 1st Platoon (Sub-Lieutenant Miguel Mosquera Gutierrez) and 2nd Platoon (Sub-Lieutenant Jorge Pérez Grandi) on the northern peak of Two Sisters and the 3rd Platoon (Sub-Lieutenant Marcelo Llambias Pravaz) on the southern peak and the 1st Platoon A Company (Sub-Lieutenant Juan Nazer) and Support Platoon (Second Lieutenant Luis Carlos Martella) on the saddle between the two. Major Óscar Jaimet's B Company of the 6th Regiment (RI 6), acting as the local reserve, occupied the saddle between Two Sisters and Mount Longdon.

No-Man's-Land

Night of 11 to 12 June, west of Stanley[3]

On 4 June the three rifle companies of 45 CDO advanced on Bluff Cove Peak, on the lower slopes of Mount Kent, and were able to occupy the feature without opposition; they were met by patrols from the Special Air Service (SAS). Enemy opposition was initially desultory but on the night of 29 May a fierce firefight had developed over capturing the two important hills, as they were intended to form part of an Argentine Special Forces line.

Captain Andrés Ferrero's patrol (3rd Assault Section, 602 Commando Company) reached the base of Mount Kent but were then promptly pinned down by machinegun and mortar fire. First-Sergeant Raimundo Máximo Viltes was badly wounded when a bullet shattered his heel. Air Troop had two men wounded by rifle fire. Probing attacks around the D Squadron, SAS positions continued throughout the night and at 11:00 am on 30 May, about 12 Argentine Commandos (Captain Tomás Fernández's 2nd Assault Section, 602 Commando Company) tried to get up the summit of Bluff Cove Peak, but were driven off by D Squadron who killed two of the party, First Lieutenant Rubén Eduardo Márquez and Sergeant Óscar Humberto Blas.[4]

First Lieutenant Márquez and Sergeant Blas had shown great personal courage and leadership in the contact and were posthumously awarded the Argentine Medal of Valour in Combat. During this contact, the SAS suffered another two casualties from grenades after the Argentine Commandos had stumbled on a camp occupied by 15 SAS troopers.[5] Throughout 30 May, Royal Air Force Harriers were active over Mount Kent. One of them, responding to a call for help from D Squadron, was shot down by small arms fire while attacking Mount Kent's eastern lower slopes. Sub-Lieutenant Llambías-Pravaz's platoon was later credited with the destruction of the Harrier XZ 963 flown by Squadron-Leader Jerry Pook.[6]

A heavy mist hung over the Murrell River area, which assisted the 45 Commando Recce Troop to reach and sometimes penetrate the Argentine 3rd Platoon position under Sub-Lieutenant Marcelo Llambías-Pravaz. Marine Andrew Tubb of Recce Troop was on these patrols:

We were actually inside the Argentine position, so we ended up shelling ourselves. We did a lot of patrols up to Two Sisters ... that time [6 June] we pepper-potted [fire and maneouver] for about 400 metres to get out [the 3rd Platoon sergeant, Ramón Valdez, had launched a counterambush.[7]], through the Argy lines firing 66 [mm] rockets to fight through and regroup. We got artillery again to smoke us out. It took us well over an hour to get away and it seemed like a few minutes. We killed seventeen of them [two Army privates, Jose Romero and Andres Rodriguez, and three Sappers of a Marine mine-laying party were actually killed.[1]], and all we had was one bloke with a flesh wound.

— Robin Neillands, By Sea & Land: The Story of the Royal Marine Commandos, p. 402, Cassell Military Paperbacks, 2000

For his patrol action, Lieutenant Chris Fox received the Military Cross, while Subteniente Llambías-Pravaz was able to pilfer and sport a Commando Beret that the Royal Marines had left behind during the Argentine counterambush.[8] In general terms, the Argentines were thoroughly entrenched, about 6,000 metres or less across no-man's-land. The Argentine positions were mined and heavily patrolled.

The 4th Regiment also carried out patrolling, and on the night of 6-7 June, Corporal Oscar Nicolás Albornoz-Guevara along with eight conscripts (including Private Orlando Héctor Stella, his pathfinder) from Subteniente Miguel Mosquera-Gutierrez's 1st Platoon crossed Murrell River and reached the area of Estancia Mountain where they detected a number of British vehicles, but the patrol soon came under mortar fire from 3 PARA and had to withdraw.[9]

On 8 June, Corporal Hugo Gabino MacDougall from the 6th Regiment's B Company, claimed to have shot down a Harrier, with a shoulder-launched Blowpipe missile.[10]The British admit the loss of a GR-3 Harrier (XZ-989) on this day, when it made an emergency landing at San Carlos due to battle damage[11]. The pilot (Wing Commander Peter Squire) was able to safely eject, but the Harrier was damaged beyond repair.[12]

At about 2.10 am local time on 10 June a strong 45 Commando fighting patrol probed the 3rd Platoon position. In the ensuing fight Special Forces Sergeants Mario Antonio Cisneros and Ramón Gumercindo Acosta were killed; two more Argentine Special Forces lying in ambush for the Royal Marines were wounded. The British military historian Bruce Quarrie later wrote:

A constant series of patrols was undertaken at night to scout out and harass the enemy. Typical was the patrol sent out in the early hours of the morning of 10 June. Lieutenant David Stewart of X-Ray Company, 45 Commando, had briefed his men during the previous afternoon, and by midnight they were ready. Heavily armed, with two machine-guns per section, plus 66 mm rocket launchers and 2-inch mortars, the Troop moved off stealthily into the moonlit night towards a ridge some four km away where Argentine movement had been observed. Keeping well spaced out because of the good visibility, they moved across the rocky ground using the numerous shell holes for cover, and by 04.00 [1 am local time], were set to cross the final stretch of open ground in front of the enemy positions. Using a shallow stream for cover, they moved up the slope and deployed into position among the rocks in front of the Argentine trenches. With the help of a light-intensifying night scope, they could see sentries moving about. Suddenly, an Argentine machine-gun opened fire and the Marines launched a couple of flares from their mortar, firing back with their own machine-guns and rifles. Within seconds three Argentine soldiers and two [Royal] Marines were dead. Other figures could be seen running on the hill to the left, and four more Argentine soldiers fell to the accuracy of the Marines' fire. By this time, the Argentine troops further up the slope were wide awake, and a hail of fire forced the [British] Marines to crouch in the shelter of the rocks. The situation was becoming decidedly unhealthy and Lieutenant Stewart decided to retire, with the objective of killing and harassing the enemy well and truly accomplished. However, a machine-gun to the Marines' right was pouring fire over their getaway route, and Stewart sent his veteran Sergeant, Jolly, with a couple of other men to take it out [They knew they were cut off with what looked a poor chance of escape. In these circumstances any panic or break in morale and the game was up]. After a difficult approach with little cover, there was a short burst of fire and the Argentine machine-gun fell silent. Leapfrogging by sections, the Troop retreated to the stream, by which time the Argentine fire was falling short and there were no further casualties.

— Bruce Quarrie, The Worlds Elite Forces, pp.53-54, Octopus Books Limited, 1985

Major Aldo Rico, commander of the 602 Commando Company, had a lucky escape in this engagement, when an enemy 66mm projectile exploded uncomfortably close to him and First Lieutenant Horacio Fernando Lauría.[13]Captain Hugo Ranieri, who took part in this intense engagement as a specialist sniper, claims that First Lieutenant Jorge Vizoso-Posse, although wounded, shot three of the retreating Royal Marines in the back.[14]First Lieutenant Horacio Fernando Lauría and Sergeant Orlando Aguirre claim to have destroyed a British machine-gun with rifle-grenades in this engagement.[15]

On that same night (9–10 June), according to the British, a friendly fire incident occurred when Royal Marines returning from a reconnaissance patrol were mistaken for Argentines in the dark and the supporting British mortar team opened up on them, only to be met with a withering hail of small-arms fire from the returning Marines. In the confusion, four Royal Marines died, including the mortar platoon sergeant, and three were wounded.[16][17]The next day, Sub-Lieutenant Llambías-Pravaz's men recovered the rucksacks and weapons the Royal Marines had been forced to leave behind,[18]and these were presented as war trophies to Argentine war correspondents in Port Stanley that filmed and photographed the British equipment.[19]

The Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre also carried out patrolling against Two Sisters; Sergeant Joseph Wassell and Lieutenant Fraser Haddow played an important part in the capture of the mountain when they discovered with their binoculars from their observation post on Goat Ridge, the command-detonated barrels of mines the Argentinian Marine engineers (under the direction of Major Jaimet) had dug in and planned to use on the saddle and eastern half of the mountain.[20]

Night battle

Captain Ian Gardiner's X-Ray Company spearheaded the attack on Two Sisters, accompanied by the unit's Commando-trained chaplain, the Revd Wynne Jones RN. Lieutenant James Kelly's 1 Troop took the western third of the spineback on the southern peak of Two Sisters ('Long Toenail'), with no fighting taking place. However at 11:00 pm local time,[21][22] Lieutenant David Stewart's 3 Troop ran up against a very determined defence on the spineback and were unable to get forward. Beaten from their attempt to dislodge the Argentine 3rd Platoon, Lieutenant Chris Caroe's 2 Troop threw themselves at the platoon, but the attack was dispersed with the help of artillery fire. For three or four hours X Ray Company were pinned down on the slopes of the mountain.[23] Naval gunfire rippled back and forth across the mountain, but the Argentine 3rd Platoon of Llambías-Pravaz, shouting their Guarani Indian war cry[24], held the Royal Marines off and were not dislodged until about 2.30 am local time.[25] Colonel Andrew Whitehead realized that a single company could not hope to secure Two Sisters without massive casualties, and brought up the unit's two other companies.

At about 12:30 am local time[26] Yankee and Zulu Companies attacked the northern peak ('Summer Days') and after a very hard two-hour fight against two rifle platoons (under Subtenientes Mosquera-Gutierrez and Pérez-Grandi) and despite heavy machine-gun and mortar fire, succeeded in capturing 'Summer Days'. The Argentine mortar platoon commander, Lieutenant Martella, after having consumed all of his ammunition in an earlier attempt to stop the advance of 42 CDO on Mount Harriet was killed in this action.[27] The British Marines also lost two platoon commanders wounded in the Argentine mortar bombardments with Marine Chris Cooke later recalling, "The three officers in my company pledged to have a drink together at the other end of the island, but only one made it, the other two left with shrapnel wounds."[28] The Z Company platoon commander, Lieutenant Clive Dytor, won the Military Cross by rallying his 8 Troop and leading it forward at bayonet point to take 'Summer Days'. He later recalled "I began listening to our rate of fire and I realised we were going to run out of ammunition. Then I remembered a line in a book about the Black Watch in the Second World War. They were pinned down and the adjutant stood up and shouted, 'Is this the Black Watch? Charge!’ What I didn’t remember, until I read it again later, was that he was actually cut in half at that point by a German machine gun. The next thing I knew I was up and running on my own, shouting, 'Zulu, Zulu, Zulu’, which was our company battle cry and also the battle cry of my father’s old regiment, [the] South Wales Borderers."[29]

Second Lieutenant Aldo Eugenio Franco and his RI 6 platoon, after having scrapped a planned counterattack in conjunction with Major David Carullo's Panhard armoured car squadron[30], because the Two Sisters defenders no longer held the peaks,[31] covered the Argentine withdrawal and prevented Yankee Company from attacking C Company as it withdrew from Two Sisters.[32][33] Augusto Esteban La Madrid, a second lieutenant in the local reserve tasked with assisting Major Cordon, told British historian Martin Middlebrook that, during the final clashes, "Subteniente Franco's platoon was left as a rearguard, but he made it back to Tumbledown OK".[34] Private Oscar Ismael Poltronieri who held up Yankee Company with accurate shooting with his rifle and a machine-gun, was awarded the Argentine Nation to the Heroic Valour in Combat Cross (CHVC), the highest Argentine decoration for bravery.[32] Sub-Lieutenant Nazer had been wounded covering the withdrawal and the remnants of his platoon having been placed under the command of Corporal Virgilio Rafael Barrientos, took up positions on Sapper Hill. Sub-Lieutenants Mosquera-Gutierrez and Pérez-Grandi had been wounded in the British bombardment, and the remnants of their platoons were put under the command of Captain Carlos López Patterson, the Operations Officer of the 4th Regiment, who took up blocking positions in the ground between Mount Tumbledown and Wireless Ridge alongside the dismounted 10th Armoured Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron under Captain Rodrigo Alejandro Soloaga, engaging at times with heavy machinegun and mortar fire the forward 3 PARA elements on Mount Longdon throughout the daylight hours of 12 and 13 June.

After capturing Two Sisters, 45 COMMANDO came under retaliatory fire from the surrounding Argentine positions. Captain Gardiner's X-Ray Company reported another wounded (Corporal Frank Melia) in the daylight hours of 12 June after attracting mortar rounds from Tumbledown Mountain.[35]

On 13 June, Argentine A-4 Skyhawk fighter-bombers got through the British Combat Air Patrols and attacked vehicles and helicopters stationed around 3 Commando Brigade Headquarters on the lower western slopes of Two Sisters (near Murrell River), resulting in a helicopter crewman injured and considerable structural damage to three Gazelle helicopters.[36][37][38][39][40]

Aftermath

The next morning Colonel Andrew Whitehead looked in wonderment at the strength of the positions the enemy had abandoned. "With fifty Royals," he said, "I could have died of old age holding this place." (Max Hastings, Going To The Wars, p. 363, Macmillan 2000) Although the British unit seemed at the time to have had an easy victory, those actually engaged with the enemy platoons would have been unlikely to agree. Thirty years later, Marine Keith Brown recalled the fighting for the northern peak and concluded

British-American historian Hugh Bicheno has been critical of the 6th Infantry Regiment's 'B' Company who, he claims, withdrew in a disorderly manner from front-line positions at the opening of the battle, although this seems to have little foundation. Brigadier-General Oscar Luis Jofre had certainly been planning to counterattack on Two Sisters but with the defenders no longer in possession of the twin peaks, he ordered the abandonment of the feature and later wrote All of a sudden, we suffer the first emotional impact. It was 04.45 when we received reports from Major Jaimet saying that the defenders on Two Sisters could no longer resist the enemy attack and would begin their withdrawal.[42] Major Oscar Ramón Jaimet has gone on record, saying in the Argentinean newspaper La Gaceta that he had designated Sub-Lieutenant Franco to cover the Argentinean withdrawal and that Argentinean artillery fire was brought down in error amongst the company.[43] Indeed, the company withdrew in good order, according to the Spanish-speaking warrant officer attached to 3 Commando Brigade Headquarters in the fighting.[44] The Argentine Army Official Report on the war recommended Major Oscar Ramon Jaimet and CSM Jorge Edgardo Pitrella of the 6th Regiment's B Company for an MVC (Argentine Nation to the Valour in Combat Medal) for the conduct of their fighting withdrawal and subsequent behaviour on Tumbledown (this was later granted to Major Jaimet, Pitrella was awarded the Argentine Army to the Effort and Abnegation Medal).[45]

Sergeant-Major George Meachin of Yankee Company, later praised the fighting abilities and spirit of the Argentine defenders of the northern peak:

Hugh Bicheno described the moonscape of devastation:

Although Wireless Ridge and the saddle between Tumbledown and William are still heavily scarred, even after more than twenty years the beaten zone between the Two Sisters bear the most eloquent witness to the awesome power of the British artillery, which fired 1,500 shells at the Two Sisters that night. The still-churned area occupied by Nazer's platoon in particular leaves one in no doubt why they decamped immediately, while the saddle itself is dimpled with craters, testimony to the tenacity of Martella's Heavy machine guns and mortars.

— Hugh Bicheno, Razor's Edge: The Unofficial History of the Falklands War, p. 242, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2006

With the telephone lines to the command post in shreds, Llambías Pravaz led his men to join M Company, 5th Marine Infantry Battalion on Sapper Hill.[46] He had nearly been killed in the fighting when a rock impacted his helmet after a Milan missile exploded close behind him.[47]

The X-Ray Company Marines were in awe of the Argentines in the depleted 3rd Platoon who had put up such determined resistance, and their company commander, Captain Gardiner in the book Above All, Courage (Above All, Courage: The Falklands Front Line : First-Hand Accounts, Max Arthur, pp. 389-390, Sidwick & Jackson, 1985) later said:

A lone conscript rifleman on 'Long Toenail' held out long after resistance had ended on the mountain. There was a humorous moment when the Revd. Wynne Jones was challenged by the Marines and called out that he was 45 Commando's padre and had forgotten the password.

Some 30 years later, Marine Nick Hunt of X-Ray Company got in contact with Sub-Lieutenant Marcelo Llambías-Pravaz, and in a televised reunion on the southern peak of the mountain, he returned the pictures he had found of the army officer and his platoon of conscripts the morning after the Royal Marines had stormed the position.[48]

Casualties

Seven Royal Marine Commandos and a sapper from 59 Independent Commando Squadron, Royal Engineers were killed taking Two Sisters.[49] Another 17, including platoon commanders (Lieutenants Fox, Dunning and Davies) were wounded. Some 20 Argentines entrusted with the defence of Two Sisters were killed in the first eleven days of June and the night of the battle, another 50 were wounded[1] and 54 taken prisoner.

HMS Glamorgan, which was providing Naval gunfire support (NGS) stayed in her position to support the Royal Marine Commandos who were pinned down. Glamorgan stayed past the time she was meant to leave and was hit by a land based Exocet missile, thirteen crew were killed as a result of this attack.

Awards received

For bravery shown in the attack on Two Sisters, men from 45 Commando were awarded one DSO, three Military Crosses, one Distinguished Conduct Medal and four Military Medals. A commando from 29 Commando received a Military Medal as did a man from the M&AW Cadre.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5th Infantry Brigade in the Falklands 1982. Nicholas Van der Bijl, David Aldea. p. 177. Leo Cooper, 2003
  2. ↑ "The Falkland Islands". Palace Barracks Memorial Garden. Retrieved 2015-04-04.
  3. ↑ According to Martin Middlebrook,"The Fight for the 'Malvinas' the Argentine Forces in the Falklands War", page 233
  4. ↑ 5th Infantry Brigade in the Falklands 1982. Nicholas Van der Bijl, David Aldea. pp. 63–64. Leo Cooper, 2003
  5. ↑ Twilight Warriors: Inside the World's Special Forces. Martin C. Arostegui. p. 205. St. Martin's Press, 15/01/1997
  6. ↑ La Guerra de las Malvinas, p.352, Editorial Oriente, 1987
  7. ↑ 5th Infantry Brigade in the Falklands 1982. Nicholas Van der Bijl, David Aldea. p. 169. Leo Cooper, 2003
  8. ↑ “Cola de Dragón”, la Compañía de Comandos 602 en acción
  9. ↑ Volveremos!, Jorge R. Farinella, p. 125, Editorial Rosario, 1984
  10. ↑ Emocionante historia de vida de Hugo Mac Dougall - cabo primero en la Guerra De Malvinas -
  11. ↑ In total we carried out 130 attack sorties and lost three aircraft, all to ground fire. A fourth Harrier crashed during vertical landing at the 850 ft metal runway at San Carlos. This mishap stemmed from damage by small arms fire. "Harrier: Ski-Jump to Victory", John Godden, pg.29. Brassey's, 1983
  12. ↑ The final GR.3 to be lost was XZ989 flown by Peter Squire, which suffered a power loss on returning to the matted landing site; his aircraft hit the ground rather hard, irretrievably damaging it. BAE/McDonnell Douglas Harrier, Andy Evans, p. 75, Crowood Press, 1988
  13. ↑ Comandos en acción: El Ejército en Malvinas, Isidoro Ruiz Moreno, p. 355, Emecé Editores, 01/01/1986
  14. ↑ Así lucharon, Carlos M. Túrolo, p. 316, Editorial Sudamericana, 1982
  15. ↑ La Compañía 602 de Comandos
  16. ↑ Sunday Times of London Insight Team (November 1982). War in the Falklands: The Full Story. Harper Collins. p. 264. ISBN 0-0601-5082-3.
  17. ↑ Marines shot comrades in Falklands confict
  18. ↑ Malvinas: relatos de soldados, Martín Balza, p. 120, Círculo Militar, 1985
  19. ↑ La Guerra de las Malvinas, p. 420, Editorial Oriente, 1987
  20. ↑ Royal Marine Commando 1950–82: From Korea to the Falklands, William Fowler, p. 57, Osprey Publishing, 21/04/2009
  21. ↑ "Ten minutes later the 150 men of X Company were as good as new and began their assault at 11 pm." No Picnic: 3 Commando Brigade in the South Atlantic 1982, Julian Thompson, p. 131, Leo Cooper in association with Secker & Warburg, 1985
  22. ↑ No Picnic: 3 Commando Brigade in the South Atlantic 1982, Julian Thompson, p. 131, Leo Cooper in association with Secker & Warburg, 1985
  23. ↑ Chain of Command. By IAN GARDINER. Published Date: 12 June 2007 NEWS.scotsman.com.
  24. ↑ With fixed bayonets and supported by Mario Pacheco's 10th Engineer Company section on Summer Days, they taunted the Royal Marines with Guarani war-cries and beat off efforts to close with them. Nine Battles to Stanley, Nick Van Der Bijl, p. 178 , Pen & Sword Books, 2014
  25. ↑ "Second- Lieutenant Llambias-Pravaz's 3rd Platoon, on Long Toenail, the south-western feature, opened fire on X Company at 11.30pm and was not dislodged until about 2.30am." Nicholas Van der Bijl, David Aldea, 5th Infantry Brigade in the Falklands 1982, p. 177, Leo Cooper, 2003
  26. ↑ No Picnic: 3 Commando Brigade in the South Atlantic 1982, Julian Thompson, p. 132, Leo Cooper in association with Secker & Warburg, 1985
  27. ↑ "Los hijos de la guerra - 11.06.2000 - lanacion.com". Lanacion.com.ar. Retrieved 2015-04-04.
  28. ↑ Falklands return, Julie Armstrong , News & Star, 21 August 2008 Archived 25 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  29. ↑ Falklands War hero explains why he entered the church after being awarded the Military Cross, The Telegraph, By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent
  30. ↑ Cuando aclaró, a eso de las nueve de la mañana del sábado, vi que también se estaban replegando los vehículos cazatanques Panhard: habían sido enviados para apoyar a los dos regimientosy volvieron bajo una lluvia de fuego. Malvinas A Sangre y Fuego, Nicolás Kasanzew, p. 182, Editorial Abril, 1982
  31. ↑ Malvinas: Testimonio de su Gobernador, Mario Benjamín Menéndez, Carlos M. Túrolo, p. 273, Editorial Sudamericana, 1983
  32. 1 2 The fight for the "Malvinas": The Argentine forces in the Falklands War, Martin Middlebrook, p. 239, Penguin, 1990
  33. ↑ 5th Infantry Brigade in the Falklands 1982. Nicholas Van der Bijl, David Aldea. p. 178. Leo Cooper, 2003
  34. ↑ Martin Middlebrook, p. 239, "The Fight for the 'Malvinas' : The Argentine Forces in the Falklands War", Penguin, 1990
  35. ↑ Corporal Frank Melia heard a mortar coming in which must've had his name on it because as it came in, he dived, and the only place to go was in this hole on top of the bodies! The mortar went off really close and a bit of shrapnel carved a neat nick right out of the top of his head. Be he survived, and never was nonchalant about mortar fire again. Above All, Courage: The Falklands Front Line : First-Hand Accounts, Max Arthur, p. 278, Sidwick & Jackson, 1985
  36. ↑ Two Grupo 5 Skyhawks, launched against a concentration of British troops and an HQ unit near Two Sisters, succeeded in reaching the target without interference from British Harriers. One of the A-4s dropped its warload while the other strafed with its 20mm cannon. Several vehicles and helicopters were destroyed, but only light damage was done to the overall facilities. McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, Brad Elward, p. 759, Crowood, 2001
  37. ↑ We had one of our aircraft and two others sitting outside Brigade HQ; in fact just outside my tent. We'd been a bit slack, I suppose, because we normally kept helicopters about three or four hundred metres away, but these were sitting quite close and got badly damaged as a result of four Skyhawks coming in. Above All, Courage, Max Arthur, p. 85, Cassell & Co., 2002
  38. ↑ At the same time, the Argentines conducted air raids on 13 June to assist their harried forces on the ground, striking 3 Commando Brigade's HQ near Mount Kent with Skyhawks, as well as 2 Para's positions near Mt Longdon. There were no British losses, apart from damage to three helicopters and delays cause to 2 Para's efforts to prepare for the following evening's attack. The Falklands 1982: Ground operations in the South Atlantic, Gregory Fremont-Barnes, Bloomsbury Publshing, 2012
  39. ↑ Although five of the bombs exploded, leaving two unexploded bombs to be dealt with, the only casualty was a man with mild concussion, whose trench had been a few metres away from one of the bombs. No Picnic, Julian Thompson, p. 147, Casemate Publishers, 1992
  40. ↑ A flash and shower of peat sod — and the only injury was superficial blast to an airman and perforated eardrums. The curse of the marathon marches across East Falkland, the peatbog, had been our friend. I Counted Them All Out and I Counted Them All Back: The Battle for the Falklands, Brian Hanrahan, Robert Fox, p. 147, Chivers Press, 1982
  41. ↑ "Remembering the Falklands conflict: four veterans tell their story". Scotsman.com. 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2015-04-04.
  42. ↑ Malvinas: La Defensa de Puerto Argentino, Oscar Luis Jofre, Félix Roberto Aguiar, p. 223, Editorial Sudamericana, 1987
  43. ↑ "La realidad de la guerra supera toda ficción". AR-Tucumán: Lagaceta.com.ar. Retrieved 2015-04-04.
  44. ↑ Argentine forces in the Falklands. By Nick Van der Bijl & Paul Hannon. Page 14. Osprey Publishing. (July 30, 1992)
  45. ↑ Archived December 10, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  46. ↑ Nicholas van der Bijl, Nine Battles to Stanley, p. 182, Leo Cooper, 1999
  47. ↑ Malvinas: Relatos de Soldados, Martín Antonio Balza, p.122, Círculo Militar, 1986
  48. ↑ After a bloody battle a Royal Marine found an enemy camera. Thirty years later Nick Taylor tracked down the Argentine soldier in the pictures, By Audrey Gillan, Mail Online, 17 March 2012
  49. ↑ "The Falkland Islands". Palace Barracks Memorial Garden. Retrieved 2015-04-04.

References

  • Max Arthur (2002). Above All, Courage: The Eyewitness History of the Falklands War (Cassell Military Paperbacks S.). Cassells Military Paperbacks. ISBN 0-304-36257-3.
  • Martin Middlebrook (2003). The Fight For The Malvinas. Pen and Sword Books / Leo Cooper Paperbacks. ISBN 0-85052-978-6.
  • 45 COMMANDO'S approach to and Battle for TWO SISTERS
  • 'Zulu!': The Battle for Two Sisters
  • CAPTAIN IAN GARDINER recalls the fighting
  • Argentine conscripts re-live Two Sisters battle
  • Two Sisters Mountain: The Argentinian Story
  • Lieutenant Clive Dytor remembers his role during the attack on Two Sisters. He was awarded the MC (accessed Sunday 25 March 2012)
  • MOD news: Marines in emotional return to the Falklands

Coordinates: 51°41′12″S 58°1′25″W / 51.68667°S 58.02361°W / -51.68667; -58.02361 (Battle of Two Sisters)

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