The Falklands Legacy
I have the view that the Falklands War had a much greater effect on the thirty years since Argentina invaded, than we generally think.
I travelled in Europe both before and after the war and it brought a great change to the way Europe thought about the Russian menace. Not about the threat of nuclear war, but a lot of our forces atb the time were lined up with the Germans, the French, the Americans and others to fight the Russian tanks, when they were ordered to attack. But after the Falklands War, it was now apparent that a well-trained volunteer army, could always outfight a conscript one, who wanted to be elsewhere and I think this gave Europe a much stronger backbone against a Soviet invasion.
It wasn’t the sole reason obviously, but it helped to break-up the Soviet Union and release their stranglehold on the satellites. Remember most Soviet commanders at the time had very deep knowledge of the very brutal Second World War they had fought and from what I have read and heard, wouldn’t have really wanted to do it again. After all, when there was the coup later againt Boris Yeltzin, the Army stayed loyal.
I also wonder what would have happened, if we hadn’t regained the Islands by force.
I suspect that Guatemala would have done what they have wanted to do for years and absorbed Belize.
And would we have gone to regain Kuwait from Saddam in the First Gulf War? The Americans might have gone, because they needed the oil.
The Falklands War sent a powerful message in terms of democracy. But it was a tragic, that a bunch of geriatric dictators, decided to invade, in a vain effort to cling to power.
The Anonymous Widower 
My big memory is of getting up and turning on the radio, and thinking the news was an April Fool is very very bad taste, until I realised it was 2nd April not first. I knew where the Falklands where, and about the disputed sovereignty because Neil had served with people from there whilst in Merchant Navy. I remember many folk thinking they were in Scotland!
Comment by liz | April 2, 2012 |
One memory I had was that a friend of mine was an officer on a Sealink ferry that went down there. He said the seas were so bad, that the ferries had to slow down for the warships to keep up. After all the ferries were built to keep to their maximum speed in the worst of seas.
Comment by AnonW | April 2, 2012 |
I read a book about the bombing of the runway at Stanley . . . by an Avro Vulcan Bomber, and the team of 12 refuelling Handley Page Victor Bombers converted to Tankers. The Bombing was reported, and important to deny the Argies a full length airport to supply their invasion; however the story behind the story, was absolutely gripping . . . one of those books, that was hard to put down, I read it through the night.
All the RAF Pilots, pressed on with courage and dogged determination, that equalled the best of the RAF Historical feats. The book was fascinating & is worth reading . . .
There are many stories of the Falklands, that show the power of the British Volunteer Forces. We must all agree, that there were also many spin offs, for Democracy.
Comment by Steam Lover | June 20, 2012 |
I have it on my bookshelf and have read it. Fascinating tale. There are a couple of other books, by him, although I have Phoenix Squadron somewhere I haven’t read it.
I bet there’s an RAF joke about when the Vulcan went over Port Stanley, the Argies shit themselves so much, that they blocked the sewerage system.
Comment by AnonW | June 21, 2012 |