Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, starting the Falklands War
On this day · 2 April 1982
On April 2, 1982, Argentine forces seized the British-held Falklands, igniting a 74-day war in the South Atlantic.
Early on April 2, 1982, Argentine military forces landed on the Falkland Islands, the British overseas territory Argentina calls the Islas Malvinas. Code-named Operation Rosario, the assault swiftly overwhelmed the small garrison of Royal Marines at Stanley, and the following day Argentine troops took the dependencies of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
The ruling military junta, led by General Leopoldo Galtieri, hoped a patriotic triumph would distract from economic crisis and shore up its grip on power. Britain responded by dispatching a naval task force across 8,000 miles of ocean.
A gamble meant to rally a nation instead set off a war the junta would lose.
The undeclared conflict lasted 74 days, ending in Argentine surrender on June 14, 1982. It claimed 649 Argentine lives, 255 British, and three Falkland Islanders, and helped topple the junta within a year.
Sources & references
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