The 2nd Scots Guards were tasked with launching the attack on Mount Tumbledown and they were led by Lieutenant Colonel Mike Scott. These men earned his respect and the respect of the nation. Military Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. The Guards took 30 prisoners, several of them RI 6 soldiers. They were detected, however, and the British were briefly pinned down by gunfire before a bayonet charge overwhelmed the Argentinian defenders. The battle seesawed for a full day and a night. 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. Scots Guards hotel is opening (wait for it ..) now", Apasionante documental sobre la Guerra de Malvinas, http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1362425-un-heroe-todos-los-heroes, "Part 53. In a meeting with his company commanders the consensus was that the long uphill assault across the harsh ground of Tumbledown would be suicidal in daylight. Nor the memory of our dead neglect, They were well provisioned, outfitted for the frigid weather and, in some instances, better equipped than the British. Due to their proximity to the capital, they were of strategic importance during the 1982 War. But for the two-and-a-half months previous to this final engagement, the high ground in front of the capital was where the Argentines had dug in - in what were cold, dark, windy and snowy conditions. By 6 a.m., Left Flank's attack had clearly stalled and had cost the British company seven men killed and 18 wounded. One replied, Get within 200 meters of them, and theyll run away. Only later did the guardsmen learn the PARAs had faced mainly poorly outfitted and trained teenage conscripts. 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). 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. He could not have more completely misread the situation or the resolve of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. By 9:00 a.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. Miraculously, Robert Lawrence survived but with permanent physical damage that includes partial paralysis. Danger came from all quarters, as the surrounding rocks ricocheted rounds in all directions. 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. 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. At 8:30p.m. on 13 June the diversionary attack began. Nightly naval and aerial bombardment followed. The British plan called for a diversionary attack south of Mount Tumbledown by a small number of the Scots Guards, assisted by the four light tanks of the Blues and Royals, whilst the main attack came as a three-phase silent advance from the west of Mount Tumbledown. The explosions prompted the Argentine Marine Major Antonio Pernas to order the 81mm mortar platoon on Mount William and the longer-ranged 120mm mortars attached to 'C' Company, 3rd Infantry Regiment on Sapper Hill to open fire on the minefield and the likely withdrawal route of anyone attacking Mount William. As he gazed down at the lights of Port Stanley some 4 miles distant, an enemy rifle in each hand, a 7.62mm high-velocity armor-piercing round slammed into his head at 3,800 feet per second, destroying nearly 45 percent of his brain. As the Guardsmen and Royal Marines consolidated their positions, the British lost a Volvo Bv 202 tracked vehicle to an anti-tank mine planted in the Sapper Hill sector. 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 daytime assault was initially planned, but was postponed at the British battalion commander's request. The British plan called for a diversionary attack south of Mount Tumbledown by a small number of the Scots Guards, assisted by the four light tanks of the Blues and Royals, whilst the main attack came as a three-phase silent advance from the west of Mount Tumbledown. Pairs of civilian shoes were found tucked neatly in rock crevices in some of the Argentines' temporary fortifications, or sangars. "I was 33 and I had been serving for around 15 years. While taking up new positions on Sapper Hill, Sergeant Vctor Hugo Jurez from 5th Marine Battalion HQs, Private Vicente Antonio Daz from the 1st Amphibious Engineers Company and Private Ricardo Ramrez from the 81mm Mortar Platoon on Mount William are also killed in the fierce British bombardment and long-range retaliatory machinegun and small-arms fire from Neame's company on Wireless Ridge. [55], A cross has been erected at the summit of the mountain as a memorial to the soldiers who died in the battle. To Guardsman Tracy Evens, the Sapper Hill positions looked impregnable: We were led to an area that the company would rest at for the night, I still took in the fact the Argies had prepared Sapper Hill well, they had depth positions that would have made the task of taking it very hard.[47]. Finally, they beached their craft within 2 miles of the Argentine positions on Mount Tumbledown. J. M. Kneen and D. J. Sutton, "Marine Vince Comb, seventeen and a half years old and the youngest man in the troop, was the machine gunner and was hit by bullets in the wrist and arm. The Argentinians had well dug-in machine guns and snipers. He was awarded the Military Cross for bravery, but he spent a year in a wheelchair and was almost totally paralyzed. In the first phase, G company would take the western end of the mountain. They had had years of aggression, Lawrence wrote. Though repeatedly targeted, he miraculously suffered only a bullet strike to his compass. Lieutenant Robert Lawrence led 3 Platoon around to the right of the Argentinian platoons, hoping to take the Argentinians by surprise. The initial advance was unopposed, but a heavy firefight broke out when British troops made contact with Argentinian defences. Their orders were to move towards Sapper Hill only after these objectives were taken. The engagement was an attack by the British Army and the Royal Marines on the heights over-looking Stanley, the Falkland Islands capital. Major Iain Charles Mackay-Dick (Westcott 1959-1963), 2nd i/c, 2nd Battalion Scots Guards. [9], Meanwhile two Royal Navy frigates, HMS Yarmouth and Active, were pounding Tumbledown with their 4.5inch guns. The fight for Mount Tumbledown was the last battle in a conflict that was, by modern standards, a small warand to many an unnecessary one. [62], An ode was written in honour of the fallen:[63]. Max Hastings, Simon Jenkins. Adding to the other-worldliness of the scene was a surprise blizzard that sent snow swirling around the silhouetted fighting figures. [2], During the battle, the 5th Marines Command Post took five direct hits, but Commander Robacio emerged unscathed.[3]. They who made that lonely sacrifice Our troop then cleared a safe line through the minefield. [16][17] He named the tune The Crags of Tumbledown Mountain. This gave the guardsmen their first up-close look at their foes. They had been waiting for it, it had passed several times through a sort of air corridor to the airport. "After some time an explosion was heard. According to the South Atlantic Medal Association (SAMA), a nongovernmental organization representing and supporting Falklands veterans, within 20 years of the end of the fighting an estimated 264 British veteransmore than had been killed in combathad committed suicide, possibly as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder. [6], Meanwhile, two Royal Navy frigates, HMS Yarmouth and Active, were pounding Tumbledown with their 4.5inch guns. The unique project is documenting a number of Argentine defensive positions in the 1982 war, in particular for the decisive encounter on Mount Tumbledown. It was rugged going, over scree that gave way under the soldiers boots. One guardsman sought to scale a rock shielding an enemy sniper and was shot off it. They were well used to it. 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. The Battle of Mount Tumbledown was a night battle that lasted 12 hours. Tumbledown was a key strategic position on the islands and its capture was essential for the British forces to . Kiszely was later awarded the Military Cross for his actions that night. The 2nd Battalion Scots Guards had lost eight dead and 43 wounded. 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. Web. 543K views, 6.1K likes, 285 loves, 797 comments, 1.6K shares, Facebook Watch Videos from The British Falkland Islands & British Military: Battle of Mount Tumbledown On the night of 13-14 June 1982. In the third phase, Right Flank would pass through Left Flank to secure the eastern end of Tumbledown. 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. A Royal Marine had stepped on a mine, followed by another a few minutes later. We were supposed to finish the attack and they would give us covering fire from Tumbledown During the night we followed the Scots Guards and then our CO told us to stop. Read about our approach to external linking. This button displays the currently selected search type. The action continued through the night, and by the time the sky began to lighten, some of the guardsmen had run out of ammunition. There the group observed virtual and live firing demonstrations using rifles and pistols, before spending a night under the stars to try out night vision devices. The team also found evidence of illegally excavated Argentine bunkers. Fuel indications suggested a considerable fuel leak at the same time. Lying around four miles west of the Falkland Islands capital, Port Stanley, Mount Tumbledown was seen by the British Task Force as being of primary importance in their breaking down of the Argentine threat. [5] Two men were wounded covering the withdrawal and four more were wounded by mines. Jim, who served alongside John, had visited the islands four times prior to the fieldwork. Seeing an enemy soldier on the ground to his front, he bayoneted the man, later noting, He spun wildlyand my bayonet snapped. Using the only weapon he had, Lawrence recalled, I stabbed him and I stabbed him, again and again, in the mouth, in the face, in the guts, with a snapped bayonet. Theres been no update to these figures over the last 13 years, or assessments of the numbers of Argentine veterans who took their own lives over what combat veteran Robert Lawrence remembers as a short, bloody, wet and dirty war, fought on the edge of the world.. "There is still a lot of material out there, and if its location is recorded, it still has stories to tell," commented project co-director Prof Tony Pollard from Glasgow. [12] After two hours of hard fighting, the British secured the position. Falklands veterans of 2nd Battalion Scots Guards recount the bravery, fear, death and drama of the British Assault on Mount Tumbledown We Were There: Battle of Mount Tumbledown episode 5. season 1. 656 Squadron would win the Distinguished Flying Cross for rescuing a wounded Gurkha and Guardsman from the middle of a minefield. 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