First Argentine invasion plan of Falklands in the sixties included shipping all Islanders to Montevideo

Next week marks the 30th anniversary of the invasion of the Falkland Islands by Argentine forces which erupted into a full blown conflict with the UK that ended 74 days later with the complete unconditional surrender of the invading forces.

Admiral Jorge Anaya, taking over the Falklands an obsession since he joined the Navy Admiral Jorge Anaya, taking over the Falklands an obsession since he joined the Navy

The rest since then and Argentina’s diplomatic efforts to recover the Falklands/Malvinas is recent history.

However the failed 1982 invasion was not the first plan elaborated by Argentina to take over the Falklands by force, and was in effect inspired in the success of the Indian government’s military invasion of Portuguese Goa in 1961

“Argentina in fact had developed a plan for an invasion of the Falkland Islands in the late 1960s. This plan was thought to be realistic because of the success of the Indian government's military invasion of Portuguese Goa in 1961”, and one of the most enthusiastic sponsors of the idea was none else than Captain Jorge Anaya.

The extract is from a recent column from Robert Cox, “Put the Islanders first: key to the Malvinas/Falklands dispute” published in the Buenos Aires Herald and which details the previous military plan-adventure.

“The plan was simple. It included in sequential order a surprise landing on the Islands, the removal of all of the inhabitants, their transport to Montevideo and their replacement with Argentine settlers. In a naive comparison with the 19th Century, the Argentines reasoned the British had taken similar actions in 1833!” writes Cox.

And how did Mr Cox get hold of such information?

“I learned this from a neighbour of ours in Highland Park, Del Viso. In those days, Highland Park was a decidedly unpretentious rural community, formed around horse-stables and without a golf-course. During a discussion about building an outdoor oven to bake empanadas, my amiable neighbour, who was a retired Navy captain, informed me of the plan.

“I was never quite sure whether he was joking, because he enjoyed joshing me about my piratical and imperialistic antecedents, but only a few days ago I stumbled on a report that confirms the existence of that plan. In a study by the US Marine Corps Command and Staff College entitled: ”War Since 1945 Seminar, Offensive Air Operations of The Falklands (sic) War“ I read:

”Argentina in fact had developed a plan for an invasion of the Falklands in the late 1960s. This plan was thought to be realistic because of the success of the Indian government's military invasion of Portuguese Goa in 1961.

India's operation had taken place without condemnation from other countries leading some Argentines, especially naval officer Jorge Anaya, to believe a similar act, based on territorial integrity, could be carried out in the Falklands. This plan was originally conceived by then Captain Jorge Anaya, who, at the time of the Argentine invasion in 1982, had risen to the rank of admiral and was the ranking officer of the Argentine Navy and a member of the ruling Junta.