Falklands War - April 2nd - The Invasion

Landings around Stanley, Friday 2nd April - The plan was for the Buzo Tactico to attack both the Royal Marine barracks at Moody Brook and Government House to force a surrender, supported if necessary by men of the 2nd Marine Infantry Battalion landed from ships of Task Group 40.1. Once the airfield was in Argentine hands, the Army garrison would then fly in. The first landings were before midnight with a Buzo Tactico party going ashore from destroyer "Santisima Trinidad" to secure Mullet Creek, followed early on Friday morning by a smaller group from submarine "Santa Fe" to check out the main landing beach north of Stanley. 

Reports now started reaching the defenders about the presence of Argentine ships, and at 4.30am, more Buzo Tactico landed at Mullet Creek apparently from Sea King helicopters embarked on icebreaker "Almirante Irizar". Most of them headed for the by now empty barracks at Moody Brook while the rest passed quietly below Sapper Hill on their way to Government House. As they approached their objectives the destroyers and frigates of TF 40 took up support and escort positions and the LST headed in for the unguarded beach at York Bay.

Attacks - From 6.00am the main attacks and supporting landings got underway. The larger body of Buzo Tactico hit Moody Brook and then headed east for Government House which by then was under fire from the smaller group. Around 6.30am, the first of some 20 LVTP-7 Amtraks with 20 Marines each inside were landing from "Cabo San Antonio" and by 6.45am more troops were coming into the airfield by helicopter. As the off-balanced Royal Marine defenders fell back on Government House, one of the sections on the Stanley road stopped an Amtrak with anti-armour weapons.

British Surrender - With daybreak and Government House surrounded, under sniper fire and the Amtraks approaching, Governor Hunt attempted to negotiate. Faced with the overwhelming forces at Adm Busser's disposal, he ordered the Marines to lay down their arms, which they did at 9.30am without having suffered any casualties. The Argentines only admitted to one dead and others wounded. That evening, Governor and Mrs Hunt and most of the Royal Marines and the few men from "Endurance" were flown out. Major Norman and his men were back in Stanley 76 days later with J Coy, 42 Cdo RM.

Argentine Reinforcements - Before the surrender, the Army garrison, mainly from the 25th Infantry Regt was flying in. Another early arrival by Hercules was an AN/TPS-43F surveillance radar which became the centre of Argentina's command, control and communications structure at Stanley right through until the end of the war. Now Lieutenant General Osvaldo Garcia took over as Commander, Malvinas Operational Theatre, but as Britain's military response became clearer, the command was relocated to Argentina to cover the South Atlantic as a whole. Then on Wednesday 7th April, Major General Mario Menendez was appointed commander-in-chief as well as military governor, the same day Britain announced a 200 nautical mile maritime exclusion zone (MEZ) around the Falklands to take effect from the 12th April.