East Falkland showing San Carlos bridgehead, Teal Inlet, Mt Kent and Mt Challenger
With the sizeable Argentine force at Goose Green out of the way, British forces were now able to break out of the San Carlos bridgehead. From 27 May men of 45 Cdo and 3 Para started walking across East Falkland towards the coastal settlement of Teal Inlet. Meanwhile 42 Cdo prepared to move by helicopter to Mount Kent. Unbeknown to senior British officers the Argentine generals were determined to tie down the British troops in the Mount Kent area and on 27 and 28 May they sent transport aircraft loaded with Commandos (602nd Commando Company and 601st National Gendarmerie Special Forces Squadron) to Port Stanley. This operation was known as Operation AUTOIMPUESTA (Self-Determination-Initiative).
For the next week, the SAS and Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre (the Special Forces unit of 3 Commando Brigade) waged intense patrol battles with patrols of the 602nd Commando Company. A 13-strong Argentine Army Commando detachment (Captain Jose Vercesi's 1st Assault Section, 602nd Commando Company) found itself trapped in a small farmhouse at Top Malo on 31 May. The Argentine Commandos fired from windows and doorways and then took refuge in a stream bed 150 metres from the burnining house. Completely surrounded, they fought 19 Mountain & Arctic Warfare Cadre (M&AWC) marines under Captain Rod Boswell for forty-five minutes until, with their ammunition almost exhausted, they elected to surrender. Three Cadre members were badly wounded. On the Argentine side there were two dead, Lieutenant Ernesto Espinoza and Sergeant Mateo Sbert (who were decorated for their bravery). Only 5 Argentines were left unwounded. As the British mopped up Top Malo House, down from Malo Hill came Lieutenant Fraser Haddow's M&AWC patrol, brandishing a large Union Jack. One Argentine wounded, Lieutenant Horacio Losito, commented that their escape route would have taken them through Haddow's position. It is estimated that 40 Argentine Commandos were involved in the battle with the SAS and the Cadre. A body count revealed eleven Argentine Commandos dead. Seven members of the British Special Forces were wounded during these actions. One SBS Sergeant was killed as the Mount Kent ranges were secured for the arrival of the British battalions. This Argentine operation saw the extensive use of helicopter support to position and extract patrols and at about 11.00 a.m. on 30 May, an Argentine Army Puma helicopter was brought down by a shoulder-launched Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) in the vicinity of Mount Kent. Six National Gendermerie Special Forces were killed and eight more wounded in the crash. As Brigadier Julian Thompson commented, 'It was fortunate that I had ignored the views expressed by Northwood that reconnaissance of Mount Kent before insertion of 42 Commando was superfluous. Had D Squadron not been there, the Argentine Special Forces would have caught the Commando before deplaning and, in the darkness and confusion on a strange landing zone, inflicted heavy casualties on men and helicopters
For the next week, the SAS and Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre (the Special Forces unit of 3 Commando Brigade) waged intense patrol battles with patrols of the 602nd Commando Company. A 13-strong Argentine Army Commando detachment (Captain Jose Vercesi's 1st Assault Section, 602nd Commando Company) found itself trapped in a small farmhouse at Top Malo on 31 May. The Argentine Commandos fired from windows and doorways and then took refuge in a stream bed 150 metres from the burnining house. Completely surrounded, they fought 19 Mountain & Arctic Warfare Cadre (M&AWC) marines under Captain Rod Boswell for forty-five minutes until, with their ammunition almost exhausted, they elected to surrender. Three Cadre members were badly wounded. On the Argentine side there were two dead, Lieutenant Ernesto Espinoza and Sergeant Mateo Sbert (who were decorated for their bravery). Only 5 Argentines were left unwounded. As the British mopped up Top Malo House, down from Malo Hill came Lieutenant Fraser Haddow's M&AWC patrol, brandishing a large Union Jack. One Argentine wounded, Lieutenant Horacio Losito, commented that their escape route would have taken them through Haddow's position. It is estimated that 40 Argentine Commandos were involved in the battle with the SAS and the Cadre. A body count revealed eleven Argentine Commandos dead. Seven members of the British Special Forces were wounded during these actions. One SBS Sergeant was killed as the Mount Kent ranges were secured for the arrival of the British battalions. This Argentine operation saw the extensive use of helicopter support to position and extract patrols and at about 11.00 a.m. on 30 May, an Argentine Army Puma helicopter was brought down by a shoulder-launched Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) in the vicinity of Mount Kent. Six National Gendermerie Special Forces were killed and eight more wounded in the crash. As Brigadier Julian Thompson commented, 'It was fortunate that I had ignored the views expressed by Northwood that reconnaissance of Mount Kent before insertion of 42 Commando was superfluous. Had D Squadron not been there, the Argentine Special Forces would have caught the Commando before deplaning and, in the darkness and confusion on a strange landing zone, inflicted heavy casualties on men and helicopters
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