Battle of Mount Harriet
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Mount Harriet was an engagement of the Falklands War
, which took place on the night of 11/12 June 1982 between British and Argentine forces. It was one of three battles in a brigade-size operation on the same night.
under the command of Lt. Col. Nick Vaux
's Royal Marines
(he later became a general) with artillery support from a battery of 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery. The 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards
(1WG) and two companies from 40 CDO were in reserve. HMS Yarmouth
provided naval-gunfire support for the British forces.
The Argentine defenders consisted of Lieutenant Colonel Diego Soria's 4th Infantry Regiment (RI 4).
to secure the commanding heights of Mount Kent
—at 1,504 feet, the tallest of the peaks surrounding Stanley
—where the D Squadron SAS Troops had already established a strong presence. However, when they arrived at their landing zone, some 3 kilometres (2 mi) behind the ridge of the mountain, the Marines were surprised to see the flashes and lines of tracer ammunition lighting up the night. After a fierce fight at close quarters, the Argentine patrol (Captain Tomas Fernandez' 2nd Assault Section, 602 Commando Company
) melted away from the boulders and snow-soaked scrub and grass. By the end of May, Major Cedric Delves
' D Squadron had gained Mount Kent, and Tactical HQ commenced patrolling Bluff Cove
Peak, which they took with the loss of two wounded.
The attack was preceded by many days of observation and nights of patrolling. Some night-fighting patrols were part of a deception plan to convince the Argentinians that the attack would come from a westerly direction. Other, more covert, patrols were to find a route through a minefield around the south of Mount Harriet. Sniping and naval artillery were used to harass the defenders and deny them sleep.
On 3 June, Lieutenant Chris Marwood's Reconnaissance Troop of 42 CDO, accompanying the 3 Commando Brigade Forward Air Control team commanded by Flight Lieutenant Dennis Marshall-Hasdell, encountered an RI 4 fighting patrol (3rd Platoon of B Company). The Recce Troop opened fire and two conscripts (Privates Celso Paez and Roberto Ledesma) were instantly killed, and an NCO (Corporal Nicolas Odorcic) went down, wounded by a head shot by one of the Marine snipers as he took cover among the rocks. This action drew attention to their exposed forward position, and Argentine reinforcements joined the action with a general counterattack. The Primary Forward Air Controller, commando-trained Flight Lieutenant Dennis Marshal-Hasdell, remembers:
The Laser Target Designator retrieved in the contact showed that the Royal Marines were seeking to destroy the Argentine bunkers on Mount Harriet with 1,000-pound Pave Way Laser Guided Bombs.
On the night of 8-9 June, action on the outer defence zone flared when Lieutenant Mark Townsend's 1 Troop (K Company, 42 CDO) probed Mount Harriet, killing two Argentines. At the same time, two platoon-size fighting patrols from 45 Commando attempted the same on Two Sisters Mountain, but the Argentine Rasit ground surveillance radar there was able to detect the 45 Commando platoons, and artillery fire dispersed the force.
Over a period of a week, the 4th Regiment defended the Harriet-Two Sisters sector from five Royal Marine platoon-size attacks. Every time the Royal Marine Commandos got into the forward platoon positions, the officers, NCOs and conscripts, counterattacked with rifles and cleared them out.
On the morning of 11 June, the orders for the attack were given to 42 CDO by Vaux; K Company was ordered to attack the eastern end of the mountain, while L Company would attack the southern side an hour later, where it—if the mountain was secured—would then move north of Mount Harriet to Goat Ridge. J Company would launch a diversionary attack (code named Vesuvius) on the western end of Mount Harriet.
In the closing hours of 11 June, K and L Companies moved from their assembly area on Mount Challenger (which lay to the west of Mount Harriet) and made their way south, around their objective, across the minefield, to their respective start lines. As they moved around the feature in the dark, J company launched their very loud diversionary "attack" from the west.
The battle for Mount Harriet began on the evening of 11 June with a blistering naval bombardment that killed two Argentines and wounded twenty-five. John Witheroe, one of the British war correspondents, later recalled the softening up fire:
Captain Peter Babbington's K Company crossed their start line first and proceeded up the mountain undetected, knifing two sentries on the way. They remained undetected until they approached Sub-Lieutenant Mario Juarez' 120-mm Mortar Platoon positions and decided to engage them. They were assisted in the advance by HMS Yarmouth, artillery, and mortars. During the engagement, Corporal Laurence G Watts was killed. About 150 metres from Soria's HQ, Corporal Steve Newland circled behind a group of Argentines (under First Lieutenant Jorge Alejandro Echeverria, the 4th Regiment's intelligence officer) who were setting up an ambush. Although half a dozen Argentines and a MAG were placed to engage anyone who broke cover, Newland darted out from under cover to charge the enemy machine gun. He grenaded two of the crew, but reaching the rear of the machine gun position, he was shot through both legs. With the enemy machine gun out of action, Corporals Mick Eccles and Sharky Ward were able to clear the position with some help from Marine Lingard. The three corporals were awarded the Military Medal
. Increasing numbers of Argentine soldiers, mainly conscripts from RI 4's Recce Platoon, began to surrender, but the Commanding Officer and Intelligence Officer and several senior NCOs still fought on, according to their orders. The heavy machine gun teams, to a man, stood in their positions continuing the fight.
L Company crossed their start line shortly after K Company and were almost immediately engaged by effective machine gun fire from Sub-Lieutenant Pablo Oliva's platoon defending the lower southern slopes. These weapons would not be silenced until being hit by several MILAN
anti-tank missiles and six 105mm artillery guns from Mount Challenger. The L Company Marines contend they took fire from at least seven machine guns that wounded five men, including the company's second-in-command and a signaller. Hugh Bicheno contends that the 4th Regiment's passive night goggles were all with B Company.
Before first light, Lieutenant Jerry Burnell's 5 Troop of L Company proceeded to an outcrop of rocks towards Goat Ridge. As they advanced, the Royal Marine platoon came under heavy fire from a 16-men machine-gun team of grenadiers from the Regimiento de Granaderos a Caballo del General San Martín covering the Argentinian retreat and were forced to withdraw under cover of machine guns pre-positioned behind them and further up the hill. The Troop took one casualty in this action. L Company requested mortar fire onto the Argentines; a mixture of HE and WP; then 5 Troop moved forward again. They took 3 prisoners although most of the granaderos had withdrawn, along with two rifle platoons. Further fighting went on throughout the morning of 12 June, including a conscript, in a position just below the summit, who held up L Company with accurate shooting until killed by an 84mm anti-tank rocket fired at short range.
. Two British soldiers: Corporal Laurence G Watts and Acting Corporal Jeremy Smith were killed, and twenty-six were wounded. Eighteen Argentine dead lay around the defences. Lance Corporal Koleszar had the surprising experience of finding that two 'dead' Argentine soldiers, whose boots he was trying to remove, were very much alive and jumped up to surrender. Some British reporters were thus misled into depicting the Argentinians as hapless teenage conscripts who caved in after the first shots were fired, but Royal Marine Warrant Officer 2 John Cartledge, who served with L Company during the battle, corrected them, saying the Argentines were good soldiers who had fought properly:
One British general put their success down to his Marines' skill and professionalism:
42 Commando captured 300 prisoners on Mount Harriet, and for the bravery shown in the attack, the unit was awarded one DSO, one Military Cross, four Military Medals, and eight men were mentioned in dispatches.
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
, which took place on the night of 11/12 June 1982 between British and Argentine forces. It was one of three battles in a brigade-size operation on the same night.
Forces
The British force consisted of 42 Commando (42 CDO), Royal MarinesRoyal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
under the command of Lt. Col. Nick Vaux
Nick Vaux
Major General Nick Vaux, CB DSO RM is a retired Royal Marine officer, and former commander of 42 Commando during the Falklands War. Vaux joined the Royal Marines in 1954, and completed training in time to take part in the first helicopter-borne amphibious operation as a member of 45 Commando during...
's Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
(he later became a general) with artillery support from a battery of 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery. The 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards
Welsh Guards
The Welsh Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division.-Creation :The Welsh Guards came into existence on 26 February 1915 by Royal Warrant of His Majesty King George V in order to include Wales in the national component to the Foot Guards, "..though the order...
(1WG) and two companies from 40 CDO were in reserve. HMS Yarmouth
HMS Yarmouth (F101)
HMS Yarmouth was the first Modified Type 12 frigate of the Rothesay class to enter service with the Royal Navy. From her commissioning in 1960, she performed in numerous roles, including the Third Cod War and the Falklands War....
provided naval-gunfire support for the British forces.
The Argentine defenders consisted of Lieutenant Colonel Diego Soria's 4th Infantry Regiment (RI 4).
Build-up to the battle
On the night of 30 May, K Company of 42 CDO moved forward of San CarlosSan Carlos, Falkland Islands
San Carlos is a settlement in northwestern East Falkland, lying south of Port San Carlos on San Carlos Water. It is sometimes nicknamed "JB" after a former owner, Jack Bonner.-History:...
to secure the commanding heights of Mount Kent
Mount Kent
Mount Kent is a mountain on East Falkland, Falkland Islands, It is north of Mount Challenger and saw action in the Falklands War during the Battle of Mount Harriet - some of the area still being mined....
—at 1,504 feet, the tallest of the peaks surrounding Stanley
Stanley, Falkland Islands
Stanley is the capital and only true cityin the Falkland Islands. It is located on the isle of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2006 census, the city had a population of 2,115...
—where the D Squadron SAS Troops had already established a strong presence. However, when they arrived at their landing zone, some 3 kilometres (2 mi) behind the ridge of the mountain, the Marines were surprised to see the flashes and lines of tracer ammunition lighting up the night. After a fierce fight at close quarters, the Argentine patrol (Captain Tomas Fernandez' 2nd Assault Section, 602 Commando Company
602 Commando Company
The 602 Commando Company is a special operations unit of the Argentine Army, created May 21, 1982.The company is based on Córdoba Province. The members of the unit wear green berets with unit badges. The company is divided in 3 assault sections....
) melted away from the boulders and snow-soaked scrub and grass. By the end of May, Major Cedric Delves
Cedric Delves
Lieutenant General Sir Cedric Norman George Delves KBE DSO is a former British Army general.-Military career:Educated at Woolverstone Hall School, Cedric Delves was commissioned into the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment in 1968...
' D Squadron had gained Mount Kent, and Tactical HQ commenced patrolling Bluff Cove
Bluff Cove
Bluff Cove Bluff Cove Bluff Cove (Spanish: Bahia Agradable or Hoya Fitzroy is a sea inlet and settlement on East Falkland, in the Falkland Islands, on its east coast...
Peak, which they took with the loss of two wounded.
The attack was preceded by many days of observation and nights of patrolling. Some night-fighting patrols were part of a deception plan to convince the Argentinians that the attack would come from a westerly direction. Other, more covert, patrols were to find a route through a minefield around the south of Mount Harriet. Sniping and naval artillery were used to harass the defenders and deny them sleep.
On 3 June, Lieutenant Chris Marwood's Reconnaissance Troop of 42 CDO, accompanying the 3 Commando Brigade Forward Air Control team commanded by Flight Lieutenant Dennis Marshall-Hasdell, encountered an RI 4 fighting patrol (3rd Platoon of B Company). The Recce Troop opened fire and two conscripts (Privates Celso Paez and Roberto Ledesma) were instantly killed, and an NCO (Corporal Nicolas Odorcic) went down, wounded by a head shot by one of the Marine snipers as he took cover among the rocks. This action drew attention to their exposed forward position, and Argentine reinforcements joined the action with a general counterattack. The Primary Forward Air Controller, commando-trained Flight Lieutenant Dennis Marshal-Hasdell, remembers:
The Laser Target Designator retrieved in the contact showed that the Royal Marines were seeking to destroy the Argentine bunkers on Mount Harriet with 1,000-pound Pave Way Laser Guided Bombs.
On the night of 8-9 June, action on the outer defence zone flared when Lieutenant Mark Townsend's 1 Troop (K Company, 42 CDO) probed Mount Harriet, killing two Argentines. At the same time, two platoon-size fighting patrols from 45 Commando attempted the same on Two Sisters Mountain, but the Argentine Rasit ground surveillance radar there was able to detect the 45 Commando platoons, and artillery fire dispersed the force.
Over a period of a week, the 4th Regiment defended the Harriet-Two Sisters sector from five Royal Marine platoon-size attacks. Every time the Royal Marine Commandos got into the forward platoon positions, the officers, NCOs and conscripts, counterattacked with rifles and cleared them out.
On the morning of 11 June, the orders for the attack were given to 42 CDO by Vaux; K Company was ordered to attack the eastern end of the mountain, while L Company would attack the southern side an hour later, where it—if the mountain was secured—would then move north of Mount Harriet to Goat Ridge. J Company would launch a diversionary attack (code named Vesuvius) on the western end of Mount Harriet.
In the closing hours of 11 June, K and L Companies moved from their assembly area on Mount Challenger (which lay to the west of Mount Harriet) and made their way south, around their objective, across the minefield, to their respective start lines. As they moved around the feature in the dark, J company launched their very loud diversionary "attack" from the west.
Battle Summary
Captain Peter Babbington's K Company crossed their start line first and proceeded up the mountain undetected, knifing two sentries on the way. They remained undetected until they approached Sub-Lieutenant Mario Juarez' 120-mm Mortar Platoon positions and decided to engage them. They were assisted in the advance by HMS Yarmouth, artillery, and mortars. During the engagement, Corporal Laurence G Watts was killed. About 150 metres from Soria's HQ, Corporal Steve Newland circled behind a group of Argentines (under First Lieutenant Jorge Alejandro Echeverria, the 4th Regiment's intelligence officer) who were setting up an ambush. Although half a dozen Argentines and a MAG were placed to engage anyone who broke cover, Newland darted out from under cover to charge the enemy machine gun. He grenaded two of the crew, but reaching the rear of the machine gun position, he was shot through both legs. With the enemy machine gun out of action, Corporals Mick Eccles and Sharky Ward were able to clear the position with some help from Marine Lingard. The three corporals were awarded the Military Medal
Military Medal
The Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....
. Increasing numbers of Argentine soldiers, mainly conscripts from RI 4's Recce Platoon, began to surrender, but the Commanding Officer and Intelligence Officer and several senior NCOs still fought on, according to their orders. The heavy machine gun teams, to a man, stood in their positions continuing the fight.
L Company crossed their start line shortly after K Company and were almost immediately engaged by effective machine gun fire from Sub-Lieutenant Pablo Oliva's platoon defending the lower southern slopes. These weapons would not be silenced until being hit by several MILAN
MILAN
MILAN " is French and German for "kite bird") is a European anti-tank guided missile. Design of the MILAN started in 1962. It was ready for trials in 1971, and was accepted for service in 1972. It is a wire guided SACLOS missile, which means the sight of the launch unit has to be aimed at the...
anti-tank missiles and six 105mm artillery guns from Mount Challenger. The L Company Marines contend they took fire from at least seven machine guns that wounded five men, including the company's second-in-command and a signaller. Hugh Bicheno contends that the 4th Regiment's passive night goggles were all with B Company.
Before first light, Lieutenant Jerry Burnell's 5 Troop of L Company proceeded to an outcrop of rocks towards Goat Ridge. As they advanced, the Royal Marine platoon came under heavy fire from a 16-men machine-gun team of grenadiers from the Regimiento de Granaderos a Caballo del General San Martín covering the Argentinian retreat and were forced to withdraw under cover of machine guns pre-positioned behind them and further up the hill. The Troop took one casualty in this action. L Company requested mortar fire onto the Argentines; a mixture of HE and WP; then 5 Troop moved forward again. They took 3 prisoners although most of the granaderos had withdrawn, along with two rifle platoons. Further fighting went on throughout the morning of 12 June, including a conscript, in a position just below the summit, who held up L Company with accurate shooting until killed by an 84mm anti-tank rocket fired at short range.
Aftermath
The battle was a textbook example of good planning and use of deception and surprise, and a further step towards their main objective of StanleyStanley, Falkland Islands
Stanley is the capital and only true cityin the Falkland Islands. It is located on the isle of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2006 census, the city had a population of 2,115...
. Two British soldiers: Corporal Laurence G Watts and Acting Corporal Jeremy Smith were killed, and twenty-six were wounded. Eighteen Argentine dead lay around the defences. Lance Corporal Koleszar had the surprising experience of finding that two 'dead' Argentine soldiers, whose boots he was trying to remove, were very much alive and jumped up to surrender. Some British reporters were thus misled into depicting the Argentinians as hapless teenage conscripts who caved in after the first shots were fired, but Royal Marine Warrant Officer 2 John Cartledge, who served with L Company during the battle, corrected them, saying the Argentines were good soldiers who had fought properly:
One British general put their success down to his Marines' skill and professionalism:
- "What was needed was speed but not being bloody stupid. The Israelis would have done it much faster, but with many more casualties."
42 Commando captured 300 prisoners on Mount Harriet, and for the bravery shown in the attack, the unit was awarded one DSO, one Military Cross, four Military Medals, and eight men were mentioned in dispatches.