Battle of Wireless Ridge
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Wireless Ridge was an engagement of the Falklands War
which took place on the night of 13 June and 14 June 1982, between British and Argentine
forces during the advance towards the Argentine-occupied capital of the Falklands Stanley
. Wireless Ridge was one of seven strategic hills within five miles of Stanley at 51°40′14"S 57°55′55"W that had to be taken in order for the city to be approached. The attack was successful, and the entire Argentine force on the Islands surrendered later that day.
The British force consisted of 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, a troop of the Blues & Royals, with two FV101 Scorpion
and two FV107 Scimitar
light tanks, as well as artillery
support from two batteries
of 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery
and naval gunfire support provided by 's 4.5-in gun
. The Argentine force consisted of the 7th Infantry Regiment
and detachments from other units.
, including their commander, Lieutenant Colonel Jones, command of 2 Para passed to Lieutenant-Colonel David Chaundler, who was in England at the time of the battle. Chaundler flew to Ascension Island
on a Vickers VC10
and then to the Falklands on a C-130 Hercules
that was dropping supplies by parachute. Chaundler jumped out into the sea, where he was picked up by helicopter and eventually delivered to for a briefing with Admiral Woodward and then to Major General Jeremy Moore's headquarters. Four days after Goose Green, Chaundler joined 2 Para. After debriefing the battalion's officers about Goose Green and the events following, he vowed that 2 Para would never again go into action without fire support.
From Fitzroy
, 2 Para were moved by helicopter to Bluff Cove
Peak where they were held in reserve. The first line of hills, the Two Sisters, Mount Longdon
and Mount Harriet, were taken. Three other hills were then slated to be captured: Mount Tumbledown by the Scots Guards
, Mount William by the Ghurkhas and Wireless Ridge by 2 Para. The final phase of 3 Commando Brigade's campaign, a battle for Stanley
, would follow capture of these hills. On the morning of 13 June, it became clear that the attacks on Tumbledown had been successful. So, 2 Para marched around the back of Mount Longdon to take up their positions for the assault on Wireless Ridge. As the action was expected to be concluded quickly, they took only their weapons and as much ammunition as possible, leaving most other gear behind in the camp. On Bluff Cove Peak, the Battalion's mortars and heavy machine guns were attacked by Argentine A-4 Skyhawk
s, which delayed their planned move forward, although they suffered no casualties.
began the attack, advancing upon 'Rough Diamond' hill north-west of Mount Longdon. It had been hit by an intense barrage from British guns, from land and sea. In the preceding 12 hours, British artillery had fired 6,000 rounds with their 105 mm pieces, and as they began their push, they were further backed by naval fire and the 76 and 30 mm guns mounted on the light tanks. The approximately eighty casualties sustained by 2 Para two weeks earlier at the Battle of Goose Green (including the loss of their commanding officer) had induced them not to take any unnecessary chances the second time around.
When D Coy reached the hill, they found that the Argentine compañía
C of the 7th Infantry Regiment had withdrawn due to the heavy bombardment. As Major Philip Neame's D Coy started to consolidate their position, the Argentine 7th Regiment launched a series of heavy recoilless rifle
, rocket and mortar
attacks on Mount Longdon causing casualties to the 3rd Parachute Battalion of the Parachute Regiment (Jolly, 1983; p. 138).
With this massive fire support A and B Coys were convinced the enemy on Apple Pie were defeated, and began to advance confidently forward, but they met fierce resistance when they left their trenches. They came under heavy machine-gun fire and a massive retaliation was initiated by the British machine-gunners and the guns of the Blues and Royals
light tanks.
One Mount Longdon survivor from 3 Para recalled the British attack in Hugh McManners' The Scars of War (1994) which was initially repulsed by the Argentines:
(McManners, 1994)
The Argentine defenders there eventually withdrew in the face of such withering fire and A and B Coys took their objective. By this stage of the battle, there were not many Argentine officers left. The Forward Artillery Observation Officer (Major Guillermo Nani), the Operations Officer (Captain Carlos Ferreyra) and the compañía A and C commanders (Captains Jorge Calvo and Hugo García) and at least three senior platoon commanders (First Lieutenants Antonio Estrada, Jorge Guidobono, Ramon Galíndez-Matienzo) were wounded. C Coy then moved down from their northern start line to advance to a position east of Wireless Ridge where they found a platoon position to be unoccupied.
armoured car squadron to make a reconnaissance foray into the western rocks of Wireless Ridge. Captain Rodrigo Soloaga was particularly effective in persuading his men to engage the light tanks, Milan Platoon and the Machinegun Platoon on Apple Pie while the 7th Regiment's HQ sorted themselves out. In two hours the cavalry unit suffered five killed and about fifty wounded. The British tankmen were so sickened by the slaughter that they held their fire as the walking wounded stumbled back to Moody Brook and stretcher-bearers tried to find the seriously wounded.
Major Neame's D Coy took the first half of the objective relatively easily but upon advancing to the second half, came under fierce attack from Major Guillermo Berazay's compañía A of the 3rd Regiment which had tried to move forward to Mount Longdon during the fighting two nights earlier but had only reached Moody Brook valley. Private Patricio Pérez, who had just left school, recalled the unnerving experience of 66 mm rockets coming straight at them like undulating fireballs. He believed he shot a British Paratrooper, possibly 12 Platoon's commander, and became enraged when he heard that his friend Private Horacio Benítez of his platoon had been shot.
The platoon of 2nd Lieutenant Víctor Rodriguez Pérez of Major Guillermo Berazay's compañía A in fact closed with the British 12 Platoon, under the command of Lieutenant Jonathan Page (following the death of Lieutenant Barry at Goose Green). The fight surged back and forth. Lieutenant Page managed to hold the line, but only just. Major-General John Dutton Frost of the British Army describes the resulting attack on 12 Platoon:
(Frost, 1983)
Major Neame's officers and NCOs rallied the men to capture the final part of their objective and in the face of heavy fire, the Argentines having run out of ammunition broke and retreated.
The battle was not over yet. Some 200 Wireless Ridge survivors had been rallied by the 10th Brigade Operations Officer, Major Eugenio Dalton to form under heavy gunfire a last-ditch defensive line in front of the now silenced guns of the 4th Airborne Artillery Group near the racecourse. Near the church in Stanley, intent on helping Berazay, Major Carrizo-Salvadores, 2IC
of the 7th Regiment, helped by the chaplain Father José Fernández, mustered about 50 Wireless Ridge survivors and led them on a bayonet
charge
, with the soldiers chanting their famous 'Malvinas March'
, but were stopped by heavy artillery and machine-gun fire. ("Razor's Edge" Hugh Bicheno pg. 312)
The Paras were momentarily alarmed and watched surprised, with one British officer describing it as 'quite a sporting effort, but one without a sporting chance'. ("Operation Corporate" Martin Middlebrook pg. 371)
2 Para had suffered three dead and eleven wounded. The Argentines suffered approximately twenty-five dead, about 125 wounded (mainly by airburst
rounds rather than direct shots) and about fifty were taken prisoner.
For the bravery shown at Wireless Ridge, 2 Para was awarded three Military Cross
es, one Military Medal
and one Distinguished Conduct Medal
. 29 Commando was awarded one Military Cross
.
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 13 June and 14 June 1982, between British and Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
forces during the advance towards the Argentine-occupied capital of the Falklands 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...
. Wireless Ridge was one of seven strategic hills within five miles of Stanley at 51°40′14"S 57°55′55"W that had to be taken in order for the city to be approached. The attack was successful, and the entire Argentine force on the Islands surrendered later that day.
The British force consisted of 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, a troop of the Blues & Royals, with two FV101 Scorpion
FV101 Scorpion
The FV101 Scorpion is a British armoured reconnaissance vehicle. It was the lead vehicle and the fire support type in the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance , CVR, family of seven armoured vehicles...
and two FV107 Scimitar
FV107 Scimitar
FV107 Scimitar is an armoured reconnaissance vehicle used by the British Army. It is very similar to the FV101 Scorpion but mounts a high velocity 30 mm L21 RARDEN cannon instead of a 76 mm gun. It was issued to Royal Armoured Corps, Armoured Regiments in the Reconnaissance role...
light tanks, as well as artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
support from two batteries
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
of 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery
29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery
29 Commando Regiment is the Commando-trained unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery. The regiment is under the operational control of 3 Commando Brigade providing artillery support and gunnery observation.- History :...
and naval gunfire support provided by 's 4.5-in gun
4.5 inch (114 mm) Mark 8 naval gun
The 4.5 inch Mark 8 is a British naval gun system which currently equips the Royal Navy's frigates and some British destroyers and frigates sold to other countries.-Background:...
. The Argentine force consisted of the 7th Infantry Regiment
7th Infantry Regiment (Argentina)
The 7th Infantry Regiment is a unit of the Argentine Army based at Arana , Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.The unit's full official name is 7th "Coronel Conde" Mechanized Infantry Regiment, and it is part of the 1st Armored Brigade.The regiment fought in the Falklands War during the Battle of...
and detachments from other units.
Background
After heavy losses during the Battle of Goose GreenBattle of Goose Green
The Battle of Goose Green was an engagement of the Falklands War between British and Argentine forces. Goose Green and its neighbour Darwin are settlements on East Falkland in the Falkland Islands. They lie on Choiseul Sound on the east side of the island's central isthmus...
, including their commander, Lieutenant Colonel Jones, command of 2 Para passed to Lieutenant-Colonel David Chaundler, who was in England at the time of the battle. Chaundler flew to Ascension Island
Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America, which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa...
on a Vickers VC10
Vickers VC10
The Vickers VC10 is a long-range British airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd, and first flown in 1962. The airliner was designed to operate on long-distance routes with a high subsonic speed and also be capable of hot and high operations from African airports...
and then to the Falklands on a C-130 Hercules
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
that was dropping supplies by parachute. Chaundler jumped out into the sea, where he was picked up by helicopter and eventually delivered to for a briefing with Admiral Woodward and then to Major General Jeremy Moore's headquarters. Four days after Goose Green, Chaundler joined 2 Para. After debriefing the battalion's officers about Goose Green and the events following, he vowed that 2 Para would never again go into action without fire support.
From Fitzroy
Fitzroy, Falkland Islands
Fitzroy is a settlement on East Falkland. It is divided into Fitzroy North and Fitzroy South.It is named after Robert FitzRoy who sailed with Charles Darwin on HMS Beagle, andis on the inlet known as Port Pleasant....
, 2 Para were moved by helicopter to 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 where they were held in reserve. The first line of hills, the Two Sisters, Mount Longdon
Mount Longdon
Mount Longdon is a mountain in the east of East Falkland in the Falkland Islands. It is best known as the site of the Battle of Mount Longdon, and overlooks Stanley, the islands' capital....
and Mount Harriet, were taken. Three other hills were then slated to be captured: Mount Tumbledown by the Scots Guards
Scots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
, Mount William by the Ghurkhas and Wireless Ridge by 2 Para. The final phase of 3 Commando Brigade's campaign, a battle for 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...
, would follow capture of these hills. On the morning of 13 June, it became clear that the attacks on Tumbledown had been successful. So, 2 Para marched around the back of Mount Longdon to take up their positions for the assault on Wireless Ridge. As the action was expected to be concluded quickly, they took only their weapons and as much ammunition as possible, leaving most other gear behind in the camp. On Bluff Cove Peak, the Battalion's mortars and heavy machine guns were attacked by Argentine A-4 Skyhawk
A-4 Skyhawk
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a carrier-capable ground-attack aircraft designed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The delta winged, single-engined Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated the A4D...
s, which delayed their planned move forward, although they suffered no casualties.
Initial assault
In the closing hours of the 13 June, D CoyCompany (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
began the attack, advancing upon 'Rough Diamond' hill north-west of Mount Longdon. It had been hit by an intense barrage from British guns, from land and sea. In the preceding 12 hours, British artillery had fired 6,000 rounds with their 105 mm pieces, and as they began their push, they were further backed by naval fire and the 76 and 30 mm guns mounted on the light tanks. The approximately eighty casualties sustained by 2 Para two weeks earlier at the Battle of Goose Green (including the loss of their commanding officer) had induced them not to take any unnecessary chances the second time around.
When D Coy reached the hill, they found that the Argentine compañía
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
C of the 7th Infantry Regiment had withdrawn due to the heavy bombardment. As Major Philip Neame's D Coy started to consolidate their position, the Argentine 7th Regiment launched a series of heavy recoilless rifle
Recoilless rifle
A recoilless rifle or recoilless gun is a lightweight weapon that fires a heavier projectile than would be practical to fire from a recoiling weapon of comparable size. Technically, only devices that use a rifled barrel are recoilless rifles. Smoothbore variants are recoilless guns...
, rocket and mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
attacks on Mount Longdon causing casualties to the 3rd Parachute Battalion of the Parachute Regiment (Jolly, 1983; p. 138).
With this massive fire support A and B Coys were convinced the enemy on Apple Pie were defeated, and began to advance confidently forward, but they met fierce resistance when they left their trenches. They came under heavy machine-gun fire and a massive retaliation was initiated by the British machine-gunners and the guns of the Blues and Royals
Blues and Royals
The Blues and Royals is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. The Colonel-in-Chief is Her Majesty The Queen and the Colonel is HRH The Princess Royal...
light tanks.
One Mount Longdon survivor from 3 Para recalled the British attack in Hugh McManners' The Scars of War (1994) which was initially repulsed by the Argentines:
(McManners, 1994)
The Argentine defenders there eventually withdrew in the face of such withering fire and A and B Coys took their objective. By this stage of the battle, there were not many Argentine officers left. The Forward Artillery Observation Officer (Major Guillermo Nani), the Operations Officer (Captain Carlos Ferreyra) and the compañía A and C commanders (Captains Jorge Calvo and Hugo García) and at least three senior platoon commanders (First Lieutenants Antonio Estrada, Jorge Guidobono, Ramon Galíndez-Matienzo) were wounded. C Coy then moved down from their northern start line to advance to a position east of Wireless Ridge where they found a platoon position to be unoccupied.
Final assault
D Coy then began the final assault from the western end of Wireless Ridge, under the cover of heavy fire from 's 4.5 inch gun, tanks, twelve 105 mm artillery guns, several mortar pieces and anti-tank rockets. Earlier Argentine GHQ had sent the dismounted 10th PanhardPanhard
Panhard is currently a French manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its current incarnation was formed by the acquisition of Panhard by Auverland in 2005. Panhard had been under Citroën ownership, then PSA , for 40 years...
armoured car squadron to make a reconnaissance foray into the western rocks of Wireless Ridge. Captain Rodrigo Soloaga was particularly effective in persuading his men to engage the light tanks, Milan Platoon and the Machinegun Platoon on Apple Pie while the 7th Regiment's HQ sorted themselves out. In two hours the cavalry unit suffered five killed and about fifty wounded. The British tankmen were so sickened by the slaughter that they held their fire as the walking wounded stumbled back to Moody Brook and stretcher-bearers tried to find the seriously wounded.
Major Neame's D Coy took the first half of the objective relatively easily but upon advancing to the second half, came under fierce attack from Major Guillermo Berazay's compañía A of the 3rd Regiment which had tried to move forward to Mount Longdon during the fighting two nights earlier but had only reached Moody Brook valley. Private Patricio Pérez, who had just left school, recalled the unnerving experience of 66 mm rockets coming straight at them like undulating fireballs. He believed he shot a British Paratrooper, possibly 12 Platoon's commander, and became enraged when he heard that his friend Private Horacio Benítez of his platoon had been shot.
The platoon of 2nd Lieutenant Víctor Rodriguez Pérez of Major Guillermo Berazay's compañía A in fact closed with the British 12 Platoon, under the command of Lieutenant Jonathan Page (following the death of Lieutenant Barry at Goose Green). The fight surged back and forth. Lieutenant Page managed to hold the line, but only just. Major-General John Dutton Frost of the British Army describes the resulting attack on 12 Platoon:
(Frost, 1983)
Major Neame's officers and NCOs rallied the men to capture the final part of their objective and in the face of heavy fire, the Argentines having run out of ammunition broke and retreated.
The battle was not over yet. Some 200 Wireless Ridge survivors had been rallied by the 10th Brigade Operations Officer, Major Eugenio Dalton to form under heavy gunfire a last-ditch defensive line in front of the now silenced guns of the 4th Airborne Artillery Group near the racecourse. Near the church in Stanley, intent on helping Berazay, Major Carrizo-Salvadores, 2IC
Second-in-command
The Second-in-Command is the deputy commander of any British Army or Royal Marines unit, from battalion or regiment downwards. He or she is thus the equivalent of an Executive Officer in the United States Army...
of the 7th Regiment, helped by the chaplain Father José Fernández, mustered about 50 Wireless Ridge survivors and led them on a bayonet
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
charge
Charge (warfare)
A charge is a maneuver in battle in which soldiers advance towards their enemy at their best speed in an attempt to engage in close combat. The charge is the dominant shock attack and has been the key tactic and decisive moment of most battles in history...
, with the soldiers chanting their famous 'Malvinas March'
March of the Malvinas
The Marcha de las Malvinas is a patriotic anthem of Argentina. It is sung in demonstrations to assert Argentina sovereignty claims over the Falkland Islands and was prominently broadcast by the military government-controlled media during the Falklands War...
, but were stopped by heavy artillery and machine-gun fire. ("Razor's Edge" Hugh Bicheno pg. 312)
The Paras were momentarily alarmed and watched surprised, with one British officer describing it as 'quite a sporting effort, but one without a sporting chance'. ("Operation Corporate" Martin Middlebrook pg. 371)
2 Para had suffered three dead and eleven wounded. The Argentines suffered approximately twenty-five dead, about 125 wounded (mainly by airburst
Air burst
An air burst is the detonation of an explosive device such as an anti-personnel artillery shell or a nuclear weapon in the air instead of on contact with the ground or target or a delayed armor piercing explosion....
rounds rather than direct shots) and about fifty were taken prisoner.
For the bravery shown at Wireless Ridge, 2 Para was awarded three Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
es, one 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....
and one Distinguished Conduct Medal
Distinguished Conduct Medal
The Distinguished Conduct Medal was an extremely high level award for bravery. It was a second level military decoration awarded to other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to non-commissioned personnel of other Commonwealth countries.The medal was instituted in 1854, during the Crimean...
. 29 Commando was awarded one Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
.
External links
- Anglo-Argentine Alan Craig tells of fight for Wireless Ridge
- recollections of Anglo-Argentine conscript Michael Savage of the 7th Infantry Regiment's C Company
Sources
- Jolly, Rick (1983) The red and green life machine : a diary of the Falklands Field Hospital, London: Century, ISBN 0-7126-0158-9
- Paul, James and Spirit, Martin (2002) Second time around for 2 Para: The Battle for Wireless Ridge, Britain's Small Wars, WWW site, Accessed 19 March 2007