April 2nd: Argentinean forces invade the Falkland Islands.

 

April 3rd: Argentinean forces occupy South Georgia.

 

The Roman Catholic Church in 1500
The Roman Catholic Church in 1500

April 4th: ‘HMS Conqueror’ sailed from Faslane.

 

April 5th: ‘HMS Invincible’ and ‘HMS Hermes’ sailed from Portsmouth.

 

April 9th: ‘Canberra’ sailed from Southampton with 3 Para, 40, 42 and 45 Royal Marine Commandos on board.

 

April 11th: ‘HMS Spartan’ and ‘HMS Splendid’ (submarines) arrived off of the Falkland Islands.

 

April 12th: Britain announced a 200-mile Exclusion Zone around the Falkland Islands. The destroyer ‘Antrim’, the frigate ‘Plymouth’ with M Company, 42 Commando, sailed from Ascension to recapture South Georgia.

 

April 14th: The South Georgia Task Force rendezvous with ‘Endurance’ already in the vicinity.

 

April 18th: Task Force sails from Ascension.

 

April 21st/22nd: men from the SAS are inserted and then extracted from South Georgia.

 

April 25th: Royal Marines and SAS retake South Georgia.

 

April 26th: formal surrender of Argentineans at South Georgia. 2 Para sailed from Hull on the ‘Norland’.

 

May 1st: Task Force entered the Exclusion Zone. Vulcan bomber ‘Black Buck’ attacked the runway at Port Stanley. First air attacks by Harriers on Argentinean positions on the Falklands. SAS and SBS landed on the islands.

 

May 2nd: ‘General Belgrano’ sunk by ‘HMS Conqueror’.

 

May 4th: The destroyer ‘HMS Sheffield’ was hit by an Exocet missile. 20 men were killed. First Harrier lost over Goose Green.

 

May 12th: Fifth Army Brigade sailed from Southampton on the QE2. ‘HMS Glasgow’ disabled by an Argentine bomb.

 

May 14th: SAS raid on Pebble Island.

 

May 19th: 21 men from the SAS were killed when their helicopter crashed into the sea.

 

May 21st: first landings at San Carlos Bay. Men from the Royal Marines and Paras are landed along with commando artillery and engineer units. ‘HMS Ardent’ lost.

 

May 23rd: ‘HMS Antelope’ lost.

 

May 24th: ‘Sir Lancelot’ and ‘Sir Galahad’ hit but the bombs failed to explode.

 

May 25th: ‘HMS Coventry’ lost; ‘HMS Broadsword’ damaged; ‘Atlantic Conveyor’ hit by an Exocet missile.

 

May 27th: Battle for Goose Green/Darwin started.

 

May 28th: Argentinean forces at Goose Green surrendered to 2 Para. ‘Atlantic Conveyor’ sank.

 

May 30th: 3 Para and 45 Commando reached Estancia House and Teal Inlet. Mount Kent captured by 42 Commando and SAS.

 

June 2nd: 2 Para airlifted to Fitzroy.

 

June 8th: ‘Sir Galahad’ destroyed at Bluff Cove with many men killed and wounded, mainly from the Welsh Guards.

 

June 11th/12th: Co-ordinated attacks on Mount Longdon, Two Sisters and Mount Harriet.

 

June 13th/14th: Attacks made on Mount Tumbledown and Wireless Ridge.

 

June 14th: Argentine forces on the Falkland Islands surrendered.

 

July 13th: Argentine government accepts an end to hostilities.