War overview and timeline

Summary

The Falklands War (2 April–14 June 1982) was a ten-week conflict in the South Atlantic between Argentina and the United Kingdom over sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and their dependencies (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands). It began when Argentina invaded the Falklands on 2 April 1982 (Operation Rosario), followed by an invasion of South Georgia the next day. The UK responded by dispatching a naval task force on 5 April to retake the islands, and the campaign culminated in an Argentine surrender on 14 June, which formally returned control to Britain. In the lead-up to the war, diplomacy repeatedly failed: UN calls for settlement in the 1960s and later UK attempts to manage the dispute (including economic/communications arrangements) did not resolve the core sovereignty disagreement. By late 1981, Argentina’s military junta—especially figures such as Jorge Anaya and Leopoldo Galtieri—pursued a military solution, expecting limited or no British response. The war then unfolded through major phases: early Argentine advances and British mobilization, a sustained naval and air campaign (including the Black Buck raids and escalation of the air war), followed by land battles for key positions on the islands, and finally the fall of Stanley and the surrender that ended the fighting.

Key Points

• 1

  The war timeline ran from Argentina’s invasion on 2 April 1982 to the Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982, with the UK retaking the islands after deploying a task force on 5 April.

• 2

  Diplomatic efforts and UN involvement did not settle sovereignty, and UK/Argentina negotiations stalled while tensions increased in the years before the invasion.

• 3

  Argentina’s junta leadership decided on a military approach in late 1981, and the conflict progressed from initial invasions to naval/air operations and then decisive land battles.