The Falkland Islands War: Winning With Infantry

GlobalSecurity ^ | 1991 | Major Vincent R. Leone, Jr., USMC

[Sparta]

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[Rebelbase]

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[Sparta]

British Empire bump!

[spetznaz]

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[MattinNJ]

Thanks for keeping me on the ping list after I ranted about Franco. Anyone who kicks the crap out of communists despite overwhelming odds and squelchies the leftist afterwards has a soft spot in my heart.

Sorry again.

[Frohickey]

British Empire bump!

You mean, European Union outpost bump, didn't you? :)

[Sparta]

I think MadIvan might disagree with you about that.

[JMJ333]

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[Rodney King]

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[FreedomPoster]

Interesting small arms side note - this is one of the relatively few wars in history where both sides were armed with the same rifle. The British carried the LAR, which is an inch pattern FAL (Fusil Automatique Leger, by Fabrique Nationale of Belgium. The FAL was "The Right Arm of the Free World", used by over 80 countries at one time or another). The Argies carried a straight-up metric FAL, domestically produced under license from FN.

[Milwaukee_Guy]

Random thoughts about the Falklands War from a stateside armchair general,

- British historians tend to overestimate British military achievements.

- The British Paras are however an awesome fighting force deserving all the credit they can get. The SAS -is- legendary.

- The British Harrier VTOL fighter was overated. Only a rush shipment of US AIM-9 Sidewinder All Aspect infrared missiles allowed the Brits to suceed against the Argentine high performance Mirage fighters which had to often break off due to limited range over the British fleet.

- British warships did not have an equivalent of the US Navy Close In Weapons System (radar guided 20MM rotary cannon) and suffered losses accordingly.

- Argentine bombs had fuse problems which resulted in many perforated but otherwise undamaged British ships. This was a very tightly held secret during that war.

Good to have our British friends around for Gulf War II. Opening soon at a theater near you on December 8.

Hoo Ya!

[spitz]

Info on the Falklands, History, Weapons, Battles. . .

http://www.britains-smallwars.com/Falklands/index.html

[spitz]

L1A1 SLR - Self Loading Rifle

Calibre: 7.62mm
Length (m): 1.143
Length of barrel (m): 0.5334
Weight empty (kg): 4.337
Weight loaded (kg): 5.074 with 20 round magazine
Muzzle velocity (m/s): 838
Magazine capacity: 20 or 30 rounds
Rate of fire: 40
Maximum effective range: (m) 600+

[tet68]

Sorry, have been offline with a sick computer.
The Argies did pretty well with their A-4s and Exocets
but not good enough.
Some Gurkas in on that action too.

Was going to try and put together a post about
the 49th anniversery of the Marine landings on Betio island
in the Tarawa Atoll which took place this tuesday last.
3000 marines were killed in three days of heavy fighting.
A toll that shook the country when it was reported.
As a marine sergeant lamented, "If the Marines could stand the dying, you'd think the public could stand to read about it."

Archer Vandegrift stated, "No one regrets the losses more than the Marine Corps itself. No one realizes more than the
Marine Corps that there is no royal road to Tokyo."
Quoting Joseph C. Grew, the nation's former ambassador to Japan, the general said," The Japanese will not crack.
They will not crack morally or psycologically or economically even when eventual defeat stares them in the face. Only by utter physical destruction or utter exhaustion of their men and materials can they be defeated.
The American people must be steeled to the realities of the
situation."

Lewis Hayward the actor was part of the combat photographic
team that went in with the Marines and footage was used to make an Oscar award winning twenty minute documentary," With the Marines at Tarawa."
After making it's rounds of the nations theaters, Robert
Sherrod the correspondent, asked Brigadier General Robert Denig, chief of Marine Corps public relations, what kind of effect the film had on the Corps itself.
"A strong one," Denig replied, "Enlistments are down Thirty
five percent."

Semper Fi Marines.

We must steel ourselves for what is coming.

[Consort]

Falkland Islands

[FreedomPoster]

The 30 round mags are unreliable and therefore useless. No one with any sense uses the 30's, which were really for the Bren Gun, which was top-feed, which gave the mag a "gravity assist".

And given that there are zillions of 7.62 cartridge types out there, it's worthwhile specifying that this is, of course, 7.62x51 NATO. As opposed to 7.62x39R, 7.62x54R, 7.62x25 Tokarev, 7.62 Nagant, . . . .