Battle of Two Sisters
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The Battle of Two Sisters was an engagement of the Falklands War during the British advance towards the capital, Port Stanley. It took place from 11 to 12 June 1982 and was one of three battles in a Brigade-size operation all on the same night, the other two being the Battle of Mount Longdon and the Battle of Mount Harriet. Fought mainly between an assaulting British force consisting of Royal Marines of 45 Commando and an Argentine Company drawn from 4th Infantry Regiment (Regimiento de Infantería 4 or RI 4).
One of a number of night battles that took place during the British advance towards Stanley, the battle led to British troops capturing all the heights above the town, allowing its capture and the surrender of the Argentine forces on the islands.
PreludeEdit
Composition of forcesEdit
The British force, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Whitehead, consisted of the Royal Marines of 45 Commando, the anti-tank troop form 40 Commando with support from six 105-mm guns of 29 Commando Regiment. The 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment (2 Para), was held in reserve. Naval gunfire support was provided by HMS Glamorgan's twin 4.5-inch (114 mm) guns.
45 Commando was instructed to seize Two Sisters Mountain under the cover of darkness and proceed onto Tumbledown Mountain if time allowed, but Argentine resistance was stiff enough to cancel the second phase of the attack.<ref>"45 Commando was instead tasked with the capture of Two Sisters, an essential mission if the capital, Stanley, was to be taken. Somewhat optimistically, the Commando was then to be prepared to take Mount Tumbledown as well: another 'mission impossible' had it been conducted in daylight." The Yompers: With 45 Commando in the Falklands War</ref>
The Argentinian force originally occupying Mount Challenger, commanded by Major Ricardo Cordón, consisted of the 4th Infantry Regiment (Regimiento de Infantería 4 or RI 4), with the bulk of the defenders drawn from C Company with the 1st Platoon (Sub-Lieutenant Miguel Mosquera-Gutierrez) and 2nd Platoon (Sub-Lieutenant Jorge Pérez-Grandi) on the northern peak of Two Sisters and the 3rd Platoon (Sub-Lieutenant Marcelo Llambias Pravaz) on the southern peak and the 1st Platoon A Company (Sub-Lieutenant Juan Nazer) and Support Platoon (Second Lieutenant Luis Carlos Martella) on the saddle between the two. Major Óscar Jaimet's B Company of the 6th Mechanized Infantry Regiment (Regimiento de Infantería Mecanizado 6 RI Mec 6), acting as the local reserve, occupied the saddle between Two Sisters and Mount Longdon. In early June, Jaimet's company would be reinforced with the Support Platoon under Second Lieutenant Marcelo Dorigón from the 12th Regiment's B Company who had been left behind on Mount Kent, after RI 12's B Company had been helicoptered forward as reinforcements during the Battle of Goose Green.
No-Man's-LandEdit
On 2 June, the 4th Regiment's Operation Officer, Captain Carlos Alfredo López Patterson, arrived to help in the defence of Two Sisters. He would visit the rifle platoons in order to maintain the defenders informed and raise morale:
On 4 June, the three rifle companies of 45 CDO advanced on Bluff Cove Peak, on the lower slopes of Mount Kent, and were able to occupy the feature without opposition and were met by patrols from the Special Air Service (SAS). On the night of 29 May, a fierce firefight had developed over capturing the two important hills, as they were intended to form part of an Argentine Special Forces line.
Captain Andrés Ferrero's patrol (3rd Assault Section, 602 Commando Company) reached the base of Mount Kent but were then promptly pinned down by machinegun and mortar fire. First-Sergeant Raimundo Máximo Viltes was badly wounded when a bullet shattered his heel. Air Troop had two SAS men wounded by rifle fire. Probing attacks around the D Squadron, SAS positions continued throughout the night and at 11:00 am local time on 30 May, about 12 Argentine Commandos (Captain Tomás Fernández's 2nd Assault Section, 602 Commando Company) tried to get up the summit of Bluff Cove Peak, but were driven off by D Squadron who killed two of the attackers, First Lieutenant Rubén Eduardo Márquez and Sergeant Óscar Humberto Blas.<ref>5th Infantry Brigade in the Falklands 1982. Nicholas Van der Bijl, David Aldea. pp. 63–64. Leo Cooper, 2003</ref>
First Lieutenant Márquez and Sergeant Blas had shown great personal courage and leadership in the contact and were posthumously awarded the Argentine Medal of Valour in Combat. During this contact, the SAS suffered another two casualties from grenades after the Argentine Commandos had stumbled on a camp occupied by 15 SAS troopers.<ref>Twilight Warriors: Inside the World's Special Forces. Martin C. Arostegui. p. 205. St. Martin's Press, 15/01/1997</ref>
Throughout 30 May, Royal Air Force Harriers were active over Mount Kent. One of them, responding to a call for help from D Squadron SAS, was badly damaged by small arms fire while attacking Mount Kent's eastern lower slopes. Sub-Lieutenant Llambías-Pravaz's platoon was later credited with the destruction of Harrier XZ963 flown by Squadron Leader Jerry Pook<ref>La Guerra de las Malvinas, p.352, Editorial Oriente, 1987</ref> with another claim going to 35 mm Oerlikons of the 601st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Group under the command of 2nd Lieutenant Roberto Enrique Ferre.<ref>Rodríguez Mottino, p. 158</ref><ref>"During another action, an enemy aircraft fell victim to the 601 Air Defence's 35mm batteries. The plane came down in the water and the pilot, Squadron Leader Pook was rescued shortly after." Moro, p. 272, English edition</ref> The Harrier crashed into the South Atlantic 30 miles from the carrier HMS Hermes, Squadron Leader Pook ejected and was rescued.
On 5 June, two Royal Air Force Harriers operating from 'Sids Strip', the San Carlos Forward Operating Base, attacked the Argentine defenders on Two Sisters with rockets around midday.<ref>"The two GR3s remained until 11.30 am when they took off to rocket Argentine troops positions on Two Sisters." The Royal Navy and Falklands War, David Brown, p. 284, Pen & Sword, 1987 </ref>
A heavy mist hung over the Murrell River area, which assisted the 45 Commando Recce Troop to reach and sometimes penetrate the Argentine 3rd Platoon position under Sub-Lieutenant Marcelo Llambías-Pravaz. Marine Andrew Tubb of Recce Troop was on these patrols:
For his patrol action, Lieutenant Chris Fox received the Military Cross, while Subteniente Llambías-Pravaz was able to pilfer and sport a Commando Beret that the Royal Marines had left behind during the Argentine counter ambush.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In general terms, the Argentines were thoroughly entrenched, about 6,000 metres or less across no-man's-land. The Argentine positions were mined and heavily patrolled.
The 4th Regiment also carried out patrolling, and on the night of 6–7 June, Corporal Oscar Nicolás Albornoz-Guevara along with eight conscripts (including Private Orlando Héctor Stella, his pathfinder) from Subteniente Miguel Mosquera-Gutierrez's 1st Platoon crossed Murrell River and reached the area of Estancia Mountain where they detected a number of British vehicles, but the patrol soon came under mortar fire from 3 PARA and had to withdraw.<ref>Volveremos!, Jorge R. Farinella, p. 125, Editorial Rosario, 1984</ref>
On 8 June, Corporal Hugo Gabino MacDougall from the 6th Regiment's B Company claimed to have shot down a Harrier, with a shoulder-launched Blowpipe missile.<ref>Emocionante historia de vida de Hugo Mac Dougall - cabo primero en la Guerra De Malvinas -</ref> The British admit the loss of a GR-3 Harrier (XZ-989) on this day when it made an emergency landing at San Carlos due to battle damage.<ref>In total, we carried out 130 attack sorties and lost three aircraft, all to ground fire. A fourth Harrier crashed during vertical landing at the 850 ft metal runway at San Carlos. This mishap stemmed from damage by small arms fire. "Harrier: Ski-Jump to Victory", John Godden, pg.29. Brassey's, 1983</ref> The pilot (Wing Commander Peter Squire) was able to safely eject, but the Harrier was damaged beyond repair.<ref>The final GR.3 to be lost was XZ989 flown by Peter Squire, which suffered a power loss on returning to the matted landing site; his aircraft hit the ground rather hard, irretrievably damaging it. BAE/McDonnell Douglas Harrier, Andy Evans, p. 75, Crowood Press, 1988</ref>
The 12th Regiment Support Platoon under Subteniente Dorigón attached to Major Jaimet's B Company would reportedly live off the land. Private Ángel Ramírez:
At about 2.10 am local time on 10 June a strong 45 Commando fighting patrol probed the 3rd Platoon position. In the ensuing fight, Special Forces Sergeants Mario Antonio Cisneros and Ramón Gumercindo Acosta were killed; two more Argentine Special Forces lying in ambush for the Royal Marines were wounded. The British military historian Bruce Quarrie later wrote:
Major Aldo Rico, commander of the 602 Commando Company, had a lucky escape in this engagement, when an enemy 66mm projectile exploded uncomfortably close to him and First Lieutenant Horacio Fernando Lauría.<ref>Comandos en acción: El Ejército en Malvinas, Isidoro Ruiz Moreno, p. 355, Emecé Editores, 01/01/1986</ref> Captain Hugo Ranieri, who took part in this intense engagement as a specialist sniper, claims that First Lieutenant Jorge Vizoso-Posse, although wounded, shot three of the retreating Royal Marines in the back.<ref>Así lucharon, Carlos M. Túrolo, p. 316, Editorial Sudamericana, 1982</ref> First Lieutenant Horacio Fernando Lauría and Sergeant Orlando Aguirre claim to have destroyed a British machine-gun with rifle-grenades in this engagement.<ref>La Compañía 602 de Comandos</ref>
On that same night (9–10 June), a friendly fire incident occurred when Royal Marines returning from a reconnaissance patrol were mistaken for Argentines in the dark and a British mortar team opened fire on them. In the confusion, four Royal Marines (Sergeant Robert Leeming, Corporals Andrew Uren, Peter Fitton and Marine Keith Phillips) were killed and three were wounded.<ref>"It was during the night of 9/10 June that a returning British fighting patrol from 45 Commando Royal Marines was mistaken for the enemy and Sergeant Bob Leeming, Corporal Andy Uren, Corporal Pete Fitton, and Marine Keith Phillips were killed in the subsequent firefight which occurred just before the main assault on Two Sisters" COMMANDO Veterans Association</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Marines shot comrades in Falklands conflict</ref> The next day, Sub-Lieutenant Llambías-Pravaz's men recovered the rucksacks and weapons the Royal Marines had left behind,<ref>Malvinas: relatos de soldados, Martín Balza, p. 120, Círculo Militar, 1985</ref> and these were presented as war trophies to Argentine war correspondents in Port Stanley who filmed and photographed the British equipment.<ref>La Guerra de las Malvinas, p. 420, Editorial Oriente, 1987</ref>
The Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre also carried out patrolling against Two Sisters; Sergeant Joseph Wassell and Lieutenant Fraser Haddow played an important part in the capture of the mountain when they discovered with their binoculars from their observation post on Goat Ridge, the command-detonated barrels of mines the Argentinian Marine engineers (under the direction of Major Jaimet) had dug in and planned to use on the saddle and eastern half of the mountain.<ref>Royal Marine Commando 1950–82: From Korea to the Falklands, William Fowler, p. 57, Osprey Publishing, 21/04/2009</ref>
On 11 June, several GR-3 Harriers took off from San Carlos airbase to drop cluster bombs on Mounts Longdon, Harriet and Two Sisters Mountain.<ref>"The GR3s, on the other hand, had a busy day. Four two-plane missions took from the airstrip, three to drop bombs on the Argentine positions on Two Sisters, Mount Harriet and Mount Longdon - the objective for the land assault due that night - and the other to bomb the Moody Brook barracks and Mount Tumbledown." The Royal Navy and Falklands War, David Brown, p.313, Pen & Sword, 1987 </ref>
Night battleEdit
Captain Ian Gardiner's X-Ray Company spearheaded the attack on Two Sisters, accompanied by the unit's Commando-trained chaplain, the Revd Wynne Jones RN. Lieutenant James Kelly's 1 Troop took the western third of the spineback on the southern peak of Two Sisters ('Long Toenail'), with no fighting taking place. However at 11:00 pm local time,<ref>"Ten minutes later the 150 men of X Company were as good as new and began their assault at 11 pm." No Picnic: 3 Commando Brigade in the South Atlantic 1982, Julian Thompson, p. 131, Leo Cooper in association with Secker & Warburg, 1985</ref><ref>No Picnic: 3 Commando Brigade in the South Atlantic 1982, Julian Thompson, p. 131, Leo Cooper in association with Secker & Warburg, 1985</ref> Lieutenant David Stewart's 3 Troop ran up against a very determined defence on the spineback and were unable to get forward. Beaten from their attempt to dislodge the Argentine 3rd Platoon, Lieutenant Chris Caroe's 2 Troop threw themselves at the platoon, but the attack was dispersed with the help of artillery fire. For three or four hours X Ray Company were pinned down on the slopes of the mountain.<ref>Chain of Command. By IAN GARDINER. Published Date: 12 June 2007 NEWS.scotsman.com.</ref> Naval gunfire rippled back and forth across the mountain, but the Argentine 3rd Platoon of Llambías-Pravaz, shouting their Guarani Indian war cry,<ref>With fixed bayonets and supported by Mario Pacheco's 10th Engineer Company section on Summer Days, they taunted the Royal Marines with Guarani war-cries and beat off efforts to close with them. Nine Battles to Stanley, Nick Van Der Bijl, p. 178, Pen & Sword Books, 2014</ref> held the Royal Marines off and were not dislodged until about 2:30 am local time.<ref>"Second- Lieutenant Llambias-Pravaz's 3rd Platoon, on Long Toenail, the south-western feature, opened fire on X Company at 11.30 pm and was not dislodged until about 2.30 am." Nicholas Van der Bijl, David Aldea, 5th Infantry Brigade in the Falklands 1982, p. 177, Leo Cooper, 2003</ref> Colonel Andrew Whitehead realized that a single company could not hope to secure Two Sisters without massive casualties, and brought up the unit's two other companies.
At about 12:30 am local time<ref>No Picnic: 3 Commando Brigade in the South Atlantic 1982, Julian Thompson, p. 132, Leo Cooper in association with Secker & Warburg, 1985</ref> Yankee and Zulu Companies attacked the northern peak ('Summer Days') and after a very hard two-hour fight against two rifle platoons (under Subtenientes Mosquera-Gutierrez and Pérez-Grandi) and despite heavy machine-gun and mortar fire, succeeded in capturing 'Summer Days'. The Argentine mortar platoon commander, Lieutenant Martella, after having consumed all of his ammunition in an earlier attempt to stop the advance of 42 CDO on Mount Harriet was killed in this action.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The British Marines also lost two platoon commanders wounded in the Argentine mortar bombardments with Marine Chris Cooke later recalling, "The three officers in my company pledged to have a drink together at the other end of the island, but only one made it, the other two left with shrapnel wounds."<ref>Falklands return, Julie Armstrong , News & Star, 21 August 2008 Template:Webarchive</ref> The Z Company platoon commander, Lieutenant Clive Dytor, won the Military Cross by rallying his 8 Troop and leading it forward at bayonet point to take 'Summer Days'. He later recalled "I began listening to our rate of fire and I realised we were going to run out of ammunition. Then I remembered a line in a book about the Black Watch in the Second World War. They were pinned down and the adjutant stood up and shouted, 'Is this the Black Watch? Charge!’ What I didn’t remember, until I read it again later, was that he was actually cut in half at that point by a German machine gun. The next thing I knew I was up and running on my own, shouting, 'Zulu, Zulu, Zulu’, which was our company battle cry and also the battle cry of my father’s old regiment, [the] South Wales Borderers."<ref>Falklands War hero explains why he entered the church after being awarded the Military Cross, The Telegraph, By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent</ref>
Second Lieutenant Aldo Eugenio Franco and his RI 6 platoon, after having scrapped a planned counterattack in conjunction with Major David Carullo's Panhard armoured car squadron,<ref>Cuando aclaró, a eso de las nueve de la mañana del sábado, vi que también se estaban replegando los vehículos cazatanques Panhard: habían sido enviados para apoyar a los dos regimientosy volvieron bajo una lluvia de fuego. Malvinas A Sangre y Fuego, Nicolás Kasanzew, p. 182, Editorial Abril, 1982</ref> because the Two Sisters defenders no longer held the peaks,<ref>Malvinas: Testimonio de su Gobernador, Mario Benjamín Menéndez, Carlos M. Túrolo, p. 273, Editorial Sudamericana, 1983</ref> covered the Argentine withdrawal and prevented Yankee Company from attacking C Company as it withdrew from Two Sisters.<ref name="autogenerated239">The fight for the "Malvinas": The Argentine forces in the Falklands War, Martin Middlebrook, p. 239, Penguin, 1990</ref><ref>5th Infantry Brigade in the Falklands 1982. Nicholas Van der Bijl, David Aldea. p. 178. Leo Cooper, 2003</ref> Augusto Esteban La Madrid, a second lieutenant in the local reserve tasked with assisting Major Cordon, told British historian Martin Middlebrook that, during the final clashes, "Subteniente Franco's platoon was left as a rearguard, but he made it back to Tumbledown OK".<ref>Martin Middlebrook, p. 239, "The Fight for the 'Malvinas' : The Argentine Forces in the Falklands War", Penguin, 1990</ref> Private Oscar Ismael Poltronieri who held up Yankee Company with accurate shooting with his rifle and a machine-gun, was awarded the Argentine Nation to the Heroic Valour in Combat Cross (CHVC), the highest Argentine decoration for bravery.<ref name="autogenerated239"/> Sub-Lieutenant Nazer had been wounded covering the withdrawal and the remnants of his platoon having been placed under the command of Corporal Virgilio Rafael Barrientos, took up positions on Sapper Hill. Sub-Lieutenants Mosquera-Gutierrez and Pérez-Grandi had been wounded in the British bombardment, and the remnants of their platoons were put under the command of Captain Carlos López Patterson, the Operations Officer of the 4th Regiment, who took up blocking positions in the ground between Mount Tumbledown and Wireless Ridge alongside the dismounted 10th Armoured Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron under Captain Rodrigo Alejandro Soloaga, engaging at times with heavy machine gun and mortar fire the forward 3 PARA elements on Mount Longdon throughout the daylight hours of 12 and 13 June.
After capturing Two Sisters, 45 COMMANDO came under retaliatory fire from the surrounding Argentine positions. Captain Gardiner's X-Ray Company reported another wounded Marine (Corporal Frank Melia) in the daylight hours of 12 June after attracting mortar rounds from Tumbledown Mountain.<ref>Corporal Frank Melia heard a mortar coming in which must've had his name on it because as it came in, he dived, and the only place to go was in this hole on top of the bodies! The mortar went off really close and a bit of shrapnel carved a neat nick right out of the top of his head. He survived, and never was nonchalant about mortar fire again. Above All, Courage: The Falklands Front Line: First-Hand Accounts, Max Arthur, p. 278, Sidwick & Jackson, 1985</ref> A number of marines in Gardiner's company, sheltering in the abandoned bunkers on Two Sisters from the Argentine field artillery, were also incapacitated in the daylight hours of 12 and 13 June after losing their hearing in the near-misses from exploding 105mm and 155mm shells.<ref>The Argentine artillery fire was pretty accurate, so the bunkers vacated by our enemies were now put to use again and protected many men from the worst of the onslaught ... Shells were landing within a few metres of our positions and the shock waves rattled one to the core. Men were deaf for hours and some the damage to their hearing was permanent and irreparable. The Yompers: With 45 Commando in the Falklands War, Ian Gardiner, Pen & Sword, 2012</ref>
On 13 June, Argentine A-4 Skyhawk fighter-bombers got through the British Combat Air Patrols and attacked vehicles and helicopters stationed around 3 Commando Brigade Headquarters on the lower western slopes of Two Sisters (near Murrell River), resulting in a helicopter crewman injured and considerable structural damage to three Gazelle helicopters.<ref>Two Grupo 5 Skyhawks, launched against a concentration of British troops and an HQ unit near Two Sisters, succeeded in reaching the target without interference from British Harriers. One of the A-4s dropped its bombs while the other strafed with its 20mm cannon. Several vehicles and helicopters were destroyed, but only light damage was done to the overall facilities. McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, Brad Elward, p. 759, Crowood, 2001</ref><ref> We had one of our aircraft and two others sitting outside Brigade HQ; in fact just outside my tent. We'd been a bit slack, I suppose, because we normally kept helicopters about three or four hundred metres away, but these were sitting quite close and got badly damaged as a result of four Skyhawks coming in. Above All, Courage, Max Arthur, p. 85, Cassell & Co., 2002</ref><ref> At the same time, the Argentines conducted air raids on 13 June to assist their harried forces on the ground, striking 3 Commando Brigade's HQ near Mount Kent with Skyhawks, as well as 2 Para's positions near Mt Longdon. There were no British losses, apart from damage to three helicopters and delays cause to 2 Para's efforts to prepare for the following evening's attack. The Falklands 1982: Ground operations in the South Atlantic, Gregory Fremont-Barnes, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2012</ref><ref> Although five of the bombs exploded, leaving two unexploded bombs to be dealt with, the only casualty was a man with a mild concussion, whose trench had been a few metres away from one of the bombs. No Picnic, Julian Thompson, p. 147, Casemate Publishers, 1992</ref><ref> A flash and shower of peat sod — and the only injury was a superficial blast wound to an airman and perforated eardrums. The curse of the marathon marches across East Falkland, the peat bog, had been our friend. I Counted Them All Out and I Counted Them All Back: The Battle for the Falklands, Brian Hanrahan, Robert Fox, p. 147, Chivers Press, 1982</ref>
On the morning of 14 June, as 45 Commando on the forward slopes of Two Sisters prepared to reinforce the Welsh Guards consolidating on Sapper Hill, a Snowcat tracked vehicle from 407 Transportation Troop that arrived in support ran into a minefield and its driver got out to warn others behind of the danger ahead, only to step on an anti-personnel mine requiring urgent medical evacuation in a helicopter.<ref>I got onto Two Sisters Flats and met some marines who said it was all mined. I followed the tracks and caught up with a Snowcat, which stopped and a guy got out - I guess to tell me we were in a minefield. I'll never forget this ... he stepped on a mine. His foot was blown off. They put a flare up, whipped an injection into him, put his foot in a poly bag, a helicopter was flying around and landed in the Snowcat tracks, and two minutes after he'd stepped on the mine, he was on his way to hospital. Forgotten Voices of the Falklands, Hugh McManners, p. 432, Random House, 2008</ref>
Edit
Naval gunfire support was provided by HMS Glamorgan's twin 4.5-inch (114 mm) guns. The naval gunfire officer accompanying the Royal Marines had been wounded early in the battle for Two Sisters,<ref>"The naval gunfire support spotting officer was wounded during the early stages of the attack, but his assistant, Bombardier E. M. Holt, took over and continued to give accurate directions to the ship and was subsequently awarded the Military Medal." The Royal Navy and Falklands War, David Brown, p. 318, Pen & Sword, 1987</ref> but Bombardier Edward Holt from 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, took over and continued to give swift and accurate directions to the destroyer and was subsequently awarded the Military Medal.<ref>COMMANDO VETERANS ARCHIVE</ref>
On the night of the battle Glamorgan was asked to remain in action longer than planned, to help Yankee Company clear Subteniente Aldo Franco's rifle platoon on the eastern half of Two Sisters covering the Argentine withdrawal.<ref>"While we in 45 Commando were all heavily engaged on our mountain, the battle for Two Sisters continued out at sea. The knock-on effect of all the delays meant that HMS Glamorgan was still being asked for fire missions when she should have been sailing away from the coast before daylight and safety from air attack. Captain Mike Barrow, knowing that 45 Commando were fighting for their lives on Two Sisters, decided that he should stay as long as he possibly could to support us." The Yompers: With 45 Commando in the Falklands War, Ian Gardiner, p. ?, Pen & Sword, 2012</ref> As the destroyer took a short cut closer to the shoreline a RASIT radar of the Argentinian Army tracked her movements.<ref>"Glamorgan was about seventeen miles offshore and taking a short cut across the shore-based Exocet limit line when her radar picked up a signature the same size and speed of a 155mm shell ... Glamorgan launched a Seacat missile which passed close to the missile, however, it skipped onto the flight deck and skidded into the hangar. Burning fuel from a Wessex flooded through a hole into the galley and a fireball thundered into the gas turbine room." 9 Battles To Stanley, Nick van der Bijl, p. 63, Pen & Sword, 2014</ref>
Two MM38 Exocet missiles had been removed from the destroyer ARA Seguí<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> and secured on launcher, dubbed 'ITB' (Instalación de Tiro Berreta) "trashy firing platform".<ref name=firing>YouTube video discussing setting up the ITB and showing its firing, narrated in Spanish</ref> The missiles, launcher, transporter, and associated electronics trailer were flown by transport aircraft to the Falkland Islands on 31 May.<ref>The ingenious Berreta Shooting Facility in Malvinas</ref>
At 0336 local time, the British skipper, Commander Ian Inskip, looking at the radar screen, realized that Glamorgan was under attack by an anti-ship missile, and ordered a highspeed turn just before the Exocet struck the port side adjacent to the hangar. The missile skidded on the deck and detonated, making a Template:Convert hole in the hangar deck and a Template:Convert hole in the galley area below, where a fire started.<ref name="InskipIan">Template:Cite book</ref>
The blast travelled forwards and down, and the missile, penetrated the hangar door, causing the ship's Wessex helicopter (HAS.3 XM837) to explode and start a severe fire in the hangar. Fourteen crew members were killed and about twenty wounded.<ref>HMS Glamorgan - Falklands War 35th Anniversary</ref>
AftermathEdit
The next morning Colonel Andrew Whitehead looked in wonderment at the strength of the positions the enemy had abandoned. "With fifty Royals," he said, "I could have died of old age holding this place." (Max Hastings, Going To The Wars, p. 363, Macmillan 2000) Although the British unit seemed at the time to have had an easy victory, those actually engaged with the enemy platoons would have been unlikely to agree. Thirty years later, Marine Keith Brown recalled the fighting for the northern peak and concluded
British-American historian Hugh Bicheno has been critical of the 6th Infantry Regiment's 'B' Company who, he claims, withdrew in a disorderly manner from front-line positions at the opening of the battle, although this seems to have little foundation. Brigadier-General Oscar Luis Jofre had certainly been planning to counterattack on Two Sisters but with the defenders no longer in possession of the twin peaks, he ordered the abandonment of the feature and later wrote All of a sudden, we suffer the first emotional impact. It was 04.45 when we received reports from Major Jaimet saying that the defenders on Two Sisters could no longer resist the enemy attack and would begin their withdrawal.<ref>Malvinas: La Defensa de Puerto Argentino, Oscar Luis Jofre, Félix Roberto Aguiar, p. 223, Editorial Sudamericana, 1987</ref> Major Oscar Ramón Jaimet has gone on record, saying in the Argentinean newspaper La Gaceta that he had designated Sub-Lieutenant Franco to cover the Argentinean withdrawal and that Argentinean artillery fire was brought down in error amongst the company.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Indeed, the company withdrew in good order, according to the Spanish-speaking warrant officer attached to 3 Commando Brigade Headquarters in the fighting.<ref>Argentine forces in the Falklands. By Nick Van der Bijl & Paul Hannon. Page 14. Osprey Publishing. (July 30, 1992) </ref> The Argentine Army Official Report on the war recommended Major Oscar Ramon Jaimet and CSM Jorge Edgardo Pitrella of the 6th Regiment's B Company for an MVC (Argentine Nation to the Valour in Combat Medal) for the conduct of their fighting withdrawal and subsequent behaviour on Tumbledown (this was later granted to Major Jaimet, Pitrella was awarded the Argentine Army to the Effort and Abnegation Medal).<ref>[1] Template:Webarchive</ref>
Sergeant-Major George Meachin of Yankee Company later praised the fighting abilities and spirit of the Argentine defenders of the northern peak in the form of the men of Pérez-Grandi and Mosquera-Gutierrez:
Hugh Bicheno described the moonscape of devastation:
With the telephone lines to the command post in shreds, Llambías Pravaz led his men to join M Company, 5th Marine Infantry Battalion on Sapper Hill.<ref>Nicholas van der Bijl, Nine Battles to Stanley, p. 182, Leo Cooper, 1999</ref> He had nearly been killed in the fighting when a rock impacted his helmet after a Milan missile exploded close behind him.<ref>Malvinas: Relatos de Soldados, Martín Antonio Balza, p.122, Círculo Militar, 1986</ref>
The X-Ray Company Marines were in awe of the Argentines in the depleted 3rd Platoon who had put up such determined resistance, and their company commander, Captain Gardiner in the book Above All, Courage (Above All, Courage: The Falklands Front Line: First-Hand Accounts, Max Arthur, pp. 389–390, Sidwick & Jackson, 1985) later said:
A lone conscript rifleman on 'Long Toenail' held out long after resistance had ended on the mountain. There was a humorous moment when the Revd. Wynne Jones was challenged by the Marines and called out that he was 45 Commando's padre and had forgotten the password.
Some 30 years later, Marine Nick Hunt of X-Ray Company got in contact with Sub-Lieutenant Marcelo Llambías-Pravaz, and in a televised reunion on the southern peak of the mountain, he returned the pictures he had found of the army officer and his platoon of conscripts the morning after the Royal Marines had stormed the position.<ref>YouTube - Ex-Marine Nick Hunt & former Argentine 2d. Lt. Marcelo Llambías-Pravaz in a televised reunion on the mountain.</ref>
CasualtiesEdit
Seven Royal Marine Commandos and a sapper from 59 Independent Commando Squadron, Royal Engineers were killed taking Two Sisters.<ref name="The Falkland Islands"/>Another 17 British marines in 45 Commando,<ref>Royal Marines Historical Timeline</ref> including platoon commanders (Lieutenants Fox, Dunning and Davies) were wounded. 20 Argentines were killed in the first eleven days of June and the night of the battle, another 50 were wounded<ref name="autogenerated177"/> and 54 taken prisoner.
HMS Glamorgan, which was providing Naval gunfire support (NGS) stayed in her position to support the Royal Marine Commandos who were pinned down. HMS Glamorgan stayed past the time she was meant to leave and was hit by a land-based Exocet missile, fourteen crew were killed and more wounded as a result of this attack.<ref>HMS Glamorgan’s casualties Wales online</ref><ref>HMS Glamorgan - Falklands War 35th Anniversary</ref>
Awards receivedEdit
For bravery shown in the attack on Two Sisters, men from 45 Commando were awarded one DSO, three Military Crosses, one Distinguished Conduct Medal and four Military Medals. A commando from 29 Commando received a Military Medal as did a man from the M&AW Cadre.
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
- 45 COMMANDO'S approach to and Battle for TWO SISTERS
- 'Zulu!': The Battle for Two Sisters
- CAPTAIN IAN GARDINER recalls the fighting
- Argentine conscripts re-live Two Sisters battle
- Two Sisters Mountain: The Argentinian Story
- Lieutenant Clive Dytor remembers his role during the attack on Two Sisters. He was awarded the MC (accessed Sunday 25 March 2012)
- MOD news: Marines in emotional return to the Falklands