13th June 1982:
Sunday 13th June events are summarised here by the BBC News which provides a decent summary of the days events but for more detail please read on.
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13th June 1982:
Dawn. It’s a sunny day, but all hell lets loose, as both armies unleash every artillery piece they have at their enemies. Thousands of shells criss-cross the air, with the ground rumbling, in the biggest artillery exchange since WW2.
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June 13th 1982:
Argentine artillerymen desperately hurl back shot for shot, when someone turns on the radio to see if people at home are thinking of them. The news forgets them, saying the biggest worry to Argentina is losing 1-0 to Belgium in the World Cup.
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13th June 1982:
A British artillery round drops onto the command post of one of the 155mm Argentine guns. Corporal Quispe is killed and four soldiers are wounded, but the mammoth gun survives, and replies with six-inch shells towards the British lines...
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13th June 1982:
“About 11.30 this morning Wilfred Newman’s house on Davis Street received a direct hit and burned quickly in a great mass of smoke and flames. British are obviously trying to hit the Argentine 155mm that is between the houses up there.” Smith '84
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13th June 1982:
Just off the coast of east Falkland Island, and a little after midnight, HMS Arrow and Active use the Berkley Sound gun line to harass targets at Moody Brook and Sapper Hill. Arrow had shot 902 shells but this was her last engagement.
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13th June 1982
With Yarmouth, she was one of only two escorts of the first group undamaged. She had a close shave from the San Luis torpedo & her hull had suffered from the ravages of the weather. She returned to Devonport on 7th July 1982 to a heroes reception.
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13th June 1982:
Meanwhile back in the gun-line, Arrow fired 103 4.5in shells on her targets while Active fired eighty three of which twenty five were starshell.
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13th June 1982:
Neville Bennett's diary:
"What a noise. 'They' have moved a gun into town, not too far from us either. 'They' are firing to the west and the shells crackle as they pass just over our chimneys."
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13th June 1982:
Meanwhile back in London the Foreign Office presented their Situation Report to the War Cabinet.
Notably the French were keen for "the British to show magnanimity after the recapture of Port Stanley."
Some things never change.......
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13th June 1982:
HMS Andromeda had sailed to recover the stores dropped by the long range Hercules who on this occasion dropped the containers a little too close to the warship. Twenty two passengers also arrived by parachute and were picked up without incident.
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13th June 1982:
Weather on the Falklands was pretty grim on the 13th June, frequent snow storms reduced visibility and brought down the cloud base. As a result the transport helicopter fleet only managed to fly about two thirds of the normal rate of sorties.
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13th June 1982:
However they still managed to re-supply all the forward troops, casualties and prisoners of war were flown back and the 105mm batteries have over 400 rounds per gun delivered.
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13th June 1982:
Sea Harriers provided a dawn to dusk CAP using the FOB. Nothing was detected until 10.40am when an 801 Squadron section over Choiseul Sound sighted an Argentine craft - the Rio Iguazu - the Sea Harriers strafed it before returning to Invincible.
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13th June 1982:
At 11am HMS Cardiff detected a raid approaching fifty miles to the south west of San Carlos Water. The CAP was vectored but nothing was detected. The raid somehow slipped through the net and at 11.20 seven Skyhawks attacked Mount Kent.
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13th June 1982:
Whether by chance of design the attack happened at the same time as a 3 Commando Brigade meeting attended by Brigadier Thompson and Major General Moore. No casualties were inflicted but a Scout and Gazelle was damaged.
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13th June 1982:
After the raid the briefing resumed from a new location.
Later a pair of Harrier GR3s flew direct from Hermes to deliver laser guided Paveway bombs on the Argentine artillery in the Moody Brook area. One bomb scored a direct hit on a 155mm gun.
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13th June 1982:
This loss was only temporary as a forth 155mm and eighty rounds of ammunition had been flow in by an Argentine Airforce C120 Hercules the night before.
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13th June 1982:
On Sunday evening HMS Cardiff, HMS Penelope and Minerva all detected a stream of aircraft coming in from the west. At 9.44pm Cardiff fired a Sea Dart at a Canberra Bomber piloted by Capitan R. Pastran who ejected when his aircraft was hit.
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13th June 1982:
His navigator, Capitan F. Casado was was killed.
It was described as a 'flame like a falling leaf' by Captain Larken of HMS Fearless.
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13th June 1982:
At 9.47pm flashes where seen in the Fitzroy area by Fearless, Minerva and Penelope with the latter having to take evasive action firing chaff, Seacat and Bofors at a target which appeared as a bright glow and a trail.
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13th June 1982:
The unidentified missile exploded 1000 yards away from Penelope. Capitan Pastran claimed to have dropped bombs from his Canberra but no bombs were seen by British troops. No missile radar homing was detected so it was not an Exocet.
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13th June 1982:
It is suspected that it may have been an Israeli Gabriel anti ship missile using radio command or TV guidance rather than active radar homing. This remains a mystery.
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13th June 1982:
With 2 Para & the Scots Guards
Phase two of the attack on the mountains was just as tough.
Units had to endure a whole day of uncomfortably accurate Argentine shelling.
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13th June 1982:
General Moore had intended that the next phase of the offensive should have happened on the night of 12/13 June.
It was decided that more time was needed for reconnaissance of Mount Tumbledown and replenishment so it was postponed for 24 hours.
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13th June 1982:
Attack plan
Mount William - 1st Gurkhas
Mount Tumbledown - 2nd Scots Guards
Wireless Ridge - 2 Para
Supported by 4 Troop, Blues & Royals, with two Scimitars and two Scorpion light tanks, mortar troops from 42 Commando, and 7th Gurkha Rifles.
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13th June 1982:
HMS Avenger and Active were available with naval gunfire support if needed.
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13th June 1982:
A diversionary attack was started at 8.30pm on the 13th June.
This involved the light tanks of the Blues and Royals so gave the impression of being a much larger attack.
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13th June 1982:
The War Diary of 9 Para RE describes this diversionary 'attack' to the south of Mount Tumbledown.
Scorpion & Scimitar CVRT proved to be very useful in the Falklands with their aluminium construction. One wonders why more were not taken south!
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13th June 1982:
The 2nd Battalion Scots Guards take advantage of the diversion.
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13th June 1982:
Scots Guards assault on Tumbledown was a classic night action.
C/O Mike Scott, said to his officers, “Tell your men that if we start getting shelled or mortared, they have got to keep walking through it and ignore it if anyone goes down.”
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13th June 1982:
“Because if they lie down they will not stand up again. They will be too frightened.”
They did not lie down.
It was initially a silent attack, advancing towards the target.
They were faced with mortar fire and grenades being rolled downslope.
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13th June 1982:
The Argentine flares hung in the air, and in their stark light shell after shell lobbed among the Guards as they walked steadily forwards to the lower slopes and on up the steep sides.
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13th June 1982:
The attack was slow and arduous.
The Argentines were well dug in and determined.
By 0230, the attack was going well and good progress had been made.
Bayonets were used once in amongst the rock.
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12th June 1982:
The battles will rage until morning. On Wireless Ridge, 2 Para start gaining ground steadily, knocking out one bunker after another, as on Tumbledown, the two sides blast at each other throughout the night at point blank range...
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13th June 1982:
By dawn Tumbledown was secure in the hands of the Scots Guards.
It had cost them nine dead and forty one wounded.
Thirty Argentine soldiers were killed.
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13th June 1982:
Wireless Ridge was the objective of 2 Para, now under the command of Lt Col David Chaundler who'd flown south from the UK and HALO'd down to the Task Force.
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13th June 1982:
This was another rocky feature that runs east/west north of Port Stanley Water.
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13th June 1982:
The defenders of Wireless Ridge are around 500 men of the 7th Regiment, with machine guns, rocket launchers and mortars. In support are a company of the 3rd Regiment, a platoon of Paratroopers and the dismounted cavalry of the Panhard AFVs...
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13th June 1982:
2 Para was supported by HMS Ambuscade, 29 Commando, and light tanks from the Blues and Royals.
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13th June 1982:
After 2 Para had finished marching that Sunday evening (13th) from Furze Bush Pass, supporting fire was opened on 'Rough Diamond' at 9.15 pm, and 30 minutes later, D Coy crossed its start line backed up by the fire of four Scimitars & Scorpions.
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13th June 1982:
D Coy reached 'Rough Diamond' to find the Argentines had withdrawn under the attacking fire, leaving behind a few dead.
As the Paras consolidated in the new position, it was their turn to come under defensive fire from the Argentine 155's.
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13th June 1982:
Now from behind them to the east, A & B Coys crossed their start line, but one man was killed by enemy shellfire. As the two companies approached 'Apple Pie', the enemy broke & withdrew under the weight of British artillery, mortars & GPMG's.
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13th June 1982:
In 2 Para's assault position on Wireless Ridge, it is the courage of the mortar platoon that is remembered. If mortar fire is to be pinpoint accurate, the mortars base plate has to be securely anchored.
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13th June 1982:
At a crucial moment, a base plate began to slip on the rocky slope. One after another, four soldiers stood on the baseplate as the vital rounds were fired knowing as they did so that one after another their ankles were broken by the recoil shock.
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13th June 1982:
With 2 Para moving ahead so quickly, Lt Col Chaundler gave C Coy the go ahead to occupy ring contour 100, which it did without opposition.
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13th June 1982:
From 'Rough Diamond', D Coy moved to the western end of Wireless Ridge and prepared to advance through its length, as the light tanks and supporting Milans and GPMG's joined A and B Coys on 'Apple Pie' pouring in fire from the left flank.
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13th June 1982:
D Coy took the first half of the ridge without trouble, but the Argentines resisted fiercely over the second half, often fighting from bunker to bunker. They eventually broke, and all of Wireless Ridge was in D Coy's hands.
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13th June 1982:
As the men of 2 Para dug in and came under more defensive fire, the Argentines were heard regrouping in the dark in the vicinity of Moody Brook.
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13th June 1982:
With dawn, a small group of Argentines counter-attacked D Coy, but were soon driven off with the help of mortars and the Royal Artillery's 105's, by which time 2 Para had taken the whole feature at a cost of three men killed.
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13th June 1982:
They were aided by the fire of the Scorpions & Scimitars and other supporting arms.
From their positions, 2 Para watched the Argentines retreating towards Stanley in the morning light and pressed Brigadier Thompson to let them advance.
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13th June 1982:
The 2 Para Post Ops Report for 13/14 June, 1982, makes for interesting reading.
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13th June 1982:
This Situation Report was made available to the Prime Minister at 12 noon on the afternoon of Sunday 13th June.
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13th June 1982:
As night fell over Port Stanley, sleep proved to be elusive....
“Sleep was impossible: shells screaming and tearing overhead, the bursts rocking the house every few seconds; deafening noise from the Argentine guns – loud twanging cracks"
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13th June 1982:
"only yards away; crashes and crumps from the British shells landing. ... By looking through the black-outs we could see the sky alight with explosions, flares and tracer. The final stage in the battle for Stanley seemed imminent.” Smith 1984
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13th June 1982:
“What a noise.... A rattling good noisy night. Peter King's message on 'Calling the Falklands' as usual: 'heads down, hearts high.' They are, don't worry.” Neville Bennett's diary.
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13th June 1982:
The New York Times reports on the battle for Port Stanley:
British and Argentine troops were pitted in a major battle today for control of Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands, the Argentine high command announced.
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13th June 1982:
Again from the New York Times:
British forces launched an assault Friday night against Argentine troops at Stanley, their last major stronghold in the Falkland Islands, and advanced five miles before dawn today, Defence Secretary Nott announced.
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13th June 1982:
The New York Times calls the British attack on Stanley a "Textbook Operation"
"Preceded by heavy naval gunfire, marines and paratroops thrust five miles forward toward the outskirts of the tiny capital Friday night."
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13th June 1982:
New York Times reports that as the Pope addressed an outdoor mass to a million worshipers, chants of ''We want peace!'' swept repeatedly across the multitude. However for those watching on TV bad news about war replaced "El Papa".
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13th June 1982:
An update of Petty Officer Iain Shickle's conflict diary. He observes that Hermes has now been at sea for 70 days which was a record for being at sea under operational orders.
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