Tactical lessons and scenarios from Falklands War

[sasha]

I will start here a long thread to commemorate Falklands War. Its battles were often of the size and feel of what is often being played in Arma (especially in Arma 1 thought, with its islands and archipelagos). And so we can find many lessons for modern warfare, and also, many ideas for mission scenarios, not last for no respawn which we are recently duscussing

[sasha]

This is it - the Falklands war:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falklands_War

In short - Argentinian forces made amphibios invasion of cold bare shores of Falkland Islands, belonging to British Crown. Great Britain responded with counterinvasion which was risky but well planned. In land battles which followed professionally traind british soldiers got an upper hand over Argentinian conscripts.

That was how it all began - on 3rd April 1982 Argentinians make specop amphibios landing on main island of Falkland archipelago:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_invasion_of_the_Falkland_Islands

"The very first move of Operation Rosario was the reconnaissance of Port William by the Argentinian submarine ARA Santa Fe and the landing of 14 members of the tactical divers group near Cape Pembroke, including the commander of this elite unit, Captain Cufré. The recce mission began as early as 31 March, when the trawler Forrest was spotted through the periscope at 10:00 PM off Port Stanley. The next day, the Santa Fe learned that the authorities in Stanley were aware of the Argentine intentions, so a change of plans was in order. Instead of landing right on Pembroke, the commandos would initially take a beach near Menguera Point, south of Kidney Island.[13][14]
They left the Santa Fe at 1:40 PM. From the beach, they headed towards Pembroke peninsula in Zodiac boats. They reached Yorke Bay at 4:30 AM of 2 April. After planting beacons for the main landing, they took over the airstrip and the lighthouse without resistance. Argentine sources claim that they captured a few prisoners. This team was later given the task of gathering and taking in custody the Royal Marines in their flight out of the islands after the British surrender".

LESSON 1 - Send small recon specop teams to find best and secure landings before sending your main forces

This initial landing was followed by a night landing and march of Argentinian marines and their attack on Moody Brook barracks:

"On the night of 1/2 April 1982, the destroyer ARA Santísima Trinidad halted 500 metres off Mullet Creek and lowered 21 Gemini assault craft (speedboats) into the water. They contained 84 special forces troopers[15] of Lieutenant-Commander Guillermo Sánchez-Sabarots' 1st Amphibious Commandos Group and a small party[16] under Lieutenant-Commander Pedro Giachino, who was normally 2IC of the 1st Marine Infantry Battalion, that was to capture Government House.[17] The Argentine Rear Admiral Jorge Allara, through a message radioed from Santisima Trinidad, had requested to Rex Hunt a peaceful surrender, but the proposal was rejected.[17]

Giachino's party had the shortest distance to go: two and a half miles due north. Moody Brook Barracks, the destination of the main party, was six miles away, over rough Falklands terrain. Lieutenant-Commander Sánchez-Sabarots, in the book The Argentine Fight for The Falklands, describes the main party's progress in the dark:
It was a nice night, with a moon, but the cloud covered the moon for most of the time. It was very hard going with our heavy loads; it was hot work. We eventually became split up into three groups. We only had one night sight; the lead man, Lieutenant Arias had it. One of the groups became separated when a vehicle came along the track we had to cross. We thought it was a military patrol. Another group lost contact, and the third separation was caused by someone going too fast. This caused my second in command, Lieutenant Bardi, to fall. He suffered a hairline fracture of the ankle and had to be left behind with a man to help him. We were at Moody Brook by 5.30 a.m., just on the limits of the time planned, but with no time for the one hour's reconnaissance for which we had hoped.[18]

The main party of Argentine Marines assumed that the Moody Brook Barracks contained sleeping Royal Marines. The barracks were quiet, although a light was on in the office of the Royal Marine commander. No sentries were observed, and it was a quiet night, apart from the occasional animal call. Lieutenant-Commander Sánchez-Sabarots could hear nothing of any action at Government House, nor from the distant landing beaches; nevertheless, he ordered the assault to begin.

Lieutenant-Commander Sánchez-Sabarots continues his account:
It was still completely dark. We were going to use tear-gas to force the British out of the buildings and capture them. Our orders were not to cause casualties if possible. That was the most difficult mission of my career. All our training as commandos was to fight aggressively and inflict maximum casualties on the enemy. We surrounded the barracks with machine-gun teams, leaving only one escape route along the peninsula north of Stanley Harbour. Anyone who did get away would not able to reach the town and reinforce the British there. Then we threw the gas grenades into each building. There was no reaction; the barracks were empty.[18]
The noise of the grenades alerted Major Norman to the presence of Argentines on the island, and he thus drove back to Government House. Realising that the attack was coming from Moody Brook, he ordered all troop sections to converge on the house to enable the defence to be centralised.[8]

Although there were no Royal Marine witnesses to the assault, British descriptions of the state of Moody Brook barracks afterward contradict the Argentine version of events. After the action, some of the Royal Marines were allowed to return to barracks to collect personal items. Major Norman describes walls of the barracks as riddled with machine gun fire and bearing the marks of white phosphorus grenades—"a classic houseclearing operation".

LESSON 2 - Dont split force when moving in darkness without night vision goggles
LESSON 3 - Place mg as base of fire before you start assaulting and clearing houses

"There was a more pressing action on the eastern edge of Stanley. Twenty US-built LVTP-7A1 (AAV) Argentine tracked amphibious armoured personnel carriers from the 1st Amphibious Vehicles Battalion, carrying D and E Companies of the 2nd Marine Infantry Battalion (BIM-2) from Puerto Belgrano, had been landed from the tank landing ship ARA Cabo San Antonio at Yorke Bay, and were being watched by a section of Royal Marines under the command of Lieutenant Bill Trollope.
The armoured column trundled along the Airport Road into Stanley, with three Amtracs (Numbers 05, 07 and 19) in the vanguard, and, near the Ionospheric Research Station, at exactly 7:15 am, was engaged by a section of Royal Marines with anti-tank rockets and machine guns. This from Lieutenant-Commander Hugo Santillán's official post-battle report:
We were on the last stretch of the road into Stanley. A machine-gun fired from one of the three white houses about 500 metres away and hit the right-hand Amtrac. The fire was very accurate. Then there were some explosions from a rocket launcher, but they were inaccurate, falling a long way from us. We followed our standard operating procedure and took evasive action. The Amtrac on the right returned fire and took cover in a little depression. Once he was out of danger, I told all three vehicles to disembark their men. I ordered the crew with the recoilless rifle to fire one round of hollow charge at the ridge of the roof of the house where the machine-gun was, to cause a bang but not an explosion. We were still following our orders not to inflict casualties. The first round was about a hundred metres short, but the second hit the roof. The British troops then threw a purple smoke grenade; I thought it was their signal to withdraw. They had stopped firing, so Commander Weinstabl started the movement of the two companies around the position. Some riflemen in one of the houses started firing then; that was quite uncomfortable. I couldn't pinpoint their location, but one of my other Amtracs could and asked permission to open up with a mortar which he had. I authorized this, but only with three rounds and only at the roofs of the houses. Two rounds fell short, but the third hit right in the centre of the roof; that was incredible. The British ceased firing then.[18]
The Amtrac on the right manoeuvred itself off the road into a little depression and as it did so, disembarked the Marines inside out of view. This encouraged the Royal Marines to think that Marine Mark Gibbs had scored a direct hit on the passenger compartment of the APC.
Lieutenant Bill Trollope, with No. 2 Section, describes the action:
Six Armoured Personnel Carriers began advancing at speed down the Airport Road. The first APC was engaged at a range of about 200 to 250 metres. The first three missiles, two 84 mm and one 66 mm, missed. Subsequently one 66 mm fired by Marine Gibbs, hit the passenger compartment and one 84 mm Marines Brown and Betts hit the front. Both rounds exploded and no fire was received from that vehicle. The remaining five APCs which were about 600 to 700 metres away deployed their troops and opened fire. We engaged them with GPMG, SLR and sniper rifle [Sergeant Shepherd] for about a minute before we threw a white phosphorus smoke grenade and leap-frogged back to the cover of gardens. Incoming fire at that stage was fairly heavy, but mostly inaccurate.[19]
Lieutenant Trollope and his men withdrew along Davis Street, running behind the houses with Argentine Marines in hot pursuit, and went to ground firing up the road when it became obvious they could not reach Government House."

LESSON 4 - Ambush enemy APC only when they are very close to increase your chances to hit them
LESSON 5 - While retreating your infantry from hot place use leapfrogging (covering&moving)

Lying on a small hillock south of Government House, Lieutenant-Commander Pedro Giachino faced the difficulty of capturing this important objective with no radio and with a force of only sixteen men. He split his force into small groups, placing one on either side of the house and one at the rear. Unknown to them, the Governor's residence was the main concentration point of the Royal Marines, who outnumbered the Commandos by two to one.
The first attack against this building came at 6.30 a.m., barely an hour before the Yorke Bay amphibious landing, when one of Giachino's platoons, led by Lieutenant Gustavo Lugo,[21] started to exchange fire with the British troops inside the house.
At the same time, Giachino himself, with four of his subordinates, entered the servants' annexe, believing it to be the rear entrance to the residence. Three Royal Marines, Corporals Sellen and Fleet and Marine Dorey, who were placed to cover the annexe, beat off the first attack. Giachino was hit instantly as he burst through the door, while Lieutenant Diego Garcia Quiroga was shot in the arm. The remaining three retreated to the maid's quarters.
Giachino was not dead, but very badly wounded. An Argentine paramedic, Corporal Ernesto Urbina, attempted to get to Giachino but was wounded by a grenade. Giachino, seeing what had happened, pulled the pin from a hand grenade and threatened to use it. The Royal Marines then attempted to persuade the officer to get rid of the grenade so that they could give him medical treatment, but he refused, preventing them from reaching his position. After the surrender of the British forces at Government House, some three hours later, Giachino was taken to Stanley Hospital but died from loss of blood

LESSON 6 - Entering houses is dangerous, avoid it if possible

Governor Hunt called Patrick Watts (at the radio station, Radio Stanley), by telephone and said he believed the assaulting force to be the equivalent of a reinforced company:
We're staying put here, but we are pinned down. We can't move.(...) They must have 200 around us now. They've been throwing rifle grenades at us; I think there may be mortars, I don't know. They came along very quickly and very close, and then they retreated. Maybe they are waiting until the APCs [Amtracs] come along and they think they'll lose less casualties that way.


Eight FIDF members taken prisoners by Amphibious Commandos heading to Government House.
Consequently, Hunt decided to enter talks with Argentine commanders around 8 o'clock. The liaison was Vice-Commodore Hector Gilobert, the head in the islands of LADE, the Argentine government's airline company. Gilobert and a Governor's deputy went to the Argentine headquarters displaying a white flag. A de facto ceasefire was put in place at that time which was occasionally breached by small arms fire.

LESSON 7 - If you are being attacked your estimation of enemy force would likely be exaggerrated
LESSON 8 - If you have APC with you - dont leave it too far behind - coordinate infantry movement and APC fire to minimize your losses

[sasha]

On 3rd April 1982 Argentinian marines invade small british outpost on the island of South Georgia on the edge of Antartic:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_South_Georgia


"Argentinian plans consisted in the landing of Astiz's special forces on Hope Point, near Grytviken, to secure the arrival of the bulk of the land forces, carried by helicopter. The Guerrico would provide naval fire support outside the bay."

LESSON 1 - Send small recon detachment before sending the bulk of your force in the crusial point when they are vulnerable, such as LZ

"The Puma (Argentinian helicopter from one of their ships) landed a first group of 15 Argentine marines[25] on King Edward point at 11:41 AM, on the opposite side from Shackleton House, where the British Royal Marines were entrenched. ... The helicopter was spotted by Mills and his men and met by intense automatic fire. The pilot was able to cross the bay and crash-landed the helicopter on the southern bank of the bay. Two men were killed and four wounded. At the same time, Luna’s troops started their march towards Shackleton House, but the marines pinned them down with heavy gunfire ... In the meantime, Lt Busson's Alouette had been ferrying more Argentine Marines ashore, out of range of the British weapons.".

LESSON 2 - Do not send helicopters close to suspected enemy positions, land them out of range of enemy weapons (distance will depend on what weapons enemy have)
LESSON 3 - Do not hesitate to open even small arms fire on enemy helicopter, especially if it is just a vulnerable little bird

"While the battered argentinian ship Guerrico (struck by british MAAWS rounds from nearby shore) steered out of the bay, the Argentine troops resumed the exchange of fire with Mills' marines. One of them was hit on his arm.[6] Once she was out of range, Guerrico reopened fire with her 100mm main gun, now back in service.[29] This convinced Mills that things were over, and he ordered his marines to cease fire. Mills approached the Argentine positions waving a white coat, and surrendered,[6] "after achieving his aim of compelling the Argentine troops to use military force."

LESSON 4 - Use MAAWS or similar hand launchers on any large target such as ship or building
LESSON 5 - Do not fight to the end if your position is hopeless (and when situation does not require you to die for no good reason)

Read more: damteam.proboards.com/thread/579/tactical-lessons-scenarios-falklands-war?page=1&scrollTo=2151#ixzz2aePsM4C5

[Arska]

About Falkland's in the start:

[sasha]

)))

Ye, thats fun - but not accurate at all

The threat to British fleet was not intended to be guns - but aerial bombardment and long range guided antiship exoset missles

And actually - British operation got almost to a point of failure, it was definetely not a "big guy against a kid" war. It was risky for britons


"At sea, the paucity of the British ships' anti-aircraft defences was demonstrated in the sinking of HMS Ardent on 21 May, HMS Antelope on 24 May, and MV Atlantic Conveyor (struck by two AM39 Exocets) on 25 May along with a vital cargo of helicopters, runway-building equipment and tents. The loss of all but one of the Chinook helicopters being carried by the Atlantic Conveyor was a severe blow from a logistics perspective.
Also lost on this day was HMS Coventry, a sister to Sheffield, whilst in company with HMS Broadsword after being ordered to act as decoy to draw away Argentine aircraft from other ships at San Carlos Bay.[76] HMS Argonaut and HMS Brilliant were badly damaged. However, many British ships escaped being sunk because of the Argentine pilots' bombing tactics.
Thirteen bombs hit British ships without detonating.[78] Lord Craig, the retired Marshal of the Royal Air Force, is said to have remarked: "Six better fuses and we would have lost"[79] although Ardent and Antelope were both lost despite the failure of bombs to explode. The fuzes were functioning correctly, and the bombs were simply released from too low an altitude.[77] [80] The Argentines lost 22 aircraft in the attacks."

[sasha]

Ok, now back to Falklands

After Argentinians captured all archipelago, British fleet moved across the ocean and a number of naval and air engagements took place. But before britons made landing a series of small scale specop raids were organised.

It all began with recapture of South Georgia Island:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paraquet

Helicopters landed a small british team near argentinian held positions, and since the team was supported by naval artillery argentinians quicly surrendered

Second operation was a raid on Pebble Island:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_on_Pebble_Island

This was classical specop raid on small airbase much suitable for many Arma scenarios

"Initial intentions were for a Squadron strength air insertion from Hermes using personnel from D Squadron, 22 Regiment. The raiding party would destroy the deployed aircraft, radar site, ground crew and the force protection garrison before helicopter exfiltration to return to the deck before daybreak. Reconnaissance for the raid was conducted by personnel from the Boat Troop of D Squadron, conducting an infiltration by Klepper canoe."

LESSON 1 - Prior reconnaisance by small covert team should be considered important


"Mountain Troop was tasked with the destruction of the Argentine aircraft, while the remaining personnel acted as a protection force, securing approaches to the airstrip, and forming an operational reserve.
The raiding party unloaded over 100 L16 81mm Mortar bombs, explosive charges, and Rocket 66mm HEAT L1A1 Light Anti-tank Weapons to carry into the engagement zone from the helicopters, with each man in the raiding party carrying at least two mortar bombs. For small arms, M-16 rifles were used, some with underslung M203 grenade launchers. Approach navigation was conducted by a member of the Boat Troop who had carried out the reconnaissance.
As the raiding party approached the target they spotted an Argentine sentry but were not seen, allowing them to enter the target and lay charges on seven of the aircraft. Once all the aircraft had been prepared the raiding team opened fire on the aircraft with small arms and L1A1 rockets. All of the aircraft were damaged, with some having their undercarriages shot away. Following this cue Glamorgan began shelling the Argentine positions on the airfield using high-explosive rounds, hitting the ammunition dump and fuel stores.
The defending force did not engage until the entire raiding party had re-grouped and were preparing to move out. One British soldier was hit and wounded while the raiding party returned fire using small arms and M203 grenade launchers, resulting in the death of the Argentine Commanding Officer (according to British assessments) and the suppression of any defensive effort.
The Argentine version states that their marines remained in shelters during the Glamorgan shelling, so they were unable to face the SAS in combat. The British wounded were the result of shrapnel from exploding charges settled by the Argentines under the airstrip in order to deny its use to the enemy. The blasts were triggered in the belief that the operation was a full-scale assault to take over the air base."

LESSON 2 - If you have enough force, before raiding main objective send detachement to cut off enemy reinforcement route and have someone stay in reserve in case enemy has some surprises
LESSON 3 - When defending place mines and IED around your positions to blow it in case of enemy attack

"The wounded man was hauled back to the recovery site with the raiding party reaching the aircraft by the required time for transportation back to Hermes before daybreak. The decision was made to proceed with exfiltration rather than returning to attack the defending force. The raid was considered a complete success, reminiscent of the type of operation carried out by the SAS in the Second World War."

LESSON 4 - Do not try to kill every enemy - safe early exfiltration in many cases is better then staying to finish all enemies, which might be just an ask for misadventures on your asses. In some cases even exiting fight before main objective is completed can considered as justified

In next post some interesting SAS plans will be presented

[sasha]

British special forces were working on a daring plan to attack argentinian airbase deep inside Argentina mainland - Operation Mikado:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mikado

"The aim of the operation was to destroy the three remaining Exocet missiles which Argentina still had in their possession and the aircraft that carried them, and to kill the pilots in their quarters. To achieve this, Brigadier Peter de la Billière proposed an operation similar to Operation Entebbe,[3] which consisted of landing approximately 55 SAS in two Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft directly on the runway at Rio Grande.[2]
According to the plan, the C-130 would be kept on the tarmac with the engines running while the 55 men of B Squadron SAS performed their mission. If the C-130 survived then they would head for the Chilean air base at Punta Arenas. If not, the surviving members of the SAS Squadron and aircrew would travel to the Chilean border, about 50 miles away ."

LESSON 1 - Landing plane full of soldiers directly on enemy airfield's runway might be considered as acceptable way to make swift airassault, although its essential that enemies have no airradar or airpatrols and attakers can catch them by surprize

LESSON 2 - If exfiltration should be done is short time after attack starts helicopters/planes should not turn off their engines while waiting for infantry team to return onboard

"As an alternative, a plan was devised to infiltrate the SAS into Argentina with the help of the Royal Navy submarine HMS Onyx.[2] The plan consisted of dropping the SAS operatives several miles offshore at night for them to make their way to the coast aboard rubber inflatables".

LESSON 3 - Night seaborne infiltration is relatively safer way to lauch raids then direct air assault

"The first stage of operation consisted of transporting a small SAS team to mainland Argentina on a stripped down Royal Navy Westland Sea King Mark IV, who would then march to the Rio Grande air base and proceed to set up an observation post to collect intelligence on the base's defenses".

LESSON 4 - Before raiding strong enemy base send recon team to observe and spot base's defences

"A Westland Sea King helicopter carrying the assigned recon team took off from HMS Invincible on the night of 17 May, but bad weather forced it to land 50 miles (80 km) from its target and the mission was aborted. The pilot flew to Chile, landed south of Punta Arenas, and dropped off the SAS team. The helicopter's crew of three then destroyed the aircraft, surrendered to Chilean police on 25 May, and were repatriated to the UK after interrogation. The discovery of the burnt-out helicopter attracted considerable international attention. Meanwhile, the SAS team crossed and penetrated deep into Argentina, but cancelled their mission after the Argentines suspected an SAS operation and deployed some 2,000 troops to search for them".

LESSON 5 - If enemy specops penetrated your rear send as many troops as possible to hunt them before they attempt to do something nasty

[sasha]

On May 21 British forces started amphibious landing on remote part of the island. However, the area was patrolled by small argentinian detachement and the battle started:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Sutton

"During the firefight, two British Army helicopters, a Sea King and a Gazelle passed overhead, and the Argentine troops fired at them with machine guns. The Gazelle's pilot, Sergeant Andy Evans, was hit and fatally injured, but he managed to ditch the aircraft into the sea. Evans and the other crewman, Sergeant Ed Candlish, were thrown out of the aircraft, and Argentine troops shot at them for about 15 minutes as they struggled in the water, ignoring orders to cease fire from their commanding officer. When the firing stopped, Candlish managed to drag Evans to shore, where he died. Minutes later, a second British Gazelle helicopter, following the same route as the first, was raked by machine-gun fire from the Argentine platoon and shot down, killing the crew; Lt Ken France and Lance-Cpl Pat Giffin"

LESSON 1 - Plan alternative helicopers' route in advance so that if initial route comes in range of enemy fire pilots could switch to another route without delay (and do not send second heli where first one was shot)

After argentinian infantry retreated argentinian planes came and devastating battle took heavy toll on both sides:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_San_Carlos_(1982)

" Lord Craig, the retired Marshal of the Royal Air Force, is said to have remarked: "Six better fuses and we would have lost"

[sasha]

Argentinian army on Falklands were holding 2 strong positions - major one around capital Port Stanley, and another one around Darwin and GooseGreen.

"The position at Goose Green and Darwin was well defended by a force of combined units totalling about 1,200 (at the start of the battle the number was thought by the British to be less than half this), well equipped with artillery, mortars, 35 mm cannon and machine guns. However, the force was fairly static and judged to present little threat to the beachhead. Consequently, it had no strategic military value for the British in their campaign to recapture the islands, so early plans for land operations had called for Goose Green to be isolated and bypassed."

LESSON 1 - Do not attack enemy detachements which have no mobile units - they are just sitting ducks and can wait untill you finish other more important targets

(and ask Arma mission makers to give you some transport so that you could gain mobility and importance)

In a week, after British forces had consolidated their landing spot, they nevertheless attacked Darwin and GooseGreen:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Goose_Green

It all began again with reconnaisance:

"Unknown to the Argentine outpost, a four-man SAS patrol, led by Corporal Trevor Brookes, had infiltrated the 12th Regiment's A Company area, attempting to pinpoint the Argentinian positions. For over a fortnight, Brookes successfully avoided Argentine helicopter and foot patrols".

LESSON 2 - Four man recon team is just enough to scout enemy area and sneak away without alarm

Look at this map to see where British observation posts and artillery support were placed:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_of_Goose_Green.png

British infantry attacked argentinian positions and the bloody battle started

"The position of Boca Hill was taken after heavy fighting by Major John Crosland's B Company with support from the MILAN anti-tank platoon."

LESSON 3 - Use wire guided antitank missles to defeat enemy infantry and fortifications (similar tactics was successfully used by Hesbollah agains Israelis in 2006 Lebanon War (check this thread for more info)

"C Company took heavy losses when they became the target of intense anti-aircraft 35 mm direct fire suffering 20 per cent casualties"

LESSON 4 - Small caliber AA guns are extreemely effective against infantry

The fighting ended when Argentinian commander surrendered all his forces, British infantry started their long march to Port Stanley

[sasha]

After our last game sessions I think its important to add lessons of how to counter the threat of enemy attack on your base (which would fit argentinian situation as well):

LESSON 1 - While defending your base send patrols to places which you think enemy might choose as observation post. By doing this you will eradicate enemy's attack surprise factor

[sasha]

After British force captured Darwin they marched on foot across the island to Port Stanley. Argentinians were patrolling the area and there were several engagements between british and argentinian patrols (some of the latter were special forces teams with manpads to use against british helicopters):

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Top_Malo_House


"The Argentine operation also saw the extensive use of helicopter support to position and extract patrols";

LESSON 1 - You can patrol much wider area for situational awareness using helicopters to transport troops

"Argentinian patrol was formed by eight men of the first section plus two soldiers with Blowpipe missile. There was also one medic, First Sergeant Pedrozo, whilst First Sergeant Helguero from 601 Commando Company was the scout"

LESSON 2 - Add AA manpads to patrol to ambush enemy helicopters

"Consequently, the British planned an assault following insertion by helicopter early on the morning of 31 May, landing in dead ground about 1,000 metres (1,100 yd) away from the house, and attacking the house. The overloaded helicopter took off on a 45 km flight, depositing the team on exactly the right spot to allow disembarkation for the short transit to the target. A seven-man fire team moved off to the left to take up a position 150m away from Top Malo House to provide support fire for the twelve-man assault group led by Boswell. There was a significant risk of compromise as the team was wearing dark uniforms against the snow, leading to the possibility of visual detection by sentries. Unknown to the British, the Argentines heard the helicopters flying and accelerated actions to take their equipment and leave the house.".

LESSON 3 - 1 km range for covert air insertion is not enough - enemy will hear or see your approach
LESSON 4 - Find appropriate battleground for your uniform camo
LESSON 5 - When assaulting separate enemy position divide your force in two - permanent base of fire with good line of sight and assault team to utilise close combat weapons

"Two hours after dawn Boswell ordered his men to fix bayonets and then commenced the engagement by firing a green flare into the air. On his signal the support group fired six M72 LAW 66mm light anti-armour rockets at the house. As the first rocket was fired, Lieutenant Ernesto Espinosa (the Argentine patrol's sniper, who was standing sentry) moved to the upper floor window. There Espinosa was spotted by his British counterpart, support team sniper Corporal Groves, who shot and wounded Espinosa with his L42A1 sniper rifle"

LESSON 6 - Use flare not only to illuminate the area but as a signal to attack
LESSON 7 - Presence of a sniper greatly enchances effectiveness of your base of fire group

"After the battle Captain Boswell's comment to the Argentine Commander was: "Never in a house..."

LESSON 8 - Don't use lonely houses for cover, your position will be obvious and easy to fix while attacking enemy might easily outmanuver and supress you

[bravonovember]

Thanks for this Sasha. 

The Falklands war was a very interesting scenario and I agree on many of these points. I reckon if we have a training day we can step up our game to a whole new level. 

[sasha]

Ok, so after reconnaisance and logistic buildup British forces started assaut on a ring of Argentinian positions on the hills around Port Stanley. It was a series of night engagements with britons charging into argentinian trenches, bunkers and mg nests, with many instances of byonet attacks:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mount_Harriet
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Two_Sisters
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mount_Longdon
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wireless_Ridge
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mount_Tumbledown

"The attack was preceded by many days of observation and nights of patrolling. Some night-fighting patrols were part of a deception plan to convince the Argentinians that the attack would come from a westerly direction. Other, more covert, patrols were to find a route through a minefield around the south of Mount Harriet. Sniping and naval artillery were used to harass the defenders and deny them sleep".

"On the morning of 13 June, the Scots Guards were moved by helicopter from their position at Bluff Cove to an assembly area near Goat Ridge, west of Mount Tumbledown. The British plan called for a diversionary attack south of Mount Tumbledown by a small number of the Scots Guards assisted by the four light tanks of the Blues and Royals, whilst the main attack came as a three-phase silent advance from the west of Mount Tumbledown."

LESSON 1 - Use deceptive loud "attack" to lure defenders away while your covert strike group deals silently with main target (sometimes its good to send heli or tank as demonstration to get enemy eyes away from real danger).

"On the night of 8–9 June, action on the outer defence zone flared when Lieutenant Mark Townsend's 1 Troop (K Company, 42 CDO) probed Mount Harriet, killing two Argentines (Corporal Hipolito Gonzalez and Private Martiniano Gomez).[7] At the same time, two platoon-size fighting patrols from 45 Commando attempted the same on Two Sisters Mountain, but the Argentine Rasit ground surveillance radar on Mount Longdon was able to detect the 45 Commando platoons, and artillery fire dispersed the force."

LESSON 2 - Use artillery on approaching enemy units to spoil their attack

"L Company crossed their start line shortly after K Company and were almost immediately engaged by effective machine gun fire from Sub-Lieutenant Pablo Oliva's platoon defending the lower southern slopes. These weapons would not be silenced until being hit by several MILAN anti-tank missiles and six 105mm artillery guns from Mount Challenger."

LESSON 3 - Again, use wire guided or other long range antitank rockets to destroy enemy MG nests

"One British general put their success down to his Marines' skill and professionalism:
"What was needed was speed but not being bloody stupid. The Israelis would have done it much faster, but with many more casualties."

LESSON 4 - If speed is not essential - stay calm and don't hurry, methodically deal with enemies using long range and support weapons to kill them without being exposed to return fire.

"We did a lot of patrols up to Two Sisters ... that time [6 June] we pepper-potted [fire and maneouver] for about 400 metres to get out [the 3rd Platoon sergeant, Ramón Valdez, had launched a counterambush.], through the Argy lines firing 66 [mm] rockets to fight through and regroup. We got artillery again to smoke us out."

LESSON 5 - Use pepper pot technique (chaotical bounding overwatch by indivuduals) not only to attack but also to retreat

LESSON 6 - Use artillery smoke shells to provide cover for your attack/retreat

"A constant series of patrols was undertaken at night to scout out and harass the enemy. Typical was the patrol sent out in the early hours of the morning of 10 June. Lieutenant David Stewart of X-Ray Company, 45 Commando, had briefed his men during the previous afternoon, and by midnight they were ready. Heavily armed, with two machine-guns per section plus 66 mm rocket launchers and 2-inch mortars, the Troop moved off stealthily into the moonlit night towards a ridge some 4 km away where Argentine movement had been observed. Keeping well spaced out because of the good visibility, they moved across the rocky ground using the numerous shell holes for cover, and by 04.00 [1 am local time] were set to cross the final stretch of open ground in front of the enemy positions. Using a shallow stream for cover, they moved up the slope and deployed into position among the rocks in front of the Argentine trenches. With the help of a light-intensifying night scope, they could see sentries moving about. Suddenly, an Argentine machine-gun opened fire and the Marines launched a couple of flares from their mortar, firing back with their own machine-guns and rifles. Within seconds three Argentine soldiers and two [Royal] Marines were dead. Other figures could be seen running on the hill to the left, and four more Argentine soldiers fell to the accuracy of the Marines' fire. By this time, the Argentine troops further up the slope were wide awake, and a hail of fire forced the Marines to crouch in the shelter of the rocks. The situation was becoming decidedly unhealthy and Lieutenant Stewart decided to retire, with the objective of killing and harassing the enemy well and truly accomplished".

LESSON 7 - When visibility is good move in spread out formation, when visibility is low due to fog or vegetation or darkness - move closely to each other

LESSON 8 - If objective doesn't require you to kill all enemies and situation becomes dangerous for you - disangage

"The Mountain & Arctic Warfare Cadre also carried patrolling against Two Sisters and Sergeant Joseph Wassell and Lieutenant Fraser Haddow played an important 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 had dug in and planned to use on the eastern half of the mountain"

LESSON 9 - Observe enemy positions carefully, this may bring you good fruits

"One Mount Longdon survivor from 3 Para recalled the British attack which was initially repulsed by the Argentines:
They tried going over the top first, but the incoming fire was too heavy so they went back behind the peat and waited for more artillery to soften them up"

LESSON 10 - Add artillery support for your advancing units, and use it whenever situation requires

"the Argentines having run out of ammunition broke and retreated under the covering fire from the supporting machinegun fire controlled by Lieutenant Horacio Alejandro Mones-Ruiz of Berazay's compañía"

LESSON 11 - use mg fire to cover attack/retreat

"Major Carrizo-Salvadores, 2IC of the 7th Regiment, helped by the chaplain Father José Fernández, mustered about 50 Wireless Ridge survivors and led them on a bayonet charge, with the soldiers chanting their famous 'Malvinas March', but were stopped by heavy artillery and machine-gun fire. The Paras were momentarily alarmed and watched surprised, with one British officer describing it as quite a sporting effort, but one without a sporting chance. 2 Para had suffered three dead and eleven wounded. The Argentines suffered approximately twenty-five dead, about 125 wounded (mainly by airburst rounds rather than direct shots) and about fifty were taken prisoner."

LESSON 12 - Human wave attack is too costly, avoid such situations

"Lance-Corporal Graham Rennie of 3 Platoon in the book 5th Infantry Brigade in the Falklands (Pen & Sword Books, 2003) later described the attack:
Our assault was initiated by a Guardsman killing a sniper, which was followed by a volley of 66 mm anti-tank rounds. We ran forward in extended line, machine-gunners and riflemen firing from the hip to keep the enemy heads down, enabling us to cover the open ground in the shortest possible time. Halfway across the open ground 2 Platoon went to ground to give covering fire support, enabling us to gain a foothold on the enemy position. From then on we fought from crag to crag, rock to rock, taking out pockets of enemy and lone riflemen, all of whom resisted fiercely."

" Advancing out of the central region of Tumbledown Mountain, the British again came under heavy fire from the Argentinians, but by advancing in pairs under covering fire, the British succeeded in clearing those RI 6 Company platoons as well, gaining firm control of the mountain's eastern side"

LESSON 13 - Infantry attack on fortified position requires continious fire&movement, with some elements moving while others provide covering fire

[frosttwocz]

Documantary about War in the Falklands which I randomly found

Gonna share with you guys.

Episode 1: 
Episode 2: 
Episode 3: 

Enjoy!