What Happened During Operation Sutton in the Falklands War?

• Date: 21 May 1982
• Location: San Carlos Water, East Falkland
• British commander: Brigadier Julian Thompson
• Force: 3 Commando Brigade (about 4,000 troops)
• Argentine response: heavy air strikes on the British ships
• Result: British beachhead established

In April 1982 Argentine forces seized the Falkland Islands, a British territory in the South Atlantic. Britain sent a naval task force to take them back. The British commanders needed a safe anchorage to land soldiers close to the islands but out of easy reach of Argentine jets. They chose San Carlos Water, a narrow inlet on the west side of East Falkland. Codenamed Operation Sutton, this was the first big amphibious landing by British forces since the Suez crisis of 1956. The plan was to land two brigades, build up supplies, then push overland toward the capital, Stanley.

Before dawn on 21 May 1982, British ships sailed into San Carlos Water. Landing craft carried the 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment and 40 Commando Royal Marines onto the beaches. They met almost no resistance on the ground at first, because Argentine commanders expected a landing much closer to Stanley. Through the day more than 4,000 soldiers of 3 Commando Brigade came ashore, along with guns, vehicles and stores. But the British force was soon spotted. Argentine aircraft flew low through the hills and struck the warships, using bombs, cannon and missiles. They sank the destroyer HMS Coventry, the frigate HMS Ardent and the landing ship RFA Sir Galahad, and damaged several others. On the beaches the British soldiers dug into the cold, wet ground and set up air defences. Within days they had secured the anchorage and brought in the 5th Infantry Brigade, expanding the bridgehead. From San Carlos the Paras and Marines would begin the hard march east, fighting battles at Goose Green and on the mountains above Stanley.

Operation Sutton gave Britain the land base it needed to win the war. Without a secure beachhead the task force could not have retaken the islands. The landing also showed the risks: Argentine air attacks on the British ships in 'Bomb Alley' showed how vulnerable warships are to aircraft. The success at San Carlos set up the British advance that ended with the Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982.

• 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines
• 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment
• 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment
• 40 Commando Royal Marines
• 42 Commando Royal Marines
• 45 Commando Royal Marines
• 5th Infantry Brigade (follow-up)
• British warships and auxiliaries

• 1.UK Ministry of Defence, 'The Falklands Campaign: The Lessons', 1982
• 2.Max Hastings & Simon Jenkins, 'The Battle for the Falklands', 1983
• 3.Sir Lawrence Freedman, 'The Official History of the Falklands Campaign', 2005