The Argentinian sniper (in fact Private Luis Jorge Bordn or Walter Ignacio Becerra, according to La Madrid[18]), armed with a FAL rifle, had helped cover the Argentinean retreat, firing shots at a Scout helicopter evacuating wounded off Tumbledown and wounding two men (including Guardsman Kenny Mains). Only the personal intervention of Colonel Flix Aguiar, the 10th Brigade Chief of Staff, brought the fighting to an end. We thought we had suffered before, but what luxury and comfort compared to this. They have also recovered personal items and equipment to try to understand better what happened in the conflict. The British troops swarmed over the mountaintop and killed, wounded or captured several of the RI 4 and RI 12 defenders, at times fighting with fixed bayonets. After seven weeks he found his way back to civilization, to find himself accused of desertion by the media and fellow soldiers. In Argentine shelling directed by Marine Second Lieutenant Marcelo De Marco of the 5th Marines from his observation post on Tumbledown Mountain, four members of the Third Battalion, the Parachute Regiment and one REME craftsman had been killed on Mount Longdon and another seven paratroopers wounded. While 45 Commando were marching towards Sapper Hill, Alpha and Charlie Companies from 40 Commando had escaped from the attention of the Argentine defenders on Sapper Hill and they were picked up by helicopters. The Battle of Mount Tumbledown was an engagement in the Falklands War, one of a series of battles that took place during the British advance towards Stanley. Mount Tumbledown, Mount William and Sapper Hill lie west of the capital. Till at last the ground they'd proved For further reading he recommends Tumbledown: When the Fighting Is Over, by John Lawrence and Robert Lawrence; Reassessing the Fighting Performance of Conscript Soldiers During the Malvinas/ Falklands War (1982), by Alejandro L. Corbacho; and The Battle for the Falklands, by Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins. During the helicopter evacuations of the wounded, Captain Sam Drennan of No. Three Shirburnians serving with the 2 nd Battalion Scots Guard were involved in the Battle of Tumbledown Mountain during the Falklands Conflict, which was fought on 13-14 June 1982 and resulted in the British troops capturing the heights above Stanley :. Reaching its objective undetected, the company found the western end of the mountain undefended and occupied it easily, but later came under heavy shellfire that wounded Major Dalzel-Job in the head. According to Lieutenant Robert Lawrence of the Scots Guards, QE2, which left Southampton on May 12, was heavily overcrowded with the whole of 5 Brigade, Scots and Welsh Guards, Gurkhas and a lot of support units.Every inch of space was used. Two-person cabins housed four to five men, unit commanders utilized every stairway landing for training purposes, and soldiers regularly ran circuits of the liners top deck for exercise. According to Dhanbahadur Rai, a Gurkha: The Scots Guards were to attack Tumbledown, with the Gurkhas following behind. Two members of 9 PARA Squadron, Royal Engineers, received Military Medals, and a helicopter pilot who repeatedly risked his life to transport wounded from the mountain during combat received the Distinguished Flying Cross. The Argentines opened fire, killing two British soldiers and wounding four. At 2:30a.m., however, a second British assault overwhelmed the men of the 4th and 12th Regiments but the survivors of Vazquez's 4th Platoon would continue fighting till about 7:00 am. [55], A cross has been erected at the summit of the mountain as a memorial to the soldiers who died in the battle. A British Harrier was claimed to be hit by concentrated fire from M Company, on 7 June. The 2nd Battalion Scots Guards had lost eight dead and 43 wounded. We ran over a mine. 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, they succeeded in clearing those RI 6 Company platoons as well, gaining firm control of the mountain's eastern side. The 60mm Mortar Platoon was split in two parts on Tumbledown, with the mortar men positioned near the summit (under Marine Sergeants David Ramos and Lucio Monzn) in support of Vzquez's 4th Platoon. At 4.30 p.m., on 7 June 1982, a British Harrier bombing positions held by the 5th Marine Battalion was hit by concentrated fire from M Company (under Marine Sub-Lieutenant Rodolfo Cionchi) on Sapper Hill. Mount William was just south of Tumbledown and the Marine battalion's O Company was on its lower slopes. 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. Initially, naval action accounted for the greatest number of casualties, with heavy losses of ships and lives on both sides. He called it The Crags of Tumbledown Mountain, and it would become a staple at events featuring pipe music. A Scots Guardsman. A group of Sappers went ahead to clear a path through the mines, but when the Welsh Guardsmen advanced they found Sapper Hill abandoned. He played a quick march he had composed "on the back of a fag packet" [cigarette pack][51] during the battle, following a long tradition in which Pipe Majors were encouraged "to write tunes to commemorate any actions in which their regiments have been engaged". Archaeologists and veterans have been surveying what remains in the battlefields of the Falkland Islands. The project "opened my eyes to a whole bigger picture of what happened in all areas of Tumbledown during battle," he added. As La Madrid withdrew after suffering five killed,[7] the platoons under Second Lieutenant Aldo Franco and Guillermo Robredo moved in from the eastern edge of the mountain to try to help La Madrid and the Marine 2nd platoon (under Second Lieutenant Marcelo Oruezabala) holding the saddle between Mounts Tumbledown and William. 543K views, 6.1K likes, 285 loves, 797 comments, 1.6K shares, Facebook Watch Videos from The British Falkland Islands & British Military: Battle of Mount Tumbledown On the night of 13-14 June 1982. We had to wait for breaks in the firing, but I still lost a man killed there.[13]. Reaching the rear positions of N Marine Company, Second Lieutenant Franco took the time to set free several German Shepherds left behind in the Argentine retreat from Tumbledown. M Company occupied Sapper Hill. Six Royal Marines were wounded by mines and small-arms fire[41][42][43] securing Sapper Hill, including four Marines from 40 Commando, one Sapper from Condor Troop and a forward officer (Major Brian Armitage) from 3 Commando Brigade HQs. 2015. By 9:45 a.m., some 12 hours after the first shot rang out, the firing ceased. The decisive final battle of the war took place on Mount Tumbledown, Argentinian shoes in a rock sangar position, untouched for 40 years, Expended rifle round casings provide direct evidence of a moment in the battle, The project directors, Tim Clack and Tony Pollard, on the battlefield site, A 3D model of a section of Mount Tumbledown drone survey, Doug Farthing in a teaching session at the Falkland Islands Community School in Port Stanley, The remains of Argentine field kitchens known as ranchos at the eastern end of Tumbledown, Artist Douglas Farthing painted the mountain at the point of the advance, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. The project is a joint enterprise between Oxford University, Glasgow University, the veteran well-being charity Waterloo Uncovered and the Falkland Islands Museum and National Trust. [58][59], In the UK a Tumbledown Veterans And Families Association was created. While this might well describe a scenario from World War I, the date was in fact June 13, 1982, and the trenches in which the British troops huddled were carved not across some stretch of French countryside but into near-frozen tundra by the base of Mount Tumbledown in the subarctic Falkland Islands. In addition to getting archaeological results, the whole project has been designed to help veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to come to terms with their experiences. The 2nd Platoon, led by Marine Second Lieutenant Marcelo Oruezabala, was dug in between Tumbledown and William. The height advantage that the Argentine troops were given as a result of being based on the Mount meant that British troops were not able to advance close to it without being seen by the enemy. The team undertook a detailed drone survey of a number of areas of the battlefield to quickly and accurately record what currently survives in the field. The Battle of Mount Tumbledown was an engagement during the Falklands War. The Argentinians opened fire, killing two British soldiers and wounding four others. [29], On 12 June, Harrier XW919 was hit by shrapnel, possibly from a Tigercat missile, and seriously damaged while dropping CBUs on an artillery position near Sapper Hill. Emma Goss, heritage conservation officer at the Falkland Islands Museum, also said the project was unique in both using the perspectives of former combatants and "in the future, utilising the first-hand perspectives of islanders who were heavily involved in the war". The Argentine marines had suffered at least 30 killed and 100 wounded. It was released as a single by the Pipes and Drums of 2SG a year later.[16]. I assumed the enemy was withdrawing to regroup on Sapper Hill and the last thing I wanted was another major battle. It was the Guardsmen of the Crown Right Flank had achieved this at the cost of five wounded, including Lieutenant Lawrence. On the morning of June 13 helicopters flew the men of the 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards, from Bluff Cove to a staging area near Goat Ridge, where they soon began to take heavy artillery and mortar fire. Secretary of State for Defence Sir John Nott himself later wrote, I must confess that I wasnt much aware of the Falkland Islands before the invasion[and] was a bit horrified to see how far away they were. Regardless, although the distant Falklands and South Georgia had long since ceased to be of commercial interest to the United Kingdom, they remained British dependencies, and the Ministry of Defence began immediate preparations for an all-out response to the invasion of the South Atlantic islands. Nor were they alone in their disapproval. He was awarded the Military Cross for bravery, but he spent a year in a wheelchair and was almost totally paralyzed. Published Jun 12, 2022. Fortunately for the British, the shells nearly all landed in soft peat, which absorbed the blasts; otherwise, the result would have been catastrophic. Kiszely and six other Guardsmen suddenly found themselves standing on top of the mountain, looking down on Stanley which was under street lighting and vehicles could be seen moving along the roads. The actual fighting lasted only a matter of weeks but claimed more than 900 lives. 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