impact
Argentine POWs march through Stanley (Soldier magazine)
"The significance of the Falklands War was enormous, both for Britain’s self-confidence and for our standing in the world. Since the Suez fiasco in 1956, British foreign policy had been one long retreat. Victory in the Falklands changed that."
Margaret Thatcher, The Downing Street Years
Major General Jeremy Moore with jubilant Falkland Islanders. NAM 1988-09-13-25
Argentina’s Junta had gambled all on a popular victory but now faced humiliation. The Argentine dictator, General Leopoldo Galtieri, was forced to resign three days after his forces surrendered.
The Falkland Islanders won a commitment to their sovereignty that any future government would be courageous to question. Economic investment and a much larger military presence also followed. 25 years on and Britain still retains a force on the Falkland Islands but the focus of attention has now moved to new areas of conflict, east to the British Army’s old battlegrounds of Iraq and Afghanistan.
British troops encounter locals on the Falklands in the 1980s. (Soldier Magazine)
The Falklands War was the last conflict Britain fought alone. Outnumbered in the air and on the ground, the service personnel sent to retake the Islands triumphed against the odds. Their victory changed the outlook of a nation and its international standing. For many who lived through it, the Falklands War was the conflict that defined the 1980s.
For some who fought through it, the battle was not over. The close combat fighting seen in the Falklands often resulted in physical disability and long-term trauma.
British dead totalled 255 with over 700 wounded, 3 Falkland Islanders were killed during the final battle for Stanley and over 640 Argentines lost their lives.
Please note: Copyright for the images included in this exhibition come from a variety of sources and can not be reproduced without permission. Please contact the NAM for details.
