Naval Party 8901
| Argentine invasion of the Falklands | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of The Falklands War | |||||||
 An Argentine Marines Amtrack in Port Stanley, 1982. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Argentina
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Governor Rex Hunt Major Mike Norman RM Major Gary Noott RM Major Phil Summers FIDF |
Rear Admiral Carlos Büsser Lieutenant commander Guillermo Sánchez-Sabarots Lieutenant commander Pedro Giachino † |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 57 marines 11 RN sailors 25–40 FIDF and some volunteer civilians |
600 troops | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 96–114 POWs Several military trucks and jeeps disabled by gunfire 3 coastal boats confiscated 3 small planes confiscated |
1 killed 5 wounded (including Private Horacio Tello and Padre Ángel Maffezini) 1 Amtrac vehicle slightly damaged |
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Argentine victory
On 2 April 1982, Argentine forces launched the invasion of the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas), beginning the Falklands War. The Argentines mounted amphibious landings, and the invasion ended with the final surrender of Government House.
Governor Rex Hunt was informed by the British Government of a possible Argentine invasion on 1 April 1982. At 3:30 pm that day he received a telegram from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office stating:
We have apparently reliable evidence that an Argentine task force could be assembling off Stanley at dawn tomorrow. You will wish to make your dispositions accordingly.
The Governor summoned the two senior Royal Marines officers of Naval Party 8901 to Government House in Stanley to discuss the options for defending the Falklands. He said during the meeting: "Sounds like the buggers mean it".
Major Mike Norman was given overall command of the Marines due to his seniority, while Major Gary Noott became the military advisor to Governor Hunt. The total strength was 68 Marines and 11 sailors, which was greater than would normally have been available because the garrison was in the process of changing over – both the replacements and the troops preparing to leave were in the Falklands at the time of the invasion.
This was decreased to 57 when 22 Royal Marines embarked aboard the Antarctic patrol ship HMS Endurance to observe Argentine soldiers based at South Georgia. The Royal Navy, on the other hand, states that a total of 85 marines were present at Stanley.
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Wikipedia