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I was recently joined my friends Les Winner (Polaris Worldwide Logistics) and Jari Laine (Varusteleka) for an epic trek across Eat Falkland in the footsteps of 45 Commando of the British Royal Marines. In 1982, the Marines landed to rebuff the Argentine invasion of the islands. Specifically, they landed at Port San Carlos on the far western side of the island, planning to use heavy-lift helicopters to move east to attack the Argentine positions around Stanley. However, the Chinooks they were counting on were on the Atlantic Conveyor, which was sunk by Argentine Exocet attack on May 25. That left the Marines with no choice but to hike the 60 miles or so overland. They did so overland in the South Atlantic winter, with combat loads and full rucksacks – it was a brutal movement that they executed with aplomb.
Les, Jari, and I wanted to see the ground, and so we headed out to follow the same path, albeit without the weapons or ammunition and in the summer. We took 4 days to complete the distance, meeting some really cool people and making lots of blisters along the way. This video is a record of that trip.
For those interested in gear, I was using a Varusteleka RP80 rucksack, Asolo TPS 535 LTH V EVO boots, and a bunch of Varusteleka merino wool clothing (which is what I normally wear anyway…). My sleeping bag and bivy were generously provided by Carinthia, although we did not end up spending any nights outside thanks to the hospitality of the local farmers. For food, I just used basic American MREs (plus a couple British 24-hour rations that the FIDF gave us).
The trip logistics were hugely facilitated by Penguin Travel, the main travel agency on the islands. We flew down via RAF Airbridge, and returned via Chile on LATAM Airlines. If you want to do the Yomp yourself, please be aware that it is not trivial to arrange everything. All the land you cross is privately owned, and permission to cross must be received from all the landowners. Contacting Penguin is the best place to start, though.
Your hike was a great idea. It honors the bravery of those who tromped it during wartime. I’m sure you did some research first, so why not do all your subscribers a big favor and list the best books about the war? By doing so you will give truth a helping hand, always a noble deed. I’m an American living in Argentina and believe me, there’s no shortage of people spreading lies about the war and the Falklands in general.
Hahah, apparently any opposition to imperialism means you’re a ‘liar’. I hope you get deported.
Agentina itself is a pure product of Imperialism, like many countries since much before than European colonialism…
Yeah, how DARE they dissent from the Brit version of events?!
My pudgy sister tromped around Little Round Top. I guess that “honored” the combatants? Better yet gave her a few wants of reflected glory? The soldiers who actually do the deed win kudos. Those who follow after the shooting are just LARPing away. I imagine come 2040 we can read about how valiant it is to saunter across the then-still fields of the Ukraine (a subsidiary of Black rock by then.)
Fascinating stuff. I had a go at the Arctic circle trail a couple of years ago – it runs from Kangerlussuaq airport to Sisimiut, on the coast. It’s eighty miles long. I went in May, when the terrain was boggy, and I threw in the towel at the twenty-mile mark and relaxed next to a frozen lake. At the very least I now know that I can hike at a speed of one mile an hour through a partially-frozen bog.
Despite being on the opposite side of the planet the terrain looks very similar, flat and wind-blown, with no trees, no cover. It’s interesting you took MREs. I took a bunch of dry food and a cooker, because I concluded that MREs were too bulky. There’s too much packaging unless you strip them in advance, at which point you have to wonder whether it would be better taking a huge bar of chocolate instead.
The soldiers who did the “yomp” were carrying 50kg+ of equipment, which was about three times as much as me, and I was exhausted at the end of each day. I can’t imagine what their ankles and hips are like nowadays. There’s a famous photo of a British soldier having just embarked from the landing craft, with an enormous rucksack, having to lean forwards at a 20 degree angle as as not to tip over. The thought of carrying that for sixty miles while watching out for Argentine helicopters boggles the mind.
As for the previous chap’s request, Max Hastings’ “The Battle for the Falklands” is a good read. I can also recommend Kenneth Privratsky’s “Logistics in the Falklands War”, which sounds dry on paper but was absolutely fascinating. And Ewen Southby-Tailyour’s “Exocet Falklands”, which (despite the name) is mostly about a harebrained plan whereby the SAS were going to land a C-130 directly onto the Argentine runway at Rio Grand airbase and leap out, guns blazing, which would have been suicidal, but it actually got the go-ahead.
Wise words, me. The Falklands is a really awkward destination if you’re in the UK. The only direct flights are chartered on behalf of the MOD, with a flat return fee of around £2200+. In comparison Heathrow-Buenos Aires via British Airways is roughly £1000. The alternative is to fly commercially to Chile, but that adds complexity.
At the time the British army’s standard boot was the DMS, a kind of half-way house between old-fashioned parade shoes and modern boots. They covered the ankle, but the leather was very thin, and they were apparently freezing cold. And the army still issued puttees, which didn’t work at all, so some soldiers ended up getting trench foot. It became quite common for British soldiers to borrow footwear from the Argentines. And in one case a soldier apparently borrowed some ears. Which led to him being un-recommended for a medal.
I learn from Science Direct that the conflict – the BBC always called it a “conflict” – ended up stunting growth of the king penguin population by about 50%, on account of oil spills from burning ships. But they grew back.
The Falklands War also ties with The Wild Geese as *the* definitive showcase of the FN FAL.
Great story! Now I have a feel for the terrain involved. What was the brand of the jacket/windbreaker with the Finnish flag patch? Looks like a great product. Many thanks, – Dave.
The ‘yomp’s’ achievement, as I understood at the time, was that 45 not only had to march across the whole island in full packs, but were carrying up to 100lbs of extra fuel, artillery ammunition, general supplies etd.
Truly an amazing place. Desolate, but with its own beauty.
And it truly made me wonder why Argentina put so much ego into the place to feel the need to take it by force of arms.
Those in charge in Argentina doubtless never ever wasted a second thinking about the hardships confronting their own soldiers, much less the casualties. Primitive satisfaction of their own overblown ego was all that counted.
Why did the Brits put so much into grabbing it back? Ohhhh, right. The Brits (and their Ami cousins) are altruistic in all their ventures and adventures.
You’re being a dick, but the question is in and of itself interesting.
I may be wrong, but think it’s cultural.
The Europeans in general were like “oh well, you’re going to have to take this one on the chin”, with the exception of the French, who saw the matter exactly as the Brits did – “we would have the Foreign Legion down there the next day”.
You can’t kid me. You staged it all in Wyoming, up on the Shirley Rim north of Medicine Bow, in July by the look of the weather. The old bastard that ran you off was Jick Snyder, he’s been that way since 19 and 52, & he still owes me $22 for the month I run that barb wire fence you took a picture of a couple times. I hope you cussed him good. But it sure was nice to see the Rim looking so nice & settled, hell in my day it was all just wide open country!
If you want to learn more on the Falklands War, check out the Historygraph YT channel: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLk2daSTx1RZsJIHIDjfg_rHtfnK_KVF3j&si=-zQvaBbMle0RNdZH
Amazing video.
I was nine years old when the war happened, and I followed it closely. Kept lots of clippings from news papers and so on.
Since then I read over the decades quite a lot of military history, and of that some being from or about the Falklands War, so I have some knowledge of it.
Julian Thompson gave an oral history, about 30 hours, to the British Imperial War Museum, and he of course spoke extensively about the Falklands conflict. He’s fantastic to listen to, real upper class English – “orf” rather than “off”, but it’s not affected in any way.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80030363
I’ve toyed with the idea of heading out there to live there for a while, where it’s such an unusual place.
Thank you very much for the video.
“The Argentine land forces were, with one or two exceptions, poorly led, not particularly well-trained, and had poor logistics. When they were faced with British troops, some fought surprisingly well, but were defeated by the greater training, experience, and aggression of the British troops, who also had much better leadership. When the fighting was over and we met the Argentine troops as they surrendered their weapons and clustered together in miserable groups, we felt quite sorry for them.”
Source. https://www.quora.com/Did-the-Welsh-in-Patagonia-suffer-during-the-Falklands-war#:~:text=There%20were%20only%20a%20handful,the%20fighting%20at%20Goose%20Green.
I was searching about Welsh speaking folk out of interest.
Sort of suggests to me, it was a bit of daft idea by the Agentinian Junta at the time. I listened to a radio program once, a scouser was on ex para 2 maybe… Forgot, anyway his main impression was a 7.62 Nato smack in the jaw; he lived, clearly. But you could tell it was very unpleasant, by way of the interview.
Bit of a daft idea by the Argentinian Government at the time. Daft like… Anyway, unfortunately it would not be the last daft idea someone came up with to put someone else through.
Great video, Ian, but I’m totally gutted that I missed that you were down here in the Falklnds. After watching your videos for many years, it would have been great to meet you in person and talk about forgotton weapons and history in general. I sincerely hope that you enjoyed the Falklands and that one day you’ll be back.
PS I just had to get myself a Penguin Brutality patch, it would have been rude not to!