Battle of Mount Longdon

Battle of Mount Longdon
Part of Falklands War
Mountains around Mount Longdon
Date 11–12 June 1982 Location Mount Longdon, Falkland Islands Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Argentina
Commanders and leaders
Lt. Col Hew Pike	Maj. Carlos Carrizo-Salvadores
Units involved
Parachute Regiment 3 PARA 3 Commando Brigade 29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery Royal Navy	10th Mechanized Infantry Brigade 7th Infantry Regiment
Strength
450 6 light guns 1 frigate	278[1][2]
Casualties and losses
23 killed[3] 54–60 wounded[4][5][6][7]	31 killed[8][9] 120 wounded[10] 50 captured

The Battle of Mount Longdon was fought between the British 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment and elements of the Argentine 7th Infantry Regiment on 11–12 June 1982, towards the end of the Falklands War. It was one of three engagements in a Brigade-size operation that night, along with the Battle of Mount Harriet and the Battle of Two Sisters.

A mixture of hand-to-hand fighting and ranged combat resulted in the British occupying this position above Port Stanley, allowing its capture and the surrender of Argentine forces on the islands.

Background

British forces

The British force consisted of the Third Battalion, the Parachute Regiment (3 PARA), under Lieutenant Colonel Hew Pike. Artillery support came from six 105mm L118 light guns of 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery, and the 4.5-in gun of the Type 21 frigate, HMS Avenger. Second Battalion, the Parachute Regiment (2 PARA) were held in reserve.

British paratroopers carried the semi-automatic L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle (SLR) and the L7A2 General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), for covering fire during assaults. Longer-range precision fire was provided by the bolt-action L42A1 sniper rifle, which was especially valuable during pre-battle reconnaissance engagements.[11]

For clearing bunkers, the M72 LAW, 84mm Carl Gustaf & L2 fragmentation grenades, were widely used and the battalions MILAN anti-tank guided missiles, played a critical role in neutralizing Argentine defensive positions.

Argentine forces

The Argentine forces included B Company of the 7th Infantry Regiment (RI 7), part of the 10th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, along with detachments from other units. Major Carlos Carrizo Salvadores, served as RI 7’s second-in-command.[12] The regiment, reinforced by two Marine Infantry platoons, defended positions at Mount Longdon, Wireless Ridge, Port Stanley, and Cortley Ridge. At San Miguel del Monte, they had prepared for a potential conflict with Chile, training with the 601st Combat Aviation Battalion where about 50, were trained in commando tactics by Major Oscar Jaimet.[13]

The defenders, mostly reservists with a year of training, were equipped with FN FAL rifles, including the heavier-barrelled, FAP light machine gun, PAM submachine guns and FN MAG general-purpose machine guns.[14] Marine Teniente de Navío Sergio Andrés Dachary oversaw the heavy machine guns.[15]

Battle

British advance

3 PARA and the supporting Royal Engineers from the 9 Parachute Squadron RE[16] crossed the hills North of Mount Simon to seize the high ground above the settlement known as Estancia House. The weather conditions were atrocious, with the Paras traversing steep slippery hillocks to the objective. Private Nick Rose, 6 Platoon, B Company under Lieutenant Jonathan Shaw:

The terrain dictated exactly how we advanced. A lot of the time if we were going along on tracks – what few we did go on – we used Indian file, which is staggered file on either side of the track, like a zig-zag. But there are great rivers of rock – big white boulders – and you have to cross them and then there's the heather and the gorse and its constantly wet. So the wind chill factor was – I think somebody said minus 40 degrees – and storm force winds and horizontal rain – a nightmare scenario. ... We are horrible, we're miserable as sin, all of us – we're missing home, want a dry fag [cigarette], warm, dry boots, a cheese and onion sandwich and a bottle of blue top milk. I used to dream of these.[17]

Captain Matthew Selfridge of B Company and Captain Robbie Burns from the 9th Parachute Squadron (Royal Engineers) set up a patrol base near Murrell Bridge, two kilometres west of Mount Longdon on 3 June, protected by 4 Platoon (under Lieutenant Ian Bickerdike) also from B Company.[18] From their forward operating base, Selfridge and Burns sent out patrols to scout and disrupt the Argentine positions on Mount Longdon. During one of these missions, Lance-Corporal John Hare of 2 Troop, Royal Engineers, was seriously wounded.[5]

Terry Peck, a former member of the Falkland Islands Defence Force (FIDF), participated in these reconnaissance and patrol operations. In early June, while pretending to have lost his way while riding his motorbike, he engaged in conversation with a group of five conscripts under the command of Corporal Remigio Gerónimo Díaz of the 1st Platoon. These soldiers had been assigned to guard supplies that had been airlifted forward and were resting in the sun after consuming several cans of beer at the eastern end of Mount Longdon.

Shortly after this, Peck, while leading a close-target reconnaissance patrol under Corporal Peter Hadden, mistakenly opened fire on Sergeant John Pettinger's standing patrol, which also belonged to 3 PARA's D Company. No British casualties were recorded in this particular case of friendly fire.[19]

During the night of June 4–5, a three-man British patrol from D Company, comprising Corporal Jerry Phillips with Privates Richard Absolon and Bill Hayward, was deployed to the northern slopes of Mount Longdon.[20] Their objective was to infiltrate the position then held by Sub-Lieutenant Juan Baldini's 1st Platoon on the western slopes and capture a prisoner. The patrol was supported by a battery of six 105mm field guns, to provided covering fire. The British snipers targeted Baldini's platoon and fired a 66mm anti-tank rocket at a mortar position under the command of Corporal Óscar Carrizo. In response, the Argentine forces returned fire, subjecting the British patrol to machine gun and mortar fire. Despite this exchange, no casualties were reported on either side.

The Argentine 7th Infantry Regiment's Reconnaissance Platoon, led by Second Lieutenant Francisco Ramón Galíndez Matienzo, was stationed on Wireless Ridge but could not carry out their own patrols, as they had been designated as the reserve force for the area. Instead, Argentine Commando units, typically assigned to deep reconnaissance missions, assumed this responsibility.

In the early hours of June 7, a combined patrol from the 601 Commando Company and the 601 National Gendarmerie Special Forces Squadron advanced toward the Murrell Bridge following intelligence reports from Major Jaimet indicating enemy activity in the area.[21] At the same time, two British patrols, led by Corporals Peter Hadden and Mark Brown, had just arrived at a bluff on the western bank of the Murrell River, where Sergeant Ian Addle's patrol had established a base.[22]

Shortly after, a sentry detected movement near the bridge, prompting the British forces to open fire. A chaotic firefight ensued in the darkness, with both sides exchanging small arms fire, British LAW rockets and Argentine Energa rifle grenades. The engagement escalated when Captain Rubén Teófilo Figueroa's 2nd Assault Section of the 601 Commando Company initiated a counterattack. Under mounting pressure and unable to sustain their position, the British forces were forced to retreat before dawn, leaving behind a substantial quantity of their equipment. The official history of the Parachute Regiment later acknowledged the outcome of the engagement.

They were forced to evacuate their position rapidly, leaving behind their packs and radio, but succeeded in withdrawing without suffering any casualties. The location was checked on the evening of 8 June by another patrol, but there was no sign of the packs or radio, which meant the battalion's radio net could have been compromised.[22]

From then on, British patrols were mounted closer to their own lines.[22]

That same night, an eight-man section led by Corporal Oscar Nicolás Albornoz-Guevara from the 4th Regiment's C Company, stationed on Two Sisters, attempted to scout and map the British positions near Estancia House. However, they were spotted by British sentrys and 3 PARA's Mortar Platoon successfully repelled the Argentine patrol.[23]

Nevertheless, despite evidence of Argentine patrol, Colonel Pike and his company commanders on the eve of battle still held the Argentine regulars in low regard and did not expect them to put up much resistance. For this reason, the British hoped to surprise the Argentine commanders by advancing as close to their forward platoon as possible under cover of darkness, before rushing the Argentine trenches. The three major objectives – 'Fly Half', 'Full Back' and 'Wing Forward' – were named after positions in Rugby football. B Company would attack through 'Fly Half' and proceed to 'Full Back', while A Company, followed by C Company if necessary, would do the same on Wireless Ridge.[24]

Private Fabián Passaro of B Company served on Mount Longdon with Baldini's 1st Platoon and remembers life at the time:

Most of us had adjusted to what we'd been landed in, we'd adjusted to the war. But some boys [identified in the book "Two Sides of Hell/Los Dos Lados Del Infierno"] were still very depressed and, in many cases, were getting worse all the time. Of course, we were very fed up with wearing the same clothes for so many days, going without a shower, being so cold, eating badly. It was too many things together, quite apart from our natural fear of the war, the shelling and all that. But I think some of us were adapting better than others. There were kids who were very worried, and I tried to buoy them up a bit. 'Don't worry,' I told them. 'Nothing will happen, we're safe here. 'Don't you see they could never get right up here? There's one thousand of us; if they try to climb, we'll see them, we'll shoot the shit out of them."[25]

When 3 PARA's B Company (under Major Mike Argue) fixed bayonets to storm the Argentine 1st Platoon positions on Mount Longdon, they found themselves trapped in a minefield. British sappers subsequently counted some 1,500 anti-personnel mines that Lieutenant Diego Arreseigor's platoon of Sappers from the 10th Mechanized Engineer Company had laid along the western and northern slopes of Mount Longdon. Corporal Peter Cuxson recalled,[26]

but only two exploded because the rest were frozen. Otherwise, the final battle for Port Stanley would have been an altogether different story.

Assault on Mount Longdon

As dusk fell, 3 PARA advanced to their start lines and commenced a four-hour march toward their objectives. While B Company approached Mount Longdon, Corporal Brian Milne triggered a mine, alerting Sub-Lieutenant Baldini's platoon. The Argentine troops emerged from their tents and opened fire just as Lieutenant Bickerdike's No. 4 Platoon arrived at their positions. During the engagement, Corporal Stewart McLaughlin was spotted eliminating an Argentine 7.62mm machine gun positioned on high ground overlooking the western slopes.

Lieutenant Jonathan Shaw's No. 6 Platoon, positioned on B Company's right flank, secured the summit of 'Fly Half' without resistance. However, they had overlooked several Argentine soldiers from the 3rd Platoon, who later fired on the platoon's rear, causing several casualties before the area was finally secured. Meanwhile, intense hand-to-hand combat combat erupted in the 1st Platoon sector, lasting three hours until the Paras successfully forced the defenders out.

Across the 1st Platoon's position, small groups of soldiers were locked in desperate combat. B Company methodically eliminated the Argentine defensive positions.[27] Privates Ben Gough and Dominic Gray managed to crawl to an Argentine bunker and position themselves beside it as the Argentine Marines inside fired at the British. The two Paras each "posted" a grenade through the firing slit before storming the bunker.[28] Both soldiers were mentioned in despatches for their actions during the battle.

Marine Corporal Carlos Rafael Colemil was part of the forward defence and fought as a sniper:

A British soldier climbed over the rock which supported the accommodation bunker of the 105mm gun crew, and from there he was silhouetted. He screamed like he was giving out orders. I aimed and fired and he fell, then Conscript Daniel Ferrandis alerted me to the approach of three British soldiers on the flank. I observed with a night sight; they were very close. I saw one of them was carrying a gun with a bipod; he fell at the first shot and shouted. Another man approached him and I fired again and also got him ... Many people fell to the ground screaming, but soon the enemy was aware of my presence and every time I fired a shot I received a great deal of fire in response. Not long after my main action, I was wounded ... We could also hear the cries for help from the Rasit radar operator Sergeant Roque Nista, who was wounded. I could hear Sergeant Omar Cabral, who was a sniper: he was also firing.[29]

According to the account of Private Victor José Bruno, Sub-Lieutenant Baldini was killed as he tried to clear a stopage from a machine gun. "The Lieutenant pushed us back and stood up trying to unlock the barrel but then he was shot in his belly by enemy fire", he recalled in an interview with Eduardo César Gerding of the Nottingham Malvinas Group. Corporal Dario Ríos was found lying dead with his platoon commander and Baldini's weapon and boots were removed for the use of British soldiers.[30] Also killed in the initial fighting was Cavalry Sergeant Jorge Alberto Ron (according to Private Altieri who was wounded in the blast that killed the NCO[31]) and the Argentine forward artillery observation officer, Lieutenant Alberto Rolando Ramos, whose last message was that his position was surrounded. Sub-Lieutenant Baldini was awarded the Argentine Nation to the Valour in Combat Medal.

Argentine reinforcements

When 2nd Lieutenant Enrique Neirotti's 3rd Platoon in the southern half and Staff Sergeant Raúl González's 2nd Platoon in the northern half of the mountain were on the verge of being overrun, reinforcements arrived from 2nd Lieutenant Hugo Quiroga's 1st Platoon of the 10th Engineer Company stationed at 'Full Back.'[32][33] Despite intense fighting in this sector, many Argentine positions on the mountain's saddle held firm. The recently arrived engineers' rifle-mounted night sights were particularly effective, causing heavy losses among the advancing Paras.

Private Nick Rose in 6 Platoon recalls:

Pete Gray stood up and went to throw a grenade and he was shot by a sniper in his left forearm. We thought the grenade had gone off. We punched his arm down onto the ground to staunch the bleeding, believing he'd lost half his right forearm and hand, but it was still there and his arm bent at the forearm instead of the elbow – a horrible thing to watch. ...There's 'incoming' everywhere, loads of stuff going down the range and then 'bang' my pal "Fester" [Tony Greenwood], gets it just above his left eye, only a yard away from me. That was a terrible thing. 'Fester' was such a lovely guy. Then it was 'Baz' Barratt. 'Baz' had gone back to try to get field dressings for Pete Gray and [as] he was coming back, 'bang', he got it in the back. This was when we just stalled as a platoon. (Jon Cooksey, op. cit., p. 66)

Argentine resistance was strong and well organized. At the centre of the mountain were Marine conscripts Jorge Maciel and Claudio Scaglione in a bunker with a machine gun, and Marine conscripts Luis Fernández and Sergio Giuseppetti with night-scope equipped rifles.

Action of Sergeant Ian McKay

While Lieutenant Bickerdike, his signaller, Sergeant Ian McKay, and several others from No. 4 Platoon were conducting reconnaissance on the Marine position, both the platoon commander and the signaller were wounded. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, Sergeant McKay took the initiative and launched an assault on the position. The assault was met with intense enemy fire. A private was killed, while Corporal Ian Bailey and another soldier were wounded. Sergeant McKay, showing extraordinary bravery for which he would be awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross, pressed forward alone, charged the enemy position, throwing grenades but was killed, his body falling on the bunker.

Peter Harclerode, who had access to the war diary of the 3rd Battalion and later authored PARA! (Arms & Armour Press, 1993), noted that McKay and his team successfully eliminated several Marine riflemen but failed to neutralize the heavy machine gun. Later, Corporal McLaughlin crawled to within grenade-throwing range of the Marine heavy machine gun team. Despite his repeated attempts with fragmentation grenades and 66mm rockets, he was unable to silence the weapon.[34]

Argentine counterattack

Major Carrizo-Salvadores on 'Full Back' had remained in touch with the Argentine commanders in Port Stanley:

Around midnight I asked RHQ for infantry reinforcements, and I was given a rifle platoon from Captain Hugo García's C Company. First Lieutenant Raúl Fernando Castañeda gathered the sections of his platoon, hooked around First Sergeant Raúl González's 2nd Platoon that was already fighting and delivered a counterattack [at about 2am local time]. The Platoon fought with great courage in fierce hand-to-hand combat and the battle raged for two more hours, but gradually the enemy broke contact and withdrew while being engaged by artillery strikes.[35]

Major Carrizo-Salvadores manoeuvred Castañeda's reinforced platoon to close with 4 and 5 Platoons; meanwhile, under the direction of Corporal Jorge Daniel Arribas, part of Castañeda's platoon converged on the British aid post. Colour Sergeant Brian Faulkner, seeing that more than 20 wounded Paras on the western slopes of the mountain were about to fall into the hands of Corporal Arribas, deployed anyone fit enough to defend the position.

"I picked four blokes and got up on this high feature, and as I did so this troop of twenty or thirty Argentines [in fact a reinforced section of 12 to 15 riflemen under Corporal Arribas] were coming towards us. We just opened fire on them. We don't know how many we killed, but they got what they deserved because none of them were left standing when we'd finished with them." said Faulkner.[36]

According to Corporal Jorge Arribas, two men (Privates Jose Luis Del Hierro and Alfredo Gatton) in his rifle section were killed in this action.[37] In fact the Argentines were able to do little more than move forwards and stabilise their existing line.[38] Major Argue's company ceased firing and devoted all their efforts to a withdrawal from 'Fly Half' due to the difficult situation. Peter Harclerode, a noted British historian of the Parachute Regiment, went on record, saying that:

Under covering fire, Nos. 4 and 5 Platoons withdrew, but another man was killed and others wounded in the process. At that point, Lieutenant Colonel Hew Pike and his 'R' Group arrived on the scene and Major Argue briefed him on the situation. Shortly afterwards, Company Sergeant-Major Weeks reported that both platoons had pulled back to a safe distance and that all the wounded had been recovered. The dead, however, had to be left where they had fallen. Meanwhile, on the southern slope of the objective, the wounded from No. 6 Platoon were being evacuated while the rest remained under cover of the rocks.[39]

The British 3rd Commando Brigade commander, Brigadier Julian Thompson was reported to have said:

"I was on the point of withdrawing my Paras from Mount Longdon. We couldn't believe that these teenagers disguised as soldiers were causing us to suffer many casualties."[40][41]

British resume the attack

Following the fighting on 'Fly Half' and the withdrawal of Nos. 4 and 5 Platoons, 29 Commando Regiment provided artillery support from Mount Kent. Subsequently, the area was flanked, where despite being under heavy fire, the remnants of 4 and 5 Platoons, led by Lieutenant Cox, advanced toward their objective, 'Full Back'. During this push, they encountered resistance from Casteñeda's platoon, specifically Corporal Julio Nardielo Mamani's section, sustaining several casualties.  Undeterred, Lieutenant Cox and Private Kevin Connery stormed an Argentine bunker, neutralizing three enemy combatants. As this position was being cleared, Private Gray suffered a headshot injury but refused evacuation until Major Argue had successfully consolidated the troops' positions on 'Fly Half'.

Recognising the risk of further losses, the Paras were unable to advance further and were ordered to fall back to the Western end of Mount Longdon. Major David Collett's A Company was then tasked with moving through B Company to launch an assault on the heavily defended eastern objective, 'Full Back', from the west. Support Company provided covering fire during this operation. This coordinated effort aimed to maintain momentum while minimizing further casualties in the face of determined Argentine resistance.  Lieutenant David Wright and Second Lieutenant Ian Moore mustered their platoons near the western summit then cleared the Argentine positions.

During the final phase of clearing the positions by A Company, Corporal McLaughlin sustained injuries from a recoilless gun fired from "Rough Diamond". While proceeding toward the aid post, he, along with Lance Corporal Peter Higgs, was fatally wounded by an 81 mm mortar round launched by the platoon commanded by First Sergeant Mario Ricardo Alcaide.[42]

The Argentines mounted a strong defence of 'Full Back', where, despite now being injured, Corporal Manuel Medina of Castañeda assumed control of the recoilless rifle team and fired at Support Company across the ridge, killing three Paratroopers manning a MILAN missile launcher; Corporal Keith "Ginge" McCarthy, Privates Phil West and Peter Heddicker.[43] [44]

By the time the survivors of Castañeda's 46-man platoon managed to retreat from the mountain, they were utterly exhausted, having suffered six killed and twenty-one wounded during the counterattack.[45][46] Among them, Private Leonardo Rondi stood out as he wore a maroon beret taken from a dead of Parachute Regiment soldier.[47] Rondi, who had evaded groups of Paras to deliver messages to Castañeda's section leaders after the radio operator was lost, found the body of a Para behind a rock and took the fallen soldier's beret and rifle, which he later presented to the Argentine commanders as war trophies.[48][49][50]

For his courage and dedication, Rondi was awarded the Argentine Nation to the Valour in Combat Medal.

Lieutenant Hugo Quiroga's platoon of engineers suffered half-a-dozen wounded, Platoon Sergeant Juan Carlos Insaurralde badly wounded in the chest, Corporal Walter Calderon wounded in the hand, Private Claudio Jesús Hefner (the radio operator) wounded in the arm and Private Jorge Alejandro Lezcano badly wounded in the hand. The Platoon Commander and Corporal Julio César Oviedo were tossed into the air and knocked unconscious by an explosion with Quiroga only recovering his wits after being given some whisky in the freezing night.[33]

Aftermath

National Memorial Arboretum, plaque to Jason, Neil & Ian

The twelve-hour battle was costly for both sides. 3 PARA lost 17 soldiers, including a Royal Engineer attached to the unit. Among the dead, Privates Ian Scrivens and Jason Burt were just 17, and Private Neil Grose was killed on his 18th birthday. Forty British paratroopers were initially reported wounded, with B Company's Private Mick Southall noting that only one NCO, Colin Edwards, remained standing in Major Mike Argue's company after the intense fighting.

"We took a hammering," Southall said, with soldiers promoted in the field to replace fallen leaders.[51]

Subsequent Argentine shelling over two days killed four more Paras, a REME craftsman and wounded another seven. Argentine counter-fire on Wireless Ridge during the night of 13–14 June also caused injuries. Earlier on 12 June, Royal Marine Sergeant Peter Thorpe was wounded while assisting injured artillerymen trapped in a Snowcat disabled in a minefield.

The Argentines suffered 31 dead, 120 wounded, and 50 taken prisoner.

Lance-Corporal Vincent Bramley was patrolling the western half of Mount Longdon when he was confronted with the full horror of the night combat. The 3 PARA NCO and keen writer stumbled upon the bodies of five Paratroopers killed by Neirotti's 3rd Platoon.[52]

A few bullets whizzed overhead and smashed into the rocks. A corporal shouted that Tumbledown was firing at us. We ran into a tight gap in the path [and] came to an abrupt halt, as it was a dead end. Four or five bodies lay sprawled there, close together. This time they were our own men: the camouflaged Para smocks hit my eyes immediately. CSM [Company-Sergeant-Major] Weeks was standing over them like a guardian, screaming at some of his men to cover the further end of the path and a small crest. The CSM and Sergeant P [Pettinger] exchanged quick words. I wasn't listening; my mind was totally occupied with looking into the crags for the enemy. I turned and looked at our own lads, dead on the ground, mowed down when they tried to rush through this gap. I felt both anger and sadness. The CSM's face showed the strain of having seen most of his company either wounded or shot dead. That night's fighting was written in every line of his face.[53]

Decorations

The 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment won numerous decorations for this action:

• One Victoria Cross (Sergeant Ian McKay)  †
• One Distinguished Service Order (Lieutenant-Colonel Hew Pike)
• Two Military Crosses (Majors Mike Argue and David Collett)
• Two Distinguished Conduct Medals (Colour Sergeant Brian Faulkner and Sergeant John Pettinger)
• Three Military Medals (Sergeant Des Fuller, Corporal Ian Bailey, and Private Richard Absolon)
• Numerous Mentioned in dispatches

References

1. "Hugh Bicheno's book Razor's Edge, published in 2006, supports Cooksey's views while adding more details. For example, Bicheno gives the ration strength - the number of troops who needed to be fed on a daily basis -of 7 Infantry Regiment's B Company on Mount Longdon, perhaps including the artillerymen, engineers and marines that were attached to the company, as being 216 men, which fits with Pike's estimate on the evening of 12 June and Pearson's assessment on 13 June. The local Argentine commander on Mount Longdon was 7 Infantry Regiment's Second-in-Command, Major Carlos Carrizo-Salvadores. Cooksey's later biography of Sergeant Ian McKay, Falklands Hero, published in 2012, quotes correspondence from Carrizo-Salvadores, which reinforces the claim the Argentine strength on Mount Longdon totalled 278 men."Jigsaw Puzzles: Tactical Intelligence in the Falklands Campaign, Giles Orpen-Smellie, Amberley Publishing Limited, 15 June 2022
2. "BATALLA DE MONTE LONGDON". www.malvinense.com.ar.
3. Falklands Campaign Roll of Honour at Para data - section on 3 Para
4. "Our battalion had lost twenty-three men there, with more than sixty wounded." Forward into Hell, Vincent Bramley, John Blake Publishing
5. "Not long after, they heard that Lance-Corporal Hare of 2 Troop had been seriously wounded while on patrol with 3 Para." The Paratroopers, Ashley Brown, Jonathan Reed, p. 124, National Historical Society, 1990
6. The other companies had skirted one minefield on their approach and Staff Sergeant Pete Thorpe of Condor Troop Royal Engineers was later to lose his foot on a mine while trying to extract a damaged vehicle with injured gunners, near Murrell Bridge. The Yompers: With 45 Commando in the Falklands War, Ian Gardiner, p. 161, Pen & Sword, 2012
7. "Private Mick Southall estimated that only 30 British Paratroopers in B Company and supporting MILAN and GPMG platoons were left standing after the fierce night action: "The enemy soldiers were resolute to say the least ... That's why my company suffered 60 or 70 percent casualties ... My company was down to 30 blokes ... They were as patriotic and keen on their cause as we were on ours. They firmly believed they were fighting for the right thing and so did we ... They didn't run off, I'm sure that some did but a lot of them didn't." Private Southall, 3 Para - Memories of the Falklands War
8. La Guerra Inaudita: Historia del Conflicto del Atlántico Sur, Rubén Oscar Moro, p. 479-480, Pleamar, 01/01/1985
9. "La historia jamás contada del sanjuanino que participó de la batalla más larga de Malvinas". Diario de Cuyo. 17 June 2020.
10. "Monte Longdon: la batalla en la que los francotiradores argentinos desafiaron el sueño imperialista de la "pérfida" Inglaterra". Diario ABC. 14 June 2017.
11. Private Absolon was employed as a scout sniper with 3rd PARA the Patrol Company and tasked with the gaining of information on the enemy/
12. Wars of the Americas: A Chronology of Armed Conflict in the Western Hemisphere, 1492 to the Present, Volume 1, David Marley, p.1076, ABC-CLIO, 28 February 2008
13. 5th Infantry Brigade in the Falklands 1982, Nicholas Van der Bijl, David Aldea, p.161, Leo Cooper, 2003
14. 5th Infantry Brigade in the Falklands 1982, Nicholas Van der Bijl, David Aldea, p.29, Leo Cooper, 2003
15. Batallón 5: El Batallón de Infantería de Marina No. 5 en la Guerra de las Malvinas, Emilio Villarino, p.93, Aller Atucha, 1992
16. "Ahead of the main body, 2 Troop under Captain Robbie Burns was already ashore and had completed the long walk to Port Stanley with 3 Commando Brigade; 2 Troop claims to be the only 3 Commando Brigade unit to walk all the way to Stanley." The Paratroopers, Ashley Brown, Jonathan Reed, p. 124, National Historical Society, 1990
17. Jon Cooksey, 3 PARA Mount Longdon: The Bloodiest Battle, pp. 35-36, Pen & Sword Books Ltd
18. "Longdon was the most likely objective for his Battalion. He set up a patrol base in the area of the Murrell Bridge, protected by 4 Platoon from B Company. The Battalion's patrols staged through this patrol base, reducing the distance that they had to travel to reach Mount Longdon and return to the main position each night." 3 Commando Brigade in the Falklands, Julian Thomson, Pen & Sword, 2008
19. He was patrolling with Corporal Pete Hadden when another group of men emerged from the gloom. A no-go corridor had been agreed to avoid blue-on-blue incidents, but Terry had led Hadden's group across it. Recognising the approaching patrol, Sergeant John Pettinger told his team to hold its fire. But Terry was not so cautious and fired several rifle rounds at the 'enemy'.Invasion 1982: The Falkland Islanders' Story, Graham Bound, p. 189, Casemate Publishers, 2007
20. Hugh Bicheno, Razor's Edge: The Unofficial History of the Falklands War, p. 213, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2006
21. Nine battles to Stanley, Nicholas Van der Bijl, p.163, Leo Cooper, 30 September 1999
22. PARA!, p. 345, by Peter Harclerode
23. Volveremos!, Jorge R. Farinella, p. 125, Editorial Rosario, 1984
24. Christian Jennings & Adrian Weale, Green-Eyed Boys: 3 PARA & The Battle For Mount Longdon, p. 187
25. Daniel Kon, Los Chicos de la Guerra/The Boys of the War, p. 151, New English Library, 1983
26. Twilight Warriors: Inside the World's Special Forces. St Martin Press, 1995
27. Middlebrook, Martin (2001). The Falklands War, 1982. Classic military history (Rev. ed.). London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-139055-0.
28. Dominic Gray talks about his experiences fighting in the Falklands - BBC Everyman
29. James O'Connell, Three Days in June, p.?, Kindle edition, 2014
30. Nine battles to Stanley, Nicholas Van der Bijl, p.173, Leo Cooper, 30 September 1999
31. VGM Jorge "Beto" Altieri: "Yo defendí a la Patria y la Patria no me defiende… Yo necesito a la Patria…"BAHIANOTICIAS.COM 02/04/2009
32. "Entrevista Nº 147: Teniente Coronel (R) VGM Hugo Quiroga - Cia Ing Mec 10". 12 October 2022 – via www.youtube.com.
33. "- YouTube". www.youtube.com.
34. Christian Jennings and Adrian Weale, Green-Eyed Boys: 3 Para and the Battle for Mount Longdon, p. 142, HarperCollins, 1996
35. Crónica de las Grandes Batallas del Ejército Argentino: Historia de Caballeros Valientes y Desdichados, Alberto Jorge Maffey, p. 348, Círculo Militar, 2000
36. Above All, Courage: The Falklands Front Line - First-hand Accounts, Max Arthur, p. 220, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1985
37. Voces de Malvinas - Jorge Daniel Arribas
38. Middlebrook, Martin (1990). The fight for the "Malvinas": The Argentine forces in the Falklands War. Penguin history. London u.a: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-010767-8.
39. Peter Harclerode, PARA!: Fifty Years of The Parachute Regiment, p. 354, Arms & Armour Press, 1993
40. Jon Cooksey, 3 PARA Mount Longdon: The Bloodiest Battle, p. 98, Pen & Sword Books Ltd
41. Fighting Brits, Jim Keys, page 274, Lulu Press, 2013
42. Petition to honour Falklands soldier
43. Private Peter John Hedicker at SAMA82 
44. Nine battles to Stanley, Nicholas Van der Bijl, p.177, Leo Cooper, 30 September 1999
45. "Eran casi las siete y media cuando llegaron al pie del Longdon, recién ahí pudieron reunirse todos. La sección de Castañeda fue la última en dejar el monte; aunque el día 12 siguieron bajando soldados argentinos aislados, que se habían escondido. Rápidamente el teniente se trasladó al puesto comando del jefe de Regimiento. Y en el lugar se topó, no sin asombro, con el mayor Carrizo. –¿Novedades, teniente Castañeda? –¡Tres muertos, tres desaparecidos y veintiún heridos, mi mayor!" Del capítulo "El contraataque de Castañeda", Malvinas a Sangre y Fuego. Nicolás Kasanzew, Editorial Argentinidad, 2016
46. De los 46 hombres de mi sección, tuvimos seis fallecidos en combate y 21 heridos; ninguno de ellos, que eran soldados del Servicio Militar Obligatorio, se retiró del campo de batalla y todos dieron lo mejor de sí “Malvinas: 40 años”, la emotiva presentación del libro que rescata las historias de 22 protagonistas de la guerra
47. ‘You never get over it, but I have a double problem. I was fighting against Brits, people who were as good as family'
48. "With so many wounded, the Paras had to withdraw from some of the ground so that they could consolidate, the dead had to be left where they'd fallen and several of them had their maroon berets taken from them by Argentinian soldiers as spoils of war." Born For War: One SAS Trooper's Extraordinary Account of the Falklands War, Tony Hoare, p.?, Hachette, 2022
49. Nine battles to Stanley, Nicholas Van der Bijl, p.176, Leo Cooper, 30 September 1999
50. "Participar de un contraataque nocturno en el Monte Longdon que ejecutó una sección de Infantería, en condiciones meteorológicas desfavorables, en terreno abrupto y bajo intenso fuego enemigo de armas automáticas y de artillería. En dichas circunstancias combatir durante casi 4 horas a las distancias próximas y cuerpo a cuerpo asumiendo el puesto de estafeta a pie ante la muerte del titular' que operaba una radio. En dicha situación desempeñarse con arrojo, a decisión y gran espíritu de combate, arriesgando su vida en repetidas oportunidades, al desplazarse entre los grupos y soldados, para transmitir las órdenes que impertía el Jefe de la Sección." Armas y Geoestrategia, P. 116, Editorial CLIO S.A., 1983
51. "The reservists in Castaneda's platoon all knew each other well. Having been conscripted from Lanus and Bandfield, Buenos Aires, many of the conscripts indulged a taste for Hollywood movies and American swearing. This 46-man platoon came in at the critical moment and showed themselves to be willing to fight at close quarters. The platoon fought bitterly on the northern sector of Mount Longdon and not altogether without success. Castaneda's men made attacks on the advancing British Paratroopers, compelling them to eventually withdraw after 2 hours of brutal boulder-to-boulder fighting". Mount Longdon: The Argentinian Story Archived 1 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
52. "When Lieutenant Neirotti and his platoon sergeant were both badly wounded, Captain Lopez took over 3rd Platoon and gave Shaw's men a torrid time, especially when they missed a large bunker in the darkness." Nicholas Van der Bijl, Nine battles to Stanley, p. 172, Leo Cooper, 1999
53. Vincent Bramley, Excursion to Hell, p. 121, Bloomsbury 1991, ISBN 0-7475-0953-0

External links

• A Night to Remember: 3 Para on Mount Longdon
• 'I was told of Ian's death on the same day the ceasefire was announced'^[dead link‍], by his widow Marica McKay, whose husband Sergeant Ian McKay was killed storming a position that was pinning his platoon down
• Reassessing the Fighting Performance of Conscript Soldiers during the Malvinas/Falklands War (1982) by Alejandro L. Corbacho
• Former 7th Argentine Infantry Regiment veterans website
• Mount Longdon: The Argentine Story
• Recollections of Anglo-Argentine conscript Michael Savage of the 7th Infantry Regiment's C Company

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