Battle of Two Sisters

The Battle of Two Sisters was an engagement of the Falklands War during the British advance towards the capital, Port Stanley. It took place from 11 to 12 June 1982 and was one of three battles in a Brigade-size operation all on the same night, the other two being the Battle of Mount Longdon and the Battle of Mount Harriet. Fought mainly between an assaulting British force consisting of Royal Marines of 45 Commando and an Argentine Company drawn from 4th Infantry Regiment (Regimiento de Infantería 4 or RI 4).

One of a number of night battles that took place during the British advance towards Stanley, the battle led to British troops capturing all the heights above the town, allowing its capture and the surrender of the Argentine forces on the islands.

Prelude

Composition of forces

The British force, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Whitehead, comprised the Royal Marines of 45 Commando, supported by the anti-tank troop from 40 Commando and six 105 mm guns of 29 Commando Regiment. The 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment (2 Para) was held in reserve. Naval gunfire support was provided by the twin 4.5-inch (114 mm) guns of HMS Glamorgan.

45 Commando was instructed to seize Two Sisters Mountain under cover of darkness, and to continue onto Mount Tumbledown if time permitted. However, Argentine resistance proved stiffer than anticipated, and the second phase of the attack was cancelled.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Argentinian force originally occupying Mount Challenger was commanded by Major Ricardo Cordón and consisted of the 4th Infantry Regiment or RI 4. The bulk of the defenders were drawn from C Company, with the 1st Platoon (Sub-Lieutenant Miguel Mosquera-Gutierrez) and 2nd Platoon (Sub-Lieutenant Jorge Pérez-Grandi) positioned on the northern peak of Two Sisters, and the 3rd Platoon (Sub-Lieutenant Marcelo Llambías Pravaz) on the southern peak. The 1st Platoon of A Company (Sub-Lieutenant Juan Nazer) and the Support Platoon (Second Lieutenant Luis Carlos Martella) were located on the saddle between the peaks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Major Óscar Jaimet’s B Company of the 6th Mechanized Infantry Regiment or RI Mec 6, acted as the local reserve, and occupied the saddle between Two Sisters and Mount Longdon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In early June, Jaimet’s company was reinforced by the Support Platoon under Second Lieutenant Marcelo Dorigón, drawn from B Company of the 12th Regiment (RI 12). This platoon had remained on Mount Kent after the rest of B Company had been helicoptered forward during the Battle of Goose Green.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

No-Man's-Land

File:Battleoftumbledown.svg

Night of 11 to 12 June, west of Stanley<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

On 2 June, the 4th Regiment's Operation Officer, Captain Carlos Alfredo López-Patterson, arrived to help in the defence of Two Sisters. He would visit the rifle platoons in order to maintain the defenders informed and raise morale:

On 4 June, the three rifle companies of 45 CDO advanced on Bluff Cove Peak, on the lower slopes of Mount Kent, and were able to occupy the feature without opposition and were met by patrols from the Special Air Service (SAS). On the night of 29 May, a fierce firefight had developed over capturing the two important hills, as they were intended to form part of an Argentine Special Forces line.

Captain Andrés Ferrero's patrol (3rd Assault Section, 602 Commando Company) reached the base of Mount Kent but were then promptly pinned down by machinegun and mortar fire. First-Sergeant Raimundo Máximo Viltes was badly wounded when a bullet shattered his heel. Air Troop had two SAS men wounded by rifle fire.Template:Blockquote Probing attacks around the D Squadron, SAS positions continued throughout the night and at 11:00 am local time on 30 May, about 12 Argentine Commandos (Captain Tomás Fernández's 2nd Assault Section, 602 Commando Company) tried to get up the summit of Bluff Cove Peak, but were driven off by D Squadron who killed two of the attackers, First Lieutenant Rubén Eduardo Márquez and Sergeant Óscar Humberto Blas.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

First Lieutenant Márquez and Sergeant Blas had shown great personal courage and leadership in the contact and were posthumously awarded the Argentine Medal of Valour in Combat. During this contact, the SAS suffered another two casualties from grenades after the Argentine Commandos had stumbled on a camp occupied by 15 SAS troopers.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Throughout 30 May, Royal Air Force Harriers were active over Mount Kent. One of them, responding to a call for help from D Squadron SAS, was badly damaged by small arms fire while attacking Mount Kent's eastern lower slopes. Sub-Lieutenant Llambías-Pravaz's platoon was later credited with the destruction of Harrier XZ963 flown by Squadron Leader Jerry Pook<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> with another claim going to 35 mm Oerlikons of the 601st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Group under the command of 2nd Lieutenant Roberto Enrique Ferre.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Blockquote The Harrier crashed into the South Atlantic 30 miles from the carrier HMS Hermes, Squadron Leader Pook ejected and was rescued.

On 5 June, two Royal Air Force Harriers operating from 'Sids Strip', the San Carlos Forward Operating Base, attacked the Argentine defenders on Two Sisters with rockets around midday.Template:Blockquote

A heavy mist hung over the Murrell River area, which assisted the 45 Commando Recce Troop to reach and sometimes penetrate the Argentine 3rd Platoon position under Subteniente Marcelo Llambías-Pravaz. Marine Andrew Tubb of Recce Troop later recalled:

Template:Blockquote (2 Army privates, Jose Romero and Andres Rodriguez and three sappers of a Marine mine-laying party were actually killed.)

For his patrol action, Lieutenant Chris Fox received the Military Cross, while Subteniente Llambías-Pravaz was able to pilfer and sport a Commando Beret that the Royal Marines had left behind during the Argentine counter-ambush.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In general terms, the Argentines were thoroughly entrenched, about 6,000 metres or less across no-man's-land. The Argentine positions were mined and heavily patrolled.

The 4th Regiment also carried out patrolling, and on the night of 6–7 June, Corporal Oscar Nicolás Albornoz-Guevara along with eight conscripts (including Private Orlando Héctor Stella, his pathfinder) from Subteniente Miguel Mosquera-Gutierrez's 1st Platoon crossed Murrell River and reached the area of Estancia Mountain where they detected a number of British vehicles, but the patrol soon came under mortar fire from 3 PARA and had to withdraw.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

On 8 June, Corporal Hugo Gabino MacDougall of B Company, 6th Regiment, claimed to have shot down a Harrier using a shoulder-launched Blowpipe missile.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The British confirm the loss of a GR.3 Harrier (XZ989) on that day, following an emergency landing at San Carlos due to battle damage. The pilot, Wing Commander Peter Squire walked away uninjured and XZ989 was scrapped post-war. Template:Blockquote<ref>In total, we carried out 130 attack sorties and lost three aircraft, all to ground fire. A fourth Harrier crashed during vertical landing at the 850 ft metal runway at San Carlos. This mishap stemmed from damage by small arms fire. Harrier: Ski-Jump to Victory, John Godden, p. 29. Brassey’s, 1983.</ref><ref>The final GR.3 to be lost was XZ989, flown by Peter Squire, which suffered a power loss on returning to the matted landing site; his aircraft hit the ground rather hard, irretrievably damaging it. BAE/McDonnell Douglas Harrier, Andy Evans, p. 75. Crowood Press, 1988.</ref>

The 12th Regiment Support Platoon under Subteniente Dorigón attached to Major Jaimet's B Company would reportedly live off the land. Private Ángel Ramírez:

At about 2.10 am local time on 10 June a strong 45 Commando fighting patrol probed the 3rd Platoon position. In the ensuing fight, Special Forces Sergeants Mario Antonio Cisneros and Ramón Gumercindo Acosta were killed; two more Argentine Special Forces lying in ambush for the Royal Marines were wounded. The British military historian Bruce Quarrie later wrote:

Major Aldo Rico, commander of the 602 Commando Company, had a lucky escape in this engagement, when an enemy 66mm projectile exploded uncomfortably close to him and First Lieutenant Horacio Fernando Lauría.<ref>Comandos en acción: El Ejército en Malvinas, Isidoro Ruiz Moreno, p. 355, Emecé Editores, 01/01/1986</ref> Captain Hugo Ranieri, who took part in this intense engagement as a specialist sniper, claims that First Lieutenant Jorge Vizoso-Posse, although wounded, shot three of the retreating Royal Marines in the back.<ref>Así lucharon, Carlos M. Túrolo, p. 316, Editorial Sudamericana, 1982</ref> First Lieutenant Horacio Fernando Lauría and Sergeant Orlando Aguirre claim to have destroyed a British machine-gun with rifle-grenades in this engagement.<ref>La Compañía 602 de Comandos</ref>

On that same night (9–10 June), a friendly fire incident occurred when Royal Marines returning from a reconnaissance patrol were mistaken for Argentines in the dark and a British mortar team opened fire on them. In the confusion, four Royal Marines (Sergeant Robert Leeming, Corporals Andrew Uren, Peter Fitton and Marine Keith Phillips) were killed and three were wounded.<ref>"It was during the night of 9/10 June that a returning British fighting patrol from 45 Commando Royal Marines was mistaken for the enemy and Sergeant Bob Leeming, Corporal Andy Uren, Corporal Pete Fitton, and Marine Keith Phillips were killed in the subsequent firefight which occurred just before the main assault on Two Sisters" Commando Veterans Association</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Marines shot comrades in Falklands conflict</ref> The next day, Sub-Lieutenant Llambías-Pravaz's men recovered the rucksacks and weapons the Royal Marines had left behind,<ref>Malvinas: relatos de soldados, Martín Balza, p. 120, Círculo Militar, 1985</ref> and these were presented as war trophies to Argentine war correspondents in Port Stanley who filmed and photographed the British equipment.<ref>La Guerra de las Malvinas, p. 420, Editorial Oriente, 1987</ref>

The Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre also carried out patrolling against Two Sisters; Sergeant Joseph Wassell and Lieutenant Fraser Haddow played an important part in the capture of the mountain when they discovered with their binoculars from their observation post on Goat Ridge, the command-detonated barrels of mines the Argentinian Marine engineers (under the direction of Major Jaimet) had dug in and planned to use on the saddle and eastern half of the mountain.<ref>Royal Marine Commando 1950–82: From Korea to the Falklands, William Fowler, p. 57, Osprey Publishing, 21/04/2009</ref>

On 11 June, several GR-3 Harriers took off from San Carlos airbase to drop cluster bombs on Mounts Longdon, Harriet and Two Sisters Mountain.<ref>"The GR3s, on the other hand, had a busy day. Four two-plane missions took from the airstrip, three to drop bombs on the Argentine positions on Two Sisters, Mount Harriet and Mount Longdon - the objective for the land assault due that night - and the other to bomb the Moody Brook barracks and Mount Tumbledown." The Royal Navy and Falklands War, David Brown, p.313, Pen & Sword, 1987</ref>

The Argentine Medical Officer with the 6th Regiment's B Company, First Lieutenant Alejandro Steverlynck reports that one Argentine soldier was killed during the final British air attack on Two Sisters and that he had to comfort with the assurance his wounds were minor and that he would now have a warm hospital bed and be able to watch the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Stanley Hospital before the young soldier died in his arms a short time later, but not before obtaining a smile from the dying man before the morphine that was applied took any real effect.<ref>Tte médico, Steverlynck Alejandro, Available on YouTube</ref>

Night battle

Captain Ian Gardiner's X-Ray Company spearheaded the assault on Two Sisters, accompanied by the unit's Commando-trained chaplain, the Revd Wynne Jones RN. Lieutenant James Kelly's 1 Troop secured the western third of the spineback on the southern peak ('Long Toenail') without opposition. However, at 11:00 pm local time,<ref>"Ten minutes later the 150 men of X Company were as good as new and began their assault at 11 pm." No Picnic: 3 Commando Brigade in the South Atlantic 1982, Julian Thompson, p. 131, Leo Cooper in association with Secker & Warburg, 1985</ref> Lieutenant David Stewart's 3 Troop encountered stiff resistance on the spineback and was unable to advance. After their attempt to dislodge the Argentine 3rd Platoon failed, Lieutenant Chris Caroe's 2 Troop launched a follow-up attack, but were beaten back by artillery fire called in by the Argentine Forward Observation Officer, Sub-Lieutenant Javier Tagle, of the 4th Airborne Artillery Group.<ref>"2 Troop battered their way to the top, to be temporarily forced off by the enemy artillery firing defensive fire tasks on to the objective." No Picnic: 3 Commando Brigade in the South Atlantic, Julian Thompson, p. 132, Casemate Publishers, 1992</ref><ref>"Inicialmente se apoyó al RI 4 en el Monte Dos Hermanas, dirigió el fuego hasta el momento del repliegue el subteniente Gavier Tagle." La Artillería Argentina en Malvinas, Horacio Rodríguez Mottino, p. 149, Editorial Clio, 1984</ref>

For nearly four hours, X-Ray Company remained pinned on the slopes.<ref>Chain of Command</ref> British softening-up fire swept back and forth across the high ground, but the Argentine 3rd Platoon under Second Lieutenant Llambías-Pravaz, supported by a section from Mario Pacheco's 10th Engineer Company and shouting Guarani war cries,<ref>Nine Battles to Stanley, Nick van der Bijl, p. 178, Pen & Sword Books, 2014</ref> repelled all attempts to dislodge them. The position was finally cleared at about 2:45 am.<ref>"Second-Lieutenant Llambías-Pravaz's 3rd Platoon, on Long Toenail, the south-western feature, opened fire on X Company at 11.30 pm and was not dislodged until about 2.45 am." 5th Infantry Brigade in the Falklands 1982, Nicholas van der Bijl & David Aldea, p. 177, Leo Cooper, 2003</ref><ref>"To the west, X Company had pushed Llambias-Pravaz' platoon and Corporal Pacheco's section off Long Toenail by about 2.45am." Nine Battles to Stanley, p. ?, Leo Cooper, 1999</ref>

Recognising that a single company could not secure Two Sisters before dawn, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Whitehead brought up the battalion’s remaining two rifle companies.<ref>'Zulu!' The Battle for Two Sisters</ref> At about 12:30 am local time,<ref>No Picnic: 3 Commando Brigade in the South Atlantic 1982, Julian Thompson, p. 132, Leo Cooper in association with Secker & Warburg, 1985</ref> Yankee and Zulu Companies began their assault on the northern peak of Two Sisters, known as 'Summer Days'. In a hard-fought engagement lasting two hours,<ref>"For the next two hours the men were pinned down, unable to move due to the sheer weight of enemy fire coming down the mountain towards them. In one mortar blast their troop commander was also badly wounded in the neck by shrapnel, a Royal Engineer attached to the troop to clear enemy booby traps was killed and a troop signaller received a scalp injury." The 72-hour battle that won the Falklands War, The Telegraph, 12 June 2022</ref> the Marines faced two well-positioned Argentine rifle platoons under Subtenientes Mosquera-Gutiérrez and Pérez-Grandi. Despite sustained heavy machine-gun and mortar fire, they succeeded in capturing the summit.

Argentine mortar platoon commander Lieutenant Martella, who had already expended much of his ammunition attempting to stop 42 Commando’s advance on Mount Harriet, was killed during this phase of the battle.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Two British platoon commanders were wounded in the bombardment, and a Royal Engineer attached to clear booby traps was killed. Marine Chris Cooke later recalled: "The three officers in my company pledged to have a drink together at the other end of the island, but only one made it, the other two left with shrapnel wounds."<ref>Falklands return, Julie Armstrong, News & Star, 21 August 2008 Template:Webarchive</ref>

Zulu Company platoon commander Lieutenant Clive Dytor was awarded the Military Cross for rallying 8 Troop and leading a bayonet charge to take the peak. Reflecting on the moment, he said:

"I began listening to our rate of fire and I realised we were going to run out of ammunition. Then I remembered a line in a book about the Black Watch in the Second World War. They were pinned down and the adjutant stood up and shouted, 'Is this the Black Watch? Charge!’ What I didn’t remember, until I read it again later, was that he was actually cut in half at that point by a German machine gun. The next thing I knew I was up and running on my own, shouting, 'Zulu, Zulu, Zulu,’ which was our company battle cry and also the battle cry of my father’s old regiment, the South Wales Borderers."<ref>Falklands War hero explains why he entered the church after being awarded the Military Cross, *The Telegraph*, by Sean Rayment</ref>

Second Lieutenant Aldo Eugenio Franco and his RI 6 platoon, having abandoned a planned counterattack<ref>Aldo Franco, el veterano de Malvinas que se reinventó y hoy tiene un proyecto solidario</ref> in conjunction with Major David Carullo’s Panhard armoured car squadron,<ref>“Cuando aclaró, a eso de las nueve de la mañana del sábado, vi que también se estaban replegando los vehículos cazatanques Panhard: habían sido enviados para apoyar a los dos regimientos y volvieron bajo una lluvia de fuego.” Malvinas A Sangre y Fuego, Nicolás Kasanzew, p. 182, Editorial Abril, 1982</ref> because Argentine forces no longer held the peaks of Two Sisters,<ref>Malvinas: Testimonio de su Gobernador, Mario Benjamín Menéndez, Carlos M. Túrolo, p. 273, Editorial Sudamericana, 1983</ref> provided covering fire for the withdrawal and prevented Yankee Company from attacking C Company during its retreat.<ref name="autogenerated239">The Fight for the "Malvinas": The Argentine Forces in the Falklands War, Martin Middlebrook, p. 239, Penguin, 1990</ref><ref>5th Infantry Brigade in the Falklands 1982, Nicholas van der Bijl & David Aldea, p. 178, Leo Cooper, 2003</ref>

Augusto Esteban La Madrid, a second lieutenant in the local reserve who had been tasked with supporting Major Cordon, told historian Martin Middlebrook that during the final stages of the action, "Subteniente Franco's platoon was left as a rearguard, but he made it back to Tumbledown OK."<ref name="autogenerated239" />

Private Oscar Poltronieri, who delayed Yankee Company with accurate fire from his rifle and a machine gun, was awarded the Argentine Nation to the Heroic Valour in Combat Cross (CHVC), Argentina’s highest decoration for bravery.<ref name="autogenerated239" />

Sub-Lieutenant Nazer had been wounded while covering the withdrawal. The remnants of his platoon, placed under the command of Corporal Virgilio Rafael Barrientos, later occupied positions on Sapper Hill. Sub-Lieutenants Mosquera-Gutiérrez and Pérez-Grandi were also wounded during the British bombardment, and their remaining troops were placed under the command of Captain Carlos López Patterson, the 4th Regiment’s Operations Officer. He established blocking positions between Mount Tumbledown and Wireless Ridge alongside the dismounted 10th Armoured Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, under Captain Rodrigo Alejandro Soloaga.<ref>Escuadrón de Exploración de Caballería Blindado 10</ref> These forces engaged forward elements of 3 PARA, notably A Company on Mount Longdon, with heavy machine-gun and mortar fire during 12 and 13 June. This pressure eventually forced No. 3 Platoon (Lieutenant David Wright) to withdraw from the eastern summit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After securing Two Sisters, 45 Commando came under retaliatory fire from surrounding Argentine positions. Captain Gardiner’s X-Ray Company reported Corporal Frank Melia wounded during the daylight hours of 12 June, after attracting mortar fire originating from Tumbledown Mountain.<ref>“Corporal Frank Melia heard a mortar coming in which must've had his name on it because as it came in, he dived, and the only place to go was in this hole on top of the bodies! The mortar went off really close and a bit of shrapnel carved a neat nick right out of the top of his head. He survived, and never was nonchalant about mortar fire again.” Above All, Courage: The Falklands Front Line – First-Hand Accounts, Max Arthur, p. 278, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1985</ref> Several Marines sheltering in abandoned Argentine bunkers on Two Sisters were incapacitated due to near-misses from Argentine shellfire including 105mm OTO Melara and 155mm CITER L33 rounds. Although the bunkers provided some protection, repeated shock waves from close impacts caused temporary and, in some cases, permanent hearing loss.<ref>“The Argentine artillery fire was pretty accurate, so the bunkers vacated by our enemies were now put to use again and protected many men from the worst of the onslaught ... Shells were landing within a few metres of our positions and the shock waves rattled one to the core. Men were deaf for hours and some the damage to their hearing was permanent and irreparable.” The Yompers: With 45 Commando in the Falklands War, Ian Gardiner, Pen & Sword, 2012</ref>

On 13 June, two Argentine A-4 Skyhawk from Grupo 5, attacked vehicles and helicopters stationed near 3 Commando Brigade Headquarters, located on the lower western slopes of Two Sisters near the Murrell River. The raid resulted in one helicopter crewman injured and significant damage to three Gazelle helicopters.<ref>McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, Brad Elward, p. 759, Crowood, 2001</ref><ref>Above All, Courage, Max Arthur, p. 85, Cassell & Co., 2002</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">The Falklands 1982: Ground Operations in the South Atlantic, Gregory Fremont-Barnes, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2012</ref>

The attack, involved one Skyhawk dropping bombs while the second strafed with 20 mm cannon fire.<ref>No Picnic, Julian Thompson, p. 147, Casemate Publishers, 1992</ref> The damage was confined to helicopters and nearby vehicles, one crewman suffered a blast wound and perforated eardrums, another a mild concussion.<ref>I Counted Them All Out and I Counted Them All Back: The Battle for the Falklands, Brian Hanrahan & Robert Fox, p. 147, Chivers Press, 1982</ref> Overall disruption to 3 Commando Brigade operations was limited, though the damage did cause delays to 2 PARA's preparations for the following evening’s assault.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

On the morning of 14 June, as 45 Commando positioned on the forward slopes of Two Sisters prepared to reinforce the Welsh Guards consolidating on Sapper Hill, a Snowcat tracked vehicle from 407 Transportation Troop entered a minefield. The driver dismounted to warn following vehicles of the danger, but stepped on an anti-personnel mine, sustaining severe injuries that required evacuation by helicopter.<ref>Forgotten Voices of the Falklands, Hugh McManners, p. 432, Random House, 2008</ref>

Naval bombardment

Naval gunfire support was provided by HMS Glamorgan's twin 4.5-inch (114 mm) guns. The naval gunfire officer accompanying the Royal Marines had been wounded early in the battle for Two Sisters,<ref>"The naval gunfire support spotting officer was wounded during the early stages of the attack, but his assistant, Bombardier E. M. Holt, took over and continued to give accurate directions to the ship and was subsequently awarded the Military Medal." The Royal Navy and Falklands War, David Brown, p. 318, Pen & Sword, 1987</ref> but Bombardier Edward Holt from 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, took over and continued to give swift and accurate directions to the destroyer and was subsequently awarded the Military Medal.<ref>Commando Veterans Archive</ref>

On the night of the battle Glamorgan was asked to remain in action longer than planned, to help Yankee Company clear Subteniente Aldo Franco's rifle platoon on the eastern half of Two Sisters covering the Argentine withdrawal.<ref>"While we in 45 Commando were all heavily engaged on our mountain, the battle for Two Sisters continued out at sea. The knock-on effect of all the delays meant that HMS Glamorgan was still being asked for fire missions when she should have been sailing away from the coast before daylight and safety from air attack. Captain Mike Barrow, knowing that 45 Commando were fighting for their lives on Two Sisters, decided that he should stay as long as he possibly could to support us." The Yompers: With 45 Commando in the Falklands War, Ian Gardiner, p. ?, Pen & Sword, 2012</ref> As the destroyer took a short cut closer to the shoreline a RASIT radar of the Argentinian Army tracked her movements.<ref>"Glamorgan was about seventeen miles offshore and taking a short cut across the shore-based Exocet limit line when her radar picked up a signature the same size and speed of a 155mm shell ... Glamorgan launched a Seacat missile which passed close to the missile, however, it skipped onto the flight deck and skidded into the hangar. Burning fuel from a Wessex flooded through a hole into the galley and a fireball thundered into the gas turbine room." 9 Battles To Stanley, Nick van der Bijl, p. 63, Pen & Sword, 2014</ref>

Two MM38 Exocet missiles had been removed from the destroyer ARA Seguí<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> and secured on launcher, dubbed 'ITB' (Instalación de Tiro Berreta) "trashy firing platform".<ref name=firing>YouTube video discussing setting up the ITB and showing its firing, narrated in Spanish</ref> The missiles, launcher, transporter, and associated electronics trailer were flown by transport aircraft to the Falkland Islands on 31 May.<ref>The ingenious Berreta Shooting Facility in Malvinas</ref>

At 0336 local time, the British skipper, Commander Ian Inskip, looking at the radar screen, realized that Glamorgan was under attack by an anti-ship missile, and ordered a highspeed turn just before the Exocet struck the port side adjacent to the hangar. The missile skidded on the deck and detonated, making a Template:Convert hole in the hangar deck and a Template:Convert hole in the galley area below, where a fire started.<ref name="InskipIan">Template:Cite book</ref>

The blast travelled forwards and down, and the missile, penetrated the hangar door, causing the ship's Wessex helicopter (HAS.3 XM837) to explode and start a severe fire in the hangar. Fourteen crew members were killed and about twenty wounded.<ref name="rnaportland.org">Template:Cite web</ref>

Aftermath

The next morning Colonel Andrew Whitehead looked in wonderment at the strength of the positions the enemy had abandoned. "With fifty Royals," he said, "I could have died of old age holding this place." (Max Hastings, Going To The Wars, p. 363, Macmillan 2000) Although the British unit seemed at the time to have had an easy victory, those actually engaged with the enemy platoons would have been unlikely to agree. Marine Nick Taylor that fought for the southern peak of Two Sisters as part of X-Ray Company explained in a 2012 interview with a major British newspaper that it was the “ferocity and superior firepower of the British forces (that) gained the advantage and the Argentinians retreated”.<ref>After a bloody battle a Royal Marine found an enemy camera. Thirty years later Nick Taylor tracked down the Argentine soldier in the pictures</ref>

Thirty years later, Marine Keith Brown recalled the fighting for the northern peak and concluded

British-American historian Hugh Bicheno has been critical of the 6th Infantry Regiment's 'B' Company who, he claims, withdrew in a disorderly manner from front-line positions at the opening of the battle, although this seems to have little foundation. Brigadier-General Oscar Luis Jofre had certainly been planning to counterattack on Two Sisters but with the defenders no longer in possession of the twin peaks, he ordered the abandonment of the feature and later wrote All of a sudden, we suffer the first emotional impact. It was 04.45 when we received reports from Major Jaimet saying that the defenders on Two Sisters could no longer resist the enemy attack and would begin their withdrawal.<ref>Malvinas: La Defensa de Puerto Argentino, Oscar Luis Jofre, Félix Roberto Aguiar, p. 223, Editorial Sudamericana, 1987</ref> Major Oscar Ramón Jaimet has gone on record, saying in the Argentinean newspaper La Gaceta that he had designated Sub-Lieutenant Franco to cover the Argentinean withdrawal and that Argentinean artillery fire was brought down in error amongst the company.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Indeed, the company withdrew in good order, according to the Spanish-speaking warrant officer attached to 3 Commando Brigade Headquarters in the fighting.<ref>Argentine forces in the Falklands. By Nick Van der Bijl & Paul Hannon. Page 14. Osprey Publishing. (July 30, 1992) </ref> The Argentine Army Official Report on the war recommended Major Oscar Ramon Jaimet and CSM Jorge Edgardo Pitrella of the 6th Regiment's B Company for an MVC (Argentine Nation to the Valour in Combat Medal) for the conduct of their fighting withdrawal and subsequent behaviour on Tumbledown (this was later granted to Major Jaimet, Pitrella was awarded the Argentine Army to the Effort and Abnegation Medal).<ref>[1] Template:Webarchive</ref>

Sergeant-Major George Meachin of Yankee Company later praised the fighting abilities and spirit of the Argentine defenders of the northern peak in the form of the men of Pérez-Grandi and Mosquera-Gutierrez:

Hugh Bicheno described the moonscape of devastation:

With the telephone lines to the command post in shreds, Llambías Pravaz led his men to join M Company, 5th Marine Infantry Battalion on Sapper Hill.<ref>Nicholas van der Bijl, Nine Battles to Stanley, p. 182, Leo Cooper, 1999</ref> He had nearly been killed in the fighting when a rock impacted his helmet after a Milan missile exploded close behind him.<ref>Malvinas: Relatos de Soldados, Martín Antonio Balza, p.122, Círculo Militar, 1986</ref>

The X-Ray Company Marines were in awe of the Argentines in the depleted 3rd Platoon who had put up such determined resistance, and their company commander, Captain Gardiner in the book Above All, Courage (Above All, Courage: The Falklands Front Line: First-Hand Accounts, Max Arthur, pp. 389–390, Sidwick & Jackson, 1985) later said:

Some 30 years later, Marine Nick Hunt of X-Ray Company got in contact with Sub-Lieutenant Marcelo Llambías-Pravaz, and in a televised reunion on the southern peak of the mountain, he returned the pictures he had found of the army officer and his platoon of conscripts the morning after the Royal Marines had stormed the position.<ref>YouTube - Ex-Marine Nick Hunt & former Argentine 2d. Lt. Marcelo Llambías-Pravaz in a televised reunion on the mountain.</ref>

Casualties

Seven Royal Marine Commandos and a sapper from 59 Independent Commando Squadron, Royal Engineers were killed taking Two Sisters.<ref>12 June: Troops advance on land, but Glamorgan struck by Exocet</ref><ref name="The Falkland Islands"/><ref name="ReferenceB">"All three companies then fought brisk battles on their objectives, suffering eight killed and seventeen wounded in the process." Jigsaw Puzzles: Tactical Intelligence in the Falklands Campaign, Giles Orpen-Smellie, p. ?, Amberley Publishing Limited, 2022</ref><ref>"The British had lost twenty-three men on Longdon, eight on Two Sisters and another seven on Mount Harriet, the Argentines having fought more valiantly than is often remembered." Who Dares Wins: Britain, 1979-1982, Dominic Sandbrook, Penguin UK, 2019</ref> Another 17 British marines in 45 Commando,<ref>Royal Marines Historical Time Line 1975 - 1999</ref><ref name="ReferenceB"/> including platoon commanders (Lieutenants Fox, Denning and Davies) were wounded. 20 Argentines were killed in the first eleven days of June and the night of the battle, with 50 wounded<ref name="autogenerated177"/> and 54 taken prisoner.

HMS Glamorgan, which was providing Naval gunfire support (NGS) stayed in her position to support the Royal Marine Commandos who were pinned down. HMS Glamorgan stayed past the time she was meant to leave and was hit by a land-based Exocet missile, fourteen crew were killed and more wounded as a result of this attack.<ref>HMS Glamorgan’s casualties Wales online</ref><ref name="rnaportland.org"/>

Awards and citations

Argentine forces

• Cross for Heroic Valour in Combat to Private Oscar Poltronieri<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• “La Nación Argentina al Valor en Combate” to:
  • First Lieutenant Rubén MárquezTemplate:KIA, 602 Commando Company<ref name=ea>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • First Sergeant Oscar BlasTemplate:KIA, 602 Commando Company<ref name=ea/> Fb
  • Sergeant Sergio GarcíaTemplate:KIA, 25th Infantry Regiment<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Corporal Mario CastroTemplate:KIA, 25th Infantry Regiment<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Private Fabricio CarrascullTemplate:KIA, 25th Infantry Regiment<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

All are buried at the Argentine Military Cemetery.

British forces

• Distinguished Service Order to Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Whitehead<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Military Cross to:
  • Lieutenant Clive Dytor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Lieutenant Christopher Fox<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Lieutenant David Stewart<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Distinguished Conduct Medal to Corporal Julian Burdett<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Military Medal to:
  • Corporal Andrew Bishop<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Corporal D. Hunt<ref name="Naval-History.net">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Marine Gary W. Marshall<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Corporal Harry Siddall<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Military Medal to supporting units:
  • Bombardier Edward Holt, 29 Commando Regiment RA<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Sergeant J D Wassel M&AW Cadre<ref name="Naval-History.net"/>
• Mentioned in Despatches: Corporal Christopher Brown, Lieutenant Christian Caroe, Captain Michael Cole<ref name="MID45">Template:Cite web</ref>

References

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• 45 Commando's approach to and Battle for Two Sisters
• 'Zulu!': The Battle for Two Sisters
• Captain Ian Gardiner recalls the fighting
• Argentine conscripts re-live Two Sisters battle Template:Webarchive
• Two Sisters Mountain: The Argentinian Story
• Lieutenant Clive Dytor remembers his role during the attack on Two Sisters. He was awarded the MC (accessed Sunday 25 March 2012)
• MOD news: Marines in emotional return to the Falklands

External links

• The Battle for Two Sisters