Sapper Hill
Sapper Hill | |
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corral at Sapper Hill, (120 m in diameter, 3 m high); dated 1840s | |
Highest point | |
Coordinates | 51°42′25″S 57°52′12″W / 51.707°S 57.870°W |
Geography | |
Sapper Hill (453 ft) is on
Falklands War
The bulk of the 5th Marine Battalion was deployed on Mounts Tumbledown and William.
BIM 5 positions were bombarded, from the sea by naval gunfire and from the air by Royal Air Force Harriers, during May and June. On 1 May a Private from M Company was killed during a Naval bombardment.
As part of the British plan for the Battle of Mount Tumbledown, the 1st Battalion the 7th Gurkha Rifles (1/7 GR) was given the task of capturing the sub-hill of Mount William held by O Company, the 5th Marine Battalion's reserve, and then allow the Royal Marines under the command of the Welsh Guards through to seize Sapper Hill, the final obstacle before Stanley. The attacks were supported by naval gunfire from HMS Active. During the initial assault, Royal Marines from C company, 40 Commando were inserted close to the Argentine position by helicopter and immediately began an assault using General Purpose Machine Guns and 66mm anti-tank rockets.
After the Battle of Mount Tumbledown, the 5th Marines withdrew to Stanley, leaving M Company to cover their retreat. Three Argentine Marines were killed covering the withdrawal in a firefight with men from 9 Troop Charlie Company, 40 Commando Royal Marines. Marine Midshipman Marcelo Davis's 1st Platoon from M/BIM 5 attempted a counterattack but were beaten back.
Argentine Panhard armoured cars were moved forward to the edge of Stanley to cover the retreating troops.[5]
When the Welsh Guardsmen advanced they found Sapper Hill abandoned.
- We were led to an area that the company would rest at for the night, I still took in the fact the Argies had prepared Sapper Hill well, they had depth positions that would have made the task of taking it very hard. (Excerpt from the diary of Guardsman Tracy Evans, who served in 4 Platoon, 2 Company, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards)
Demining Operations
Almost 30 years after Britain and Argentina went to war, a project was launched to rid the territory of the approximately 19,000
References
- ^ Strange, Ian (1983) The Falkland Islands
- ^ La historia de los perros de Malvinas
- ^ An Argentine attack on the Royal Marines right flank was driven back ... The firing gradually slowed down and the Argentines evacuated Sapper Hill, as the Royal Marines slowly got to their feet. Victory in the Falklands, Nick Van Der Bijl, Pen & Sword, 2007
- ^ Cuando le ordené al guardiamarina Davis: "¡Listo, nos vamos !", él todavía estaba pensando en el contraataque, y salió disparando hacia el frente, o sea al revés ... Es que Davis y sus hombres estaban listos para largar el contraataque. Fue impresionante su actitud ofensiva. Malvinas: 20 años, 20 héroes, p. 328, Fundación Soldados, 2002
- ^ Un ejemplo de opreración conjunta: Hércules y Panhard
- ^ Mine clearance report