Brit troops pay moving tribute to Falklands heroes by recreating the final march they made during the conflict four decades ago
BRITISH troops have paid a moving tribute to soldiers who died in the Falklands War by retracing the final steps their regiment took in the 1982 conflict.
Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment walked the 50 miles from Port San Carlos to Mount Longdon in memory of 23 men who died making the same journey 37 years before.
Port San Carlos is a port on the western coast of East Falkland, while Mount Longdon is a mountain overlooking the islands’ capital, Stanley, on the opposite coast.
Port San Carlos was used by British forces to land thousands of troops on the islands over the course of the war.
The original operation was carried out in difficult weather conditions and under fire on June 11 1982.
It succeeded in taking the high ground that surrounded Stanley, a crucial step towards liberating the capital and ending the conflict.
The Falklands War was fought between Britain and Argentina between April 2 and June 14 1982.
It was sparked by the invasion of the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory off the east coast of South America, by Argentina, ruled at the time by a dictatorship.
Calls for a military response were initially met with scepticism in Britain, but Margaret Thatcher’s decision to retake the islands, and the eventual success of the effort, led to a significant rise in her popularity at home.
The invasion met with international condemnation, with the governments of the US, France, and New Zealand offering the use of their equipment and facilities by British forces.
A motion condemning the invasion proposed by the British was also passed by the UN Security Council the day after its launched.
After losing the war, the military junta faced mounting opposition from the public in Argentina and was toppled the following year.
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Many of its senior members are now serving prison sentences for atrocities committing during their time in power.
Over the course of the ten-week campaign, 255 British and 633 Argentinian soldiers died, with 775 Brits and 1,657 Argentinians were wounded.
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