U.K. force meets fierce resistance on road to Stanley

Press, 29 May 1982, Page 1

U.K. force meets fierce resistance on road to Stanley

NZPA-Reuter London British forces trying to recapture the Falklands were reported yesterday to have run into fierce resistance from Argentinian troops.

Late yesterday the British Ministry of Defence announced that Argentinian aircraft had attacked British forces in the San Carlos area, but full reports were not available. Sea Harriers had made further bombing raids on Port Stanley airfield, said a Ministry official. Reports carried by the 8.8. C. said that British paratroopers were believed to have fired from high ground at Argentinian positions at Port Darwin and nearby Goose Green, and that fierce resistance had been met. Port Darwin is about 32km south of the beachhead at Port San Carlos. The 8.8. C. said that while paratroopers were advancing on Poft Darwin and Goose Green, where there was an airstrip and an estimated 600 Argentinian troops, Royal Marines, with Scorpion light tanks and artillery, were moving east towards the Falklands capital, Port Stan-

ley, 80km from the beachhead. The Argentinian garrison at Port Stanley is thought to be 7000 strong. There has been no official announcement on the progress of the British troops on the Falklands since Thursday afternoon, when the Prime Minister (Mrs Thatcher) said that they had surged out of their beachhead. British newspapers said yesterday that 3000 Royal Marines and paratroopers were moving south and east from the beachhead they established a week ago. Mrs Thatcher told Parliament: “Our forces on the ground are now moving forz ward.” However, she gave no details, citing a World War II security slogan: “Careless talk costs lives.” The Ministry of Defence, which had been giving daily press briefings, said that it had no news of the reported British advance, and declined to comment on Argentinian

reports of fighting around the beachhead. Military analysts said that the British troops were probably not reporting to the Royal Navy task force, preferring to’ maintain radio silence to safeguard their positions. The British Press Association reported that the commander of the British land forces, Brigadier Julian Thompson, of the Royal Marines, ordered the push towards the settlements of Port Darwin and Goose Green on Thursday. Helicopters flew paratroopers towards Port Darwin ’to prepare for an assault on Argentinian forces in the settlement. The offensive was backed by 105 mm howitzers and 81mm mortar barrages at dawn, it was understood.. The troops also used the anti-tank 120 mm Wombat gun, capable of breaching any fortified strongpoint. Sea Harriers staged raids to keep the defenders’ heads down, with 30mm cannon fire and the anti-personnel 8L755 cluster bombs. From Port Darwin and Goose Green, the British troops still face 80km of rough, boggy terrain before reaching Port Stanley. Britain’s Foreign Secretary (Mr Francis Pym) said yesterday that the Falklands action had gone “extraordinarily well.” Mr Pym, speaking on an Independent television programme, said: “This enormous task force has gone 8000 miles across the sea and has made a landing without any loss of the soldiers landed. “It is an amazing achievement, one of the biggest movements of troops ever seen.”

Questioned about the possibility of Britain bombing the Argentine mainland, Mr Pym said: “We have closed no military option. We have kept them all open because we do not know how circumstances will change.” However, he emphasised that such action would change the scale of Britain’s military action. "What we are trying to do is get a cease-fire coupled

with withdrawal,” Mr Pym said.

“If they will not go by peaceful means, then we are going to repossess them by force — it is their choice and it is up to them.” In Buenos Aires, the military High Command said that Argentinian wees had attacked the British beachhead, but the results were still being evaluated. A brief communique yesterday said that air attacks were launched against the British positions and that troops had advanced to engage British, forces. The High Command said that British Sea Harrier jets raided Port Stanley, Port Darwin, and Port Howard, on neighbouring West Falkland.

A Harrier had been shot down at Port Darwin, the High Command said. The official news agency, Telam, earlier quoted a military spokesman as saying that neither side was moving around the beachhead. Telam said that the British forces occupying a 150 sq km bulge were under constant attack from Canberra bombers.

The independent news agency, Noticias Argentines, said that Argentinian forces were poised for a big offensive to .drive the British back to the sea. The push would come “within hours.” .

The High Command said that the British hospital ship, the Ugafgl, was being used for military objectives off the Falklands. The vessel had been sighted in Falkland Sound, close to where the British landing was staged a week ago. The High Command said that the British Government had been informed through diplomatic channels of the “abnormal situation” of the Uganda. Britain had been asked to move the ship to a prudent distance from the zone of operations. If Britain persisted in using the Uganda for tasks inappropriate for a hospital ship, Argentina would not consider itself responsible for what happened, the High Command said.

Further reports, page 8