Falklands War

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I hope this has become not just a standard work for military historians, but will appeal to new readers who have lost faith in war and diplomacy as experienced in the 21st century, and might value an important point of reference.

Despite their appearance in one of the most famous images of the war, the triumphant raising of the Falkland Islands’ flag when the islands were liberated, the role of NP8901 has been largely overlooked. Although Desmond Rice and Arthur Gavshon’s The Sinking of the Belgrano covered much more than just the sinking of the ship, it represented the first time that an account from a member of the crew of HMS Conqueror had appeared in print.Contained are firsthand accounts of the air-sea battles and landings that wrested the islands back the Argentine force. Nick van der Bijl was part of in HQ 3 Commando Brigade and serving with its Intelligence Section of Royal Marines during the war. Consisting of articles from The Telegraph’s archives, it provides a contemporary account of how the newspaper covered the conflict. This purpose is clearly achieved, as is the poor decision or no decision making by the MOD and FO in the build up to the attack. It is enhanced by a good introductory Foreword by General Julian Thompson and is certainly well recommended.

The book focusses on the military side of the story, but obviously politics and local history are part of the cause of this conflict and needed to be included. In the case of the UK that image was maybe prolonged – it was given an afterlife, a kind of zombie-life. It shows how quickly the situation can change during conflict and the need for personnel to react quickly and look out for one another. The fact that HMS 'Invincible' had a damaged gas turbine engine replaced under the cover of darkness on 5 June 1982 (See Rodney Burden et al, Falklands: The Air War, p. Middlebrook gives the bare bones of the history of the Falklands, diplomacy, and the political side of the war to set the scene for his narrative of the military buildup and military operations.

Middlebrook not only gives an account of what happened and analysis of how and why things happened, he includes accounts from participants (unfortunately just from the British and the Falklanders, but not because he didn't try to get accounts from the other side). When 3 Commando Brigade landed at San Carlos on 21 May to retake the islands he commanded the newly formed J Company in 42 Commando and was in Stanley to see the Argentinian surrender. This thoughtful and timely book will be read with interest by those wanting to understand the Falklands War and the legacies of Empire in Britain. It is well written and given my interest in the topic -- this war was perhaps the first that I consciously experienced, via the news, from start to end -- I finished the book quite quickly.