Carolingian Empire

The Carolingian Empire was a Frankish empire established by Charlemagne, king of the Franks, in 800, lasting until 843. It had a very large territorial extension, which comprised today’s France, the Low Countries, Austria, Switzerland, Northern Italy, and the Western half of Germany. The empire was called “Carolingian” because of the Carolingian dynasty, which had been established by Charles Martel, who was Charlemagne’s grandfather. The word “carolingian” is the variant of “carlovingian”, which means kingdom of Carlo, which is the Latin version of Charles. The original German variant of “Charles” is Kerl.

The origin of the Carolingian Empire was the kingdom of the Salian Franks, founded by the Frankish chief Merovech in the 5th century, in Gaul (France). The Franks were one of the many Germanic tribes that had invaded the Roman Empire in 4th and 5th centuries. Before becoming king of the Franks, Charlemagne’s father, Pepin the Short, was first mayor of the king Childeric III’s palace. Since the mayor of the palace was the commander of the army, Pepin the Short held a lot of political and military power. In 751, he overthrew king Childeric III, who was irresolute and weak, proclaiming himself new king of the Franks.

Upon the death of Pepin in 768, the crown was inherited by his sons Charles and Carloman, but, since the latter would die three years later, Charles would be the only ruler as he would become known as Charlemagne, which is the Latin word for “Charles the Great”. Once a king, he would launch a series of military campaigns to bring unity to his kingdom and christianize the pagans. The best known of these campaigns was the Saxon Wars, which was a war to christianize the Saxon tribes, who still were a polytheistic people, as he conquered the western half of Germany. In 800, Charlemagne saved Pope Leo III from a conspiracy to depose him. In gratitude for having restored his papal powers and for expanding Christianity, Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor of the Romans, in an attempt to restore the ancient Roman Empire.

When Charlemagne died in 814, the Imperial crown was inherited by his son Ludwig I, the Pius, (or Louis I, the Pious, in French). Despite the size and military power of the Carolingian Empire, it did not last long. Upon Ludwig I’s death, in 840, the empire would be inherited by his three sons: Lothair I, Charles the Bald, and Ludwig II, who would plunge the empire into a civil war as the fought against one another.

After three years of vicious fighting, they decided to put an end to the armed struggled and signed the Treaty of Verdun in 843, by which the Carolingian Empire got divided into three separate kingdoms: Charles the Bald received the Western portion, which in time would become France; Lothair was given the central part, which included the territory of today’s Italy, Switzerland, and the Low Countries; while Ludwig II (or Louis) obtained the eastern portion, and the biggest one, called Germania, which over the centuries would become Germany.

Below, the map of Europe showing the extension of the Carolingian Empire, which included the whole of France, Belgium, Holland, Austria, half of Italy, the western portion of Germany and a small part of Spain.

Falklands War

The Falklands War was an armed struggle fought between Argentina and the United Kingdom, from April 2 to June 14, 1982, on the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), South Atlantic. It broke out when an Argentinian invading force composed of 650 men captured the islands during the late hours of April 1 and early hours of April 2. The next day, a small Argentine military unit, composed of 65 marines, would also seize South Georgia Island.

Although the British government had obtained secret information that the Argentinean military government was planning to invade the islands, the British people were shocked and outraged, even though most of the British population did not even know where the islands were located. Manipulated by mass media, the British public opinion regarded it as a total foreign aggression on British soil.

The man who decided to launch such an invasion was General Fortunato Galtieri, president of Argentina, and army commander who presided over the military junta that ruled the country. The reason for such an unexpected attack was twofold: 1) the Argentina’s historic demands to exert her State sovereignty over the islands since the British had invaded them in 1833, as they defeated and expelled the Argentinean military detachment and their small population; 2) the military government needed some important event to distract public attention from its domestic problems, such as unemployment, inflation, and growing budget deficit. At the time, the Prime Minister of Great Britain was the Conservative Margaret Thatcher, a single-minded woman of great determination and whom the Argentine military had underestimated. On April 5, two British aircraft carriers, the HSM Invincible and the HSM Hermes, set sail for the Falklands, leading 120 surface vessels and one nuclear submarine.

The first military encounters occurred before the British landed on the islands. On May 2, an Argentinian cruiser, the ARA General Belgrano, was sunk by the British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror, as it headed towards the islands; 323 Argentinian sailors got killed, and 700 rescued. On May 4, an Argentine Navy strike aircraft, a Super Étendard, launched a French-made Exocet missile and hit HMS Sheffield, a destroyer Type 42, which sank four days later. Three other British warships an one transport ship were struck and sunk by the Argentinian attack aircraft A4 Skyhawks and Super Etendard on May 21, 1982: the HMS Coventry, HMS Ardent, HMS Antelope, and the Atlantic Conveyor. However, the carrier-based British fighters, Sea Harriers, had begun their hunt for enemy aircraft, shooting down 36 enemy fighters, thus obtaining air superiority for the British fleet. As a result, the British 2 Para Battalion and the 45 Commando Royal Marines were able to land on the shore of San Carlos Bay, on the west coast of Eastern Falkland on May 21. They were followed by other units, such as the 42 Commando, 40 Commando, 3 Para, and Gurkha Rifles.

On May 28, the 2 Para men fought the first ground battle of the war, the Battle of Goose Green, in which the British had the difficult task of eliminating machine gun nests and pillboxes located on top hills. Having defeated the Argentinians, the British paratroopers headed east, toward Port Stanley, the capital of the Falklands. Meanwhile, the Royal Marines defeated the Argentine Army infantry regiments 12 and 6, and one marine battalion BIM 5 at the battles of Two Sisters, Mount Tumbledown, Mount Kent, and Bluff Cove. Meanwhile, the 3 Commando Brigade defeated the 4th Monte Casero Regiment at the Battle of Mount Harriet, which was fought from June 11 to June 12. At the same time, on exactly the same date, the British 3 Para managed to overrun and take the Argentinean positions on Mount Longdon as the Argentinean conscripts fell back towards Stanley.

The British were professional soldiers highly trained during the Cold War to fight against Soviet troops in cold weather conditions. As a result, the cold and windy weather of the Falklands did not affect them as it affected the Argentine conscript soldiers who had only had 2 months of military training in the warm weather of Argentine northern provinces.

As the bulk of the British ground forces closed in on Stanley, most of the Argentinian troops panicked and ran away towards the capital, but ferocious battles were fought between the Royal Marines and some hard and stubborn Argentine units. Finally, on June 14, the commander of the Argentine forces on the Falklands, General Mario Menendez, surrendered and signed the cease fire together with the British commander Major General Jeremy Moore. The Falklands War had ended.

Below, Royal Marines surrender to the Argentinean marine commandos and naval frogmen, who were the first to set foot on the shores of the Falklands on April 1 and 2, 1982.

Below, map of East Falkland showing the landing points during Operation Rosario, the Argentine invasion that triggered the war.

Argentinean Air Force A-4 Skyhawk aircraft attack British ships in San Carlos Water (footage/video)

Argentine Invasion of the Falklands

The Argentine invasion of the Falklands took place on April 2, 1982. It was successfully carried out by a mixed amphibious force composed of Argentinean Navy´s frogmen and marines and Army´s commandos, under Rear Admiral Carlos Büsser. The mission of taking the Falkland Islands was accomplished under the military code-name Operation Rosario, which had originally been called ¨Azul¨ (Blue). The Argentinean invading force was composed of 630 men, while the British defense units consisted of 130 Royal Marines.

The Argentine invasion of the Falklands was set in motion at 21:30 hours, on April 1, 1982,  when the Argentine Navy´s destroyer ¨Santisima Trinidad¨anchored about one mile off the southern coast of East Falkland. There, 92 amphibious commandos got on rubber boats and then landed on the coast at Mullet Creek. A 16-man unit of this invading force, under Ltd Cdr. Pedro Giachino, advanced dead north, towards the Government House at Port Stanley. The rest of the frogmen, under Lt. Cdr. Sanchez Sabarets, first advanced westwards and then northwards, heading towards Moody Brook Barracks, which was six miles away beyond a high ridge.

Sanchez Saberets´ force arrived at Moody Brook Barracks at 05:15 hours, on April 2. Then they surrounded the British unit, throwing tear gas grenades into the building only to find out it was empty. Meanwhile, Pedro Giachino´s force engaged the Royal Marines at Government House at 06:20 hours. Five Argentinians tried to enter the building through the back door, drawing enemy fire. Lt. Quiroga and Lt. Cdr. Pedro Giachino got wounded. Giachino would die a few hours later. The gun fire fight raged on for about two and a half hours. It stopped when the Royal Marines surrendered to the Argentinean force.

20 amphibious armored wheeled vehicles, carrying marines from 2nd M. Battalion, and one Army´s commando unit, came ashore and secured the airfield at 07:00 hours. Then they headed for Stanley. At 08:00 hours, the armored vehicles moved into Stanley. Finally, at 09:30 hours, Governor Rex Hunt ordered Major Norman´s forces to surrender. The Argentine flag was raised at 10:00 hours on the Government House mast.

Below, the Royal Marines surrender to the Argentinean commandos on April 2, 1982.

The map of Eastern Falkland showing the Argentinean forces movement in Operation Rosario on April 1 and 2.

Royal Marines lying prone on the pavement after surrendering.

Below, invasion of Falklands footage.

Battle of Goose Green

The Battle of Goose Green was a military engagement of the Falklands War. It was the first land battle after the landing at San Carlos, on the East Falkland, at the beginning of the military march eastward to retake Port Stanley on the other side of the island. It was fought between 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment (2 Para), led by Colonel Herbert Jones, and the Argentine Army´s 12th Infantry Regiment, under Lt. Colonel Italo Piaggi, on May 28, 1982.

The 600 men of 2 Para had landed on the shore of San Carlos Water (bay), on the Falkland Sound, on May 21 from the ferry Norland, along with 3 Para, and 40, 42 and 45 Commando Royal Marines, who disembarked from other British vessels. Assigned with the task of securing the airfield between Darwin and Goose Green, 2 Para first headed south, on foot. To take Goose Green, the British paratroopers were backed up by naval gunfire from HMS Arrow and artillery fire from 8 Commando Battery.

The Battle of Goose Green began with a British attack on the enemy positions at 02:30 hours on May 28. As the men of 2 Para ran up the slope, the Argentinians opened up on the advancing British with everything they had. The withering gunfire forced the British to throw themselves down on the ground in a nearby gully behind gorse (thorny shrubs), with the men in the point being killed and wounded. Facing stiff opposition, Colonel Jones realized he would have to get around the Argentinean positions.

The British commander led his men around to the side of the hill and charged up on the right slope. As he stormed an Argentinean trench, Jones was mowed down by a burst of machine gun fire. With Colonel Jones lying dead on the cold ground, the situation became critical and desperate. However, the second in command, Major Chris Keeble pulled himself together and focused on the situation, deciding to concentrate of the right flank as it had originally been planned.

The men of A, B, and D Company charged up the slope in zig-zag, throwing themselves on the ground as they went. The Argentinean troops raked the hill sides with rifle and machine gun fire, using tracer ammunition. Despite the stiff resistance, the British were able to take one by one the mortar and machine gun nests, which had been set up among rocks and boulders on top. At the end it was a vicious hand-to-hand fighting, with bayonets. On the morning of May 29, the Argentinean commander, Italo Piaggi surrendered to the British. Darwin had also fallen.

The British had suffered 18 dead and 34 wounded, while the Argentinians had lost 52 killed in action and 83 wounded. Artillery support was essential for 2 Para to be able to take both Goose Green and Darwin.

Below, men of 2 Para inspecting the Argentinean weapons after the surrender.

Map of East Falkland showing the location of San Carlos Bay, Goose Green and Darwin as well as the direction of the march after landing.

Battle of Mount Longdon

The Battle of Mount Longdon was fought between the British Army’s 3rd Battalion of Parachute Regiment, led by Lt Col Hew Pike, and the 7th Infantry Regiment of the Argentinian Army, commanded by Carlos Carrizo Salvadores, from June 11 to June 12, 1982, on East Falkland, about 4 miles west of Port Stanley, during the Falklands War.

Having landed at Port San Carlos, on the western coast of East Falkland, on May 21, the 3 PARA troops marched on foot for more than 70 km eastward, across the island towards Port Stanley, carrying their military equipment and weapons. On June 10, they were within sight of Mount Longdon, which was defended by an Argentinian force composed of 500 men from the 7th Infantry Regiment, under Carlos Carrizo Salvadores. These men had dug in behind rocks and boulders on top of Mount Longdon and set up 81mm mortars and FN MAG machine gun nests.

On the evening of June 11, Lt Col Pike decided to engage the enemy. They advanced up hill over rugged terrain. It was winter in the southern hemisphere and the wind was knife-sharp and the ground was icy. Having walked across a mine field and suffered two casualties, they launched a resolute assault on the enemy positions. However, the Argentinians opened fire, using four machine guns that raked down the hill side. The British were pinned down on the frozen ground behind rocks. Adamant and determined to capture the hill, the British began switching positions as they ran up in zigzag in the dark. Corporal Stewart Maclaughlin and two men managed to take out the first machine gun nest. But the battle raged on through the night as the 3 PARAs cleared out one by one the Argentinian positions.

After more than twelve hours of fierce fighting, the British PARAs were able to capture Mount Longdon. The Argentinian forces suffered 152 casualties, from whom 31 were killed and 121 wounded. That night 23 British troops had been killed in action, and 46 were wounded. Now, the 3 Battalion of Parachute Regiment prepared for their next objective; Port Stanley.

Weapons employed

Artillery: 105 mm L118 Light Gun; 4.5 in naval guns on HMS Avenger frigate as fire support; 80 and 120 mm mortars

Machine guns: 7.62 mm MAG

Rifles: FN FAL; LAR

Maps of Opposing forces positions before the battle

Battle of Mount Harriet

The Battle of Mount Harriet was a military encounter between the British 42 Commando (Royal Marines), led by Lt. Col. Nick Vaux, and the Argentinean Army’s 4th Infantry Regiment, under the command of Lt Col Diego Soria. It took place from June 11 to June 12, 1982, on Mount Harriet, East Falkland, about 10 miles from Port Stanley, during the Falklands War.

The 4th Infantry Regiment, which was composed of 500 men, had been deployed on Mount Harriet in April and reinforced in May. These troops were ordered to dug in and wait. The Royal Marines of the 42 Commando, on the other hand, were the advancing forces, which had landed on the beach of San Carlos Bay on May 21, initiating a long march eastward, toward Stanley, on the other side of East Falkland.

Summary

The Battle of Mount Harriet broke out with heavy naval artillery bombing on the Argentine positions, conducted with 113mm Mark 6 guns from the HMS Yarmouth (Type 12 frigate), and was followed by a night attack on the Argentinean mortar and machine gun nests, which were deeply ingrained among the rocky outcrops of Mount Harriet. These assaults on the Argentinean positions were carried out by Royal Marines platoons, beefed up by Welsh Guards elements.

The ferocious fighting lasted for several hours, with the British troops charging up the slopes of Mount Harriet during the night. Several Royal Marine soldiers were mowed down by the lethal tracers that burped from machine guns that were raked across the hill side. After vicious fighting, the Royal Marines managed to capture the Argentinean positions. The men of the 4th Regiment had put up tenacious resistance, despite the technological disadvantage, as they lacked infrared goggles and other high tech equipment to fight in the pitch dark of the South Atlantic night.

The Battle of Mount Harriet ended the next morning, on June 12, with 68 Argentine casualties (18 KIA and 50 wounded) and 310 prisoners; the rest of the Argentine troops fell back to a secondary battle line, which was close to Stanley, right before dawn. 

Below, the map shows the British and the Argentinean positions on Mount Harriet right before the battle. It is located about 15 km from Port Stanley.

The commander of the 42 Commando briefs his men before the final assault on Mount Harriet.

Battle of Mount Tumbledown

The Battle of Mount Tumbledown took place during the Falklands War. It was fought between the Argentine 5th Marine Infantry Battalion, under Carlos Robacio, and the British advancing forces, composed of an element of the Scots Guards Regiment and units from the 42 Commando Royal Marines, led by Lt Col Micheal Scott, from June 13 to June 14, 1982. It was one of the last battles of this armed conflict as the opposing forces engaged one another just a few kilometers from Port Stanley, East Falkland (Malvinas).

The Battle of Mount Tumbledown was initiated around 21:00 hours on June 13 with a diversionary attack on Mount William slope carried out by a Scots Guards platoon. Preceded by naval artillery fire from two Royal frigates (HMS Yarmouth and HMS Active), that pounded the Argentinian positions, the main British attack on the Argentine well dug-in positions on Tumbledown began at 02:30 hours on June 14, when the British Scots Guards, led by Major Kiszely, charged up the hill. The Argentinians raked the hillside with machine gun fire from their foxholes among the crags and boulders where they had set up their defensive positions.

Although the British employed mortars and rockets to soften up the enemy positions, the Argentinian marines were tenacious and kept shooting from the top of Mt Tumbledown. However, the Scots Guards were adamant and charged at the Argentinian positions over and over again, with several of them being mowed down by vicious machine gun and rifle fire. By 09:00 hours, as it was getting light, the valiant Scottish had managed to capture and secure the wind-whipped craggy hill.

It was a British victory, but a hard-won, since, from all the Argentinian ground forces deployed on the Falklands, the 5th Marine Infantry Battalion was the unit that put up the toughest fight in the war as they were well-trained and well protected in the crags and boulders on top.

Below, Argentinian soldiers and non-commissioned officers on Tumbledown a week before the battle