Michael Clapp - Amphibious assault Falklands : the battle of San Carlos Water

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By Ewen Southby-Tailyour:

FALKLAND ISLAND SHORES

REASONS IN WRITING

BLONDIE:
A LIFE OF LIEUTENANT COLONEL H G HASLER DSO OBE RM

THE NEXT MOON:
A BRITISH AGENT BEHIND THE LINES OF WARTIME FRANCE

JANES AMPHIBIOUS SPECIAL FORCES (EDITOR)

JANES SPECIAL FORCES RECOGNITION GUIDE (EDITOR)

HMS FEARLESS

First published in Great Britain in 1996 by Leo Cooper
Reprinted in this format in 2007 and 2012
Pen & Sword Military
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire S70 2AS

Copyright Michael Clapp and Ewen Southby-Tailyour 1996, 2007, 2012

PRINT ISBN 978 1 84415 506 4
EPUB ISBN: 9781844682416
PRC ISBN: 9781844682423

The right of Michael Clapp and Ewen Southby-Tailyour to be identified as Authors of this Work
has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.

Typeset in Sabon by
Phoenix Typesetting, Auldgirth, Dumfriesshire

Printed and bound by
CPI Group (UK) Ltd., Croydon, CR0 4YY

Pen & Sword Books Ltd incorporates the imprints of Pen & Sword
Aviation, Pen & Sword Maritime, Pen & Sword Military, Wharncliffe
Local History, Pen & Sword Select, Pen & Sword Military Classics,
Leo Cooper, Remember When, Seaforth Publishing and
Frontline Publishing.

For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact
PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED
47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, England
E-mail:
Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk

DEDICATION

We wish to dedicate this book to the people of the Amphibious Task Group, TG 317.0, be they ladies, men or officers, Chinese or British, Merchant, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Army, Civilian, Royal Air Force, Royal Marines, or Royal Navy and especially to the staff. We jointly shared an experience which we hope will never have to be repeated and this book can in no way express our admiration and gratitude for their cheerful, willing and courageous support.

Authors Note

Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher once wrote that Sailors are not remarkable as dialecticians. They are more given to making decisions and acting upon them. This is still largely true and it has therefore been with some trepidation that I agreed to work with Ewen and put down the story of the Falklands Amphibious Task Group on paper.

Firstly, we are grateful to our wives and families who have lived with this book which has rekindled memories of a campaign in which they had much less pleasure than we. Their support in both events has been remarkable and deeply appreciated.

While largely written in the first person, Ewen has done most of the writing, and collating the huge amount of information we have been offered. Some of this has already appeared in other publications but none has been explained through the eyes of the Amphibious Task Group Commander who at various stages in the campaign was the jam in the sandwich, in pole position and then the piggy in the middle.

Without this mass of information the story would have been hollow but we both feel confident that it will stand the test of time and is as historically correct as we could reasonably hope to achieve. Sadly, two key figures, Admiral Fieldhouse and Vice-Admiral Halifax, have since died and we have not, therefore, been able to discuss this story with them.

The views expressed are, of course, our own and cannot in any way be held to represent those of the Ministry of Defence or others. The story attempts to give one persons interpretation of events, rumours and instructions during a tense, exciting and exhausting period. Despite relatively modern communications for that time and the Royal Navys expertise at writing carefully drafted and apparently precise signals, misunderstandings and alternative points of view were inevitable and not uncommon.

After so many years, it is difficult to avoid the accusation of hindsight but we have tried hard not to fall into this trap. Many conversations, signals and events remain clearly imprinted in ours and other peopless memories while, inevitably, some others have not been as clearly remembered.

We are, however, enormously grateful to everyone who contributed, to Leo Cooper for his patience and to Tom Hartman who has cheerfully corrected our scripts. The collation, writing and publishing have therefore been almost as joint as the Falklands campaign itself.

Authors Note to Second Edition.

Since first publication we have received suggestions for clarification, some anecdotes and some facts of which we were unaware or had forgotten when the first edition was written. Wherever possible these are incorporated here. Our story is intended to explain the problems we encountered and the effect they had on us and our relationships with other key members at the time. Essentially it remains the same.

Foreword
by
ADMIRAL OF THE FLEET LORD LEWIN

Britain is an island nation. For over a thousand years Britains military expeditions have depended on ships to transport men and materials, with warships to defend them and ensure the continuity of their supply. The Falklands War was a classic example of this eternal truth. This was the war that for fifteen years Governments of both persuasions had been telling the Services they would not be required to fight. Priority was on nuclear deterrence and readiness for war on the Central Front. Only the doubtful prospect of timely reinforcement of the Northern Flank kept the art of amphibious warfare alive. If the Chiefs of Staff had suggested that flexible forces would be better equipped to cope with the unexpected they would have been paid scant attention. Yet, as so often throughout history, the unexpected happened.

From his key position in the command chain Michael Clapp gives a detailed account of the operation which, while fascinating to the general reader, will be of value to future historians and should act as a handbook for practitioners of amphibious warfare. Many lessons emerge: the importance of logistics, a dull subject compared to the excitement of battle and so often ignored - yet without food, fuel, ammunition and so many other bits and pieces from spares to mail the battle cannot begin, let alone be won; the availability of merchant shipping, the vital factor in both world wars, indeed in every war Britain has fought; the need for a clear chain of command and unambiguous directives, and reliable communications. Above all, the narrative demonstrates that high morale comes from tough training and good leadership.

This book concentrates on the mechanics of war and evinces a healthy disrespect for Them - the politicians and those in Whitehall. It was ever thus, but in defence of the High Command all members of the Chiefs of Staff Committee had fought at the sharp end in World War II and had no illusions about the dangers the Task Force would face. It is understandable - indeed desirable - that the impact of political events should not have been bothering those fighting the battle down south. But politics had an all-pervasive influence. The legal basis of the whole operation depended on United Nations Resolution 502 which condemned Argentine aggressions and Article 56 of the UN Charter which permits action in self defence.

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