Invasion of South Georgia

Battle of Grytviken
	Part of the Falklands War
	; Grytviken, 3 April 1982
Date	3 April 1982
Location	Grytviken, South Georgia
Result	Argentine victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Argentina
Commanders and leaders
Lt. Keith Mills (POW)	César Trombetta
Units involved
Royal Marines	Argentine Navy
Strength
22 marines; 1 survey ship;	60 marines; 1 corvette; 1 survey ship; 2 helicopters;
Casualties and losses
1 wounded; 22 captured;	3 killed; 9 wounded; 1 corvette damaged; 1 helicopter shot down;

The invasion of South Georgia, also known as the Battle of Grytviken or Operation Georgias,^[1] took place on 3 April 1982, when Argentine Navy forces seized control of the east coast of South Georgia after overpowering a small group of Royal Marines at Grytviken. Though outnumbered, the Royal Marines shot down a helicopter and hit the Argentine corvette ARA Guerrico several times before being forced to surrender. It was one of the first episodes of the Falklands War, immediately succeeding the invasion on the Falkland Islands the day before.

The operation had been prepared on 19 March, when a group of Argentine civilian scrap metal workers arrived at Leith Harbour on board the transport ship ARA Bahía Buen Suceso without the required landing clearance and then raised the Argentine flag. The scrap workers had been infiltrated by Argentine marines posing as civilian scientists.^[2]^[3]

^ "Operación Georgias, por el Comandante del submarino "Santa Fe"". histarmar.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 January 2020.
^ "infiltrated on board, pretending to be scientists, were members of an Argentine naval special forces unit" Nick van der Bijl, Nine Battles to Stanley, London, Leo Cooper p. 8 as reported in Lawrence Freedman, The Official History of the Falklands Campaign: Vol I The Origins of the Falklands War
^ "Bahia Buen Suceso set sail for South Georgia on 11 March carrying Argentine Marines" Rowland White, Vulcan 607, London, Bantam Press, p. 30

[1] "Operación Georgias, por el Comandante del submarino "Santa Fe"". histarmar.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 January 2020.

[2] "infiltrated on board, pretending to be scientists, were members of an Argentine naval special forces unit" Nick van der Bijl, Nine Battles to Stanley, London, Leo Cooper p. 8 as reported in Lawrence Freedman, The Official History of the Falklands Campaign: Vol I The Origins of the Falklands War

[3] "Bahia Buen Suceso set sail for South Georgia on 11 March carrying Argentine Marines" Rowland White, Vulcan 607, London, Bantam Press, p. 30

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