The Secret War for the Falklands: The SAS, MI6, and the War Whitehall Nearly Lost

The Falklands War of 1982 was one of the most significant armed campaigns to be fought since the end of the Second World War. Although much is known about how the war was fought, little has been revealed about what really happened behind the scenes. The Secret War for the Falklands is the hitherto undisclosed story of how the Argentines planned the invasion, and why the massive amphibious attack took the British Government by surprise. First published on the 15th anniversary of the Falklands War of 1982, this work provides a secret history of the conflict, the first time the Royal Navy had been engaged by an enemy since 1945. In terms of hardware, it was a test of the world's latest air and defence systems and a unique opportunity to push competing fighters to their limits in an environment that stretched men and aircraft alike. This book focuses on "Operation Corporate", the task force assigned to retake the Falklands, and on the clandestine efforts to deny General Galtieri the one weapon that could have turned Corporate into a humiliating defeat for Britain - the French-manufactured Exocet missile. HMS Sheffield, having been hit amidships by a single Exocet that failed to explode. The subsequent fire made the deck too hot to stand on and eventually destroyed the ship. The ship had been caught unawares because of a design fault, and the unexpected loss of this sophisticated guided-missile destroyer from an air-launched weapon made Whitehall re-evaluate the Task Force's entire strategy, and led to the risky ventures to deny the Junta further air-launched Exocets.