The Falkland War

The Falkland War was fought between United Kingdom and Argentina. It started on April 2nd 1982 when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, and it lasted until Argentina surrendered on June 14th 1982. Non of the two states officially declared war and most of the fighting took place on the territories under dispute and the South Atlantic. Argentina considered the invasion as an re-occupation of their own territory, but the UK saw it as an invasion of a British oversea territory.
Argentina was in the midst of a devastating economic crisis and large-scale civil unrest against the military junta that had been governing the country since 1976.

The Royal Navy expected that the British media should report the news from the war in a positive way. But most of the British media covered the events in a neutral way. In stead of calling the soldiers "Our lads", reporters just referred to them as "the British troops". It was clear that many people in Britain were against the war. Some British reporters who were sent to Argentina to cover the conflict from "the other side" were kept imprisoned until the war was over. In Argentina the media reported the events in a less neutral way. They referred to their force as "heroes" and they were "cheering" for their soldiers.

When the war ended I mid-June 1982, the UK had lost around 250 men and almost 800 were wounded. Argentina had lost around 650 and over a thousand were wounded. After the war, Britain increased their military presence on the islands, and increased the military garrison.