The Battle of Mount Harriet was a military engagement of the Falklands War, which took place on the night of 11/12 June 1982 between British and Argentine forces. It was one of three battles in a Brigade-size operation all on the same night, the other two being the Battle of Mount Longdon and the Battle of Two Sisters.
One of a number of night battles that took place during the British advance towards Stanley, the battle led to British troops capturing all the heights above the town, forcing the surrender of Argentine forces on the islands.
Background The British force consisted of 42 Commando Royal Marines (42 Cdo RM) under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Nick Vaux Royal Marines, with artillery support from a battery of 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery, engineer support from 2Tp, 59 Independent Commando Squadron (59 Indep Cdo Sqn), Royal Engineers. The 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards (1WG) and two companies from 40 Commando (40 CDO) were in reserve. HMS Yarmouth provided naval gunfire support.
The Argentine defenders consisted of former Argentine Army Green Beret Captain Carlos Alberto Arroyo's B Company from Lieutenant Colonel Diego Alejandro Soria's 4th Monte Caseros (Jungle) Infantry Regiment (RI 4). On 1 June, the Argentine defenders on Harriet and Two Sisters, after having abandoned their field kitchens in their original positions on Mount Challenger, were given permission by their officers to consume their cold-weather ration packs, which helped raise the morale of the conscripts."From 1 June, 4th Infantry Regiment, on Two Sisters and Mount Harriet, was given permission by their commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Diego Soria, to use their US "C" ration packs, which helped to raise morale and keep the soldiers fit." 9 Battles To Stanley, Nick Van Der Bijl, p. 155, Pen & Sword, 2014
Brigadier Julian Thompson, Commander 3 Commando Brigade, later commented on the quality and abundance of these Argentine tinned meals and how they kept his men going when supplies failed to arrive, "The Argentine rations were excellent and plentiful, as many British soldiers and Marines were to discover when they were forced to live on them in captured positions, for lack of helicopter to provide their own."Ready For Anything, Julian Thompson, p. 419, Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd, 1989
On the night of 30 May elements of K Company, led by Captain Peter Babbington of 42 Cdo RM boarded three Sea King helicopters and moved forward of San Carlos to secure Mount Kent at ,Mount Kent - Falkland Islands at Peakery.com one of the tallest of the peaks surrounding Stanley where Major Cedric Delves' D Squadron from the Special Air Service (SAS) had established a presence. When the Royal Marines reinforcements in the Sea Kings, and 7 'Sphinx' Battery of the 29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery aboard a Chinook helicopter arrived at the landing zone, 3 kilometres (2 miles) behind the ridge of the mountain, they were met by gun-flashes, mortar fire and tracer rounds as another clash involving D Squadron was taking place. Captain Gavin Hamilton's Mountain Troop had this time spotted enemy movement in the form of Argentine Army Green Berets from Captain Tomás Fernández' 2nd Assault Section, 602 Commando Company trying to exit the area after having taking cover on Bluff Cove Peak the day before.
By the end of May, D Squadron had secured Mount Kent at the cost of two wounded in Air Troop (Dick Palmer and Carl Rhodes"It was about fully dark when the flanking team took casualties, Dick Palmer a round in the buttocks, Carl Rhodes high-velocity splinters in a knee." Cedric Delves, Across an Angry Sea: The SAS in the Falklands War, p. 253, Oxford University Press, 2019) from small-arms fire"Two SAS men had been flown in with gunshot wounds that were quite obviously more than 24 hours old. We knew better than to ask them about the circumstances of their injuries, and instead simply operated on them. The anaesthetist, Malcolm Jowitt, used Ketalar, in injectable and steroid-based general anaesthetic that had some occasional and highly interesting side effects. One of the SAS men, a big ex-Sapper, came from round his op and started singing bawdy rugby songs, quite tunefully, at the top of his voice!" The Red and Green Life Machine: A Diary of the Falklands Field Hospital, Rick Jolly, pp. 87-88, Century Publishing, 1983 with another SAS man having broken his hand taking cover during the engagement,"We had three of our own injured in the fight. Karl and Dick both had shrapnel wounds, but nothing critical. Digger had broken his hand and so I placed a back slap (a splint of sorts) on it to hold it firm." Born For War: One SAS Trooper's Extraordinary Account of the Falklands War, p. ?, Tony Hoare, Hachette, 2022 and Boat Troop with Tactical HQ started patrolling Bluff Cove Peak, which they took with the loss of another two SAS wounded (Ewen Pearcy and Don Masters) hit by hand grenade splinters or rock fragments,"Suddenly there was a burst of firing, and the distinct crack of at least one grenade going off ... One of the blokes took splinter wounds from the grenade in his back and was brought up to our position to be looked after ... The other casualty's shrapnel wounds were unpleasant but not serious." SAS: Sea King Down, Mark Aston & Stuart Tootal, Penguin Books, 2021"Two more men were wounded, but the SAS remained in control of its main positions by the morning of 30 May." Twilight Warriors: Inside the World's Special Forces, Martin C. Arostegui, p. 181, St. Martin's Press, 1997"Among prisoners captured by the Commando Brigade were five 602 Commando Company at Top Malo House and an Argentine Special forces Group sergeant knocked unconscious during a clash with the Special Air Service on Mount Kent. During this engagement, a member of the Intelligence Corps badged as Special Air Service was wounded." Sharing the Secret: The History of the Intelligence Corps 1940-2010, Nick Van Der Bijl, p. 293, Pen and Sword, 2013"Also involved from the start was an Intelligence Corps NCO serving at the time with 22 Special Air Service Regiment, who was later wounded. Following almost immediately were a detachment from Communications and Security Group (UK) who arrived aboard HMS Intrepid, an Imagery Analyst at work aboard HMS Hermes and the Intelligence Cell of 5 Infantry Brigade who arrived in style aboard Queen Elizabeth." Forearmed: A History of the Intelligence Corps, Anthony Clayton, p. 226, Brassey's, 1993 including a Spanish-speaking Warrant Officer attached from 23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve) who had joined Delves to interrogate any captured Argentine Army Green Berets. At the same time, Captain Matthew Selfridge's D Company, 3 PARA took Teal Inlet Settlement, at the cost of one wounded through an accidental discharge."Unfortunately, this was a 'negligent discharge' originating from one of the most dangerous weapons in the British military inventory, the 9 mm sub-machine gun. He was rather unwell as Nick Morgan, John Williams and Malcolm Jowitt got to work. Later, this patient would complain about the three tubes inserted into his chest, but those drainage routes did a vital job in carrying away the blood leaking from the bullet's long track. He was a rather lucky boy – another survivor, and very much against the odds. Doctor for Friend and Foe: Britain's Frontline Medic in the Fight for the Falklands, Rick Jolly, p. 89, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2012 The SAS soldiers claim coming under mortar bombardment on the night of 30/31 May while evacuating their wounded and 7 'Sphinx' Battery 29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery reported the loss of one gunner (Van Rooyen), who suffered a broken arm while taking cover among the rocks during the bombardment.The National Archives
The rest of 42 Commando made a march across the hills north of Mount Simon to reinforce Mounts Kent and Challenger overlooking Port Stanley. The weather conditions were atrocious, with the marines advancing through steep slippery hillocks and stone-runs to their objectives. Lou Armour was a corporal in J Company under Major Mike Norman:
Because of the weather and lack of equipment, we just had to carry all our heavy equipment back to Mount Kent, instead of being flown there. That was psychologically the toughest thing I'd ever done. You're walking and falling, walking and falling—some of the lads carrying up to a hundred pounds—and if you fell over, it took two guys to lift you back up. Then there was the lack of sleep, the wet, the cold, the diarrhoea.Soldiers Who Fought Each Other in the Falklands War Are Now Sharing a Stage
The final attack was preceded by several days of observation and nights of patrolling. Some night-fighting patrols were part of a deception to convince the Argentines that the attack would come from a westerly direction. Other, more covert patrols were to find a route through a minefield around the south of Mount Harriet. Sniping and naval artillery were used to harass the defenders and deny them sleep.
On 3 June, Lieutenant Chris Mawhood's Reconnaissance Troop of 42 Cdo RM on Mount Wall, accompanying the 3 Commando Brigade Forward Air Control team commanded by Flight Lieutenant Dennis Marshall-Hasdell, encountered two rifle sections from the 4th Monte Caseros Regiment (Second Lieutenant Lautaro Jiménez-Corbalán's 3rd Platoon of B Company from Mount Harriet).5th Infantry Brigade in the Falklands 1982. Nicholas Van der Bijl, David Aldea. p. 166. Leo Cooper, 2003 The night before, the section under Corporal Elvio Alberto Balcaza had detected the presence of British troops on Mount Wall and the section under Corporal Nicolas Víctor Odorcic moved forward to assist under the cover of the early morning mist.Volveremos!, Jorge R. Farinella, p. 110, Editorial Rosario, 1984 However, at around 11.00 hours (local time) the Recce Troop opened fire and two conscripts (Privates Celso Paez and Roberto Ledesma) were instantly killed, and their NCO (Odorcic) went down, concussed when shot in the helmet by one of the Marine snipers.
This action drew attention to their exposed forward position, and Argentine reinforcements in the form of a rifle section under Corporal Walter Ariel Pintos from Second Lieutenant Marcelo Llambías Pravaz's 3rd Platoon on Two Sisters joined the action with a counterattack firing rifle-grenades."Cuando los tuvimos a unos seiscientos metros, ordené cargar granadas de fusil y tirar con un angulo de 45º, buscando obtener el máximo alcance posible. Varias explosiones cayeron en proximidades de los británicos en el repliegue, pero no pudimos evaluar con detalle los efectos de nuestro fuego lejano. De lo que sí estábamos seguros, es que lo motivamos aún más para que abandonaran el lugar." Malvinas en Primera Línea, Lautaro Jiménez-Corbalán (Pages 268/269), Editorial Edivérn, 2012 The Primary Forward Air Controller, commando-trained Flight Lieutenant Dennis Marshal-Hasdell, remembers: