15 December | Argentine military starts planning an invasion |
February | Argentine marines train for the invasion in Patagonia |
9 March | Argentine Junta receives first draft of invasion plan |
19 March | Argentine scrap workers raise Argentine flag on South Georgia |
27 March | Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ships Appleleaf and Fort Austin head to the South Atlantic |
28 March | Argentine invasion force departs Argentina |
29 March | Thatcher sends nuclear submarines south as show of force |
31 March | Thatcher authorizes planning for deployment of forces |
2 April | Argentine forces land and capture Stanley on East Falkland then South Georgia |
2 April | Thatcher addresses Parliament; Britain announces deployment for Operation Corporate and Royal Navy ships in the Mediterranean start heading south |
3 April | British support unit flies from UK to Ascension Island; First cargo planes start arriving Ascension |
4 April | Queen signs order to requisition ships from trade; Sea-going tug Typhoon heads south from UK |
5 April | First warships leave the UK and link up with Landing Ships Logistic |
6 April | Aircraft carriers HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible depart UK; Amphibious Task Force with Land Force starts departing UK; Cruise ship Canberra arrives in UK for modifications |
9 April | Canberra, the first ship taken up from trade and modified, departs with 2500 troops |
12 April | Britain announces first Exclusion Zone around Falklands |
16 April | British Royal Air Force starts reconfiguring C-130s for air-to-air refueling and thereafter trains pilots |
17 April | British Task Force leaders meet at Ascension Island; Logisticians start reconfiguring supplies on ships and moving supplies to ships from Ascension Island |
18 April | Carrier Battle Group heads south from Ascension |
25 April | British forces recapture South Georgia |
1 May | Landing Ships Logistic head south from Ascension; British Vulcan bomber from Ascension conducts first bombing run near Stanley |
2 May | British submarine Conqueror sinks Argentine cruiser General Belgrano |
4 May | Argentine pilots hit British destroyer HMS Sheffield with an Exocet missile, and Sheffield later sinks |
7 May | 2 Para arrives Ascension Island aboard Norland to reinforce the Land Force; Amphibious Task Force with Land Force departs Ascension |
12 May | First C-130 configured for air-to-air refueling drops 1,000 lbs of supplies to HMS Antelope in a trip covering 6,300 nautical miles; 5 Infantry Brigade deploys from the UK aboard QE2 |
19 May | Units cross-deck at sea from Canberra to other ships because of concerns of troop concentration on the cruise ship |
21 May | Amphibious Task Force arrives off San Carlos and Land Force secures beachhead; Argentine planes attack the British, sinking HMS Ardent and damaging many other ships; QE2 passes Ascension with 5 Brigade aboard |
23-24 May | Argentine planes return, damage three Landing Ships Logistic and other ships, eventually sinking HMS Antelope |
25 May | Argentine planes sink Atlantic Conveyor with an Exocet missile and HMS Coventry |
27 May | 3 Para and 45 Commando start marching across East Falkland; 2 Para starts toward its start line to attack Goose Green; Argentine planes bomb the Brigade Maintenance Area; QE2 arrives South Georgia and work commences to offload |
28 May | QE2 heads back to UK with many supplies for 5 Brigade still aboard |
29 May | 2 Para captures Goose Green and takes a thousand prisoners |
30 May | Chinook helicopter lifts 42 Commando to Mount Kent; Major General Moore and others arrive San Carlos aboard HMS Fearless |
31 May | Landing craft from HMS Intrepid move supplies forward to Teal Inlet |
1 June | First Landing Ship Logistic arrives at Teal Inlet; 5 Brigade units arrive and start disembarking at San Carlos |
2 June | 2 Para seizes Swan Inlet and then advances to Fitzroy |
5 June | Ships start moving more troops and supplies toward Fitzroy |
8 June | Argentine pilots attack LSLs Galahad and Tristram at Fitzroy |
11 June | Forward buildup complete, the battle for the mountain starts |
12 June | Exocet missile strikes HMS Glamorgan; Seventh and final Vulcan bombing mission takes place |
14 June | Argentines in Stanley surrender |
15 June | British start restoring order and services in Stanley and elsewhere on East and West Falkland |
24 June | First British C-130 cargo plane lands in Stanley |
25 June | First British units start redeploying to the UK |