On 20 May UN sponsored peace talks failed. Within 24 hours UK special forces and Royal
Marines stormed ashore and established a beachhead at San Carlos in the East Falklands.
The night landings - undertaken during a gale - achieved complete surprise. British troops
encountered little Argentine resistance, at first.
The efforts of the British to supply and reinforce the beachhead saw Royal Navy ships
forced to operate in very vulnerable conditions.
Argentine air attacks proved costly, and before the beachhead broke out HMS Ardent, Antelope
and Coventry were all sunk. The Atlantic Conveyor also went down with the loss of its troop-
carrying Chinook helicopters, key equipment necessary to re-capture the islands.
Without the heavy helicopters the British troops were forced to march to take their first
major objective - Goose Green.
The Second Parachute Regiment took the settlement, against overwhelmingly superior numbers of defenders.
Their bravery was exemplified by their leader, Colonel H Jones. He was killed, attacking an Argentine machine gun nest which had pinned down his men.
The settlement of just more than a 100 people was liberated on 28 May. Nearly a 150 Argentine soldiers were killed in the assault, and 18 British troops also died in the fighting.
With Goose Green taken British forces could begin their preparations to take the final prize, the Falklands' capital Port Stanley.