After a month long trip to the Islands, the British task force arrived just off the Falkland Islands on 1 May 1982, from where aircraft bombing raids and special forces raids were mounted.  South Georgia was retaken.

The second of May saw the demise of Argentina’s second largest war ship, the General Belgrano, sunk by a British submarine.  With more support arriving over the next two weeks, the night of 19 May saw the first landing of British forces, at Port San Carlos, East Falkland.  From here the forces, out numbered three to one by the Argentine forces, moved eastwards towards the capital Stanley.

On 25 May, the Second Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, with a loss of twenty men, captured a garrison of 1,100 Argentines at Darwin and Goose Green. 

Two units of the Third Commando Brigade, 45 Commando Royal Marines and 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment made the march towards Mt Kent.  Despite hard going, with heavy loads, averaging 70-80 pounds in the Falklands winter, the marines and paratroopers arrived at their objectives in early June.  The push on Stanley continued with the arrival of the Scots Guards, Welsh Guards and Gurkhas.

With several significant British losses, such as the sinking of the Sir Galahad at Fitzroy, the area surrounding Stanley was secured.  The final push came with hard fought close combat fighting for the mountaintops of Longdon, Two Sisters and Mount Harriet on the night of 11 June.  The next two nights saw the British forces secure Mount Tumbledown, Mount William and Wireless Ridge.

Stanley itself was liberated on 14 June 1982, with the Argentine surrender documents signed at 9.30pm.

The Falklands had been liberated, at the cost of 255 British lives.  No precise figure is available for the loss on the Argentine side, but is estimated to be over 2,000.