Battle of Two Sisters
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Two Sisters was an engagement of the Falklands War
during the British advance towards the capital Stanley
that took place from 11 to 12 June 1982.
under Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Whitehead (who later became a general) with support from six 105-mm guns of 29 Commando Regiment
, Royal Artillery. 2 PARA was in reserve. Naval gunfire-support was provided by HMS Glamorgan's
two 4.5-inch (114 mm) guns. The Argentinian force consisted of the 4th Infantry Regiment (RI 4). Command of Two Sisters was entrusted to Major Ricardo Cordón, second in command of RI 4, with the bulk of the defenders drawn from C Company with the 1st Platoon (Sub-Lieutenant Miguel Mosquera) and 2nd Platoon (Sub-Lieutenant Jorge Pérez Grandi) on the northern peak and the 3rd Platoon (Sub-Lieutenant Marcelo Llambias) on the southern peak and the 1st Platoon A Company (Sub-Lieutenant Juan Nazer) and Support Platoon (Second Lieutenant Luis Carlos Martella) on the saddle between the two peaks. Major Óscar Jaimet's B Company of the 6th Regiment (RI 6) acting as the local reserve occupied the saddle between Two Sisters and Mount Longdon.
Peak, on the lower slopes of Mount Kent, and were able to occupy the feature without opposition and was met by patrols from the SAS. Enemy opposition was desultory but on the night of 29 May a fierce firefight developed in taking the two important hills, that were intended to form part of an Argentine Special Forces line. Captain Andrés Ferrero's patrol (3rd Assault Section, 602 Commando Company
) made the base of Mount Kent but were then promptly pinned by machinegun and mortar fire. One Argentine NCO was wounded. Air Troop had two wounded from rifle fire. Probing attacks around the D Squadron positions continued throughout the night and at 11:00 am on 30 May, about 12 Argentine Commandos tried to get up the summit of Bluff Cove Peak, but were driven off by D Squadron SAS who killed two of the party, First Lieutenant Rubén Eduardo Márquez and Sergeant Óscar Humberto Blas. First Lieutenant Márquez and Sergeant Blas showed great personal courage and leadership in the contact and were subsequently awarded the Argentine Nation to the Valour in Combat Medal
. During this contact the SAS suffered two casualties from grenades. The Argentine Commandos literally stumbled on a camp occupied by 15 SAS troopers, according to special forces historian Martin Arostegui who wrote Twilight Warriors: Inside The World's Special Forces (p. 205, Bloomsbury, 1995). Throughout 30 May Royal Air Force Harriers were active over Mount Kent. One of them in responding to a call for help from D Squadron attacked Mount Kent's eastern lower slopes and that led to its loss through small-arms fire.
A heavy mist hung over the Murrell River
area and this assisted the 45 Commando Recce Troop to reach and sometimes penetrate the Argentine 3rd Platoon position under Sub-Lieutenant Marcelo Llambias. Marine Andrew Tubb of Recce Troop was on these patrols:
For his patrol action, Lieutenant Chris Fox received the Military Cross. In general terms, the Argentines were thoroughly entrenched, about 6000 metres or less across a no-man's-land. The Argentine positions were mined and patrolled heavily.
At about 2.10 am local time on 10 June a strong 45 Commando fighting patrol probed the 3rd Platoon position. In the ensuing fight Special Forces Sergeants M. Cisneros and R. Acosta were killed; two more Argentine Special Forces lying in ambush for the Royal Marines were wounded. The British military historian Bruce Quarrie
wrote later:
Major Aldo Rico, commander of the 602 Commando Company
himself had a lucky escape when an enemy rocket exploded uncomfortably close. Sadly for 45, on the night of 9–10 June there was an unfortunate mistake made in the dark and friendly fire was exchanged resulting in British casualties.
Captain Ian Gardiner's X-Ray Company spearheaded the attack on Two Sisters, accompanied by the Unit's Commando trained chaplain, the Revd Wynne Jones RN. Lieutenant James Kelly's 1 Troop took the western third of the spineback on the southern peak of Two Sisters (Long Toenail) with no fighting taking place. However at 11:30 pm local time (see No Picnic, p. 131), Lieutenant David Stewart's 3 Troop ran up against a very determined defence on the spineback and were unable to get forward. Beaten from their attempt to dislodge the Argentine 3rd Platoon, Lieutenant Chris Caroe's 2 Troop threw themselves at the platoon but the attack was dispersed with the help of artillery fire. For three or four hours X Ray Company were pinned down on the slopes of the mountain. Naval gunfire ripped back and forth across the mountain, but the Argentines held the Royal Marines off. Colonel Andrew Whitehead realized that a single company could not hope to secure Two Sisters without massive casualties, and brought up the battalion's two other companies.
At about 12:30 am local time (see No Picnic, p. 132) Yankee and Zulu Companies attacked the northern peak (Summer Days) and after a very hard two hour fight against two platoons and despite heavy machinegun and mortar fire, succeeded in capturing 'Summer Days'. The Z Company platoon commander, Lieutenant Clive Dytor
, won the Military Cross by rallying his 8 Troop and leading it forward at bayonet point to take Summer Days. Yankee Company then advanced to attack the final objective capturing all of its objective all the way to the eastern end of Two Sisters. Second Lieutenant Aldo Eugenio Franco and his RI 6 platoon successfully prevented Yankee Company from attacking C Company as it withdrew from Two Sisters. Private Oscar Ismael Poltronieri who held up Yankee Company with accurate shooting with his rifle and a machinegun, was awarded the Argentine Nation to the Heroic Valour in Combat Cross
(CHVC), the highest Argentine decoration for bravery. (Source Martin Middlebrook, The Fight For The Malvinas, Leo Cooper Paperbacks, 2003)
The next morning Colonel Andrew Whitehead looked in wonderment at the strength of the positions the enemy had abandoned. 'With fifty Royals,' he said, "I could have died of old age holding this place.' (Max Hastings, Going To The Wars, p. 363, Macmillan 2000) Although the British battalion seemed at the time to have had an easy victory, those actually engaged with the enemy platoons would have been unlikely to agree.
Some British writers were highly critical of the 6th Infantry Regiment's 'B' Company who, they claimed, withdrew in a disorderly manner from front-line positions at the opening of the battle, although this seems to have little foundation. Indeed, the company withdrew in good order, according to Spanish-speaking warrant officer attached to 3 Commando Brigade Headquarters in the fighting. The Argentine Army Official Report on the war recommended Major Oscar Jaimet and CSM Jorge Pitrella of the 6th Regiment's B Company for an MVC (Argentine Nation to the Valour in Combat Medal
) for their conduct of their fighting withdrawal and subsequent behaviour on Tumbledown (this was later granted to Major Jaimet, Pitrella was awarded the Argentine Army to Military Merit Medal).
Sergeant-Major George Meachin of Yankee Company, would later praise the fighting abilities and spirit of the Argentine defenders:
Hugh Bicheno described the moonscape of devastation:
With the telephone lines to the command post in shreds, Llambias-Pravaz led his men to join M Company 5th Marine Infantry Battalion on Sapper Hill.
The X-Ray Company Marines were in awe of the Argentines in the depleted 3rd Platoon who had put up such determined resistance, and their company commander in the book Above All, Courage (Above all, courage: the Falklands front line : first-hand accounts, Max Arthur, p. 289, Sidwick & Jackson, 1985) later said:
A lone rifleman on Long Toenail held out long after resistance had ended on the mountain. There was a humorous moment when the Revd. Wynne Jones was challenged by the Marines and called out that he was 45 Commandos' padre and had forgotten the password.
HMS Glamorgan who was providing NGS
stayed in her position to support the Royal Marine Commandos who were pinned down and there is no doubt that the County-class
destroyer
saved many lives. Glamorgan stayed past the time she was meant to leave and was hit by a land based Exocet missile, thirteen crew were killed as a result of this attack.
es, one DCM
and four Military Medal
s. A commando from 29 Commando received a Military Medal as did a man from the M&AW Cadre.
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
during the British advance towards the capital Stanley
Stanley, Falkland Islands
Stanley is the capital and only true cityin the Falkland Islands. It is located on the isle of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2006 census, the city had a population of 2,115...
that took place from 11 to 12 June 1982.
Composition of forces
The British force consisted of 45 Commando (45 CDO), Royal MarinesRoyal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
under Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Whitehead (who later became a general) with support from six 105-mm guns of 29 Commando Regiment
29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery
29 Commando Regiment is the Commando-trained unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery. The regiment is under the operational control of 3 Commando Brigade providing artillery support and gunnery observation.- History :...
, Royal Artillery. 2 PARA was in reserve. Naval gunfire-support was provided by HMS Glamorgan's
HMS Glamorgan (D19)
HMS Glamorgan was a County-class destroyer of the Royal Navy with a displacement of 5,440 tonnes. The ship was built by Vickers-Armstrongs in Newcastle Upon Tyne and named after the Welsh county of Glamorgan. She was launched on 9 July 1964, and was delivered to the Navy two years later...
two 4.5-inch (114 mm) guns. The Argentinian force consisted of the 4th Infantry Regiment (RI 4). Command of Two Sisters was entrusted to Major Ricardo Cordón, second in command of RI 4, with the bulk of the defenders drawn from C Company with the 1st Platoon (Sub-Lieutenant Miguel Mosquera) and 2nd Platoon (Sub-Lieutenant Jorge Pérez Grandi) on the northern peak and the 3rd Platoon (Sub-Lieutenant Marcelo Llambias) on the southern peak and the 1st Platoon A Company (Sub-Lieutenant Juan Nazer) and Support Platoon (Second Lieutenant Luis Carlos Martella) on the saddle between the two peaks. Major Óscar Jaimet's B Company of the 6th Regiment (RI 6) acting as the local reserve occupied the saddle between Two Sisters and Mount Longdon.
Course of battle
On 4 June the three companies of 45 CDO advanced on Bluff CoveBluff Cove
Bluff Cove Bluff Cove Bluff Cove (Spanish: Bahia Agradable or Hoya Fitzroy is a sea inlet and settlement on East Falkland, in the Falkland Islands, on its east coast...
Peak, on the lower slopes of Mount Kent, and were able to occupy the feature without opposition and was met by patrols from the SAS. Enemy opposition was desultory but on the night of 29 May a fierce firefight developed in taking the two important hills, that were intended to form part of an Argentine Special Forces line. Captain Andrés Ferrero's patrol (3rd Assault Section, 602 Commando Company
602 Commando Company
The 602 Commando Company is a special operations unit of the Argentine Army, created May 21, 1982.The company is based on Córdoba Province. The members of the unit wear green berets with unit badges. The company is divided in 3 assault sections....
) made the base of Mount Kent but were then promptly pinned by machinegun and mortar fire. One Argentine NCO was wounded. Air Troop had two wounded from rifle fire. Probing attacks around the D Squadron positions continued throughout the night and at 11:00 am on 30 May, about 12 Argentine Commandos tried to get up the summit of Bluff Cove Peak, but were driven off by D Squadron SAS who killed two of the party, First Lieutenant Rubén Eduardo Márquez and Sergeant Óscar Humberto Blas. First Lieutenant Márquez and Sergeant Blas showed great personal courage and leadership in the contact and were subsequently awarded the Argentine Nation to the Valour in Combat Medal
Argentine Nation to the Valour in Combat Medal
Argentine Nation to the Valour in Combat Medal is the second highest military decoration given by the President of Argentina....
. During this contact the SAS suffered two casualties from grenades. The Argentine Commandos literally stumbled on a camp occupied by 15 SAS troopers, according to special forces historian Martin Arostegui who wrote Twilight Warriors: Inside The World's Special Forces (p. 205, Bloomsbury, 1995). Throughout 30 May Royal Air Force Harriers were active over Mount Kent. One of them in responding to a call for help from D Squadron attacked Mount Kent's eastern lower slopes and that led to its loss through small-arms fire.
A heavy mist hung over the Murrell River
Murrell River
The Murrell River is a fishing river, on East Falkland in the Falkland Islands. It has a large estuary which joins with Hearnden Water and Port William, and which is not far from Stanley....
area and this assisted the 45 Commando Recce Troop to reach and sometimes penetrate the Argentine 3rd Platoon position under Sub-Lieutenant Marcelo Llambias. Marine Andrew Tubb of Recce Troop was on these patrols:
For his patrol action, Lieutenant Chris Fox received the Military Cross. In general terms, the Argentines were thoroughly entrenched, about 6000 metres or less across a no-man's-land. The Argentine positions were mined and patrolled heavily.
At about 2.10 am local time on 10 June a strong 45 Commando fighting patrol probed the 3rd Platoon position. In the ensuing fight Special Forces Sergeants M. Cisneros and R. Acosta were killed; two more Argentine Special Forces lying in ambush for the Royal Marines were wounded. The British military historian Bruce Quarrie
Bruce Quarrie
Bruce Quarrie was an English author and historian. He studied English at Peterhouse College, Cambridge University and graduated with honours in 1968. He became a journalist with the Financial Times and then in 1972 joined Patrick Stephens Limited, a Cambridge specialist publisher, as editor of...
wrote later:
Major Aldo Rico, commander of the 602 Commando Company
602 Commando Company
The 602 Commando Company is a special operations unit of the Argentine Army, created May 21, 1982.The company is based on Córdoba Province. The members of the unit wear green berets with unit badges. The company is divided in 3 assault sections....
himself had a lucky escape when an enemy rocket exploded uncomfortably close. Sadly for 45, on the night of 9–10 June there was an unfortunate mistake made in the dark and friendly fire was exchanged resulting in British casualties.
Captain Ian Gardiner's X-Ray Company spearheaded the attack on Two Sisters, accompanied by the Unit's Commando trained chaplain, the Revd Wynne Jones RN. Lieutenant James Kelly's 1 Troop took the western third of the spineback on the southern peak of Two Sisters (Long Toenail) with no fighting taking place. However at 11:30 pm local time (see No Picnic, p. 131), Lieutenant David Stewart's 3 Troop ran up against a very determined defence on the spineback and were unable to get forward. Beaten from their attempt to dislodge the Argentine 3rd Platoon, Lieutenant Chris Caroe's 2 Troop threw themselves at the platoon but the attack was dispersed with the help of artillery fire. For three or four hours X Ray Company were pinned down on the slopes of the mountain. Naval gunfire ripped back and forth across the mountain, but the Argentines held the Royal Marines off. Colonel Andrew Whitehead realized that a single company could not hope to secure Two Sisters without massive casualties, and brought up the battalion's two other companies.
At about 12:30 am local time (see No Picnic, p. 132) Yankee and Zulu Companies attacked the northern peak (Summer Days) and after a very hard two hour fight against two platoons and despite heavy machinegun and mortar fire, succeeded in capturing 'Summer Days'. The Z Company platoon commander, Lieutenant Clive Dytor
Clive Dytor
Clive Dytor MA MC is headmaster of The Oratory School, Woodcote, near Reading, Berkshire, England. A former Church of England clergyman who converted to Roman Catholicism , he is an MA of both Oxford and Cambridge Universities.-Education:Dytor was educated at Christ College, an independent...
, won the Military Cross by rallying his 8 Troop and leading it forward at bayonet point to take Summer Days. Yankee Company then advanced to attack the final objective capturing all of its objective all the way to the eastern end of Two Sisters. Second Lieutenant Aldo Eugenio Franco and his RI 6 platoon successfully prevented Yankee Company from attacking C Company as it withdrew from Two Sisters. Private Oscar Ismael Poltronieri who held up Yankee Company with accurate shooting with his rifle and a machinegun, was awarded the Argentine Nation to the Heroic Valour in Combat Cross
Argentine Nation to the Heroic Valour in Combat Cross
Argentine Nation to the Heroic Valour in Combat Cross is the highest national military decoration in Argentina.The decoration consists of a silver cross pattée bearing the Coat of arms of Argentina in gold, suspended from a chest ribbon of equal light blue-white-light blue stripes.Recipients of...
(CHVC), the highest Argentine decoration for bravery. (Source Martin Middlebrook, The Fight For The Malvinas, Leo Cooper Paperbacks, 2003)
The next morning Colonel Andrew Whitehead looked in wonderment at the strength of the positions the enemy had abandoned. 'With fifty Royals,' he said, "I could have died of old age holding this place.' (Max Hastings, Going To The Wars, p. 363, Macmillan 2000) Although the British battalion seemed at the time to have had an easy victory, those actually engaged with the enemy platoons would have been unlikely to agree.
Some British writers were highly critical of the 6th Infantry Regiment's 'B' Company who, they claimed, withdrew in a disorderly manner from front-line positions at the opening of the battle, although this seems to have little foundation. Indeed, the company withdrew in good order, according to Spanish-speaking warrant officer attached to 3 Commando Brigade Headquarters in the fighting. The Argentine Army Official Report on the war recommended Major Oscar Jaimet and CSM Jorge Pitrella of the 6th Regiment's B Company for an MVC (Argentine Nation to the Valour in Combat Medal
Argentine Nation to the Valour in Combat Medal
Argentine Nation to the Valour in Combat Medal is the second highest military decoration given by the President of Argentina....
) for their conduct of their fighting withdrawal and subsequent behaviour on Tumbledown (this was later granted to Major Jaimet, Pitrella was awarded the Argentine Army to Military Merit Medal).
Sergeant-Major George Meachin of Yankee Company, would later praise the fighting abilities and spirit of the Argentine defenders:
Hugh Bicheno described the moonscape of devastation:
With the telephone lines to the command post in shreds, Llambias-Pravaz led his men to join M Company 5th Marine Infantry Battalion on Sapper Hill.
The X-Ray Company Marines were in awe of the Argentines in the depleted 3rd Platoon who had put up such determined resistance, and their company commander in the book Above All, Courage (Above all, courage: the Falklands front line : first-hand accounts, Max Arthur, p. 289, Sidwick & Jackson, 1985) later said:
A lone rifleman on Long Toenail held out long after resistance had ended on the mountain. There was a humorous moment when the Revd. Wynne Jones was challenged by the Marines and called out that he was 45 Commandos' padre and had forgotten the password.
Casualties
Seven Royal Marine Commandos and one Marine from 59 Independent Commando Squadron, Royal Engineers were killed taking Two Sisters. Another 17, including platoon commanders (Lieutenants Fox, Dunning and Davies) were wounded. Some 20 Argentines died in the first eleven days of June and the night of the battle, with another 54 taken prisoner.HMS Glamorgan who was providing NGS
Naval gunfire support
Naval gunfire support is the use of naval artillery to provide fire support for amphibious assault and other troops operating within their range. NGFS is one of a number of disciplines encompassed by the term Naval Fires...
stayed in her position to support the Royal Marine Commandos who were pinned down and there is no doubt that the County-class
County class destroyer
The County class was a class of guided missile destroyers, the first such vessels built by the Royal Navy. Designed specifically around the Sea Slug anti-aircraft missile system, the primary role of these ships was area air-defence around the aircraft carrier task force in the nuclear-war...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
saved many lives. Glamorgan stayed past the time she was meant to leave and was hit by a land based Exocet missile, thirteen crew were killed as a result of this attack.
Awards received
For the bravery shown in the attack on Two Sisters, men from 45 Commando were awarded one DSO, three Military CrossMilitary Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
es, one DCM
DCM
DCM may refer to:Technology:* Data Center Manager* Deep chlorophyll maximum, subsurface maximum in the concentration of chlorophyll* Dichloromethane, a common solvent in organic chemistry...
and four Military Medal
Military Medal
The Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....
s. A commando from 29 Commando received a Military Medal as did a man from the M&AW Cadre.