Product Description

Martin Middlebrook is the only British historian to have been granted open access to the Argentines who planned and fought the Falklands War. It ranks with Liddell Hart's The Other Side of the Hill in analysing and understanding the military thinking and strategies of Britain's sometime enemy, and is essential reading for all who wish to understand the workings of military minds.

The author has managed to avoid becoming involved in the issue of sovereignty and concentrates entirely upon the military story. He has produced a genuine 'first' with this balanced and unique work. Among the men he met were the captain of the ship that took the scrap-metal merchants to South Georgia; the admiral in charge of planning the Falklands invasion; the marine commander and other members of the invasion force; two brigadier-generals, five unit commanders and many other men of the large army force sent to occupy and defend the islands.; the officer in charge of the Argentine garrison at Goose Green; and finally the brigadier-general responsible for the Defence of Port Stanley and soldiers of all ranks who fought the final battles.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #412336 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Customer Reviews

Interesting and Informative
As an avid student of the Falklands War, having served there twice and having a great affinity for the Islands and people, I felt it essential to see the other side of the conflict just to see how the Argentines had squandered such a militarily strong position on the islands. Some of the accounts did not surprise me and it became clear throughout the book the massive gulf that exists between the Officer corps and the conscripted bulk of the Argentine armed forces. It amazed me that the Argentines ever thought that they could stand against the finest armed forces in the world. Middlebrook has researched the subject well although without the cooperation of the Argentine Air Force, whose accounts are derived from an Argentine publication. The anecdote that brought home to me that the Argentinian foray into British sovereign territory was doomed was an account from an officer on Mount Kent who waved off his platoon as they were sent to reenforce failure at Goose Green, his main concern being that he got into dry clothes and had a good bottle of red wine before bemoaning the loss of his men - one cannot imagine the most lacklustre British officer ever contemplating doing that. No wonder the will to win was not there.

A great book that needed to be written
I picked up this book while waiting for a plane on my way to go hillwalking in scotland. It was cheap and i fully expected to throw it away as deadweight as i had limited space. In fact, i kept it and still have it today. It provides an extremly informative and balanced account on the Argantine fight for the Faulklands or 'Malvinas'. The auther, writing in a time still close the war, manages to get the best out of the information provided by the Arganetinians. Whats more is that this book is genuinly interesting and i was caught up in the drama of the war seen from the Argantine perspective. After reading this book it became apparent to me the huge national feeling the Argantinians have for the Malvinas and the feeling we develped for the Faulklands during the war. For anyone who is remotly interested in the Faulkland conflict or for those who want a good read this is must have book.

could not put this book down
could not put this book down it really is an interesting read. goes into good detail but without being boring, its also interesting to hear the other sides version of the war