Battle of Goose Green - Prelude

Prelude

The British force consisted of three rifle companies, one patrol company, one support company, and the HQ company of Lieutenant-Colonel Herbert 'H' Jones' 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment (2 Para) which had the following support: three 105 mm artillery pieces with 960 shells from 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery; one MILAN anti-tank missile platoon; Scout helicopters, and at dusk, air support was provided by three Royal Air Force Harriers later in the battle. HMS Arrow shelled the Argentine forward positions. Lieutenant-Colonel Jones commanded the battalion.

The defending Argentine forces known as Task Force Mercedes consisted of the Lieutenant-Colonel Italo Piaggi's 12th Infantry Regiment (RI 12) and a company of the Ranger-type 25th Infantry Regiment (RI 25). Lieutenant-Colonel Mohamed Alí Seineldín, considered by many Argentines to be the 'father' of the Argentine commandos, who chafing at his role as commanding officer of an ordinary infantry unit, put all his conscripts through a compressed version of the commando course in March 1982, dressing them in the green berets of the Army Commandos and changing the title of RI 25 unofficially to 25th 'Special' Infantry Regiment.The 12th Regiment chaplain, Padre Santiago Mora, later wrote, The conscripts of 25th Infantry wanted to fight and cover themselves in glory. The conscripts of 12th Infantry Regiment fought because they were told to do so. This did not make them any less brave. On the whole, they remained admirably calm.

Air defence was provided by a battery of six 20 mm Rheinmetall manned by Air Force personnel and two radar-guided Oerlikon 35 mm anti-aircraft guns from the 601st Anti-Aircraft Battalion that would be employed in a ground support role in the last stages of the fighting. There was also one battery of four OTO Melara Mod 56 105 mm pack howitzers from the 4th Airborne Artillery Regiment. Pucarás based at Stanley, armed with rockets and napalm, provided ground support. Unknown to the Argentine outpost, a four-man SAS patrol, led by Corporal Trevor Brookes, had infiltrated the 12th Regiment's A Company area, attempting to pinpoint the Argentinian positions. For over a fortnight, Brookes successfully avoided Argentine helicopter and foot patrols. As part of the diversionary raids to cover the British landings in the San Carlos area on 21 May, which involved naval shelling and air attacks, the 'D' Squadron of the SAS put in a major raid to simulate a battalion-sized attack on the Argentine troops dug in on Darwin Ridge.

Throughout 27 May, Royal Air Force Harriers were active over Goose Green. One of them, responding to a call for help from 2 PARA, was lost to 35mm fire while attacking Darwin Ridge.