Commandos Clash at Many Branch Point
Part of Falklands War
Date 10 June 1982 Location Port Howard, West Falkland Result Argentine victory, British withdrawal
Belligerents
Argentina	United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
First Lieutenant José Martiniano Duarte	Captain John Hamilton †
Strength
4 commandos of the 601 Company	4 SAS personnel
Casualties and losses
none	1 killed 1 prisoner

On 10 June 1982, during the Falklands War, Many Branch Point, a ridge near Port Howard, in the West Falkland, was the site of a minor skirmish between Argentine and British elite forces. The engagement ended with the death of the SAS patrol commander, Captain John Hamilton.

Background

While the 35 mm radar-guided and 20 mm antiaircraft guns in Port Stanley and Goose Green forced the Sea Harriers and RAF GR3 Harriers to carry out air strikes from high altitude,^[1] the Argentine garrisons at West Falkland relied only on 12.7 mm machine guns for their own protection, which left them exposed to strafing and accurate low-fly bombings.

In order to reinforce these units, the Argentine command-in-chief deployed a special forces company, the 601, to Port Howard, then headquarters of the 5º Regiment of Infantry. The commandos were equipped with British-made, shoulder-fired Blowpipe missiles^[2]. After a 24-hours trip from Port Stanley, the company reached its destination.^[3]

Some days later, with the British landing at San Carlos bay still ongoing, the Argentine troops found their mark when they shot down a GR3 Harrier on a recce mission. The pilot, Flt. Lt. Jeffrey Glover, bailed out safely and was taken prisoner.^[4]

Once the British achieved overwhelming air supremacy over the islands, the Argentine elite force became isolated.^[5] The helicopters which should have flown them back to Stanley were destroyed by GR3 Harriers near Mount Kent and Shag Cove House.^[6] Afterwards, the missions ordered to the commandos were mainly aimed to collect information about enemy activity on the opposite coast of the Falkland Sound.

In the meantime, SAS patrols had been active around the main Argentine advanced posts. On June 5, a 4-men party led by Captain Gavin John Hamilton moved as close as 2.5 km from the enemy to gather intelligence around Port Howard.^[7] Hamilton was an officer in the squadron that raided the air base at Pebble Island on May 16.

The action

On the morning of June 9, a routine reconnaissance patrol of the Argentine special forces, under the command of First Lieutenant José Martiniano Duarte marched to Many Branch point, a hill located 5 miles to the north of Howard. The days before, an observation post had been deployed on Mount Rosalie, but it had been compromised due to British presence. Nevertheless, the Commandos managed to slip away without been detected.^[8] The squad was originally composed of 9 men; by the afternoon, with no enemies in sight, five men went back to their base, while the other four remained on the ridge. From this position, they were able to determine that a British airfield had been built near San Carlos.^[9]

The following day, while in alert, Duarte heard some voices behind a rocky formation. The patrol gathered at the entrance of the cave-shaped rocks, guessing if a British section was hidden there, or simply they were local shepherds. Suddenly, a dark-skinned man, wearing a balaclava used by Argentine Navy personnel, showed up. Initially there was some hesitation, but while recovering from the surprise, Duarte cried: "Argentinos o Ingleses?". After a short silence, Lieutenant Duarte ordered: "Hands up!". The answer was a 5.56 mm burst, which bounced off the stones behind him. Then, the shooting raged out of control. An Argentine Sergeant launched two grenades, but a British 40 mm grenade exploded a few meters behind the Commandos. The fire of Duarte's patrol forced their British counterpart to get out from the rock's shelter and run down the hill's slope. One of the men attempted to cover the other, but was cut down by automatic fire and a rifle-launched grenade, falling apparently unconscious. The other soldier surrendered shortly after.

The fallen soldier was indeed killed. The prisoner was a signal corps member of Goan origin, Corporal Charlie Fonseca. ^[10] . The dead man was blonde, with no rank insignia. The commandos identified him by his dog tag; he was the Captain Hamilton. They found a photograph showing him with his family. The Argentines also captured a radio, an M-16 and an AR-15 rifles, a beacon, cartography and a communications code.^[11] The other two soldiers of Hamilton's party managed to conceal themselves and were later rescued by friendly forces.^[12]

Aftermath

That night witnessed the inaccurate shelling carried out by British frigates on Port Howard.^[13] It led to speculation among Argentine officers that the mission of Hamilton was to act as Naval Gunfire Support Forward Observer (NGSFO).

The autopsy revealed that Hamilton was killed by a 7.62 mm shot in his back. Another bullet hit his arm. He was buried at Port Howard, along with an Argentine conscript who died of starvation, a clear signal of the hopeless scenario for the troops in West Falkland. The islanders refused to provide a British flag for Hamilton's burial.^[14] The fate of Captain Hamilton became known to his comrades only when the garrison surrender to the British on June 15.^[15] Hamilton's grave can still be seen up the hill from Port Howard. He was posthumously awarded the Military Cross.^[16]

Notes

References

• Ruiz Moreno, Isidoro:Comandos en acción. Emecé editions, 1986. ISBN 9500405202.

• Strawson, John:A History of the SAS Regiment. Secker & Warburg, 1984. ISBN 0436499924.

• Woodward, Sandy:The one hundred days. Naval Institute Press, 1997. ISBN 0002157233.