Eagle, I don't want to form an alliance anymore.

They finally understood why so many bombs hit their targets but failed to achieve the desired effect: the problem lay in the bombing altitude, not the bombs themselves!

The solution is simple—replace the fuse with a time-delay fuse, so that the fuse detonates a few seconds after hitting the target, and the bomb can detonate normally no matter how low the bombing altitude is.

This news quickly changed the effectiveness of the air raids in the latter half of the war, and from then on, British warships no longer enjoyed the luck of "being hit but not exploding".

This unexpected intervention by the BBC angered most of the officers in the frontline troops.

In his later memoirs, Rear Admiral Woodward, the fleet commander, described the BBC's report as a "betrayal of British soldiers," believing that the BBC "valued the fearless pursuit of the truth more than the lives of British soldiers."

Lieutenant Colonel Jones, commander of the 2nd Parachute Battalion, was furious after learning that the BBC had prematurely leaked his troops' plans to attack Gusglen. He threatened to sue senior BBC officials.

However, Lieutenant Colonel Jones didn't have time to carry out his threat, as he died in the battle to attack Gusglin.

PS: This is a historical fact. The British army was truly erratic in this war, both on the front lines and in the rear.

...

On May 28, Darwin and Gusgreen.

Under the cover of darkness, the 2nd Parachute Battalion of about 500 men launched an attack on Darwin and Gusglin, which were defended by the Argentine 12th Infantry Regiment. The battle lasted from late at night until the next day – nearly fourteen hours of close-quarters infantry fighting in the open grasslands and low hills of the Falkland Islands, without the cover of armored vehicles or air support, only with rifles, mortars and grenades.

Lieutenant Colonel Jones was killed by machine gun fire while leading a small squad to attack Argentine positions. He became the highest-ranking British officer killed in action during the entire Falklands War and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

However, the battle ultimately ended in a British victory—seventeen British soldiers were killed, while the Argentinians suffered fifty-five deaths and over a thousand were captured. The capture of Gusgreen opened the way to Stanley Harbour, and the British 45th Assault Battalion and the 3rd Parachute Battalion began their trek across the East Falkland wilderness toward Blue Bay on the east coast.

But just when the British thought the most difficult part was over, the Argentinians played a card they had been holding onto.

5月27日和28日的两天里，在英军的注意力被达尔文和古斯格林的地面战斗吸引住的同时，阿根廷军方通过C-130运输机向斯坦利港紧急空运了两支精锐部队——第602突击兵连和第601宪兵特勤中队。这些受过特种作战训练的部队被部署到了肯特山周围的高地上，任务是迟滞和阻止英军从西面向斯坦利港推进。

This operation was codenamed the "Self-Determination Initiative".

The British high command was completely unaware of this reinforcement; their attention was entirely focused on the defense of the Goose Green battlefield in the south and the landing zone in the east, and they were completely oblivious to the Argentine troop movements around the Kent Mountains.

It wasn't until May 30, when SAS D Squadron and Royal Marines combat units engaged in fierce skirmishes with Argentine commandos in the Kent Hills region, that the British realized the situation was far more complex than anticipated.

The Battle of Moro on May 31 was the most intense of this series of encounters. The Marine Corps mountain detachment discovered the A17 detachment of the 602nd Assault Company, commanded by Captain Berceci, near a lone shepherd's hut. The Argentine special forces soldiers, trapped inside the hut, used the windows and porch as firing positions and put up a fierce resistance. They only retreated to a dry riverbed 5 meters away after the house caught fire during the exchange of fire and continued fighting until they ran out of ammunition and surrendered.

The British army won another battle, but at the cost of valuable time—more importantly, these skirmishes exposed a disturbing truth:

The Argentinians established a defensive line in the Kent Mountains, and the troops deployed there were combat-ready, not the demoralized conscripts they had encountered on the outskirts of San Carlos.

Soon, as the British army advanced deeper into the interior, the Argentine counterattacks became increasingly powerful, and the British soldiers deep inland could only watch helplessly as the Argentine air force defecated over their heads.

The severe damage to HMS Hermes turned British air superiority over the Falklands from "barely adequate" to "severely inadequate." The Harrier fighters aboard HMS Invincible could only provide air cover for ground troops for a few hours each day, leaving the British forward columns exposed to the elements without any air cover.

Beginning in early June, the Argentine Air Force shifted its tactical focus. Instead of using its valuable aircraft to attack British warships at sea, they turned to providing close air support to British ground forces. Skyhawk and Pucara attack aircraft took turns scrambling from airfields in the Argentine mainland and Port Stanley to conduct low-altitude strafing and bombing raids on British columns crossing the East Falkland plains.

The effect is immediate.

On June 1st, the British 45th Assault Battalion was attacked by three Skyhawks while advancing towards Blue Bay. Four 6-pound bombs exploded in the middle of the marching column, causing dozens of casualties. More seriously, the explosions destroyed two transport vehicles in the middle of the column, along with their ammunition and rations. Without these supplies, the 45th Assault Battalion had to remain in place for a whole day awaiting resupply from the rear.

On the 4th, the 3rd Parachute Battalion was strafed twice by two Pucara propeller-driven attack aircraft with rockets over an open grassland. The Pucara flies very slowly and low, making it an ideal platform for ground attack in the absence of Sea Harrier interception.

The paratroopers were powerless to fight back except to jump into the muddy ditch next to them and lie down to wait for the plane to leave. The shoulder-fired "blowpipe" missiles used to shoot down planes had a hopelessly low hit rate when fired at an angle.

An SAS observation post in the Kent Mountains was also attacked, and a Royal Air Force Falcon GR.3 attack aircraft was shot down by Argentine ground forces with small arms as it came to provide support.

By the first week of June, the British offensive had stalled about 30 kilometers from Stanley. Troops were being forced into large-scale daytime field maneuvers by the increasingly active Argentine attack aircraft overhead—any troops assembling in open areas would become easy targets for air raids!

Brigadier General Thomson used a euphemistic but clear phrase in his telegram to London: "The deterioration of the air situation has prevented my forces from advancing toward Stanley Port as scheduled. If air superiority over the theater of operations cannot be restored as soon as possible, the landing forces will face a serious risk of being gradually worn down."

In layman's terms: Our soldiers are being chased and attacked by planes on the ground. If you don't give me more air cover, I'll be driven back to the beach sooner or later!

Meanwhile, British supply convoys in San Carlos Bay continued to be attacked. The Argentinians' mobile air defense system, comprised of a mix of Rowland and Tigercat missiles, deployed on the Falklands primarily to protect Port Stanley airport, also posed a new threat to small British surface vessels operating in coastal waters due to their shore-based anti-ship missiles.

The USS Glamorgan was hit in the stern by a shore-based missile while conducting a nighttime shore bombardment mission. Although it did not sink, it was severely damaged and had to withdraw from combat operations.

The British were facing difficulties at sea and on land simultaneously, creating an atmosphere in the wartime cabinet in London that was even more somber than when the HMS Sheffield sank—back then there were at least two aircraft carriers and a complete landing plan; now there was one less carrier, the landing zone was established but the advance was hampered, casualties among ground troops were increasing day by day, and the winter in the Southern Hemisphere was approaching day by day.

If Stanley Port cannot be captured by mid-June, the severe weather will render all operations impossible, and the task force will be forced to maintain an 8,000-mile supply line through the winter in the freezing storms—logistically impossible!

Thatcher's gamble is heading towards an ending she doesn't want to face.

...

June 6, Moscow.

Slava and Director Nian sat in the living room of the apartment listening to the radio.

The BBC World Channel is broadcasting the latest developments in the Falklands War. The announcer speaks in that characteristically British restraint tone, saying things like "British advance in East Falkland has encountered some resistance" and "Argentine Air Force continues to launch airstrikes on the landing sites." Every word is carefully chosen to make the bad news sound less like bad news.

“I knew 'Yes, Prime Minister' was a good British TV series.” Director Nian turned down the radio volume and said while eating sunflower seeds, “It’s obvious that the British can’t hold out for much longer. Winter in the Southern Hemisphere will arrive in full force in two weeks, and the sea conditions will become extremely bad, and their supply lines will be cut off.”

Slava looked at the South Atlantic nautical chart spread out on the table—a chart he had taken from the KGB's archives a few months ago. It was marked with the latest situation of the two sides in red and blue pencil, and was updated daily according to intelligence briefings. The red pencil marks were getting denser and denser, and the blue pencil marks were being crossed out more and more often.

“Well, the key is still Stanley,” he pointed to the small black dot at the eastern end of East Falkland Island on the nautical chart. “If the British take Stanley Airport, they can deploy Falcon attack aircraft and helicopters to the island, and then they won’t need aircraft carriers to provide air cover. But right now they’re stuck thirty kilometers away and can’t push through.”

So what do you think will happen?

Slava leaned back on the sofa and thought for a while. In the history before he traveled back in time, Britain ultimately won the Falklands War, relying on the overwhelming air superiority of the Harriers and the low morale of the Argentine defenders; the ground battles were not particularly intense.

But everything is different in this timeline—the severe damage to HMS Hermes has essentially eliminated British air superiority, and although the Argentine air force has also suffered heavy losses, it can still pose a substantial threat to British ground forces over the Falklands.

“It’s fifty-fifty,” he said. “Thatcher certainly won’t back down on her own initiative, but if she can’t take Stanley in another two weeks, the weather will make that decision for her. Then it will either be a decent negotiation or an undignified retreat. Either way, her political future is over.”

"I've already figured out how our newspapers will write after the British lose the Falklands War," Slava began his long-winded monologue.

"Argentina Wins!"

The largest armed conflict since the Vietnam War has come to an end. The war between several of the world's most advanced armed forces, including the British Navy and the Argentine Air Force, engulfed this sparsely populated island in flames. Under the close watch of countless eyes around the world, the outcome of the war has been revealed:

Argentina withstood a seemingly powerful all-out British offensive and forced the latter to withdraw its troops from all the islands in the South Atlantic, including Ascension.

The news was hard to believe, given the sheer size of the British Empire. But the surprise was quickly replaced by joy, and spontaneous victory parades erupted in many Argentine cities, from Buenos Aires to Córdoba, as people cheered that the once-mighty British Empire had been defeated by the united Argentine people.

In London, 10 Downing Street was shrouded in gloom, and the Conservative Party and Margaret Thatcher faced troubles far greater than defeat.

"Britain may decline from now on."

Director Nian threw the sunflower seed shells into the trash can, stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the early June evening in Moscow—the birch leaves had fully unfurled, and the lush green canopy cast large shadows in the setting sun. Downstairs, several children were playing football in the yard, and their laughter drifted in through the glass, sounding faint and distant.

“It’s as if winning this war will allow Britain to regain the glory of the Victorian era,” Slava shrugged.

Director Nian drew the curtains, and the room became dark, with only the table lamp still on.

“Alright, let’s get down to business. Andropov’s transfer to the Central Secretariat next month is settled,” she said, pulling a slip of paper from her pocket and handing it to Slava. “The date is probably in late June, and Comrade Brezhnev has already given his approval.”

"Wow, An Zong got promoted! What will happen to me now that the old leader is gone? Will I also go to the central government?"

"Go to hell! What qualifications do you have? Go and work on your qualifications!" Director Nian shook his head.

Andropov's transfer from KGB chairman to the Central Secretariat signifies his formal entry into the succession race—in Soviet political tradition, a seat in the Central Secretariat is the final step on the path to the General Secretary's throne.

“But the Falklands issue isn’t over yet,” Slava said, placing the note in the ashtray and lighting it with a match, watching the thin paper curl, turn black, and then turn to ash in the flames. “But the Moscow issue is about to begin.”

Are we going to fight two wars at the same time?

“It’s not just two battles, we’re fighting on multiple fronts,” Slava flicked the ashes in the ashtray with his finger. “One in the South Atlantic, one in the Kremlin, and there’s trouble in Eastern Europe, and we’re also fighting in Afghanistan… We also need to maintain good relations with the military.”

Director Nian glanced at him with concern, but said nothing. She simply went into the kitchen and poured a cup of tea for each of them, placing one cup next to Slava before sitting back down on the sofa to continue eating her sunflower seeds.

Suddenly, an emergency broadcast came from the television.

"The Israeli army launched a large-scale military operation in southern Lebanon today, June 6..."

The scene on the screen switched to the scene: thick black smoke, collapsed buildings, someone running with a child in their arms, the child's mouth open, but no crying could be heard on the television, only the announcer's voice was drowned out.

"...The conflict has caused serious civilian casualties..."

The Fifth Arab-Israeli War broke out.

Chapter 22 What will happen to Britain? Only God knows.

The God of War is abandoning Britain, and no amount of effort from the British Empire can save it.

In the second week of June, winter in the South Atlantic, which Argentina had been longing for, finally arrived.

The British fleet can finally experience the high winds and rough seas of the North Atlantic here. The cold winds blowing from Antarctica often exceed 80 kilometers per hour, and the visibility on the sea surface is sometimes less than 100 meters. In such weather, carrier-based aircraft are naturally unable to take off or land.

Moreover, the British army's logistics were also affected, which further exacerbated the landing forces' predicament.

The 45th Assault Battalion and the 3rd Parachute Battalion remained pinned down about 25 to 30 kilometers from Port Stanley, unable to march in open areas during the day, and their nighttime advances were hampered by the harsh terrain and bad weather.

The soldiers dug foxholes in the frozen mud and built temporary shelters with tarpaulins and rubble. Their rations were reduced from three hot meals a day to two cold meals plus a cup of instant coffee.

At 10 Downing Street, Thatcher grew increasingly silent at wartime cabinet meetings.

She increasingly sensed a change in the way the generals and ministers looked at her, a change she was all too familiar with, as if she were about to be pushed out to take the blame.

Political animals have a keener sense of smell than any radar. When the people around you start avoiding eye contact, it means they've already crossed your name off the leader list in their minds.

But Thatcher still did not order a retreat.

“Give me another week,” she said at the cabinet meeting on June 10. “If ground troops cannot break through to the outskirts of Stanley within a week, then we will discuss other options.”

What she didn't know was that the Argentinians were also using this final window of opportunity to play their trump card.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

June 12, South Atlantic.

The Argentine Navy made the boldest decision of the entire war—to allow its surface fleet to return to port.

Since the sinking of the General Belgrano, the Argentine Navy's large surface ships have been holed up in port, but more than six weeks later, the situation of the British task force is completely different from when the war started. HMS Hermes is wandering in the east with a lot of damage, HMS Invincible is holding up an increasingly leaky air umbrella, several escorting destroyers and frigates have been lost, and the frequency of anti-submarine patrols has dropped significantly due to a lack of helicopters.

Soviet intelligence sources continued to provide real-time location data of the British fleet, and the Argentine Navy staff finally saw an opportunity: the British transport fleet—commanded civilian cargo ships and oil tankers—formed an 8,000-nautical-mile logistics supply line from Ascension to the Falklands—mostly without warship escort!

Because all available escort forces were diverted to protect the aircraft carrier and landing zone.

The Argentine Navy still has two Type 209 conventional submarines available. The San Luis achieved zero combat results in the early stages of the war due to torpedo malfunctions. Her sister submarine, the Santa Fe, was damaged in South Georgia, but the other submarine, the Salta, remained in port and never went into battle.

With the addition of a batch of new torpedoes urgently borrowed (actually purchased) from Uruguay and the assistance of technicians in debugging them, the Argentine submarine force has now regained limited combat capability.

On the night of June 12, guided by satellite intelligence, the HMS Salta departed Mar del Plata and headed northeast along an underwater canyon. Its target was a route near a relay supply point for British convoys between Ascension Island and the Falklands.

6月14日凌晨，萨尔塔号在南纬47度、西经42度附近的海域发现了一个由三艘商船和一艘老旧的21型护卫舰组成的小型船队。护卫舰的声呐在恶劣的海况下效能大减，根本没有探测到潜伏在一千米外的潜艇。

Two torpedoes were launched quickly.

The first bullet hit a container ship fully loaded with ammunition and rations. The flash of the ammunition explosion illuminated the sea surface for several kilometers in the night sky. The ship broke in two after the explosion. The front half sank within three minutes, while the rear half drifted for more than an hour before being swallowed by the waves.

The second missile struck the engine room of an oil tanker, and diesel fuel gushed out of the breach and burned on the sea surface, the flames illuminating half the sky.

Amid the chaos, the frigate launched depth charges, but failed to locate the Salta in the rough seas. The Salta then submerged to its maximum depth immediately after the attack and quietly left the area of ​​engagement.

The loss of the two transport ships themselves wasn't fatal, but the supplies they carried—three thousand tons of ammunition, eight hundred tons of rations, two hundred tons of fuel, and a large quantity of medical supplies—were the sole resupply for the frontline landing forces for the next week. Without these supplies, the inventory at the San Carlos landing site could only last four to five days at most!

The news reached London on the morning of June 14th, local time, and the wartime cabinet convened an emergency meeting. General Leach presented Thatcher with a logistical assessment report:

At the current rate of supply depletion and loss of transport capacity, frontline troops will run out of ammunition reserves around June 19, at which point they will be unable to launch an effective offensive even if the weather permits.

“Prime Minister,” Leach was practically giving Thatcher an ultimatum, “we are running out of time.”

---

In the 6 hours between June 15th and 16th, some of the most humiliating events for the British Army since 1945 took place on East Falkland Island.

For three consecutive days, the troops at the front have only been able to eat half the amount of rations. The so-called "half the amount" means that the already scarce field rations have been reduced by half, which means that each soldier consumes less than 1,500 calories per day.

They had to carry their full gear across muddy wastelands in sub-zero temperatures. Many of their combat boots had been soaked in frozen mud and puddles for over a week without being changed, and trench foot was beginning to spread throughout the troops.

The ammunition shortage was even more deadly. Mortar shells were running low, rifle ammunition was scarce, and most of the anti-tank missiles, along with transport vehicles, had been destroyed in previous air raids. The soldiers were told to "use ammunition sparingly"—

On the battlefield, this phrase is basically equivalent to "Don't shoot, just wait to die."

On the afternoon of June 15, a company of the 45th Assault Battalion encountered a patrol of the Argentine 602nd Assault Company about 15 kilometers outside of Port Stanley. The two sides exchanged fire for about 40 minutes on a scree slope, after which the British troops ran out of ammunition and could no longer continue fighting.

After the company commander contacted the battalion headquarters and confirmed that there were no supplies to be delivered, he raised a white flag, and all 117 officers and soldiers of the company surrendered to the Argentine forces.

The news spread around the world within hours through the Argentine military's propaganda channels. Buenos Aires television repeatedly broadcast images of British soldiers emerging from foxholes carrying white flags—the men in the images looked exhausted, hungry, and frostbitten. This scene was rebroadcast by many small British media outlets, and then the pressure quickly shifted to the mainstream media.

After hesitating for several hours, the BBC still broadcast the news. The Ministry of Defense tried to block the news, but such a blockade is impossible in the age of satellite communications.

In Parliament, Labour MPs immediately called for an investigation into the decision-making process for the war, and voices from Conservative backbenchers began to openly question Thatcher's judgment.

On the morning of June 16, Thatcher sat alone for a long time in her office at 10 Downing Street. On her desk were three documents: Leach's logistical assessment report, the latest telegram from the frontline commanders regarding the troop situation, and a draft proposal from the Foreign Office for armistice negotiations with Argentina through the United Nations.

She picked up the phone and called the White House.

The full content of this phone call has never been made public, but its general outline can be inferred from the wording of subsequent statements from both governments:

Thatcher informed Reagan that Britain was prepared to negotiate a ceasefire with Argentina through the framework of the UN Security Council, and she requested that the United States support a "ceasefire resolution that respects the positions of both sides" in the Security Council. Reagan expressed his sympathy and understanding.

Okay, in diplomatic terms, this means that the United States remains neutral.

On June 17, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 520, calling on both sides in the Falklands conflict to immediately cease fire and to begin peace negotiations under UN auspices. The United Kingdom and Argentina simultaneously announced their acceptance of the ceasefire.

The British task force withdrew from the Falklands in batches over the next ten days. The damaged HMS Hermes, escorted by two frigates, slowly sailed north, its bullet holes and burn marks starkly visible against the grey surface of the South Atlantic. HMS Invincible was the last to leave—after Prince Andrew's helicopter made its final landing on its deck, the carrier turned and disappeared below the northern horizon.