Mountain Commandos at War in the Falklands

I found it an extremely easy to read and well written book full of interest. A great addition to my collection of books about the Falklands War.

Despite the fact that the Falklands War was nearly 40 years ago, there are still some untold stories. The author commanded the Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre of 36 men during the Falklands War and has written the story of their war, not just because time is passing, but also because others (including Argentines) are trying to “rewrite history”. Taking command of the Cadre in 1980, Boswell set about changing the perception that they were a “bunch of professional climbers” and established an operational role, with the Falklands becoming a proving ground. The book describes the deployment of the Cadre from Rosyth to San Carlos in April 1982, where they got ashore at the earliest opportunity and set up 4 man team observation posts in support of the main Marine yomp across West Falkland, “protecting the flanks and forward line”. The Cadre’s operational baptism was the only planned daylight battle of the Falklands campaign when 19 Marines attacked the Top Malo House where 17 Argentine troops of 602 Commando were sheltering. Accounts from the author and commandos from both sides, describe this successful short but frenetic action; the Cadre took 3 casualties while the Argentines incurred 5 dead and 7 casualties. This book illustrates the challenging conditions the M&AW Marines faced moving at night over the Falklands terrain and its notorious stone runs, in pre GPS days with inadequate maps and very heavy loads whilst staying covert. It is a testament to the professionalism of the Marines that they were able to withstand the hardship, both physical and mental, and still achieve their operational tasks. Difficulties such as getting priority helicopter support and deploying in small boats at night were overcome and show the value of highly mobile and adaptable forces in a conventional battle scenario. With sections written by individual members of the Cadre, there are moments of service black humour, including one in which the author tripped and nearly drowned with the weight of kit, describing the Falklands as “take Dartmoor and float it” and an attack on the delicate part of the anatomy of a Marine Sergeant by a duck (read it!). This is a story that needed to be told and it is best summed up by the Commander of British Land Forces - “the battle initiation of the M&AW Cadre was an unqualified success …. Ideally suited to long range patrolling and information gathering in which role its performance compared most favourably with some of the Special Forces patrols”