Thatcher’s War

The definitive inside account of the Falklands War, written by Margaret Thatcher herself.

On 21 May 1982, the British people watched with a mixture of pride and fear as their troops landed under heavy aerial bombardment at San Carlos Bay in the Falkland Islands. Since 1833 the islands had been under British sovereignty, and when Argentina launched a full-scale invasion on 2 April 1982 Margaret Thatcher decided to retaliate swiftly and aggressively. Over the following days a task force of 10,000 troops and 44 warships was assembled and despatched to the South Atlantic.

Britain’s first major armed conflict since the Korean War, the Falklands War cost the lives of 236 British and 750 Argentine soldiers. When the Argentine garrison surrendered on 2 June, the public swung in favour the Conservative government, and Margaret Thatcher’s second term in office was secured. This – in the Iron Lady’s own words – is the inside story of the Falkland’s War.

About the author

Margaret Thatcher's political career was one of the most remarkable of modern times. Born in Grantham in 1925, she rose to become the first woman to lead a major Western democracy. She won three successive general elections and served as prime minister for more than eleven years, from 1979 to 1990, a record unmatched in the twentieth century. She died in 2013.