Mrs Thatcher's War

The Falklands War is the period of Margaret Thatcher's premiership which still attracts the greatest attention. Mrs. Thatcher's War is a new history of the conflict, not from the military perspective but centrally from hers.

Chris Collins presents the fullest account to date of the Thatcher Government’s diplomacy before 1982, including intelligence failings; the abortive attempt to negotiate a leaseback agreement with Argentina; the ministerial loss of control over British policy in the South Atlantic and the fall of Lord Carrington. He brings to light why nuclear weapons were despatched with the task force at the head of the conflict and traces the arguments around retaking the Falklands – and the splits that emerged within the military forces – more completely and convincingly than ever before.

The book lays out Mrs. Thatcher’s dealings with the Americans in unprecedented detail to show how the Falklands served as both the high and low point in the special relationship between Britain and the United States. Collins uncovers how Thatcher’s War Cabinet handled Alexander Haig’s shuttle diplomacy, and how she lost control of British policy after the sinking of the General Belgrano and HMS Sheffield. He also makes new revelations about the government’s relationship with the French and their secret involvement with Chile, ending with an account of Augusto Pinochet’s arrest and detention on British Soil.

Drawing on previously unpublished sources, including newly declassified archives of Lord Carrington and François Mitterand as well as the author’s many conversations with Mrs. Thatcher, this is a compelling history of crisis and leadership.