Battle of Mount Harriet

Selected mountains in East Falkland

Date	June 11–12, 1982
Location	Mount Harriet, Falkland Islands
Result	British victory

Belligerents

Argentina

United Kingdom

Commanders and leaders

Diego Soria

Nick Vaux

Strength

approximately 400 troops

600 Royal Marines

Casualties and losses

18 killed
50 wounded
300 captured

2 killed
30 wounded

Location within Falkland Islands

The Battle of Mount Harriet was an engagement of the Falklands War, which took place on the night of 11/12 June 1982 between British and Argentine forces. It was one of three battles in a brigade-size operation on the same night.

The British force consisted of 42 Commando (42 CDO), Royal Marines under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Nick Vaux's Royal Marines (he later became a general) with artillery support from a battery of 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery. The 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards (1WG) and two companies from 40 Commando (40 CDO) were in reserve. HMS Yarmouth provided naval-gunfire support for the British forces. The Argentine defenders consisted of Lieutenant Colonel Diego Soria's 4th Infantry Regiment (RI 4).

On the night of 30 May, K Company of 42 CDO boarded three Sea King helicopters and moved forward of San Carlos to secure the commanding heights of Mount Kent—at 1,504 feet, the tallest of the peaks surrounding Stanley—where the D Squadron SAS Troops had already established a strong presence. However, when they arrived at their landing zone, some 3 kilometres (2 miles) behind the ridge of the mountain, the Marines were surprised to see the flashes and lines of tracer ammunition lighting up the night.

After a fierce fight at close quarters, the Argentine patrol (Captain Tomas Fernandez' 2nd Assault Section, 602 Commando Company) melted away from the boulders and snow-soaked scrub and grass. By the end of May, Major Cedric Delves' D Squadron had gained Mount Kent, and Tactical HQ commenced patrolling Bluff Cove Peak, which they took with the loss of two wounded.

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