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The Battle of Mount Tumbledown was an engagement in the Falklands War, one of a series of battles that took place during the British advance towards Stanley. ==Overview== On the night of 13–14 June 1982 the British launched an assault on Mount Tumbledown, one of the highest points near the town of Port Stanley, the capital and succeeded in driving Argentinian forces from the mountain. This close-quarters night battle was later dramatized in the BBC film ''Tumbledown''. The attacking British forces consisted of the 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards (2SG), mortar detachments from 42 Commando, Royal Marines and the 1st Battalion, 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles, (1/7 GR) as well as support from a troop of the Blues and Royals equipped with two Scorpion and two Scimitar armoured vehicles. The Argentinian forces defending the mountains were Commander Carlos Robacio's 5th Marine Infantry Battalion (BIM 5). The defending Argentines were already proving costly in lives. In the shelling that was directed by Sub-Lieutenant Marcelo de Marco of the 5th Marines from his observation post on Tumbledown Mountain, four Paras and one REME craftsman were killed on Mount Longdon and another seven Paratroopers were wounded and a Welsh Guardsman was killed while riding a motorbike in the Fitzroy-Stanley track. Prior to the British landings, the Argentinian marine battalion had been brought up to brigade strength by a company of the Amphibious Engineers Company (CKIA), a heavy machine-gun company of the Headquarters Battalion (BICO), a battery of the 1st Marine Field Artillery Battalion (BIAC), and three Tigercat SAM batteries of the 1st Marine Anti-Aircraft Regiment, as well as a 2nd Marine Infantry Battalion platoon and a 3rd Marine Infantry Battalion platoon. As part of the British plan, 1/7 GR was given the task of capturing the sub-hill of Mount William held by O Company, the 5th Marine Battalion's reserve, and then allowing the Welsh Guards through to seize Sapper Hill, the final obstacle before Stanley. The attack was supported by naval gunfire from HMS ''Active'''s 4.5 inch gun. At the time of the battle, Ship-of-the-Line Lieutenant Eduardo Villarraza's N Company held Mount Tumbledown. Mount William was just south of Tumbledown and the Marine battalion's O Company under Ship-of-the-Line Lieutenant Ricardo Quiroga was on its lower slopes. Major Oscar Ramon Jaimet's B Company, 6th Regiment was in reserve behind N Company. Ship-of-the-Line Lieutenant Rodolfo Oscar Cionchi's M Company occupied Sapper Hill. The Argentinian defenders held firm under the British 'softening up' bombardment, which began at 7:30 local time. Major Jaimet later recalled: I heard the cries of the wounded calling for their comrades, twelve men wounded before nightfall. We thought we had suffered before, but what luxury and comfort compared to this.''〔Razor's Edge, Hugh Bicheno, p. 288, Phoenix, 2007〕 During the battle, the 5th Marines Command Post took five direct hits, but Commander Robacio emerged unscathed.〔(The Sinking of the Belgrano, Arthur Gavshon and Desmond Rice pg. 47)〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Mount Tumbledown」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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