[3] Prompted by the British war cabinet who needed a demonstration of political resolve, the operation was ordered by Admiral John Fieldhouse at Northwood Headquarters and planned by staff at 3 Commando Brigade.

Finally, 2 Troop, Special Boat Squadron (2 SBS) and, as requested by Sheridan, two Naval Gunfire Forward Observation Parties (NGFOs) also joined the task group.

[7] For the British, the first order of business was to carry out reconnaissance of Argentinian positions, whose forces and dispositions were unknown, though there was no evidence to suggest they had been reinforced since the initial occupation of the island on 3 April.

This choice was opposed by officers who had knowledge of local conditions, such as Captain Nick Barker of Endurance and members of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), who felt that the difficulties of travelling on the glacier were being underestimated.

However, Major Cedric Delves, officer commanding D squadron, overruled their objections, and as the SAS had strong political backing within the British government, the plan was eventually put into action.

The pilot, Lieutenant Commander Ian Stanley, managed to nurse his overloaded aircraft back to Antrim and make an emergency landing on her flight deck, for which he was later awarded the Distinguished Service Order.

On the next day, an attempt to insert reinforcements by helicopter was foiled by strong winds, and Endurance had to approach within 800 yards of the coast in order to land the remaining SBS in Gemini inflatable boats.

The tanker had suffered heavy damage in a severe storm, and it was decided to transfer as much fuel as possible onto Tidespring, under cover of Plymouth, before she could begin her journey back to the UK for repairs.

Despite earlier setbacks, Young remained committed to completing his intelligence-gathering mission, and on the night of 22/23 April Antrim entered Stromness Bay in order to insert another SAS force.

On 9 April Santa Fe, commanded by Corvette Captain Horacio Bicain, left Mar del Plata with eleven technicians to restore utility services on New Georgia and nine marines with Bantam anti-tank missiles to reinforce the original invading force, which was armed only with rifles and machine guns.

This contradicted the military junta's orders to not reinforce South Georgia, but when Admiral Jorge Anaya, Commander-in-Chief of the Argentine Navy, learned of the mission, he refused to disavow his subordinates and authorised it.

[15] The arrival of the submarine posed a significant threat to the British Task Force, and Young was ordered to disperse his ships, except Endurance, outside the South Georgia total exclusion zone.

The frigate HMS Brilliant, commanded by Captain John Coward, was diverted to South Georgia with her two Lynx helicopters to replace the aircraft lost on Fortuna Glacier, but she was not due to arrive until the morning of 25 April.

Conqueror was assigned a new patrol area 70 miles to the west of South Georgia, however, a failure in her communications mast meant that she did not receive the order until 24 April, by which time Santa Fe was already approaching the island.

[15] Antrim′s aircrew, which included Lieutenant Chris Parry, anticipated that Santa Fe would unload her troops under the cover of darkness and would withdraw at first light through Cumberland Bay without submerging, due to the threat of icebergs.

As the submarine approached Grytviken, Argentine positions at King Edward Point opened fire with rifles and anti-tank rockets, and during the last Wasp attack, the crew attempted to defend themselves with small arms and at least one machine gun, but with no effect.

[23] An Argentine prisoner of war, Navy Petty Officer Felix Artuso, a crewman of Santa Fe, was mistakenly shot dead on 26 April after a British marine thought he was sabotaging the submarine.

[24][25] A message that was widely publicised in the UK was made by the Task Group Commander, Captain Brian Young, after the surrender at Grytviken:[3] After Secretary of State for Defence John Nott read this statement to journalists in Downing Street, prime minister Margaret Thatcher told the crowd to "rejoice".

Wildlife film-maker Cindy Buxton and her assistant Annie Price, who had been filming in an isolated part of the island before the invasion, were evacuated by a helicopter from HMS Endurance on 30 April.