Editing Falklands War (section)

=== Initial British response ===
{{further|British naval forces in the Falklands War|British ground forces in the Falklands War|British air services in the Falklands War}}

[[File:The empire strikes back newsweek.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|left|The cover of ''[[Newsweek]]'' magazine, 19 April 1982, depicting {{HMS|Hermes|R12|6}}, flagship of the British Task Force. The headline evokes the 1980 [[The Empire Strikes Back|''Star Wars'' sequel]].]]
The British had already taken action prior to the 2 April invasion. In response to events on South Georgia, on 29 March, Ministers decided to send the [[Royal Fleet Auxiliary]] (RFA) ''[[RFA Fort Austin (A386)|Fort Austin]]'' south from the Mediterranean to support HMS ''Endurance'', and the nuclear-powered fleet submarine {{HMS|Spartan|S105|6}} from [[Gibraltar]], with {{HMS|Splendid|S106|6}} ordered south from [[HMNB Clyde|Scotland]] the following day.<ref name="Freedman, Gamba-Stonehouse 1991">{{cite book |last1=Freedman |first1=Lawrence |last2=Gamba-Stonehouse |first2=Virginia |title=Signals of War: The Falklands Conflict of 1982 |date=1991 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-6158-3}}</ref>{{rp|75}}<ref name="Freedman2007">{{harvnb|Freedman|2005a|pp=202–203}}</ref> Lord [[Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington|Carrington]] had wished to send a third submarine, but the decision was deferred due to concerns about the impact on operational commitments.<ref name="Freedman2007"/> Coincidentally, on 26 March, the submarine {{HMS|Superb|S109|6}} left Gibraltar and it was assumed in the press she was heading south. There has since been speculation that the effect of those reports was to panic the Argentine junta into invading the Falklands before submarines could be deployed;<ref name="Freedman2007"/> however, post-war research has established that the final decision to proceed was made at a junta meeting in [[Buenos Aires]] on 23 March.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p= 40}}</ref>

The following day, during a crisis meeting headed by Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]], the [[First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff]], Admiral Sir [[Henry Leach]], advised that "Britain could and should send a task force if the islands are invaded". On 1 April, Leach sent orders to a [[Royal Navy]] force carrying out [[Exercise Spring Train|exercises]] in the Mediterranean to prepare to sail south. Following the invasion on 2 April, after an emergency meeting of the cabinet, approval was given to form a task force to retake the islands. This was backed in an emergency sitting of the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] the next day.<ref name=falkislands>{{cite web|access-date=24 December 2011|publisher=Falkland Islands Information|title=A Chronology of events during the Falklands Conflict of 1982|url=http://www.falklands.info/history/82timeline.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327150403/http://www.falklands.info/history/82timeline.html|archive-date=27 March 2010}}</ref>

[[File:HeadingSouth.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Some of the Advanced Group, [[pennant number#Post-1948|pennant numbers]] painted over, off [[Gibraltar]], March 1982]]
Word of the invasion first reached the UK from Argentine sources.<ref name=Margolis>{{cite news |last=Margolis |first=Laurie |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6514011.stm |title=UK &#124; How BBC man scooped invasion news |work=BBC News |date=2 April 2007 |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-date=28 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428135154/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6514011.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> A [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] operative in London had a short [[telex]] conversation with Governor Hunt's telex operator, who confirmed that Argentines were on the island and in control.<ref name=Margolis/><ref name = "Duncan">Duncan, Andrew, ''The Falklands War'', Marshall Cavendish Books Limited, {{ISBN|1-84415-429-7}}</ref> Later that day, [[BBC]] journalist [[Laurie Margolis]] spoke with an islander at [[Goose Green]] via [[amateur radio]], who confirmed the presence of a large Argentine fleet and that Argentine forces had taken control of the island.<ref name=Margolis/> British military operations in the Falklands War were given the codename ''Operation Corporate'', and the commander of the task force was Admiral Sir [[John Fieldhouse, Baron Fieldhouse|John Fieldhouse]]. Operations lasted from 1 April 1982 to 20 June 1982.<ref name="LG 13 December 1982">{{London Gazette |issue=49194 |date=13 December 1982 |page=16109 |supp=y }}</ref>

On 6 April, the British Government set up a [[War Cabinet#Falklands War, 1982|War Cabinet]] to provide day-to-day political oversight of the campaign.<ref name="Freedman2005">{{harvnb|Freedman|2005b|pp=21–22}}: "day-to-day oversight was to be provided by&nbsp;... which came to be known as the War Cabinet. This became the critical instrument of crisis management"</ref> This was the critical instrument of crisis management for the British with its remit being to "keep under review political and military developments relating to the South Atlantic, and to report as necessary to the Defence and Overseas Policy Committee". The War Cabinet met at least daily until it was dissolved on 12 August. Although Margaret Thatcher is described as dominating the War Cabinet, [[Lawrence Freedman]] notes in the ''Official History of the Falklands Campaign'' that she did not ignore opposition or fail to consult others. However, once a decision was reached, she "did not look back".<ref name="Freedman2005"/>