You've got your first bite, Nearly Free. And much as I hate to take the bait, I must defend the Marines of the naval party who were left to try to hold East Falkland against a force many times their number in 1982.
There were just 64 of them and their heaviest weapon was a Carl Gustav.
Despite this, the Booties fought a steady rearguard action which ended only when they were surrounded and pinned down in and around Government House in Stanley. The building was riddled with incoming and it was pure, blind chance that most of the defenders did not become casualties. They did, however, inflict a number of Argentinian casualties during the action, including knocking out at least one LVPT at close range.
Major Mike Norman, the detachment commander, only agreed to surrender on the instructions of Rex Hunt, the Falkland Islands governor, in a conversation which took place on hands and knees beacuse everything above that level was being subjected to mg, rifle and 20mm cannon fire.
I was privileged to witness the same naval party raise the Union flag over Government House on the recapture of the islands.
