MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands War: end of hostilities, General Menendez surrenders to Major General Jeremy Moore
The returning of the 11,313 prisoners of war in their own ships was not accepted and 4,167 of them were repatriated to Argentina on the ocean liner Canberra alone 
With the capture of Mount Tumbledown, Wireless Ridge and Sapper Hill the Falkland Islands conflict was effectively over and at 2100 hours on the 14th June 1982 the commander of the Argentine garrison in Stanley, General Mario Menendez, surrendered to Major General Jeremy Moore.
The surrender was contrary to the Argentine Army code stating that a surrender should not happen unless more than 50% of the men were casualties and that 75% of the ammunition was spent.
At the request of General Menendez the phrase ‘unconditional surrender’ was replaced by the term ‘surrender’. The Argentines were granted:
The Argentine units will retain their flags.
The units will remain under the control of their respective officers.
The surrender ceremony will be private (not public).
The Argentine officers will retain their side arms.
The final point about the returning of the 11,313 prisoners of war in their own ships was not accepted and 4,167 of them were repatriated to Argentina on the ocean liner Canberra alone (the Junta had claimed incorrectly that the liner had been crippled in San Carlos Water).
A massive amount of Argentine weapons and equipment were captured.
The Conflict lasted 74 days with the sad cost of 255 British and 649 Argentine soldiers and three civilians killed.
General Leopoldo Galtieri who instigated the invasion of the Falkland Islands was removed from office three days after the surrender and lived in obscurity. In July 2002 he was arrested to face trial for the kidnapping of children and the disappearance of 18 leftist sympathizers in the late 70’s. He died in 2003 before facing justice.
Top Comments
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Read all commentsToday is both a day of celebrating and a day of remembering the needless loss of life on both sides.
Jun 14th, 2022 - 02:16 pm +2A stupid unnecessary war .
Thousands more still suffering today as a result of wounding and PTSD .
So while we celebrate forty years of progress we remember those who came to our rescue, who gave their lives so that we the people of the Falkland Islands can live the lives of our choosing.
This is part of the war Argentina always likes to forget, when it is the part they really, really need to remember.
Jun 14th, 2022 - 02:32 pm +2Instead of celebrating the start of the war with ‘re-enactments’ of the landings, they should ‘re-enact’the return of their defeated troops after the surrender.
Might save another generation from having to go through the same thing.
Falklands-Free
Amen to that.
Is that a fact?
Jun 15th, 2022 - 03:35 am +2It could well be that you are the one that is foolishly believing.
Britain didn't choose a war, Britain didn't start that war, Britain didn't need a war, Argentina did. That is “the fact”.
No one misses this but you.
You are the only one who thinks Alexander Betts was a noble individual, after he left a wife and three children for his Argentine girlfriend.
So that is a foolish belief of yours also.
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