Margaret Thatcher's victory in the Falklands

Margaret Thatcher is dead aged 87. Here we look at the event that arguably secured her a second term in power - the 1982 Falklands War. Retaking the Falkland Islands was the defining moment in Margaret Thatcher's premiership and is believed to have consolidated her nickname, "The Iron Lady". The war waged against the Argentine military also contributed to her winning a second election with a landslide majority in 1983, a year after the war began.

The war officially began in 1982 when Argentine forces invaded the British territories of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia in the South Atlantic. Recovering the islands would require a substantial military operation, so Mrs Thatcher dispatched a large naval task force from the UK. It was the biggest UK naval operation since the Second World War.

Nearly 30,000 people sailed south, including ships, two aircraft carriers, submarines, aircraft and ground troops. She said afterwards: "If anyone had told me at the beginning that we should send 27,000 men and over 100 ships, I wouldn't have believed it."

Throughout the 74-day conflict, Mrs Thatcher wore black, and constantly spoke of "our boys".

"Everyone was at risk," she said. "We were always worried about the vulnerability of the supply lines especially. When it was all over there was a tremendous sense of relief. A feeling that whatever problems I have to go through now, at least I won't have to go through that terrible period when every time the phone rings, every time the door opens, you worry."

The following January, Mrs Thatcher visited the Falklands, being greeted like a saint by the islanders. Report by Mark Morris.

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More on Margaret Thatcher's life and legacy:
Margaret Thatcher obituary: http://bit.ly/Y9Rbos
Margaret Thatcher as MP and mother: http://bit.ly/14Zlp0G
Margaret Thatcher and the miners: http://bit.ly/145w4HA

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