August 20th 2023.
Archives have revealed how British intelligence officials used an informal dinner to glean information from Argentine officers. This hitherto secret intelligence document tells the story of the two Argentine commanders, Captains Horacio Bicain and Luis Lagos, who were taken prisoner after their submarine, the ARA Santa Fe, was rendered inoperable at the outset of the Falklands War.
The two officers were exhausted and in a state of shock when they were captured. They were relocated to an undisclosed location for dinner where the British spies circulated information from them. Captain Bicain had reportedly not eaten for 36 hours and had only been in command of the submarine for four months. He expressed gratitude for the humane treatment and was surprised that the bombardment was not directed at people or buildings.
Meanwhile, Captain Lagos had been returning to Argentina when he was surprised by the British helicopters. He decided not to dive as he could see their torpedoes. He admitted that his mission was to reinforce Grytviken and, implicitly, to sink the British.
The Falklands War began on April 2, 1982, and lasted 74 days. It cost 907 lives, with 649 of those lost being Argentinians, 255 British and three Falkland Islanders. Argentinian special forces initiated the hostilities when they invaded the islands' capital Port Stanley. In response, Margaret Thatcher dispatched a task force to journey 8,000 miles to reclaim the islands. This was the first time since the Second World War that all branches of the British armed forces were deployed simultaneously. On June 14, the Argentinian forces announced their surrender and the Falklands have remained a British colony since 1982.
Previously-secret archives have revealed that British intelligence officials used an informal dinner to extract sensitive information from two Argentine commanders who were taken prisoner after their submarine, the ARA Santa Fe, was severely damaged at the start of the Falklands War.
The two officers, Horacio Bicain, commander of the submarine, and Luis Lagos, leader of the Argentine troops in South Georgia, were in shock and exhausted after the attack by a British task force on April 23rd.
The SAS had their own signals intelligence feed during the operation to retake the Falklands, and the British moved in to take advantage of the situation and gain intelligence from the personnel and the submarine.
An excerpt from a UK intelligence cable following an 'informal dinner' reads that both commanders were in a state of shock and repeatedly expressed their gratitude for the humane treatment they had received.
The captain had only been in command for four months, and admitted that he had two missions, one of which was to reinforce Grytviken, while the other was to sink the British, although he didn't explicitly say it.
The report also states that he didn't expect to be hit by depth charges.
The dinner is likely to have taken place on a British ship as Bicain was among the Argentinian prisoners transferred to the RFA Tidespring fuel tanker, and one of his injured men was taken to the lead vessel HMS Antrim.
It is unclear who attended the dinner on the British side, but the document was signed by 'BM', a member of the 317.9 Carrier Task Force.
The Falklands War began on April 2, 1982, and lasted 74 days. It cost 907 lives, with 649 of those lost being Argentinians, 255 British and three Falkland Islanders. Margaret Thatcher dispatched a task force to reclaim the islands, and Argentinian forces announced their surrender on June 14th.
The Falklands have remained a British colony since 1982.
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