Skirmish at Many Branch Point

On 10 June 1982, during the Falklands War, Many Branch Point, a ridge near Port Howard, in West Falkland, was the site of a minor skirmish between Argentine and British elite forces. The engagement ended with the death of the SAS patrol commander, Captain Gavin John Hamilton. This action was the only land engagement of British and Argentine forces on West Falkland during the Falklands War.

Background
While the 35 mm radar-guided and 20 mm antiaircraft guns in Port Stanley and Goose Green forced Sea Harrier and Harrier GR.3 to carry out air strikes from high altitude, the Argentine garrisons at West Falkland relied only on 12.7 mm machine guns for their own protection, which left them exposed to strafing and low-level bombing.

In order to reinforce these units, the Argentine command-in-chief deployed a special forces company, the 601, to Port Howard, then headquarters of the 5th Regiment of Infantry. The commandos were equipped with British-made, shoulder-fired Blowpipe missiles. After a 24-hours trip from Port Stanley, the company reached its destination.

Some days later, with the British landing at San Carlos bay still ongoing, the Argentine troops found their mark when they shot down a GR3 Harrier on a recce mission. The pilot, Flt. Lt. Jeffrey Glover, bailed out safely and was taken prisoner.

The Argentine garrison became isolated and the commandos orders were to collect information about enemy activity on the opposite coast of the Falkland Sound.

In the meantime, SAS patrols had been active around the main Argentine advance posts. On 5 June, a four-men party led by Captain Gavin John Hamilton moved as close as 2.5 km from the enemy to gather intelligence around Port Howard. Hamilton was an officer in the squadron that raided the air base at Pebble Island on 16 May.

The action
On the morning of 9 June, a routine reconnaissance patrol of the Argentine special forces, under the command of First Lieutenant José Martiniano Duarte marched to Many Branch point, a hill located 5 miles to the north of Howard. Previously, an observation post had been deployed on Mount Rosalie, but it had been compromised due to the British presence. Nevertheless, the Commandos managed to withdraw without detection. The squad was originally composed of 9 men; by the afternoon, with no enemy in sight, five men returned to base, while the other four remained on the ridge. From this position, they were able to observe that a British airfield had been built near San Carlos.

British sources state that Captain Hamilton was 'heavily outnumbered' in the resulting action which would appear to contradict Moreno's account.

The following day, while in position, Duarte heard some voices behind a rocky formation. The patrol gathered at the entrance of cave-shaped rocks, assuming that either a British section was hidden there, or simply they were local shepherds.

Suddenly, a dark-skinned man, wearing a balaclava, was spotted. Initially there was some hesitation as some of the man's clothing resembled Argentine uniform, Duarte cried: "Argentinos o Ingleses?" (Argentine or English?). After a short silence, Lieutenant Duarte ordered in English: "Hands up, hands up!". The response was a burst of fire, which bounced off the stones in front of him. During the engagement, an Argentine Sergeant launched two grenades, in response a British 40 mm grenade exploded a few meters behind the Commandos. Under the weight of fire from Duarte's patrol the British patrol attempted to withdraw down the hill. The commander, Captain John Hamilton, tried to cover his comrade, but was hit and killed by automatic fire and a rifle-launched grenade. The other soldier surrendered shortly after.

The prisoner was a signal corps member of Goan origin, Corporal Charlie Fonseca. Although Captain Hamilton wore no rank or insignia (as is SAS practise), he was identified by his dog tag. Also found upon the men were a radio, an M16 and an AR-15 rifle, a beacon, cartography and a communications code. The other two soldiers of Hamilton's party managed to escape and were later rescued by friendly forces.

Aftermath
That night witnessed the inaccurate shelling carried out by British frigates on Port Howard. It led to speculation among Argentine officers that the mission of Hamilton was to act as Naval Gunfire Support Forward Observer (NGSFO).

The autopsy revealed that Hamilton was killed by a 7.62 mm shot in his back. Another bullet hit his arm. He was buried at Port Howard, along with an Argentine conscript who died of starvation, a clear signal of the hopeless scenario for the Argentine garrisons in West Falkland. Hamilton's grave can still be seen up the hill from Port Howard.

When the Argentine Commander of Port Howard was interrogated after the Argentine surrender, he asked that 'the SAS Captain' be decorated for his actions as he was 'the most courageous man I have ever seen'. In the event Captain Hamilton was posthumously awarded the Military Cross.