Tactical Intelligence in the Falklands War

Join Colonel Giles Orpen-Smellie as he provides a first-hand perspective on the use of tactical intelligence during the Falklands War.

The South Atlantic campaign of 1982 was an extraordinary chapter of British military history. Much has been written about this unexpected conflict with Argentina, with an inevitable focus - particularly by British authors - on celebrating what was undoubtedly a remarkable British victory.

However, little attention has been paid to the intelligence effort, and particularly to ‘tactical’ intelligence at unit level. This was one aspect of the British operation that was less successful.

Battlefield realities exposed significant gaps between the tactical intelligence that officers and soldiers had expected, as a result of their peacetime training, and the limited capabilities and lack of coordination of the intelligence assets that were available to satisfy those expectations.

In this insightful talk, Colonel Giles Orpen-Smellie will describe, warts and all, his own experiences and perspective of the conflict, in which he served as an intelligence officer with 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment.