December 1980. Following talks in Buenos Aires, British MP Nicholas Ridley gives a statement in the Commons on the status of the Falkland Islands, which does not categorically dismiss Argentinian aspirations for sovereignty.
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Peter Carrington alerts the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, to the existence of an Argentinian plan to take the islands by force.
A group of Argentinians lands on the island of South Georgia and raise the Argentinian flag. Personnel from a British navy ship intervene and the flag is taken down. A government statement to the Commons plays down the incident.
However Carrington, Thatcher, and Defence Secretary John Nott recognise this as the first step in the Argentinian invasion plan.
Shortly afterwards, Nott receives news that the Argentinian fleet is approaching the Falkland Islands. Thatcher orders emergency preparations to enable a British naval task force to sail. The Argentinians invade the Falklands.
The British appeal to the US for support - but the Americans sit on the fence. At a meeting at the White House, the US Secretary of State, Al Haig, squabbles with the US Ambassador to the UN, Jeane Kirkpatrick, who is supportive of Argentina. US President Reagan decides to offer the British 'impartial US mediation' but nothing more.
The British succeed in getting a UN resolution passed condemning the invasion. Thatcher announces that a British task force is to set sail, but that diplomacy will continue in an effort to avoid war.
Carrington resigns, and Thatcher has no option but to appoint Francis Pym (whom she regards with some disdain) as Foreign Secretary.
The first War Cabinet is held. It is composed of Thatcher, Pym, Nott, Willie Whitelaw, the Home Secretary, Sir Terence Lewin, the Chief of Defence Staff, and the Attorney General, Sir Michael Havers. The War Cabinet agrees the task force should set sail.
Meanwhile, in Washington, Haig proposes to Reagan that he mediate between Argentina and Britain. Reagan is concerned about Haig's health (he has recently had heart surgery) but authorises the initiative.
Haig arrives in London and angers Thatcher when he suggests that Britain might compromise on the issue of sovereignty. Thatcher warns Haig that the Argentinians' apparent interest in the negotiations may be a ruse. As the approaching Southern winter will make it impossible for the British task force to operate, the Argentinians have every reason to play along until then. Haig departs for Argentina.
Haig's contact with the Argentinians quickly becomes farcical. Each time he flies back to London, with agreed notes in hand, he finds the Argentinian position has changed by the time he lands. Haig is forced to admit that the Argentinian strategy is to prevaricate. The US ends its attempts at shuttle diplomacy, imposes sanctions on Argentina, and offers military assistance to the British.
As the task force nears the Falklands, the War Cabinet decides that the first action of the British forces should be to re-take South Georgia. The operation starts disastrously, with the loss of two British helicopters. The British consolidate their position, however, and the Argentinian garrison on the island surrenders.
Admiral Lewin is advised that the Argentinians are preparing a possible pincer movement, designed to trap the British carriers Invincible and Hermes. An Argentinian carrier is approaching from the north, while a battleship, the General Belgrano, is moving up from the south. He puts it to the War Cabinet that the Belgrano must be sunk to protect the British carriers. The war cabinet agrees, and the Belgrano is torpedoed by the British submarine Conqueror.
A last-minute UN peace plan is endorsed by the UK but rejected by the Argentinians. The British forces land on the Falklands and re-take the islands. A triumphant Thatcher points out to an opposition MP in the House of Commons that he would not have the right of free speech "unless people had been prepared to fight for it".
