In the recent history of the Malvinas, the incident that took place a few days before April 2 on San Pedro Island, in the Georgias archipelago, stands out..A private scrap metal business that led to a major war, the responsibility of the pathetic officers of the Argentine military forces. 40 years ago, the intricate and curious incident occurred on our South Georgia islands that, in the end, led to the Malvinas War that would be declared on the following April 2..In March 1982, a group of workers and operators landed in neighboring Georgia to dismantle old whaling facilities, in a project that cost USD 30 million..A scrap metal dealer from Avellaneda, Constantino Davidoff, had stayed in London with the business of that magnitude, which consisted of financing and completing the dismantling of three old whaling factories in San Pedro, one of the islands of the archipelago..The place where the first establishments were located, at the beginning of the last century, was called Grytviken, a place name that lasted throughout the decades..There, oil and other derivatives were produced from cetaceans, which were used in items such as fuel, fertilizers, lubricants, food, paints, etc..The feverish activity had its peak and apogee, but by 1965, it had completely ceased..Davidoff was behind the scrapping business in Georgias since 1978..When he requested a type of authorization from the British embassy, he was only asked as a condition that he not employ Malvinas residents for these tasks, whose labor force was scarce..The owners of Salvesen Limited, the abandoned Georgias facility, based in the Malvinas, initially flatly refused to sell it to an Argentinian..However, as the days went by they changed their minds when they saw Davidoff's determination, and his purely commercial intention, stripped of political overtones..He partnered with two colleagues in the field, Jorge Frin and Omar Checa, and later with a Peronist diplomat and lawyer, Juan Carlos Olima, the main investor and credit manager for the proposed purpose..They thus formed South Georgia Islands SA.On March 19, 1982, Constantino Davidoff's scrap metal dealers landed in Port Leigh, in Georgia, and raised the Argentine flag, perhaps without imagining that this would lead, just 14 days later, to the taking of the Malvinas and subsequent armed conflict against Great Britain. Brittany..

Desperate plans

At the same time, the Navy, which since 1955 had been obsessed with the recovery of the Malvinas, in May 1981 promoted the installation of a scientific observatory on San Pedro Island, by virtue of a previous similar experience two years earlier on Morrell Island, of the group Southern Thule, which went almost unnoticed by the British..The secret project, which they called “Alpha,” sought to place a first group of civilians and a handful of discreet military scientists in San Pedro..Then the “Alpha B” group made up of marines would arrive..Now with Admiral Jorge Anaya at the helm, the project takes shape and active participation is given to Admirals Vigo, Otero and Lombardo for its completion and the study of an eventual subsequent occupation plan of the then Puerto Argentino, now an Argentine port. The Argentine Foreign Ministry finds out and is interested in Davidoff's project and transmits it to the Navy..In fact, Davidoff was transferred to the Georgias in December 1981, to “recognize the material”, aboard the ship “Almirante Irízar”, of the Naval Operations Command..On March 11, 1982, 43 people and 80 tons of logistical and work material embarked on the ARA “Bahía Buen Suceso”, of the “Costa Sur” line of Naval Transport, bound for the island of San Pedro, in South Georgia..The “Alfa” group was commanded by the infamous Lieutenant Alfredo Astiz, and was finally made up of highly trained military personnel..The plan anticipated that, if the English reacted against the civilian group, the more militarized group “Alpha B” would take action..The soldiers embark in Ushuaia on the “Bahía Buen Suceso”, but they preventively station themselves in the area when it is confirmed that the English sent the ship “Endurance” as their first “warlike gesture”..Finally, the Argentine ship is ordered to advance its arrival in San Pedro..After the first incident, the military command decided on March 23 to send the “Bahía Paraíso” diverting it from its Antarctic mission..He had to avoid the forced evacuation of Argentine workers due to the “Endurance”..By then the island episodes had won the covers of all the newspapers in the country..The raising of the Argentine flag, the singing of the National Anthem and the attack by Malvinense residents on the offices of LADE (State Air Lines) in the Argentine port, were the events that stood out the most..Britain was pressured to publicly acknowledge that the mission of Davidovich and the workers in Georgia was in order..But in the face of the emphatic refusal, the war situation was recognized by both parties..A few days later, on April 2, 1982, Argentina provisionally recovered the Malvinas..At all times, in Georgia and the Malvinas, the Argentine military underestimated the British reaction power..A gross miscalculation that cost the lives of hundreds of young soldiers, on both sides..Sources: Cba24n https://www.cba24n.com.ar/sociedad/la- Verdad -sobre-el-misterioso-incidente-que-desato-la-guerra-de-malvinas_a6234f1b2a866c7e991b91639 Infobae https://www.infobae.com /society/2022/03/19/operation-alpha-the-navy-plan-to-occupy-the-georgian-islands-that-started-the-malvinas-war/.