3 Para Mount Longdon: the Bloodiest Battle

June 1982, and in the middle of a South Atlantic winter, the Falklands War is at its height. The Parachute Regiment has already been in action - 2 Para securing a hard fought victory at Darwin-Goose Green at a heavy price in killed and wounded including their CO, Lieutenant Colonel 'H' Jones, later awarded a posthumous VC.

Now, two weeks later, as they look up at the long, frost shattered spines of rock which stab the air from the summit of Mount Longdon on the outer ring of the Stanley defences, the 'toms' of 3 Para know it is their turn. As they prepare to assault their objectives - features code named 'wing forward', 'fly half' and 'full back'- the men of 3 Para know they are in for a fight. Just before 'zero' some of them are simply told to pray.

This, the first in a new series on Special Operations, tells the story of 3 Para and the often-neglected struggle for Mount Longdon. It was a battle which tested the discipline, comradeship and professionalism of the paras to the limit; it was a battle which witnessed another posthumous VC; it turned out to be the bloodiest battle of the entire Falklands Campaign.