Was Colonel H Jones of 2 Para a good leader during the Falklands war?

Answer 1

It is a debatable question: I wasn't there. H Jones battalion atack on Darwin/Goose Green was ultimately successful despite being both against all odds in terms of what a single battalion should have been able to accomplish given the defenses they were opposed by (at least in terms of numbers) & the fact that this was an attack which was ordered by commanders not on site but was politically driven by political desires in London. The fact remains the BBC world service announced to anyone that was listening at the time that they were on their way might well have induced any commander to stop right where they were at the time ! That Colonel Jones was killed does not in itself make him open to criticism: What he did was undoubtedly brave and showed his desire to achieve what, at the time, his battalion was unable to do in overcoming enemy fire from a defensive position. One might argue that was not his role. However I do not know of many people, to put it at its mildest, who would be in any way critical of the award of a VC. They don't get awarded without due circumspection. The fact that the attack achieved what it did, in the way that it did against the defensive forces that it did must reflect well upon Colonel Jones leadership prior to the event. Oh, & while we are on the subject, I want to know if this is the only war or conflict in modern history which has no civillian casualties whatsoever ? I do think an answer from someone far nearer the fron than I was at the time (British Army, snug in my UK billet at the time) might be more relevant than my armchair opinion. I have just re read Max Hastings & Simon Jenkins excellent 'The Struggle for the Falklands'