Lieutenant-Colonel Ítalo Ángel Piaggi (17 March 1935; San Fernando, Argentina – 31 July 2012,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

) was an

Argentine Army The Argentine Army ( es, Ejército Argentino, EA) is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander- ...

commander who was involved in the

Battle of Goose Green The Battle of Goose Green was fought in May 28–29, 1982, by British and Argentine forces during the Falklands War. Located on East Falkland's central isthmus, the settlement of Goose Green was the site of an airfield. Argentine forces ...

in the Falklands War. The defending Argentine army forces known as Task Force Mercedes consisted of the

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

Italo Piaggi's 12th Infantry Regiment (RI 12) and a company of the 25th Infantry Regiment (RI 25). The day after the battle Lieutenant-Colonel Piaggi surrendered all Argentine forces, approximately 1,000 men, including 202 men of the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

. He was later drummed out of the army in disgrace. In 1986, he wrote the book ''Ganso Verde'' (a calque of " Goose Green", using the colour green to translate illageGreen), where he makes a strong defence of his decisions during the war and criticises the lack of logistical support from the Argentine commander-in-chief in

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

. He estimates that Task Force Mercedes only disposed 28 per cent of their intended firepower regarding artillery, mortars and heavy machine guns.Piaggi, page 169 (''Appendix'')

Notes

References

* * *Kenney Oak, David J. ''2 Para's Battle for Darwin Hill and Goose Green''. Square Press April 2006.
See here
*Falklands War Binderbook - Author Information Pending *Andrada, Benigno: ''Guerra aérea en las Malvinas''. Ed. Emecé, 1983. . *Piaggi, Italo A.: ''Ganso Verde''. Ed. Planeta, 1986. . 1936 births 2012 deaths Argentine military personnel of the Falklands War Argentine prisoners of war Argentine people of Italian descent Argentine Army officers People from Buenos Aires Province {{Argentina-mil-bio-stub