What if: Argentinian invasion of the Falklands in 1941

  It was the strongest of the southern cone powers in numbers and also probably in quality at that point.  However Chile and Brazil both had fleets of their own as well as possible bases to operate against Argentina from and Chile has long standing border disputes with Argentina.  Plus I;m not sure how much of the fleet could be supported locally.  The two BBs were of US construction and I believe got their 12" shells from the US rather than locally produced so that's not likely to last long as an obvious example.  Also I doubt they had much in the way of modern a/c, especially given how much the last two years of warfare had speeded-up developments in the combatants and the US or any radar.    As such they could provide a problem and definitely a drain on resources to detach a task force to liberate the Falklands and defeat the Argentinian fleet, especially if their attack occurs late in 41, which means the western powers are also reeling from the Japanese attack. 

  The other big short term problem for Britain would be that it imported a lot of food and possibly other stuff from the region and that would be stopped or seriously disrupted while Argentina was an hostile power.  Britain's trade in the region had probably declined somewhat as more imports came from N America which was closer and hence took less merchant shipping.

  That's a possibility depending on the timing and could be a big plus for the RN.  It wasn't strong enough to defend Malaya and the DEI, which needed ground troops and land based air for that task.  Although I could see them if operating against Argentina when the Japanese attack being sent east as the later would be seen as the more serious threat depending on the situation.  Ideally if the Argentinian attack came at the right time you could have some resolution, with say a coup in Buenos Aires and Britain regaining the islands in time to be sent east on new of the Japanese attack but being too late to fight for the DEI.