A Hard Local War
The British Army and the Guerrilla War in Cork 1919-1921
Published on 29. December 2017
256 pages
978-0-7509-8748-6 (ISBN)
Description
Following years of discontent over Home Rule and the Easter Rising, the deaths of two Royal Irish Constabulary policemen in Soloheadbeg at the hands of the IRA in 1919 signalled the outbreak of war in Ireland. The Irish War of Independence raged until a truce between the British Army and the IRA in 1921, historical consensus being that the conflict ended in military stalemate. In A Hard Local War, William Sheeham sets out to prove that no such stalemate existed, and that both sides were continually innovative and adaptive. Using new research and previously unpublished archive material, he traces the experience of the British rank and file, their opinion of their opponents, the special forces created to fight in the Irish countryside, RAF involvement and the evolution of IRA reliance on IEDs and terrorism.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Stroud
United Kingdom
File size
1,62 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-7509-8748-6 (9780750987486)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
07/2017
The History Press Ltd
€36.50
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Person
WILLIAM SHEEHAN is a military historian and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Higher Education Academy. He has lectured at NUI Maynooth and University College Cork, and is a member of its Ferguson Centre for African and Asian Studies at the Open University. His previously published works include, The FCA: An Illustrated History, British Voices from the Irish War of Independence and Hearts and Mines: The 5th Division, Ireland 1920-22. His research focuses mainly on British counterinsurgency in the Inter-War Period.
Content
- Intro
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- Abbreviations
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction: Historical Revisionism
- Irish Historical Revisionism
- The British Perspective
- British Historical Revisionism
- Section One: The Informal War
- Chapter One: Reprisals
- The Origins of Reprisals
- The Conduct of Reprisals
- The Control of Reprisals
- Shifting Alliances
- Chapter Two: The Soldiers' Experience
- An Unwanted Posting
- British Soldiers and the IRA
- British Soldiers and the War
- British Soldiers and the Irish Population
- Army Life in Ireland
- The War in British Regimental Memory
- Diverse Perspectives
- Section Two: The British Army and the People
- Chapter Three: The British Army's Intelligence War
- The Foundations
- The Dangers and Difficulties of Intelligence
- The Development of Military Intelligence
- The Development and Protection of Signals Intelligence
- Intelligence Success
- 'Operationally Useful'
- Chapter Four: Law and Propaganda
- The Use of Special Military Areas
- The Legal Foundations of Military Operations
- The Use of Curfews
- The Employment of Martial Law
- Official and Unofficial Reprisals
- Executions
- The Development of a Propaganda Machine
- Religion, Economics and the Rules of Engagement
- The Impact and Importance of Propaganda
- 'Rigorous Law is often Rigorous Injustice'
- Section Three: The Guerrilla War
- Chapter Five: The Military Challenge of the IRA
- The Securing of British Transportation
- The Evolution of British Tactics
- The Myth of Crossbarry
- 'Framework Deployment'
- Chapter Six: The End of the Guerrilla Campaign
- A Terrorist Strategy
- The Military Realities of the Truce
- 'Close on my Trail'
- Conclusions
- Appendix One: Official Punishments Carried Out Under Martial Law, 1921
- Appendix Two: Restoration of Order in Ireland Act, 1920
- Appendix Three: The Operational Procedures for Air Offensive Actions in Ireland, 1921
- Appendix Four: Tom Barry's IRA Report on Crossbarry
- Appendix Five: The British Officers
- Notes
- Bibliography
