The Irish Civil War 1922–23

by COTTRELL, PETER

• ISBN13: 9781846032707
• ISBN10: 1846032709
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-08-19
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Summary

In a sequel to his successful best-sellingESS 65 The Anglo-Irish War, Peter Cottrell explores the devastating conflict that tore Ireland apart, shortly after 'peace' had been declared. He focuses on the short but bloody battles that witnessed more deaths than the preceding years of the War of Independence. Examining the many factions that played a part in the fighting, and more often in the terror and counter-terror operations, Cottrell highlights the contrasting styles of leadership and the conduct of combat operations by the IRA and the National Army. He uses detailed tactical maps to explain the tactics that ranged from urban warfare and street-fighting to the final siege of Limerick city. A bitter sequence of attack and reprisal, the Irish Civil War was a complex social and political battle to change the nature of government and politics in Ireland. This book primarily discusses the military operations, but also places these in the wider context of the personalities involved, including Liam Lynch and Michael Collins. It also assesses the impact of the war on civilian life, and its influence on the politics of Ireland at national and international levels thereafter. This is not only the story of one country, but also of the relationships between Ireland and Britain, and Ireland and America, which have had a profound impact on modern politics for decades.

Author Biography

Peter Cottrell is currently a serving Army officer in the British Army. He has recently completed an MA thesis on the Royal Irish Constabulary and is hoping to read a PhD on policing during the Anglo-Irish War. The author lives in Hampshire, UK..

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 7
Chronology	p. 12
Background to war: The Anglo-Irish War	p. 15
Warring sides: The combatants	p. 20
Outbreak: The Anglo-Irish peace and the Republicans	p. 27
The fighting: Conflict in Dublin and the provinces	p. 35
Portrait of a soldier: Major-General James Emmet Dalton MC 1898-1978	p. 60
The world around war: The wider impact of the Irish Civil War	p. 64
Portrait of a civilian: Robert Erskine Childers DSO TD 1870-1922	p. 75
How the war ended: Tentative de-escalation	p. 79
Conclusion and consequences: A republic divided	p. 83
Glossary and abbreviations	p. 90
Further reading	p. 92
Index	p. 94
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