In January 1919, Great Britain had just emerged victorious from the First World War, and ruled over an even larger empire than before . But many in Ireland were unhappy with British rule, and over the next two years, Irish republicans won their independence – so how did the mighty British empire lose the Anglo-Irish War? The Irish War of Independence, or Anglo-Irish War that raged from 1919 to 1921 was rooted in Irish desire for independence from Great Britain. The so-called Irish Question had marked UK politics since Ireland became part of the UK in 1800, and was still a difficult topic in 1914. That year, the British parliament passed a Home Rule Act giving Ireland more autonomy within the UK, but the government delayed implementing it when the Great War broke out. Many Irishmen though, they felt British rule was foreign and unjust and wanted a fully independent republic . Some radical armed groups launched the Easter Rising in 1916, and declared a free Irish government – but British troops crushed them . London tried to find a political solution with an all-party Irish Convention, but it failed. Then, in the December 1918 election the republican Sinn Fein party , with links to the Easter Rising, won three quarters of the Irish seats in the UK parliament with support from Ireland’s Catholic majority. The mostly Protestant Ulster region though, supported the pro-UK Irish Unionist party. Sinn Fein didn’t send its representatives to sit in the London parliament – instead, leader Eamon de Valera announced an Irish-only parliament called the Dáil. Preparing for conflict, Sinn Fein worked closely with the armed group known as the Irish Republican Army, or IRA. So, in early 1919, a self-declared Irish parliament allied with the independent IRA, and the Anglo-Irish War soon began. The Dail sat for the first time January 21, 1919, and declared independence: “We solemnly declare foreign government in Ireland to be an invasion of our national right which we will never tolerate, and we demand the evacuation of our country by the English garrison.” (Hopkinson 208) The British though, still controlled Ireland through the Dublin Castle administration and the police – the Royal Irish Constabulary or RIC . To republicans, they were an occupying force even though most police were fellow Catholics, so on the same day the Dail declared independence, the IRA ambushed and killed two policemen at Soloheadbeg . Sinn Fein had not approved the attack, but it’s often seen as the start of the war even though London considered it a police matter at first. The IRA now began a guerilla campaign against the RIC and British officials. They avoided pitched battles and instead ambushed police patrols or barracks with whatever weapons they had, even home-made bombs . The IRA also organized itself into county brigades, or parish companies, and recruited unit leaders. They also used “flying columns” of mobile attack groups that could quickly form up, attack, and disappear. This was a tricky process and there were struggles, but a decentralized structure had advantages: “The democratic organisation of the Volunteers and the impossibility in the circumstances of any tight control by the headquarters staff permitted and encouraged the development of local initiative on a scale quite abnormal in a regular army .” (Hopkinson 16) To the RIC, the attacks seemed to come out of nowhere, and the attackers melted away into the civilian population. IRA fighter Seamus Conway described a typical ambush: “In a brief space of time two lorries… approached. The mine on being exploded blew the front part off the first lorry, bringing it to a standstill and throwing out the occupants. The second lorry pulled up behind this and concentrated rifle fire was brought to bear on it. Its occupants jumped, and dived for cover, a good many of them knocked out as they did so. Cover at this point was scarce. They got their Lewis gun into operation immediately, but after a few bursts, the gunner was knocked out and the guns did not get into action any more.” (Leeson 138) The IRA attacks were small -- they killed 15 policemen in all of 1919 – but they had a big political impact. Even when the RIC repelled IRA assaults on better-defended police barracks, which they usually did, they improved republican morale and forced the British on the defensive. The IRA usually chose the time and place of any combat, which overwhelmed the RIC, which suffered more casualties than the attackers. So in March 1920, the British created the RIC Special Reserve, better known as the Black and Tans since they used some army khaki in their dark uniforms. Most were English or Irish Protestants who had fought in the Great War, though 20% were Catholic – but contrary to popular belief, very few were criminals before joining. Poor training and pressures of counter-insurgency combat meant that the Black and Tans would commit more crimes than other British soldiers while in uniform. The IRA’s guerilla campaign against the police accelerated in 1920, which also saw escalation from the British side. IRA ambushes become more frequent and more deadly in the second year of the war, killing 143 police. The embattled RIC spent more time in barracks in towns for safety, leaving rural Ireland in the hands of the IRA. The IRA also began an arson campaign that summer, burning over 400 abandoned police barracks and 50 courthouses . Sinn Fein set up a parallel state in the countryside, including republican courts, police patrols, and taxes. They also brought the British courts system to a virtual halt, as witnesses, juries, and even judges refused to participate. This was partly due to republican sympathies among most Catholics, but also IRA intimidation. One magistrate wrote: “Everybody is yielding to Sinn Fein whether they approve of it or not. They say they can do nothing else, and that the [UK] Government cannot or will not protect them, and the police can barely protect themselves.” (Townshend 149) London underestimated the republican movement, but British officers in Ireland took it seriously. Lord George Riddell recorded a conversation with general Lord French: “It was absurd to think that the British Army could not quell such an insurrection if given proper powers. [French] said it was an underground conspiracy. You might pass from one end of Ireland to the other and not see anything abnormal. But the rebel organisation was there.” (Riddell 202/203) British strategy was failing, so they created a new force in July 1920 – the Auxiliary Division of the RIC, or Auxies. They’re often confused with the Black and Tans, but they were a separate paramilitary force of ex-Great War British officers. Their task was to take the fight to the IRA in the southern counties, and while they were well armed and well paid, they were poorly housed, poorly fed, and poorly organized. The Auxies had some success against the IRA, like capturing 40 prisoners at Kilmashogue in September, but morale was bad and turnover high. Auxie Ernest Lycett explained the stresses: “We were on dangerous duty, which was to keep the highways and roads open to traffic. Every morning the patrols would leave the Castle […] All in battle order and ready for trouble on the way […] it was very interesting, passing through the most beautiful country, but we never knew what was just around the bend.” (O’Brien 34) The Auxies and Black and Tans became more known for violence against civilians than for fighting the IRA. They often couldn’t find the IRA after an ambush, and many shopkeepers refused to sell to police, so under constant threat of attack, the Auxies and Black and Tans turned to violent reprisals as punishment. After an IRA attack or simply for perceived republican sympathies, they shot into homes, looted shops, and burned buildings. Between July and September, there were notable reprisals in Thurles, Upperchurch, Limerick, Templemore, and Balbriggan, and Tubbercurry. Local resident Mrs. Murricane recounted her experience: "They all seemed to me to speak with an Irish accent. The swearing was awful. The men asked me where my husband was, and I asked him what they wanted him for. They replied, 'To shoot him.'” (“Tubbercurry," Manchester Guardian, 4 October 1920. p. 8.) The British officially banned reprisals in August, but officers turned a blind eye and some encouraged them: “The more you shoot the better I will like you, and no policeman will get into trouble for shooting a man .” (McMahon 62) The reprisals turned more Irishmen against Britain, but also frightened some into giving the police information. The IRA also pressured civilians to cooperate with them, and killed suspected police informants. In general the republican side benefitted politically from the violence, except in Ulster. There, an attempted republic economic boycott led to the revival of a unionist paramilitary organization, the Ulster Volunteer Force. Many northern towns became divided on sectarian lines as Protestants and Catholics fought in the streets and forced each other into separate neighborhoods. So by fall 1920, the violence had spread to all parts of Ireland. British police morale was low, but the Auxies had gained control over some republican areas. In early November, British authorities reported on their progress: “Much of the moral and material support lent to Sinn Fein is due to fear and with the growth of the realisation that the Government is beginning to get a grip of the situation there are indications of a return to sanity and revulsion against Sinn Fein on the part of more responsible persons.” (Townshend 216/217) But the IRA was about to launch its most ambitious attack yet. One strength of the IRA was intelligence. Sinn Fein’s secretive Minister for Home Affairs and Director of Intelligence, Michael Collins, had become a legendary figure. He built a network of informers in the British administration and police, using the information to carry out targeted assassinations of British officials. British intelligence, on the other hand, consistently failed in Ireland: they once arrested Collins but only realized it after they’d already released him. IRA intelligence operative Florence O’Donoghue explained British troubles: “One thing [the British] lacked which the IRA had in generous measure [was] the co-operation of the people and without it they were blind and impotent.” (O’Brien 43) The British relied on paid informants, a problematic system but one that did bring some results. Collins decided a dramatic action was needed. The Dail approved his plan for an IRA group known as the Squad to kill 12 members of British intelligence known as The Cairo Gang, in their own homes . On the morning of Sunday November 21, 1920, the Squad killed 14 men, including the first two Auxies of the war in an unplanned clash. It’s not clear how many of the dead were in The Cairo Gang. That afternoon, the British responded, surrounding a crowd watching Gaelic football at Croke Park. The police said they wanted to search for IRA agents, but claimed that someone fired at them from the stands – a claim that has never been verified . The Auxies and RIC fired into the crowd, killing 14, including 3 children. At Dublin Castle, British officers executed three prominent IRA prisoners. Publicly, the IRA trumpeted Bloody Sunday as a victory: “My one intention was the destruction of the undesirables who continued to make miserable the lives of ordinary decent citizens. […] If I had a second motive it was not more than a feeling such as I would have for a dangerous reptile. By their destruction the very air is made sweeter […] They have destroyed without trial. I have paid them back in their own coin.’ (Dolan 794) Privately though, Collins had doubts as he had not expected the harsh British response. The events of Bloody Sunday sent a shockwave across Ireland and Britain, but the violence continued even as diplomacy began. Even before Bloody Sunday, the British had been divided about Ireland. General Nevil Macready wanted to impose martial law, but Lloyd Geoge refused, saying one did not declare war on rebels. Instead, in December 1920 London passed the Government of Ireland Act, which foresaw two Home Rule systems and two Irish parliaments: one for Ulster, and one for the rest . But the act didn’t satisfy republicans or unionists. Lloyd George started secret talks with Sinn Fein’s Arthur Griffith, but IRA commanders were planning more ambushes. In County Cork, the Auxies had become complacent: “There was always careless talk in the town and it was easy for [the enemy] to find out which section we would be patrolling on any day some days ahead, and make any plans they thought fit.” (O’Brien 55) On November 28, Tom Barry’s IRA unit ambushed a convoy of two police lorries – killing 16 of 18 Auxies on the spot and one later. The IRA accused the police of pretending to surrender before opening fire, a claim that is still debated a century later. The lone surviving policeman, on the other hand, insisted the IRA executed the police after they had surrendered. The Auxiliary Division had suffered its bloodiest defeat of the war and the British declared martial law in four counties, including this public warning: “Note Well: That a state of armed insurrection exists, that any person taking part therein or harbouring any person who has taken part therein, or procuring, inviting, aiding or abetting any person to part therein, is guilty of levying war against His Majesty The King, and is liable on conviction by a military court to suffer DEATH.” (O’Brien 49/50) After another IRA ambush in Cork City, British troops and police torched the city centre in reprisal. Foreign governments condemned the British action, and London paid residents 3 million pounds in compensation. Some Auxies though, saw it as payback and wore burnt pieces of Cork on their caps. The British decide they need to channel the violence of their forces, so they introduce a system of official, limited reprisals in January 1921. But imposing martial law in part of Ireland did not solve London’s problems, like poor morale, complicated British command structure and infighting between various police, administration, and military services. With Irish elections planned for May 1921, Lloyd George proposed a truce, which the IRA rejected since they’d have to disarm. So both the British and the IRA were facing serious challenges to achieving their aims in the war – but the fighting would be more intense than ever in 1921. Both sides went on the offensive. Britain sent reinforcements, and soldiers and police patrolled aggressively into IRA-controlled territory. The IRA also adapted, with better training and replacing the Flying Columns with smaller Active Service Units. The Dail also took responsibility for the IRA, to smooth tensions and improve ammunition and weapons procurement. At first, the spike in violence in 1921 led to British success. Several IRA raids went badly, and at Clonmult the British killed 8 and arrested 12. Police and soldiers also seized IRA weapons, leading to a critical shortage. But politically, violence still benefitted the republican cause. In March, they planned an ambush to kill British Lieutenant General Strickland. 70 IRA men under Sean Moylan and Paddy O’Brien attacked the British convoy with mines and machine guns: “Our men opened fire on the leading lorry, and stopped it by killing the driver. The second lorry pulled up, and the touring car and armoured car almost dashed into it… The rear lorry came on until stopped by our rifle fire. There must have been a big roll of casualties in this car, as a very effective fire was poured into it from the north and west. After a 2 hour fight, in which the enemy machine guns searched the whole countryside, and which finally developed into a series of skirmishes over a large area, we retreated in good order after inflicting heavy casualties and without suffering any on our side.” (Townshend 243) The IRA had killed a British officer, but it wasn’t Strickland – it was Brigadier-General Hanway Robert Cumming, along with 4 others. It was not as successful as the IRA made it out to be, but was another blow to the British army. Such countryside attacks were important, but republicans knew the political centre was Dublin. The IRA’s new Dublin Active Service Unit stepped up small-scale attacks, striking more than 200 times between March and May. De Valera wanted a larger operation so on May 25 IRA units stormed the Dublin Custom House on May 25. 120 IRA men set the building on fire, but Auxiliaries in an armoured car arrived, killing 6 IRA men and forcing 80 to surrender. Sinn Fein publicly celebrated a victory, but internally members worried about such heavy losses. The escalation in 1921 left both sides exhausted: the republicans were militarily weak but politically strong, while the British had the opposite problem. Something had to give. By July, the British had arrested 4500 IRA men, leaving only 2000 active IRA fighters in the field. The British even narrowly missed capturing Michael Collins himself - again. Lloyd George, however, acknowledged the reality of majority republican support outside Ulster and offered more talks. In July 1921, a fragile truce began. Hardliners on both sides grumbled since they thought their side was winning, but for Collins at least, it was a necessity: “We had not when these [truce] terms were offered an average of one round of ammunition for each weapon we had. The fighting area in Cork… was becoming daily more circumscribed, and they could not have carried on much longer.” (Knirck 76) London wanted an autonomous Ireland to remain part of the empire. Sinn Fein leaders were divided between those willing to compromise and those who felt anything short of a fully independent republic was a betrayal of the cause. Talks bogged down on two questions: the status of Ulster and whether an Irish government would have to swear an oath to the Crown. Most republican politicians eventually accepted Ulster would remain in the UK, and de Valera proposed an oath that recognized an “association” with the Crown and not loyalty. But De Valera went back on his own draft oath, and refused to participate directly in the talks. On December 5, Britain gave the divided Irish peace delegation in London an ultimatum: accept the latest deal or face renewed war . The delegates thought they had the authority to sign without consulting de Valera, and did. The final terms represented major compromises by both sides: an Irish Free State would have its own Parliament for domestic affairs; enjoy financial independence; and have its own small military. British troops would leave the country, except for Ulster, which chose to remain in the UK. The Irish Free State was still a part of the British Empire and the parliament had to swear an oath to the Crown. The Irish War of Independence took the lives of around 260 British soldiers, 360 police, 550 IRA fighters, and 200 civilians. But the peace caused a political crisis in the Free State. De Valera and other hardliners bitterly opposed the treaty, and republicans split into pro- and anti-treaty factions . Just before the Dail ratified the treaty in January 1922, De Valera made an ominous prediction: “If the Treaty was accepted, the fight for freedom would still go on, and the Irish people, instead of fighting foreign soldiers, would have to fight the Irish soldiers of an Irish Government set up by Irishmen… They would have to wade through Irish blood, through the blood of the soldiers of the Irish Government, and through, perhaps, the blood of some of the members of the Government in order to get Irish freedom.” (De Valera and Moynihan 98/99) Ireland had just won partial independence – but the Irish Free State was on the brink of civil war. We here at Real Time History love learning about history and everyone on our team has sat down with family members to learn more about family history. Our producer Flo though had a very annoying problem that kept him and a loved one from spending that quality history time together and caused serious financial problems : Data brokers had illegally collected personal data on said family member and likely added him to a list of vulnerable, elderly people that are easy to scam. Fake legal threats, made-up subscriptions and telephone scams became a serious problem that took a lot of time and energy to solve and even then, Flo can’t be certain that the issue has completely gone away. This problem is global and increasing . Luckily, this episode’s sponsor Incogni offers an easy-to-use solution : They reach out to data brokers on your behalf, request your personal data removal, and deal with any objections from those brokers. Unfortunately, many data brokers continue collecting your personal information even after they’ve removed it once. Through automated, repeated removal requests Incogni takes care that your data stays off the market . This means that whenever a new record pops up on a data broker site, Incogni will automatically take care of it . That’s why it’s a good idea to sign up to Incogni with an annual subscription, since they’ll continue protecting your data privacy for as long as you use the service . If you sign up at https://incogni.com/greatwar you can get 60% off an annual plan. And you will be supporting this channel at the same time. We want to thank Incogni for sponsoring this episode. As usual you can find all the sources for this episode in the video description below. Don’t forget to check out our previous detailed videos about the Anglo-Irish War and Irish Civil War. If you are watching this video on Patreon or Nebula, thank you so much for the support, we couldn’t do it without you. I am Jesse Alexander and this is a production of Real Time History, the only history channel that is an underground conspiracy/that can be considered a dangerous reptile.