The Anglo-Irish War, 1916-1921: A Study in Misunderstanding

Abstract

This paper focuses on why Britain, with overwhelming advantages in size and strength, was defeated by a small group of untrained, ill-equipped Irish nationalists whose membership probably never numbered more than 5,000. The central point is Britain did not understand the nature of this war and why the Irish were fighting. This lack of understanding crippled decision-making and operations leading to their political and moral defeat. Illustrated by examining four characteristics: command and control; will of both sides; intelligence and propaganda.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 04, 2002
Accession Number
ADA401989

Entities

People

  • Marc D. Homan

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Civil War
  • Command And Control
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • First World War
  • Governments
  • Insurgency
  • Law
  • Military History
  • Military Operations
  • Military Personnel
  • Police
  • Recreation
  • Security
  • Societies
  • Terrorists
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.

Technology Areas

  • Fully Networked C3
  • Fully Networked C3 - Command and Control