“The homecoming of Irish troops is but one example of what took place on a larger scale across the continent in the aftermath of the First World War.”
By Emmanuel Destenay
“I was demobilised from Cologne in January 1919. After all, I had been mixed up in that European dogfight for over four years … so it was time to pack up, go home, and wonder what it was all about even though one can never really find that out … I came home in January 1919 from the Rhine, cursed as I thought from this soldiering business, and practically a pacifist … However, a few weeks later I was in the volunteers (7th battalion Tipperary No 1 Brigade, 3rd Southern Division) about the getting in touch part, although it may seem paradoxical to say it, I was hardly out of touch even when in the other man’s army. I was this way.”
— An Irish veteran of the First World War reflects on his homecoming
DURING Ireland’s War of Independence, hundreds of veterans of the Great War offered their service to the Irish Republican Army.
First Wold War veterans spied for the IRA, deciphered intelligence codes and even approached enemy military forces under the guise of friendly comradeship to collect information. Some ex-servicemen ambushed British lorries, shooting drivers and soldiers. And at night, in remote places, far away from public attention, young republican recruits trained under the supervision of these British Army veterans, dubbed the shadows from the trenches. Indeed, the array of roles undertaken by ex-servicemen in the IRA has compelled historians to rethink the contribution of professional soldiers in the movement.
A thorough investigation into the witness statements (Bureau of Military History, Military Archives of Ireland), police reports (Colonial Office, The National Archives London) and personal correspondence (University College Dublin Archives) all point out to the need to acknowledge that the IRA benefited from the fighting techniques of professional veterans during the War of Independence.
Whereas military studies have focused exclusively on methods of guerrilla warfare to explain the heavy losses among Crown forces, the role of British Army veterans in the bloodshed must not be underestimated. Yet what the IRA would have achieved without the contribution of these Great War vets is hard to apprehend. Although militarily unskilled youths could fell a tree for roadblocks, threaten civilians, raid a house for weapons, or even shoot a rabbit or pheasant for the flying column’s pot, when an operation necessitated tactical marksmanship, or when a unit was ambushed by British forces, veterans of the Great War were often called upon. The IRA could not possibly engage so efficiently with the superior resources and skills of the British army without resorting to these ‘crack shots.’
IRA headquarters viewed local veterans of the Great War for what they could offer: additional military efficiency in a period of war. So too did the British authorities.
When assassinations by the IRA of British military personnel and members of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) drove down recruitment and saw resignations skyrocket, London also turned to Great War veterans to fill the ranks – men already seasoned by battle, who could be rapidly transferred to Ireland and could intervene without undergoing much additional training. The establishment of the Auxiliaries and Black and Tans testified to the urgency in Britain to raise a force of professional soldiers to quickly crush the IRA.
Great War veterans would continue to fight, even in the aftermath of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty. Facing opposition from anti-treaty faction, the Irish assembly, Dáil Éireann, made sure to offer former republican activists strategic positions in the army. Thousands of ex-British officers and NCOs enlisted in the Free State army. Most commanding officers and generals in the newly established national army had fought for the British during the First World War and then in the IRA during the War of Independence. Veterans of the Great War offered military skills, expertise and professionalism to what was an army in its infancy. Additional military experience with the IRA during the Anglo-Irish War added to their chances of receiving prominent responsibilities in command positions.
The transfer of powers from the British forces to the Free State army brought about a redefinition of loyalties among military forces. Ex-members of the British regiments willingly enrolled in the national army on the grounds that their oath of allegiance to King George allowed them to retain their imperial identity while fighting for the Free State.
Ex-IRA activists agreed to mitigate their republican ideals and pledged allegiance to Dáil Éireann. By deliberately placing ex-IRA members in positions of command, the authorities of the Free State government offered veterans recognition and legitimacy within the new nation-state, while at the same time weakening the IRA, even as the authorities acknowledged the role of republican units during the War of Independence in the creation of Dáil Éireann.
After 1918, veterans from across Europe transferred their military skills and loyalty from imperial to national armies. Ex-servicemen guaranteed security and stability during state-making processes as much as they may have fed paramilitary violence. The homecoming of Irish troops is but one example of what took place on a larger scale across the continent in the aftermath of the First World War. What happened in Ireland was hardly unique. Ex-servicemen and officers formed a heterogeneous community with kaleidoscopic motivations and expectations. Some of them staunchly supported the British Crown and others backed the revolution, while the majority aspired to a serene and peaceful re-integration within their local community.
2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the Irish War of Independence and represents an opportunity to shed new light on the roles played by British veterans. In my book, Shadows from the Trenches, I track their trajectories, illuminating their hopes, expectations and uncertainties.
Emmanuel Destenay is the author of Shadows from the Trenches: Veterans of the Great War and the Irish Revolution (1918-1923). He received his PhD in Contemporary History from the University Paris Sorbonne. Funded by the Institute for Strategic Research of the French Ministry of Defence, his doctoral research examined the experiences of demobilization of Irish veterans of the First World War. He is the Fellow of the British Higher Education Academy, Sorbonne University
