The British army was almost unique among the European armies of the Great War in that it did not suffer from a serious breakdown of discipline or collapse of morale. It did, however, inevitably suffer from disciplinary problems. While attention has hitherto focused on the 312 notorious "shot at dawn" cases, many thousands of British soldiers were tried by court martial during the Great War. This book will be essential reading for military and Irish historians and their students, and will interest any general reader concerned with how units maintain discipline and morale under the most trying conditions.

Fighting Irish is a meticulous and engaging account of the First World War from the perspective of the men of the Irish Regiments of the British Army, revealing the extent of the Irish military commitment to the Great War effort from 1914-1918. Startling and sympathetic matters, from campaign strategy to the soldiers’ intimate war experiences, are addressed with fascinating documentary evidence and poignant eye-witness accounts. Persisting humour and unexpected trials; mounting reputations and the mundane drudgery of routine military life – all is touched upon in the lives of these men, and undercut by the pervasive loss of life. Whether fighting at Ypres, the Somme, Gallipoli, Kostorino or Nablus, the story of the Irish Regiments is compelling and evocative, with reasons for enlistment as varied as the men themselves. Though entrenched in warfare, many minds were set on the increasing unrest at home, swaying their interests and shaping the communications they left to posterity. Fighting Irish defines the diverse backgrounds of all those who served with the Irish regiments in these years, recounting their deeds through exacting historical research within a gripping and affecting narrative.

Osprey's examination of the Irish Regiments and their involvement in World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945). The tens of thousands of Irish soldiers who fought in the British Army in World War I gained a fierce fighting reputation, distinguishing themselves at Ypres, Gallipoli, the Somme, and Palestine. On the first day of the Somme, only three divisions succeeded in achieving their objectives: the seizure of the Schwaben Redoubt by the Ulster brigade, against all the odds, vividly demonstrated how this reputation was won. Despite the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, Irishmen continued to volunteer for the British Army in World War II. Again, their war record was distinguished; units included the famous 38th Irish Brigade who fought in North Africa and Italy, and the Irish Guards who won a total of two Victoria Crosses, 33 Military Crosses, and 90 other military medals. Providing the first concise, illustrated history of the Irish Regiments in both World Wars, this book covers their uniforms and insignia, as well as battle histories and proud service records.

For the first time, Richard S. Grayson tells the story of the Dubliners who served in the British military and in republican forces during the First World War and the Irish Revolution as a series of interconnected 'Great Wars'. He charts the full scope of Dubliners' military service, far beyond the well-known Dublin 'Pals', with as many as 35,000 serving and over 6,500 dead, from the Irish Sea to the Middle East and beyond. Linking two conflicts usually narrated as separate stories, he shows how Irish nationalist support for Britain going to war in 1914 can only be understood in the context of the political fight for Home Rule and why so many Dubliners were hostile to the Easter Rising. He examines Dublin loyalism and how the War of Independence and the Civil War would be shaped by the militarisation of Irish society and the earlier experiences of veterans of the British army.

On 4 August 1914 following the outbreak of European hostilities, large sections of Irish Protestants and Catholics rallied to support the British and Allied war efforts. Yet less than two years later, the Easter Rising of 1916 allegedly put a stop to the Catholic commitment in exchange for a re-emphasis on the national question. In Ireland and the Great War Niamh Gallagher draws upon a formidable array of original research to offer a radical new reading of Irish involvement in the world's first total war. Exploring the 'home front' and Irish diasporic communities in Canada, Australia, and Britain, Gallagher reveals that substantial support for the Allied war effort continued largely unabated not only until November 1918, but afterwards as well. Rich in social texture and with fascinating new case studies of Irish participation in the conflict, this book has the makings of a major rethinking of Ireland's twentieth century.

This is a major, collaborative study of organised military activity and its broad impact on Ireland over the last thousand years or so, from the middle of the first millennium AD to modern times. It integrates the best recent scholarship in military history into its social and political context to provide a comprehensive treatment of the Irish military experience. The eighteen chronologically-organised chapters are written by leading scholars each of whom is an authority on the period in question. Drawing the whole work together is a wide-ranging introductory essay on the 'Irish military tradition' which explores the relationship of Irish society and politics with militarism and military affairs. The text is illustrated throughout by over 120 pictures and maps.

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