Clear the Way!: A History of the 38th (Irish Brigade, 1941-1947)

History

Doherty, Richard

Europe

Irish Academic Pr

In October 1941 Winston Churchill conceived the idea of creating an Irish Brigade in the British Army that would evoke the memory of the Irish Brigades of old. The new Irish Brigade came into being in 1942 and first saw action in Tunisia.From North Africa the Brigade went to Sicily where its capture of the mountaintop town of Centuripe was hailed across the world as a tremendous feat of arms. Its reputation as an outstanding Brigade had now been made and it was to add to this as the Italian campaign progressed; its achievements at Cassino, at Lake Trasimene and at the Argenta Gap rank among the greatest of the Second World War.By the end of the war the Irish Brigade was considered the finest fighting formation in the British Army. Composed of Irishmen from all four provinces, it later included many Englishmen but never lost its Irish identity, thanks to the efforts of its commanders. The first of these, Brigadier The O'Donovan, considered that he had donned the mantle of Sarsfield. He was succeeded by Nelson Russell, who led the Brigade through Tunisia, Sicily and the early part of the Italian campaign before handing over to Pat Scott, one of the finest fighting brigadiers of the war.On many occasions the Irish Brigade were the first in action and the Gaelic motto of the Royal Irish Fusiliers - Faugh A Ballagh, Clear the Way - sums up their fighting role. They earned the respect of friends and enemies alike for their courage and fortitude. This book does full justice to their record.

Clear the Way: A History of the 38th (Irish Brigade, 1941-47)

The Protestant war cry of "No Surrender!" was first used in 1689 by the Mayor of Londonderry as James II’s army laid siege to the city for 105 days and during which half the city’s population died. There were many acts of couragefrom the heroic death of Captain Browning to the anonymous apprentice boys who played signal roles in the defense of the city. The book examines how the Jacobites might have achieved success, and the far reaching impact of the siege as a crucial event in the second British civil war. This is a military study of one of the most iconic episodes in Irish history, based on contemporary accounts, official records of the day, and published works on the siege. With an understanding of seventeenth-century warfare, especially siege craft, the author probes many of the myths that have grown up around the siege and sets it in its proper context.

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When war broke out in 1939, over 20,000 Irishmen were serving in the Royal Navy, Army, and Royal Air Force with the greatest proportion in the Army. During the war this rose to over 120,000, suggesting that about 100,000 enlisted during the war.\nNine earned the Victoria Cross; three members of the Royal Navy, including a Fleet Air Arm pilot, four soldiers, including a member of the Australian forces, and two RAF pilots.\nThe author looks at the seven Irish regiments in campaigns across the globe, at Irish soldiers across the Army, at Irish sailors from the Battle of the River Plate to the final actions against Japan, and at Irish airmen from the first bombing raids of the war to the closing days of war.\nIncluded are outstanding personalities such as the Chavasse brothers, who earned three DSOs, three DSCs and two MiDs, Bala Bredin, Corran Purden, Brendan 'Paddy' Finucane, Blair Mayne and Roy Farran, the latter pair highly-decorated SAS officers.\nThere are also Irish generals, such as Paddy Warren who died while commanding 5th Indian Division in Burma and Frederick Loftus Tottenham, who commanded 81st (West African) Division, not to mention giants such as Alexander, Auchinleck, Montgomery, and McCreery.\nIrish women are not forgotten in the book which also takes a brief look at the Irish in other Allied forces, including a most unusual volunteer for the US Navy whose application to serve had to be approved by President Roosevelt. He was William Patrick Hitler, a nephew of Germany's fuhrer.

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Eighth Army, Britain’s most famous field army of the twentieth century, landed in Italy in September 1943 and fought continuously until the defeat of the Germans in early May 1945. This book studies the experience of Eighth Army in the Italian campaign, examining how a force accustomed to the open spaces of North Africa adjusted to the difficult terrain of Italy where fighting became much more a matter for the infantry than for the armor. It also compares the qualities of the commanders of Eighth Army in Italy: Montgomery; Leese and, finally, McCreery. The book uses official records at various levels, personal accounts – some never before published – and published material to present a picture of an army that, although defined as British, was one of the war’s most cosmopolitan formations. Its soldiers came from the UK, Canada, India, Ireland, Nepal, New Zealand, Poland and South Africa as well as from Palestine – the Jewish Brigade – and from Italy itself.

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The Battle of El Alamein is well established as a pivotal moment of the Second World War. Following the wildly fluctuating fortunes of the opposing sides, there was a real risk that Rommel’s Afrika Korps and his Italian allies would break through and seize Cairo with catastrophic strategic and political implications for the Allies. That this never happened is, of course, well known but, as this highly readable yet authoritative work reveals, there were moments of extreme peril and anxiety.Churchill’s bold, nay desperate, decisions concerning key appointments, Montgomery’s stubborn refusal to be rushed, Rommel’s chronic logistic problems and critical air superiority are all examined in expert detail. The author’s description of the actual fighting is brought to life by personal accounts as well as his complete grasp of the plan and tactics involved.The result, seventy-five years on, is a delightfully fresh and fascinating account of one of the iconic battles, not just of the War but in military history.

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