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• www.amps-armor.org • 2015-06-08

• www.amps-armor.org • 2015-06-08

   

   

   

  The author Ralph A. Riccio is a historian who concentrates on Irish and Italian subjects from the early 1900s to present. His works are all excellent and give many fine details of the subject(s) being covered. This work covering the coastal landings during the Irish civil war in 1922 is as in depth as possible given the lack of detail available to historians and the fact that no one is still with us from that time period to give first hand accounts.

   

  The war was short lasting just under 1 year. The causes were many but the main difficulty was the fact that Ireland would only have sovereignty over 26 of 32 counties as outlined in the Anglo-Irish treaty. The anti-treaty faction (militant arm or the IRA) believed that Ireland should have sovereignty over all 32 counties and would settle for nothing else and seeing that much blood was shed on both sides. Like the American civil war families were caught on both sides and still are to this day.

   

  There were quite a few landings performed by the Irish National Army but few of them are ever discussed as they were either very small or inconsequential at the time. Saying this though there were several large ships used in these landings and while compared to a WW2 beach landing the 1922 landings are barely a blip on the radar.  Paddle wheelers, steamers and tenders were all used. Basically what was available to the Irish forces at the time, many purchased or leased from the British government it would seem. Not all of these were troop ships. Some were support patrol craft, hospital ships, ferry boats and supply ships all very necessary for a successful landing. The landing ships carried very little in support for the troops landing. Generally 1 cannon and perhaps an armoured car along with hundreds of bicycles for the men were all that was available. 

   

  The author tells of the landings in a precise and instructional manner giving the reader of an idea of what these landings would have been like for the men taking part. The preparation for the landings, the designated targets and objectives all laid out in terms the reader can understand giving you a sense of being there. The IRA forces are discussed to some extent as well and a good feel for the men of the IRA.

   

  Unlike the landings of WW2 the Irish landings generally took place by ships mooring to piers (some intact, some heavily damaged by IRA fighters anticipating the landings) in the target towns or not too far from them. In many cases local National forces would secure the landing area allowing the ships to land relatively unmolested. When enemy combatants were encountered heavy machine guns seemed to be enough to counter them.

   

  All in all, the book is a very interesting read for those who are interested in seaborne warfare and the evolution of it. I will be frank and say there is not a lot of armour in the book with just a few photos of artillery and early armoured cars (Lancia & Rolls Royce) but there is a good selection of photos of the ships involved along with some excellent colour plates. There are also some nice period photos of the villages and cities that were involved with the landings which help bring the reader some idea of the terrain faced by both sides of the conflict. If you are a figure modeller the greatest interest may be the abundance of photos of the Irish soldiers in the period uniforms. These will definitely be an excellent source of information for you.

   

   

  Highly Recommended

   

  Thanks to Ralph A. Riccio and MMP Publications for the review sample.

   

  Sean Dunnage, AMPS Great White North