The Battle of Kilmallock (also Killmallock) was a battle of the Irish Civil War. Combatants Irish National Army (pro-Treaty) Irish Republican Army (anti-Treaty) Commanders Michael Collins† Richard Mulcahy Liam Lynch† Frank Aiken Strength National Army c. ... June 28 is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 186 days remaining. ... August 5 is the 217th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (218th in leap years), with 148 days remaining. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Statistics Province: Munster County Town: Limerick Code: LK Area: 2,686 km² Population (2006) 183,863 (including Limerick City); 131,303 (without Limerick City) Website: www. ... The Irish Army (Irish: Arm na hÉireann) is the main branch of the Irish Defence Forces. ... The Dublin Guard was a unit of the Irish Army during the Irish Civil War 1922-23. ... Following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921, the Irish Republican Army in the 26 counties that were to become the Irish Free State split between supporters and opponents of the Treaty. ... General Eoin ODuffy (20 October 1892 - 30 November 1944), was in succession a Teachta Dála (TD), the Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army, the second Commissioner of the Garda Síochána, leader of the fascist Blueshirts and then the first leader of Fine Gael (1933... Liam Deasy was an Irish Republican Army officer in the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War of the 1920s. ... Combatants Irish National Army (pro-Treaty) Irish Republican Army (anti-Treaty) Commanders Michael Collins† Richard Mulcahy Liam Lynch† Frank Aiken Strength National Army c. ...

The Battle

It started when the Republican forces under Comdt.Gen. Liam Deasy that had withdrawn from Limerick concentrated in the town of Kilmallock, the northern approach to which was guarded by the towns of Bruree to the west and Bruff to the east. Here more than anywhere else during the Irish Civil War the opposing sides would hold something like clearly defined front lines; each side maintaining a string of outposts in villages and towns, at crossroads, and upon hillocks, with a 'No-Man's Land' varying in width between a few 100 yards to a mile. Within the Kilmallock -Bruff-Bruree triangle would occur some the war's most intense fighting. Following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921, the Irish Republican Army in the 26 counties that were to become the Irish Free State split between supporters and opponents of the Treaty. ... Liam Deasy was an Irish Republican Army officer in the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War of the 1920s. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 52. ... Kilmallock (Cill Mocheallóg in Irish) is a town in south County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Cork. ... Bruff (Irish: An Brú) is a small town in east County Limerick, Republic of Ireland, located on the old Limerick–Cork road (Ireland. ...

The reason for this was that the Free State troops, the majority of whom were raw recruits, were facing the best of the Republicans forces without any clear advantage in numbers or equipment.General Eoin O'Duffy estimated that while his forces had some 1,300 rifles, the Republicans could muster over 2,000, stating, "We are operating in large areas with nothing better than a Rifle. I estimate that the Irregulars [Republicans] have 4 Lewis Guns...for our one... As regards Rifles, the last rifle is distributed and I have none for recruits coming in." The General complained about the quality of his personnel (though doubtlessly with some exaggeration): The Irish Army (Irish: Arm na hÉireann) is the main branch of the Irish Defence Forces. ...

"We had to get work out of a disgruntled, undisciplined and cowardly crowd. Arms were handed over wholesale to the enemy, sentries were drunk at their Posts, and when a whole garrison was put into the clink owing to insubordination, etc. the garrison sent to replace them often turned out to be worse, and the Divisional, Brigade, Battalion and Company officers were in many cases, no better than the Privates."

The poor quality of their opponents was not lost on the Republicans. Adjutant Con Moloney noted, "He [Gen. Deasy] is confident of success, as any time his forces have met in this area, the enemy ran away." Nevertheless, the Republican commanders had their own problems. Their logistical support was unreliable and cooperation between units from different Counties was often poor.

Gen. O'Duffy drew up the plans for the advance on Kilmallock with the assistance of his 2nd-in-Command, Maj.Gen. W.R.E. Murphy. Maj.Gen. Murphy had served as an Acting Brigadier General in the British Army during the First World War and was now put in charge of executing operations against Kilmallock. Unfortunately for the Free State troops, his experiences in the trenches appears to have adversely shaped his approach to war. On Sunday, 23 July, government forces, already in possession of the town of Bruff, began their advance on Kilmallock. The movement of troops, in Lancia APCs and on foot, was hindered by blown bridges, roadblocks, and heavy rain, which did not improve the unpaved roads. Late in the day, at Ballycullane Cross, a Free State column was successfully attacked by elements of the 5th Cork Brigade, supported by an improvised armoured car. Early Monday morning a detachment of forty-seven men under Comdt. Cronin at Thomastown fought a five hour battle against Republican forces supported by an armored car that ended with their surrender. At the same time Republican forces managed to recapture the town of Bruff. In two days the Republicans had managed to capture seventy-six soldiers, along with their arms and ammunition. O'Duffy was forced to call a halt to any further advances until reinforcements could be brought up. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Military armored cars A French VBL reconnaissance vehicle. ...

Although they managed to take back the town of Bruff, Free State forces received the worst of it through the rest of the week. On Tuesday, 25 July, a unit of the Dublin Guard under Comdt. Tom Flood was ambushed in a narrow sunken road flanked by hedges. It was some time before the detachment had fought its way clear, having had three men killed and one fatally wounded. Nevertheless, Maj.Gen. Murphy managed to launch a determined attack on the town of Bruree by Sunday, 30 July. Diversionary fighting was conducted all along the front to contain Republican forces in the vicinity of Bruree, while the newly recovered town of Bruff was used as the jumping off point. The main assault, directed by Maj.Gen. Murphy himself, began at 6:00 p.m., with the troops supported by a number of Whippet armored cars and an 18 pdr. field gun. While the attention of the defenders was fixed upon these forces, Comdt. Tom Flood attempted to take the town by surprise from the southeast with a detachment of Dublin Guards. The Republican defenders, however, were not fooled and stubbornly held their positions for five hours, so that artillery was needed to decide the issue. The Dublin Guard was a unit of the Irish Army during the Irish Civil War 1922-23. ... A field gun is an artillery piece. ...

Comdt.Gen. Deasy knew that Bruree was vital to the defense of Kilmallock. As such, a novel plan was hit upon for its recapture. It would involve the use of three improvised armored cars carrying assault troops armed with rifles, grenades, a trench mortar, and a total of ten machine guns. Each vehicle was detailed to eliminate one of the three posts held by enemy forces in Bruree. At 2 a.m. on Wednesday, 2 August, the Republicans captured the town of Patrickswell, only ten miles south of the city of Limerick. From here the armored cars set out for Bruree, where their arrival took the sentries completely by surprise. The lead armored car attacked Comdt. Flood's headquarters in the Railway Hotel. The Commandant and his men managed to escape out the back of the building under the cover of Lewis gun fire from a water tower. The second armored car rammed the front door of the school house, which persuaded the twenty-five troops inside to surrender. The third armored car, however, had developed engine trouble and was far behind. Patrickswell (Tobar Phádraig in Irish) is a small town in County Limerick, Ireland. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 52. ...

Word of the attack was transmitted to Comdt.Gen. Seamus Hogan, who personally led the relief forces riding in the Whippet armored car 'The Customs House'. Having failed to secure the surrender of the town and with reinforcements approaching, the Republican troops decided to withdraw. As their armored cars sped down the road to Kilmallock, 'The Customs House' arrived in Bruree. To everyone's surprise, however, the large vehicle that was followed 'The Customs House' turned out to be the third Republican armored car, 'The River Lee'. Seeing that the town was still in Free State hands, 'The River Lee' also fled down the road to Kilmallock, with Comdt.Gen. Hogan in pursuit. When he rounded a bend in the road, Maj.Gen. Hogan came upon, not only 'The River Lee', but the other two Republican armored cars as well. Perhaps then it was lucky for him that the Vickers machine gun in 'The Custom House' jammed and he was forced to break off the engagement.

The failure of the Republican armored assault on Bruree was followed by Free State preparations for the capture of Kilmallock, which was expected to involve heavy fighting. Adjutant Con Maoloney commented on 2 August, "Up to yesterday we have had the best of the operations there [the Kilmallock area]. There will, I fear, be a big change there now as the enemy have been reinforced very considerably." On Thursday, 3 August, government forces, consisting of some 2,000 troops supported by armored cars and artillery, began a steady advance on a wide front towards Kilmallock: from Bruree in the west, Dromin in the north, and Bulgaden and Riversfield House in the east. More reinforcements arrived the next day in the form of 700 troops, an additional armored car and another 18 pdr. field gun, all of which were committed to the offensive. By Saturday, 5 August, Free State forces surrounded the town: the main force with artillery faced it from the north, while Comdt. Flood's troops from Bruree and the forces from Riversfield House were in position to prevent the Republican defenders from escaping to Charleville in the west or Buttevant in the south. Three-and-a-half miles from Kilmallock the artillery was deployed, from where it shelled Kilmallock hill, a dominant position half a mile north of the town. At 10:00 a.m. fire was also directed at Republican troops on Quarry Hill, who were delaying the advance. After some fighting on the fringes of Kilmallock, the two hills were occupied by Free State troops. Pausing to consolidate their positions, Free State forces entered the town, only to find a small rearguard composed of volunteers from Cork. Comdt.Gen. Liam Deasy's forces had long since departed for Charleville. WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 51. ...

It was not the overwhelming strength of the Free State forces opposing them in the Kilmallock area that had led to their withdrawal, but rather it was the arrival of government troops deep in their rear, within the 'Munster Republic', that forced Comdt.Gen. Deasy to abandon his defensive struggle. Free State expeditionary forces had landed by sea on the coasts of Kerry and Cork, on 2 and 8 August respectively. The landing in Co. Kerry had forced Comdt.Gen. Deasy to release units from this area to return home. Although the landing in Co. Cork occurred after the Republicans had withdrawn from Kilmallock, the loss of the Brigades from Cork as well only compounded Comdt.Gen. Deasy's problems. The IRA West Cork Flying Column (Anti-Treaty) during the War of Independence. ... Kerry may refer to: In American politics: Alexandra Kerry, the elder daughter of 2004 US Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry Cameron Kerry, the younger brother and political confidant of John F. Kerry John Kerry, a United States Senator from Massachusetts and the former 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate Kerry Healey, Lieutenant... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 51. ...

See Also

Irish Free State offensive The Irish Free State offensive of July-September 1922 was the decisive military stroke of the Irish Civil War. ...

Sources

[1]