Crossbarry Memorial, Crossbarry, County Cork. On Saturday March 19 1921 104 volunteers of the West Cork Brigade of the Irish Republican Army under the command of General Tom Barry attacked and defeated 1,200 British soldiers, members of the Essex and Hampshire Regiments and the Black and Tans.

The Crossbarry Ambush on March 19, 1921 in the village of Crossbarry, twenty kilometres south-west of Cork city was one of the most critical engagements during the Irish War of Independence between the Irish Republican Army and the British Crown Forces. Statistics Province: Munster County Town: Cork Code: C (CK proposed) Area: 7,457 km² Population (2002) 447,829 Website: www. ... The West Cork Flying Column during the War of Independence. ... March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (79th in leap years). ... 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer) (symbol: km) is a unit of length equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words khilia = thousand and metro = count/measure). ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Combatants Irish Republican Army United Kingdom Strength 15,000 British Army c. ... The West Cork Flying Column during the War of Independence. ... Black and Tans For other senses, see Black and tan (disambiguation). ...

Background

The increasing success of the West Cork Brigade of the Irish Republican Army led to further arrests and interrogations of suspected IRA volunteers in West Cork in an effort to ascertain the identities and headquarters of those engaging in this new guerrilla warfare tactic facing the British forces, tactics that were most symbolised by the new Flying Colums of the IRA. By February 1921, as a result of the Upton Ambush, the British had succeeded in breaking an IRA volunteer and discovering that the West Cork Brigade had its headquarters in Ballymurphy. Thomas (Tom) Barry (July 1, 1897-July 2, 1980) was an Irish guerrilla leader and revolutionary. ... The West Cork Flying Column during the War of Independence. ... Guerrilla War redirects here. ... The West Cork Flying Column during the War of Independence. ... 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The West Cork Flying Column during the War of Independence. ...