The Irish War of Independence, also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war launched by the Irish Republican Army in Ireland against the British government's rule in Ireland. The war started at1919 65438+10.21and ended at 192 1 armistice agreement in June.
I. War background
For pure Irish Republicans, the Irish War of Independence began with the announcement of the Easter Uprising of the Republic of Ireland in 19 16. Republicans believe that the conflict from 19 19 to 192 1 is just a struggle for the preservation or abolition of the Republic. The war originated from the independent Irish Parliament, which was established by the majority of members elected by Irish voters in the British Irish general election of 19 18. The first Irish Parliament and the Irish Cabinet declared Ireland independent. Members of Parliament thought of asking the Irish Republican Army, as the "army of the Republic of Ireland", to wage war against the British government in Dublin Castle, the governor of Ireland.
1919 65438+10/2 1 day, volunteers led by Dan bolin killed two members of the Royal Irish Peacekeeping Force. In Soloheadbeg, Tipperelli County, the two refused to hand over their supervision of Greer's explosive storage facility. Although all sides are fighting on their own, it is generally believed that this is the beginning of the war of independence. Three days later, Tipperelli County declared martial law. On the same day when the gunfire rang out, Parliament held a meeting in Dublin City Hall, approved the Declaration of Independence 19 16, issued a new Declaration of Independence, demanded that Britain withdraw its troops, and called on "free countries in the world" to recognize Ireland's independence.
Two. The result of the war
The war ended with July 192 1 ceasefire agreement. In a sense, the conflict is deadlocked. The hopeful dialogue of the previous year vanished in June+February, 5438, and Lloyd George insisted that the Irish Republican Army lay down its arms and surrender first. After the Prime Minister was opposed by herbert henry asquith, the Liberal Party, the Labour Party and the British General Federation of Trade Unions, a new dialogue was initiated and a ceasefire agreement was reached in the spring.
From the British government's point of view, it seems that the guerrilla warfare of the Irish Republican Army will continue indefinitely, resulting in the continuous loss of manpower and financial resources in Britain. More importantly, the British government is facing severe condemnation at home and abroad for the behavior of British troops in Ireland. On the other hand, the IRA, especially Michael collins, felt that the actions organized by the IRA at that time could not continue indefinitely. It is under greater pressure, more British conventional troops are deployed to Ireland, and there is a shortage of weapons and ammunition. The initial breakthrough of the ceasefire agreement should be attributed to three people: King George V of England, South African general Jan Smotz and British Prime Minister Lloyd George.
As we all know in the government, the king was dissatisfied with the actions of the black and brown troops in Ireland, and he was also dissatisfied with the speech prepared in advance in the new parliament of Northern Ireland. The establishment of Parliament is the result of the division of Ireland. Smokey is a close friend of the king, and suggested that he take this opportunity to call for reconciliation in Ireland. The king asked him to write down his thoughts on paper. Smoz prepared a draft and copied it to the king and Lloyd George. Lloyd George then invited Shimo to a British cabinet consultation meeting to discuss an "interesting" proposal received by Lloyd George. Neither of them told the cabinet that the author of the proposal was Shimazi. Faced with the approval of the king and Prime Minister Smith, ministers reluctantly accepted the speech of Irish Reconciliation prepared by the king.
After this speech was published, it had a wide influence. Taking this opportunity, Lloyd George signed an initiative to negotiate with Emmon de Varela in July 192 1. The Irish didn't realize that the speech didn't reach the point where it could represent all the views of the British government, but was just a "peace action" directed by the king, Smith and Lloyd George, and the cabinet only reluctantly agreed. Ireland responded by agreeing to peace talks. De Varela and Lloyd George finally agreed to a ceasefire agreement, aiming at stopping the fighting and laying the foundation for detailed negotiations. Because the British government insisted that the IRA lay down its arms first, the negotiations were delayed for several months, but this request was finally abandoned.
Britain agreed not to allow British troops to leave the barracks. Most IRA officers at the grassroots level interpret the ceasefire agreement as a pause in the war and continue to recruit and train volunteers. Many IRA leaders still maintained a fighting posture, which was one of the main factors for the outbreak of the Irish Civil War. They refused to accept the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiated by Michael collins and Arthur Griffith with Britain. In the end, the peace talks became the forerunner of the Anglo-Irish treaty negotiations, and the treaty was subsequently approved by the Irish Parliament (19212), the Southern Irish House of Commons (1922 12) and the upper and lower houses of the British Parliament.
This treaty allows Northern Ireland, which was established under the Irish Government Act 1920, to leave the Commonwealth if it agrees, and Northern Ireland did achieve independence in due course under the listed procedures. The two sides agreed to set up an Irish Border Committee to determine the exact direction of the border between the Free State and Northern Ireland. Negotiators understand that the Committee will redraw the border according to local nationalism and unionism. Since 1920, the local elections in Ireland have completely nationalized many constituencies in Fermana County, Tyrone County, Delhi City, Ama County and London Delhi County, which may make Northern Ireland unable to survive alone. However, the Committee chose to maintain the status quo of the border; In exchange, Britain does not ask the free state to repay the debts it owes.
The treaty established a new government system for the Irish free state, although the two governments coexisted in the first two years; The "Irish Parliament" is responsible to the Irish Parliament and is led by President Griffith; The other interim government is nominally responsible to the House of Commons in southern Ireland and appointed by the Governor of Ireland (the complexity of the situation can be seen from the following examples: Lord FitzAlan appointed Collins as the head of the interim government. According to the British, they asked Collins to "kiss his hand" when they met. According to Aifang, they met to make Collins accept the surrender of Dublin Castle.
Most Irish independence movements are willing to accept this compromise, at least temporarily, although many military Republicans are unwilling. Some of them took part in the civil war led by the resigned President Emmon de Swaris, refused to accept the treaty, and began to rebel against the government of the newly free state, accusing the latter of betraying the ideals of the Republic of Ireland.