Description
Book SynopsisThis is the story of the Black and Tans and Auxiliaries, the most notorious police forces in the history of the British Isles. During the Irish War of Independence (1920-1), the British government recruited thousands of ex-soldiers to serve as constables in the Royal Irish Constabulary, the Black and Tans, while also raising a paramilitary raiding force of ex-officers - the Auxiliary Division. From the summer of 1920 to the summer of 1921, these forces became the focus of bitter controversy. As the struggle for Irish independence intensified, the police responded to ambushes and assassinations by the guerrillas with reprisals and extrajudicial killings. Prisoners and suspects were abused and shot, the homes and shops of their families and supporters were burned, and the British government was accused of imposing a reign of terror on Ireland. Based on extensive archival research, this is the first serious study of the Black and Tans and Auxiliaries and the part they played in the Irish
Trade Review...lifts the lid on a discreditable episode of recent British history and paves the way for future research. * Nigel Jones, History Today *
...careful analysis ... * Eunan O'Halpin, Irish Times *
While the Black and Tans served for less than two years, their disastrous deployment has lived long in Irish cultural memory. Through dispassionate research and fastidiously marshalled sources, D. M. Leeson undermines many enduring misapprehensions that still surround this most controversial of police forces. * Peter Geoghegan, Times Literary Supplement *
A fresh, often exciting narrative that convinces the reader that there has indeed been a distortion in the general image of the men in these two forces...The Black and Tans will repay close reading by anyone interested in those savage years of the Irish War of Independence, when trust was hard to come by and brotherhood a flexible term for many involved in the horrors. Leeson has convincingly questioned a great deal of received opinion, and probed the way it was received in the first place. * Stephen Wade, Times Higher Education *
Table of ContentsPreface ; Maps ; List of abbreviations ; Note to the reader ; Introduction ; 1. The Two-Headed Ass: Coalition policy and Coalition Policing in Ireland ; 2. 'The Dark Hours are Dreaded': The War of Independence in West Galway ; 3. Constabulary in Khaki: The Black and Tans ; 4. Dr. Tudor's Beast Folk: The Auxiliary Division ; 5. One-Sided War: Police and Auxiliaries in Combat ; 6. 'Come Out, Sinn Fein!' Analysing Police Reprisals ; 7. The Devil's Work: Explaining Police Reprisals ; Conclusion ; Bibliography ; Index
