No Puck, Much Pluck
The Irish War for Independence (well, the 1919-1921 one), was the first modern insurgency, characterized by small forces engagiingd in irregular operations against a large occupying conventional military force, coordinated with a well-orchestrated public relations campaign. There were an enormous number of "hit and run" raids by Irish Republican "brigades" and “columns,” which usually numbered only a few score men.
These raids were often quite successful. But not always.
Some weeks before the final agreement of December 6, 1921, between the Irish Republicans and the British government that granted Ireland independence within the British Commonwealth, Republican intelligence officers in Limerick received reliable information that the hockey team of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Warwickshire Regiment would shortly be passing down a certain road late at night, returning from a match. So Quinn's Flying Column, composed of about 55 armed men, laid an ambush.
Sure enough, the information was correct, for soon an unescorted truck carrying the Warwick’s hockey team came barreling down the road. The Irishmen went into action, blocking the road and opening fire. Apparently their marksmanship was poor, for none of the Warwicks was hit. Worse, the 13 British soldiers – who included the Regimental Sergeant Major, the battalion Pay Sergeant, and several other senior NCOs – promptly launched a counterattack! The lack of weapons seems not to have hampered the pugnacious Brits, who went at their ambushers with hockey sticks and anything else they could lay their hands on.
It was all over in a matter of minutes, as Quinn's Flying Column fled off into the surrounding countryside, in the process leaving a Lewis gun, ten rifles, and five prisoners in the enemy's hands.
http://www.strategypage.com/cic/docs/cic155b.asp
Det var ju en skojig historia (inga döda). Är det någon som kan bekräfta att den är sann?
MVH
Hans
