WI: The Black and Tans were not recruited and deployed in Ireland during the War of Independence?

[pipisme]

Would the war have been longer or shorter?

The Black and Tans were not recruited until the end of 1919 because of the opposition of the Inspector General of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), Sir Joseph Byrne. The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Field-Marshal Viscount French, had been pressing for the recruitment of recruits from Britain into the RIC for months against Byrne's dogged resistance. Byrne's opposition was not only on principle, but also because the likely recruits would be 'war veterans who might not be controllable by the RIC's disciplinary code.' (1)

Byrne was 'ordered to go on leave for the benefit of his health. (He was not keen to quit and demanded a colonial governship as the price of his departure.)' (1) The first British recruits to the RIC arrived early in January 1920.

(1) Quotations and information taken from the book The Republic: The Fight for Irish Independence, 1918-1923 , by Charles Townshend, London: Penguin Books, 2013.

 

[sparky42]

If the RIC and DMP aren’t reinforced by the Black and Tans along with the Auxiliaries then the likelihood of having to use more of the Army earlier given the collapse of the RIC, as a result I suppose it depends on how the IRA adapt to the different forces.

 

[Peg Leg Pom]

Better regular troops under full military discipline than shell shocked veterans unable to settle back into civilian life and looking for trouble. Not that the troops were saints either or that their orders would stand up to modern standards.

 

[sparky42]

Better regular troops under full military discipline than shell shocked veterans unable to settle back into civilian life and looking for trouble. Not that the troops were saints either or that their orders would stand up to modern standards.

Yeah I don’t expect any real difference in the behaviour of the forces during the war, the only difference I’d see is them being able to suppress the IRA quicker.

 

[pipisme]

I read in the book The Republic that on 30 December 1919, Lloyd George wrote to Bonar Law: "' It may, of course, very well be that the task in Ireland is a hopeless one and that Byrne has simply the intelligence to recognise it.' But for the time being, 'until we are through with Home Rule a man of less intelligence and more stolidity would be a more useful instrument to administer the interregnum.'"

Viscount French, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from May 1918 to April 1921 was a Conservative hardliner. He was replaced by Viscount Fitzalan, who though a Conservative, was more conciliatory than French. He was the first Catholic to hold the post. If Fitzalan, or the Earl of Midleton another conciliatory Conservative, had been appointed Lord Lieutenant instead of French, would there have been an earlier treaty between the British and Irish governments in 1919 or 1920?

 

[sparky42]

I read in the book The Republic that on 30 December 1919, Lloyd George wrote to Bonar Law: "' It may, of course, very well be that the task in Ireland is a hopeless one and that Byrne has simply the intelligence to recognise it.' But for the time being, 'until we are through with Home Rule a man of less intelligence and more stolidity would be a more useful instrument to administer the interregnum.'"

Viscount French, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from May 1918 to April 1921 was a Conservative hardliner. He was replaced by Viscount Fitzalan, who though a Conservative, was more conciliatory than French. He was the first Catholic to hold the post. If Fitzalan, or the Earl of Midleton another conciliatory Conservative, had been appointed Lord Lieutenant instead of French, would there have been an earlier treaty between the British and Irish governments in 1919 or 1920?

The change in the Lord Lieutenant came about due to a delegation from Whitehall coming over and figuring out most of the figures in Dublin Castle weren’t anywhere close to the job, hence you see a lot of clear out and replacement at that time, you’d need something like that earlier for London to change things in Dublin. As to an earlier treaty, attempts by the Dominions to broker a deal around Christmas 1920 fell apart due to the terms that London demanded (IRA disarmament, end of recruiting and training by the IRA, while the U.K. forces were to continue with their current ROEs), the Provisional Government refused, the OTL ceasefire was pretty much the same as the 1920 but without the U.K. demands, so maybe something earlier but you’d have to have London more willing to consider a deal.