Letters

Ireland’s defence in second World War

Army’s capability was formidable

Thu Feb 16 2023 - 00:15

Sir, – A letter in your issue of February 13th contains some rather derisory remarks about Ireland’s ability in the second World War to defend itself in the face of a German invasion: Hitler only had to send “a platoon of girl guides to take Ireland” .

During the war, the Army had two divisions, two independent brigades and three command (ie garrison) battalions – 40,000 in all, and probably 100,000 in the Local Defence Force. Artillery was the bare minimum to fill the establishment, and infantry mortars were scarcer still, but there were sufficient Vickers medium machine guns (at least 15 per battalion), formidable defensive weapons with a capability of firing 600 rounds per minute.

A German invasion would have had to be either seaborne or airborne, or both. A seaborne force could not be amphibious, ie with a capability of landing on beaches, because the Germans didn’t have the necessary landing craft. Instead an invading force would have to be brought by ship, requiring harbour facilities. On the south coast, the large Cork harbour could have been defended by a brigade (three battalions) making it impossible to achieve a landing. An airborne force would have had to cross hundreds of miles from the French coast, most likely to the Rineanna area, through hostile skies. Our general staff thought the Germans could commit an airborne force of 10,000, but it has transpired that Germany would have had only 5,000. These numbers, even if they had succeeded in arriving, would have been easily defeated.

It is no wonder that Operation Green, the German plan for the invasion of Ireland, was abandoned. – Yours, etc,

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DONAL O’CARROLL,

(Colonel, retired),

Newbridge,

Co Kildare.