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Uncivil War

The British Army and the Troubles, 1966–1975

Huw Bennett (Cardiff University)

$47.95

Hardback

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English
Cambridge University Press
05 October 2023
When Operation Banner was launched in 1969 civil war threatened to break out in Northern Ireland and spread over the Irish Sea.

Uncivil War reveals the full story of how the British army acted to save Great Britain from disaster during the most violent phase of the Troubles but, in so doing, condemned the people of Northern Ireland to protracted, grinding conflict. Huw Bennett shows how the army's ambivalent response to loyalist violence undermined the prospects for peace and heightened Catholic distrust in the state. British strategy consistently underestimated community defence as a reason for people joining or supporting the IRA whilst senior commanders allowed the army to turn in on itself, hardening soldiers to the suffering of ordinary people. By 1975 military strategists considered the conflict unresolvable: the army could not convince Catholics or Protestants that it was there to protect them and settled instead for an unending war.

By:  
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 236mm,  Width: 159mm,  Spine: 27mm
Weight:   760g
ISBN:   9781107136380
ISBN 10:   1107136385
Series:   Cambridge Military Histories
Pages:   382
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Huw Bennett teaches International Relations at Cardiff University. He is the author of Fighting the Mau Mau: The British Army and Counter-Insurgency in the Kenya Emergency (2012).

Reviews for Uncivil War: The British Army and the Troubles, 1966–1975

'A vivid, compelling book on a dramatic and important subject. A major contribution.' Richard English, author of Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA 'This deeply researched and lucid book provides new and sometimes challenging perspectives on a vital topic: it deserves to be widely read.' Helen Parr, author of Our Boys: The Story of a Paratrooper 'Huw Bennett's determined pursuit of key political and military records – in the teeth of substantial official obstruction – has enabled him to write the most authoritative account so far of British military action in the early 1970s, the period when the shape of the Northern conflict was largely fixed.' Charles Townshend, author of The Partition: Ireland Divided 1885–1925 '…shatters many of the myths around the early years of the Troubles.' Sam McBride, Belfast Telegraph '(a) compelling read.' History Ireland '…by far the most comprehensive account of the army's role in this period… it needs to be read by all interested in putting legacy issues within their complex historical context.' Henry Patterson, Belfast News Letter 'Uncivil War is a bold and dense interpretation of a difficult and multilayered subject…scholarship at its most thorough (and most rewarding).' Peggy Kurkowski, Washington Independent Review of Books 'Books of this calibre do not come along very often... Uncivil War is a major contribution to our understanding of the early Troubles: it will surely grace reading lists for years to come as the 'go-to' study of the British Army in the formative years of its longest operation.' Tim Wilson, Intelligence and National Security


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