The Anglo-Irish War: The Troubles of 1913-1922 (Essential Histories) [Paperback]

Peter Cottrell (Author)

Book Description

Series: Essential Histories | Publication Date: March 28, 2006

The Anglo-Irish War has often been referred to as the war 'the English have struggled to forget and the Irish cannot help but remember'. Before 1919, the issue of Irish Home Rule lurked beneath the surface of Anglo-Irish relations for many years, but after the Great War, tensions rose up and boiled over. Irish Nationalists in the shape of Sinn Féin and the IRA took political power in 1919 with a manifesto to claim Ireland back from an English 'foreign' government by whatever means necessary. This book explores the conflict and the years that preceded it, examining such historic events as the Easter Rising and the infamous Bloody Sunday.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This unique series studies every major war in history looking at all the aspects of war, from how it felt to be a soldier to the lasting impact of the conflict on the world around it.

About the Author

Peter Cottrell is currently a serving Army officer in the British Army. He has recently completed an MA thesis on the Royal Irish Constabulary and is hoping to read a PhD on policing during the Anglo-Irish War. He lives in Hampshire, UK.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (March 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846030234
• ISBN-13: 978-1846030239
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 0.3 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #270,340 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The author is a British Army officer with outrageous bias, May 6, 2007

By 

Dennis Hallinan (Brookline, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Anglo-Irish War: The Troubles of 1913-1922 (Essential Histories) (Paperback)

The author treats with utter disdain the Irish men and women who directly or indirectly supported the Easter rising and subsequent years up to 1922. It would be an exaggeration to say that poor writing and bias drips off every page - more like every other paragraph. His childish scarcasms are a bit much, too. After reading this light volume, I found myself wondering what criteria Osprey Publishing uses in its selection of specific materials and authors! Be cautious with other volumes in this series.

If there was half a star, I would have rated this trash as such. The photographs are of good quality and interesting. If the book was around $1.50 I would suggest to "consider" purchasing for the photographs.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Hardly Objective, October 31, 2009

By 

Veritas (New York, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Anglo-Irish War: The Troubles of 1913-1922 (Essential Histories) (Paperback)

First, I am not a big fan of the Osprey Essentical Histories. Too often one gets the impression that it is just a means for authors to squeeze another pay check out of their research and Osprey to get another title on the cheap by recycling material. Such is the case here, a lot of the material seems repeated from the earlier Easter Rising Title.

Secondly the author is highly biased, as a British Army Office how could he not be? You can't cover the Howeth gun smuggeling by the Volunteers unless you show the preferential treatmen the government gave the Larne Landing by the UVF. The author seems to excuse every travesty commited by loyalist forces gets down played as being "just a few" or inspired by "drink" as an excuse. The Auxiliarys are depicted as being brave (true) and often decorated for bravery in WW I(true), but the fact that many of them were suffering from what we would call today post traumatic stress syndrome and therefore probably the worst people to use in a policing situation, is again omitted. In particular the murder of Dick McKee, Peadar Clancy and the innocent bystander Conor Clune (whom the author doesn't even have the decency to refer to by his full name) by the Government Forces gets very short shift and a coat of white wash.

This is a very difficult topic to cover impartially. I will certainly admit to my biasis. However, when something is proclaimed as an "Essential History" you have to do a better job of balance than is found in this title.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars THE ANGLO-IRISH WAR: THE TROUBLES, 1913-1922, January 25, 2011

By 

Robert A. Lynn "Militaryhistorywriter" (Orlando, Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Anglo-Irish War: The Troubles of 1913-1922 (Essential Histories) (Paperback)

THE ANGLO-IRISH WAR: THE TROUBLES, 1913-1922
PETER COTTRELL
OSPREY PUBLISHING,2006
QUALITY SOFTCOVER, $17.95, 96 PAGES, MAPS, PHOTOGRAPHS, ILLUSTRATIONS


Osprey Publishing has produced, probably more by accident than intention, a valuable contribution to the literature of Irish military history. Peter Cottrell is a serving British military officer who, as the thesis for his Master of Arts, wrote on the Royal Irish Constabulary. From the point of view of Irish nationalists, both those living in Ireland and those abroad as a result of the British-produced Irish Diaspora, this work is equivalent of a crime story about a rape. One presenting the outlines of the crime through the point of view of the rapist. Such a volume would be, however, a valuable contribution to the literature not only as it relates to that particular crime, but for its insight into the mind of the rapist. As such, Cottrell's book is a significant contribution to the history of this war.

Osprey Publishing would have done Cottrell a service if they had more cleverly edited his introduction. His scholarship in presenting the facts of the war, as viewed from his side, fails him when he tries to place the war in a large context. He informs us that "some versions of Irish history have been so tainted with half-truths and fabrications that at times it is almost impossible to discern fact from fiction." Oh, really? Perhaps he can explain to we non-English one more time about Robin Hood, King Arthur and the Round Table, and the Princes in the Tower?

With his: "just as many U.S. perceptions of the American Revolution are distorted by their own foundation myth....", Cottrell takes a typical, and totally gratuitous, slap at Americans. It never ceases to amaze me just how the English seem to believe that they have a better understanding of U.S. history than Americans do. Correll also informs us that Irish historians tend to ignore the fact that the 1913-1922 war against Irish nationalism "would have been impossible without the support of thousands of Irishmen." He is simply incorrect in such an allegation. One reading the Irish histories of this period would have to go out of his or her way to avoid understanding the fact that the British government was the largest employer i Ireland. It is said that virtually every family had at least one member on the British, read that as "English" payroll. Cottrell should have at least had the decency to admit that this "support" was bought and paid for. Further, having taken the King's coin, many Irish were obligated by their religion and tradition to demonstrate loyalty to their employer, irrespective of their own feelings in the matter.

Cottrell goes on to relate how 200,000 Irishmen volunteered for service in the First World War. He doesn't mention the fact that Irish nationalist leaders were split on this issue, with many encouraging their fellow nationalists to volunteer. This in the unfounded belief that such a show of Irish patriotism toward the Crown would be rewarded in the post-war period. At the end of the day, Cottrell's history shouldn't be selected for a first read on the Anglo-Irish in the first half of the 20th Century. Nor should it be selected as the single reference on that war by a reader. But, for those who are familiar with the existing literature, this is an interesting, if sometimes arrogant, read.


Lt. Colonel Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard
Orlando, Florida