I doubt there is any credible basis for comparing the Blacks and Tans OR the IRA to the Nazis in terms of behavior. For one thing, did either group ever respond to the killing of one of their own prominent figures by exterminating an entire town, or even trying to?
Nazi Germany invades Ireland 1941
- Thread starter ernie89
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The main question is why? What point could there have been to a German invasion of The Emerald Isle?
I think an issue is comparing one action and using it as the norm on the Western Front. Point to the French, Danish, Norwegian, or Belgian town that suffered a similar fate? Many of these regions did suffer from stopping food shipments, killing civilians in response to partisan action. Nazi's are bastards pure and simple but the Black and Tan's as well as the Aux of the RIC responded in a violent heavy handed manner to any action done against the government.
I am not saying all of England did this, nor am I saying the Nazi's had a feather touch to their occupation duties. I am however saying that Ireland is hardly unused to occupation by a determined force which is not above killing innocents in response to actions against its own.
In fairness, I said "relatively civilized." I think that if the Germans met serious resistance from the IRA, they'd quickly escalate things well beyond what the British ordinarily did.
But the Royal Navy controlled the actual water. If the Germans could have invaded Britain, they would have. Hitler's lack of enthusiasm for Sealion almost certainly stems from his awareness that the Royal Navy would ensure its failure. This is 1940 and '41, after all, when Hitler was still at the top of his game. The man may have mentally deteriorated subsequently, but he didn't start off as an idiot.
The German Navy kept the Royal Navy out of the Baltic Sea, which was about all they could do (outside of U-boat activity, of course). And the initial invasion of Norway was a surprise attack, with German soldiers loaded onto ore freighters, which were thought to be arriving in order to collect iron ore, not to deliver soldiers. Again, look at a map. The Royal Navy controlled the English Channel. They did not control the Baltic. The Royal Navy could not be challenged for control of the Bay of Biscay; all they'd have to do is shift some of their forces there, and British supremacy would be assured. The situation with Norway was completely different. If you can't see that, then you don't have a good grasp on reality.
Denmark had a land border with Germany and Germany had air superiority in Norway. The invasion of Norway put a large proportion of the Kreigsmarine out of action through the snking of almost the entire destroyer force at Narvik and the drydocking of the bigger ships. The southern tip of Norway could be reached by crossing the German controlled Kattegat
Ireland was in range of British airfields and involved a larger passage than the English channel also it involved crossing open sea where large ships could manouver. If operation Sea Lion was highly risky an invasion or Ireland would have been more so
It did but they were purely opportunist ones. In 1936 the IRA sent volunteers to fight Franco whilst mainstream Irish politicians (Excluding Labour)were supporting O Duffy's blue shirts who actually went to fight for the fascists. Frank Ryan served in Spain. Had Germany become the occupying power and carried out a few atrocities the IRA may well have changed sides
AFAIK, whilst the Black and Tans did resort to similarly unpleasant tactics as the IRA, the British did not massacre entire towns in retribution (outside of that awful Michael Collins film sold to the Plastic Paddy market). An invading army would be very twitchy during its first few months, so one would expect a high level of vigilance, lots of soldiers expecting trouble, and ruthless suppression of any dissent: people being shot out of hand at the whim of a senior officer would seem expedient given the Germans' track record.
Naturally they'd have been resistance, especially as Ireland is so rural, as elsewhere in Occupied Europe, but unless they were assisted by an external power their impact would've been considerably weakened.
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