WI: Anglo-Irish War under Bonar Law?

How would the Irish War of Independence (or, Anglo-Irish War) have gone if Andrew Bonar Law (or, any likewise Conservative figure of strong Unionist sympathies) was Prime Minister of the Untied Kingdom (as the head of a Conservative majority government)?

We can expect something even harsher than the war fought under David Lloyd George. But, what are some of the more specific measures that a Conservative government might take against the Irish revolutionaries? Would the war have ended sooner or later? And, most importantly, what would have been the most likely outcome from this prosecution of war?
 

Pangur

Donor
The British may have won in 1921 but only via very harse measures. If they did the Irish would have come back and tried again. Sorry, it does not matter how hard you try Ireland and U were goning seperate ways, the only question was when.
 
The British may have won in 1921 but only via very harse measures. If they did the Irish would have come back and tried again. Sorry, it does not matter how hard you try Ireland and U were goning seperate ways, the only question was when.

Obviously, Ireland would have its full independence very soon after the 1918 conscription crisis. But, I'm considering the course of the war and how it would have been conducted differently under the Conservative Party during this time. It's not so much the destination as the journey in this question.
 
Would the Irish under such a situation sided with the Nazis in WWII in the same way the Finns did and tried to sabotage things? How much of a headache could be Irish be in WWII, and could that hurt US support?
 

Pangur

Donor
Obviously, Ireland would have its full independence very soon after the 1918 conscription crisis. But, I'm considering the course of the war and how it would have been conducted differently under the Conservative Party during this time. It's not so much the destination as the journey in this question.

OK, its quite likely that Bonar Law would have taken a more agressive line, the sort of approach that Churchill would have liked, Black and Tans on steroids. The more the British murder the harder the responce. One question is how the rest of the world would respond. After a war for the freedom of small nations, the war in Ireland would be hard to explain and brush under the carpet. Would they have pushed the Auxies more? not sure however if the objective is to smash the `Natives' then the Tand would have been the go

Would the Irish under such a situation sided with the Nazis in WWII in the same way the Finns did and tried to sabotage things? How much of a headache could be Irish be in WWII, and could that hurt US support?

Depends, Ireland still under occupation would have no love for the allies, would it have made that much of a difference? no beyond less Irish men in the British forces
 
In terms of how the war might have gone, while extra forces might have been deployed this would have to be balanced by both the economic costs and the political costs extra troop call ups would have cost the Government in the rest of the UK. Post WW1 how much extra numbers could be sustained for extended periods of time. The Four Courts TL pointed that out.

Then there's questions like if the War was intensivied would some of the OTL figures of the Free State (Dev/Collins etc) have been killed in the increased intensity? Long term, I can't see the UK committing to an open ended occupation, perhaps the Treaty Ports would be kept long term given the fall out of the War...
 
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