After the Somme
After The Somme Casualties sustained in the first few days of the battle were severe for all four battalions. the first battalion withdrawn from action was the 25th, followed by what was left of the 26th. the 24th and 27th were not withdrawn from the front line until the 4th July. the 24th and 27th joined forced as did the 25th and 26th. Re-inforcemets arrived from the West Yorks and Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, followed by Yorkshiremen from the Duke of Wellingtons Regiment. Drafts also came from the Northumberland Fusiliers, Tyneside Scottish, Tyneside Pioneers, the North East Railways Regiment and the Northern Cyclists Battalion. Although the title remained, the Tyneside Irish lost much of its identity as its origins as Irish borne were diluted.
By the end of July the Tyneside Irish were back in the front line and for many their background as miners were especially welcomed, joining Tunnelling Companies in large numbers each night as well as strengthening trench positions and defences by day.
in 1917 the Tyneside Irish were called up to the frontline for the offensives at Arras, Hagricourt and Poelcapelle. Casualties in all three conflicts were high.
In February 1918 the 1st, 3rd and 4th Tyneside Irish Battalions were disbanded and the remaining Battalion, the 2nd,was transferred to the 116th Brigade of the 39th Division. From then on the Tyneside Irish Brigade ceased to exist and the Brigade was simply the 103rd Brigade.
FELLOW IRISHMEN
MESSINES RIDGE, June 1917
The 16th (Irish) and 36th (Ulster) Divisions went into battle together to take the Belgian village of Wijtschate in the well-planned attack on the Messines Ridge. General Plumer had a scaled model of the Ridge made so troops could see what lay ahead. He had mines dug for explosives beneath German defences. About 3 million shells bombarded Messines for over a week. The barrage eased just before Plumer detonated 9,500 tons of explosives under the Germans in 19 mines. Willie Redmond, M.P. and brother of John, leader of the Irish Party, died of wounds received in the attack.
PASSCHENDAELE, THE 3RD BATTLE OF YPRES, July 1917
The 16th (Irish) and 36th (Ulster) Divisions were transferred to General Gough's 5th Army in July 1917. On 31 July, the 36th (Ulster) Division took part in the opening attack on the strong German positions to the east of Ypres. The heavy rain, which continued for a month, made conditions for an attack impossible. Never-the less, both Irish divisions moved forward at Langemarck on August 16th. 65% of the leading units were lost before the attack due to heavy German shelling. The 36th (Ulster) had 3,585 casualties and the 16th (Irish) 4,231. Fr Willie Doyle, MC, chaplain to the 8th Dublins, was killed.
The 16th (Irish) Division was in action near Arras and the 36th (Ulster) Division near Cambrai in November. The 10th (Irish) Division went to Egypt in September.
THE SOMME 1918 - THE LAST 100 DAYS
The long-expected German offensive began on March 21st and succeeded in driving the British lines back almost to Amiens. The 16th and 36th Divisions received the full weight of the attack and were effectively destroyed as fighting units. The 16th had 6,435 casualties and the 36th had 6,109. A third were killed.
The battalions of 10th and 16th Divisions were amalgamated and distributed to other divisions on the Western Front. For example, the 1st Dublins went to the 29th Division and the 2nd and 7th joined the 31st Division. The 36th Division remained Ulster in name only as replacements were English conscripts. The Irish battalions took part in the advances which drove the Germans back over all of the territory gained during the four years of war. The 2nd Dublins went into battle near Le Cateau on October 16th, suffering 44% casualties within two days. This was where they had first gone into action in August 1914. The First World War ended within a month.
AFTERMATH
When the soldiers returned to Ireland, they found a changed political climate. The election in December 1918 was a clear endorsement of Sinn Fein outside of the traditional Unionist areas. The sacrifices made in the war were sidelined in the southern provinces whereas the losses at the Somme became part of the heritage of the new Northern Ireland.
Some ex-soldiers joined the IRA, notably Emmet Dalton who had served with Tom Kettle. He is on record as having no difficulty in fighting for Ireland with the British and fighting for Ireland against the British. Others joined the new Irish army.
On June 12th, 1922, the regiments which had been recruited in the new independent Ireland were disbanded. They were:
The Royal Irish Regiment
The Connaught Rangers
The Prince of Wales Leinster Regiment
The Royal Munster Fusiliers
The Royal Dublin Fusilers.
The Colours were received by the King and were laid up in Windsor Castle where they remain
By the end of July the Tyneside Irish were back in the front line and for many their background as miners were especially welcomed, joining Tunnelling Companies in large numbers each night as well as strengthening trench positions and defences by day.
in 1917 the Tyneside Irish were called up to the frontline for the offensives at Arras, Hagricourt and Poelcapelle. Casualties in all three conflicts were high.
In February 1918 the 1st, 3rd and 4th Tyneside Irish Battalions were disbanded and the remaining Battalion, the 2nd,was transferred to the 116th Brigade of the 39th Division. From then on the Tyneside Irish Brigade ceased to exist and the Brigade was simply the 103rd Brigade.
FELLOW IRISHMEN
MESSINES RIDGE, June 1917
The 16th (Irish) and 36th (Ulster) Divisions went into battle together to take the Belgian village of Wijtschate in the well-planned attack on the Messines Ridge. General Plumer had a scaled model of the Ridge made so troops could see what lay ahead. He had mines dug for explosives beneath German defences. About 3 million shells bombarded Messines for over a week. The barrage eased just before Plumer detonated 9,500 tons of explosives under the Germans in 19 mines. Willie Redmond, M.P. and brother of John, leader of the Irish Party, died of wounds received in the attack.
PASSCHENDAELE, THE 3RD BATTLE OF YPRES, July 1917
The 16th (Irish) and 36th (Ulster) Divisions were transferred to General Gough's 5th Army in July 1917. On 31 July, the 36th (Ulster) Division took part in the opening attack on the strong German positions to the east of Ypres. The heavy rain, which continued for a month, made conditions for an attack impossible. Never-the less, both Irish divisions moved forward at Langemarck on August 16th. 65% of the leading units were lost before the attack due to heavy German shelling. The 36th (Ulster) had 3,585 casualties and the 16th (Irish) 4,231. Fr Willie Doyle, MC, chaplain to the 8th Dublins, was killed.
The 16th (Irish) Division was in action near Arras and the 36th (Ulster) Division near Cambrai in November. The 10th (Irish) Division went to Egypt in September.
THE SOMME 1918 - THE LAST 100 DAYS
The long-expected German offensive began on March 21st and succeeded in driving the British lines back almost to Amiens. The 16th and 36th Divisions received the full weight of the attack and were effectively destroyed as fighting units. The 16th had 6,435 casualties and the 36th had 6,109. A third were killed.
The battalions of 10th and 16th Divisions were amalgamated and distributed to other divisions on the Western Front. For example, the 1st Dublins went to the 29th Division and the 2nd and 7th joined the 31st Division. The 36th Division remained Ulster in name only as replacements were English conscripts. The Irish battalions took part in the advances which drove the Germans back over all of the territory gained during the four years of war. The 2nd Dublins went into battle near Le Cateau on October 16th, suffering 44% casualties within two days. This was where they had first gone into action in August 1914. The First World War ended within a month.
AFTERMATH
When the soldiers returned to Ireland, they found a changed political climate. The election in December 1918 was a clear endorsement of Sinn Fein outside of the traditional Unionist areas. The sacrifices made in the war were sidelined in the southern provinces whereas the losses at the Somme became part of the heritage of the new Northern Ireland.
Some ex-soldiers joined the IRA, notably Emmet Dalton who had served with Tom Kettle. He is on record as having no difficulty in fighting for Ireland with the British and fighting for Ireland against the British. Others joined the new Irish army.
On June 12th, 1922, the regiments which had been recruited in the new independent Ireland were disbanded. They were:
The Royal Irish Regiment
The Connaught Rangers
The Prince of Wales Leinster Regiment
The Royal Munster Fusiliers
The Royal Dublin Fusilers.
The Colours were received by the King and were laid up in Windsor Castle where they remain