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Brief review of T. Ryle Dwyer& #39;s "The Squad: and the Intelligence Operations of Michael Collins"
Tip of the hat to @WRSABlog for urging acquisition of this book
Michael Collins headed the intel operations of the Irish Volunteers (IRA) during the Irish War of Independence
Tip of the hat to @WRSABlog for urging acquisition of this book
Michael Collins headed the intel operations of the Irish Volunteers (IRA) during the Irish War of Independence
The author, T. Ryle Dwyer, is an old school columnist for the Irish Examiner. His focus is twentieth century Irish history. There& #39;s a tremendous amount of scholarship in the book, and I must note that his writing style is rather dry. Still, the material is fascinating
Michael Collins was the primary driver behind moving Irish resistance to British rule into *effective* kinetic mode
The 1916 Easter uprising was fundamentally unserious. Collins kept toe to toe fighting to a minimum while identifying and, later, eliminating British intel forces
The 1916 Easter uprising was fundamentally unserious. Collins kept toe to toe fighting to a minimum while identifying and, later, eliminating British intel forces
Contents:
19 chapters, bringing us from 1916 to the Truce of 1921
3 pages of Bibliography, hugely reliant on interviews conducted by the Irish Bureau of Military History
8 page Index of Names, as there are so many personalities involved
19 chapters, bringing us from 1916 to the Truce of 1921
3 pages of Bibliography, hugely reliant on interviews conducted by the Irish Bureau of Military History
8 page Index of Names, as there are so many personalities involved
Thoughts:
Light on gun autism, although there& #39;s a dash of detail, such as the transition from .38 S&Ws to .455s and .45 ACPs because of flubbed hits
The hit teams make lots of mistakes, or have just plain bad luck
Lots of Keystone Cops scenes
Light on gun autism, although there& #39;s a dash of detail, such as the transition from .38 S&Ws to .455s and .45 ACPs because of flubbed hits
The hit teams make lots of mistakes, or have just plain bad luck
Lots of Keystone Cops scenes
While the history of the Irish War for Independence is extremely interesting, Michael Collins& #39; methods and operational theories - deduced, as he didn& #39;t leave writings, or share his reasoning with other people - are most relevant
The intel teams gathered and vetted info, synthesizing it for the org
Collins picked the targets
The Squad were blooded early, then directed other elements on Bloody Sunday (50 hits all around 9am on the same day) and other big ops
Collins picked the targets
The Squad were blooded early, then directed other elements on Bloody Sunday (50 hits all around 9am on the same day) and other big ops
Liam Neeson starred in the Michael Collins biopic, and did a good job, though they played a bit fast and loose with certain details
The Bloody Sunday sequence was great, but the book was better
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The Bloody Sunday sequence was great, but the book was better
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One aspect of the book that I don& #39;t want to underplay is the wildly different era and the impact for a modern reader envisioning these scenes - very early automobiles, bolt action rifles, revolvers
No cameras, no radios, no massive population databases - a boon for these lads
No cameras, no radios, no massive population databases - a boon for these lads
All in all, highly recommended for people interested in political theory and big ideas https://www.amazon.com/Squad-Intelligence-Operations-Michael-Collins/dp/1856354695">https://www.amazon.com/Squad-Int...
