I'm the Curragh we were taught this daily be a vulture a weapon is no use to a dead man I can tell you've served yeah I'll sub we gotta support one another comrade ❤
People keep thinking about the American war of Independence, but I think the Irish is more impressive, especially since it’s a revolution next to the British homeland
As an Irishman who lives 10 miles from this ambush, you analysed this pretty well. The ambush happened in November and the IRA took up their positions before daylight to avoid detection and remained all day and dared not even raise their heads. By nightfall just before dark, after a day of rainfall, a heavy frost came and even froze their clothes stiff because they were so wet. All fighting was close-quarter combat because General Tom Barry knew that the men couldn't miss at close-quarter range and the lack of bullets. They didn't have the bullets to waste on target practice not like the British who had basically a better long range shot. Beionets were used to the point that one IRA man got a mouthful of blood from the neck of one of the enemy. After the battle, the IRA was so traumatised that Tom Barry made the men drill among the dead to instil discipline. Killing a man at close range and watching the life leave his body no matter how justified will always take a piece of your soul unless you see them as subhuman which the IRA didn't. As General Tom Barry said" The British went into the gutter and into the gutter we had to go"
Well, as an Irishman this was a very pleasant and unexpected surprise! Pretty much no one ever covers anything to do with Ireland in these kinds of videos, and many of the ones that do are often very naïve or ignorant on the subjects being covered. So well done to you for doing a lot of research and being quite knowledgeable. Cheers from Ireland! Eirinn Go Bragh!
The Auxies were cold, tired, hungry. They had been riding around in November all day in open trucks without adequate clothing.(Try It, it will educate you for sure)They should have known better than be caught like that using the same route as battle hardened men. They should also have known The IRA never ambushed,lest the odds were heavily in their favour. At Kilmichael Two to one,at least.
@@philiprufus4427The citizens militia was cold, tired, and hungry too, they had marched in overnight in the rain, and hid for 8 hours enduring a frost until their enemy showed up. They were untrained and not particularly well-armed. What a testament to good leadership, organization, planning and the incredible motivating power of the struggle against injustice.
@@larryalvares1369 Wasn't it a small hill on one side of the road and a field on the other? That's how I knew it, not 100% sure. Also, U shaped ambushes can be performed in flat terrain too, it's just very risky. A disciplined army could pull it off safely by assigning well defined sectors of fire. A militia could just start shooting. Both instances might be successful. There was a recording of Chechen fighters doing just that against a Russian convoy, which they wiped out to the last man in about a minute. There's a documentary about it on TH-cam. The Russians call it "Horseshoe ambush" and it was stated that their forces don't use it because the risk is too high but that it can be very effective.
I like the inclusion of Tom Barry's own accounts of the battle, but it's VERY important to understand that over the years from the battle until his death his own account of the battle has been inconsistent. Different accounts solely from Barry vary wildly, from differing numbers of men under his own command to differences in the number of casualties his column inflicted. Of course including a first-hand account of the battle is important, but his accounts are still being scrutinized here in Ireland to this day. I take a Military History course in college and one of the first things we did was analyse these different accounts from him
Memoirs and personal accounts are always problematic in many ways. They are often hard to verify, unless there are other sources to compare with. It is hard to tell an event from memory many decades after correctly. One also have to consider the reasons for telling the story.
There’s also that Revisionist political agenda based in Irish academia though, which has desperately been trying to depict Tom Barry as a “political serial killer” and other nonsense. As a part of that campaign the historian Peter Hart claimed to have interviewed eyewitnesses who had been dead for years. 🤣
@@hmmmmm6243 Being descended from Cork and Kerry folk who knew and were related to the men here, my own grandmother as a teenager even smuggling guns for the Republicans, I note that Hart is at least an Anglo-Irish name and one most often associated with Protestants. The Revisionist historians of the last half century or so in Ireland, normally based in Dublin or the UK, seem to be pursuing the British political agdnda or that of Continental socialism. Irish nationalism, especially from those primitive types in the South and West, is to be deplored. They don't seem to draw the line at falsifying documents either, which may account for some of the minor discrepancies of Barry's account of the Macroom ambush and other actions. It's not like the Flying Columns had the luxury of unit diaries and detailed after action reports. The reports back to Michael Collins in Dublin had to be short and concise and often verbal to avoid British interception. Since Collins was from this area he probably didn't need more than that from Barry. After the Revolution came the Civil War and several years of unrest before things started to calm down and memoirs be written. Any investigator or lawyer would be suspicious of accounts that didn't have minor variations. In short, don't necessarily trust your college professor.
@@brianmccarthy5557 my grandad was first cousin of Kevin Barry and I have harts as relations. Only a bullshit story changes. All lies surrounding Collins. He was a fukin traitor as are all TDs in the dail today and always have been. Working for the Vatican trust.filthy dirty bastards. Controlled opposition. I could write some stories but TH-cam hates truth. Trust no one. Educate yourselves.you would see what I know.
@@iersejounge Only a bullshit story changes? i don't think so! being asked again and again over time it seems inevitable differences will creep in. People will say "you must have seen X doing Y" - that gives you the possibility of either false memory or the implication that you don't remember, or that you lie.
This film breaks my heart so much I’m from Ireland just the way they made this movie was so true to the Irish people and who they are, how their mannerisms are displayed are spot on, their kindness to each other, their perseverance , their sincerity the way they were treated by the black and tans made the Irish more resilient they did the exact opposite to what they wanted, they tried their best and wanted more than anything to break the Irish peoples sprit but sprits were not truly broken until the civil war that followed after the war of independence ended, the Irish having to fight each other was the most heartbreaking for them all, it was brother against brother as shown in this movie. It rings out to us all so true we have all heard the stories from our own home places. They went through so much suffering just so we could be free! ❤
Great video man, great attention to detail especially to the mention of the flying columns and the difference between the auxiliarys and the tans, good to see a bit of me own history analysed
Very few films try to represent the anxiety and incompetence of inexperienced soldiers. Even US Civil War films about the start of the war rarely ever do this.
I went to Hamilton High. Former Garda Barracks building. The arrest scene was actually filmed in the Hammies dungeons. The cd box back cover with the boys resting with the rifles was actually shot just outside my school where we had our breaks.
You should see Land and Freedom, by the same director, about the Spanish Civil War, if you haven't. It has a little battle, but for some reason it felt more realistic than a lot of other films (i don't remember it so much).
While it could have been better overall the battle is well executed in the movie. Not overly flashy or too simplistic. No one tries to be too heroic except for the guy stopping the trucks.
Something you overlooked, alot of Commanders and even ordinary fighters in the War of Independence had either served during the First world war or been trained by somebody who had fought in that war, this gave the IRA at the time a good tactical advantage.
@@vanpallandt5799 I'm talking about how people can't tell that the movie is clearly going to be politically viewed by the people who won the battle as their point of view and not the British point of view. Because that's how it works like world war 2 everyone in America has mainly just American movies about how Americans are so great and did so much for the war when they only fought in the western front in 1944ish to 1945ish era and no one cares about the pacific campaign because Americans took heavy casualties and lost a lot in those battles and stuff. That's my example like just saying that the winners write history in their own views and ways and if someone thinks against that they are in the wrong like I know people who call the blacks and tans song racist even though they never even knew the song was about the Black and Tan uniforms. And stuff
@@on-jo7716 The Black and Tans were Cops. The Auxiliary Division of The R I C were the worlds first Anti Terrorist Force. Ex officers to a man, they had Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders and Americans in their ranks.Scots and Welsh were to be found also,even English. It will come as a surprise to most to find that perhaps as many as one third were Irish, but their were several Irish Regiments in the British Army then. Krims they were not,as you could not join the British Army or The R I C with a criminal record. The Drivel one was fed fifty odd years ago in Glasgow.
A quick rule of thumb to distinguish between the Black & Tans and Auxiliary Division irrespective of the colour schene of uniform is simply this. The Black & Tans wore regular RIC forage caps the same shape as police forces in tbe Republic of Ireland,Northern Ireland and UK today. They arrived in March 1920 and they would eventually wear full RIC regular uniform. They only wore the mixed uniform for a short while. The Auxiliaries arrived in July 1920. When they arrived they were issued Tam O'Shanter bonnets but this would be changed for the smaller Balmoral bonnet in 1921. Both the Black & Tans and Auxiliaries would wear ribbon decorations and other WWI medals on their uniforms.
Different war, in a way. The Irish War of Independence was fought immediately after WWI. The ambush shown here was in Cork and the Irish involved were from Cork, Kerry and Tipperary. All of these are in Munster not Ulster. A half century separates the two conflicts.
Great channel thanks for your valuable coverage of the history of WW2. As a suggestion, could you analyze the divisions and campaigns of Steel Division 2?
Great reaction to a great movie. Being from Cork so glad to see you took the time to read about the ambush in depth and Irish history in a whole. Only thing you got wrong about the ambush was that Tom Barry wasn’t wearing a British army uniform, but a IRA uniform like you would’ve have seen worn in the 1916 era. Other than that you where spot on. Thanks again!
In the video ‘Coiscéimeanna - Luíochán Chill Mhichíl (The Kilmichael Ambush)’ (th-cam.com/video/IIIveJreejA/w-d-xo.html) Michael O’Brien of Ballynacarriga (son of Paddy O’Brien, one of the Volunteers in the action, from whom Tom Barry borrowed the iniform) explains at 22:47 that the uniform had originally belonged to a British colonel, but had been altered to a Volunteer uniform.
Apologies and correction: having now read Paddy O'Brien's Bureau of Military History witness statement, I realise that though he had taken the uniform from Colonel Kirkwood while raiding for arms, it was indeed a Volunteer officer's uniform. He wrote: 'We took this, though we never found out the history of it.'
Lot of inaccuracies in the movie, especially as regards The R I C. Battle hardened Auxies would have not allowed themselves to be shot down by civvies,in a pub. Those guys were armed to the teeth.They were used to raiding German,Austrian and Turkish trenches,they were frightfull killers. They were NOT afraid of The IRA. Even Tom Barry said as much.
Very well broken down and I took away good tips. Must have been miserable conditions. The acquisition of needed firearms was worth the effort I imagine.
Try riding around in an open truck in winter all day,without proper clothing.Then have some yahoo shoot at you with his pals when you are cold,tired and miserable and far from home having just been through a horrific war. Exciting Eh ?
Could you maybe react to Post Scriptum, it is a Military Simulator game set during the invasion of Normandy and Market garden. It is the most historically accurate world war 2 game i have ever played, but i have never seen a specialist react to it. Would really love to see it!
Every volunteer stresses when reloading these Men fought where thhey lived using the terrain accordingly this ambush is historic fact i enjoyed your critique though spot on ❤
I only watched this movie to see Mairtin de Cogain, a celtic music guy and storyteller. He was the lad who started the song Oro Se Do Bheatha Bhaile. Cool stuff.
A great matching song. Best heard in Gaelic as any kind of close translation would make little sense in English, especially to anyone not knowledgeable about traditional Ireland.
The dark green of the Black and Tans was pretty much due to a lack of uniforms so that they had to often use royal Irish constabulary uniforms mixed with the British army khaki uniform thus the term Black and Tans.
The Black and Tans were a group of hunting dogs famous at the time in Ireland. Their masters were Anglo-Irish Protestants so this was an Irish insult. The group were being called English dogs. The uniforms were mixed as the ruffians recruited (much the same types as filled the worst sort of Freikorps in Germany at the very same time) were unemployable WWI veterans. They weren't members of either the British Army or the Royal Irish Constabulary and both organizations wanted to keep their jands clean of identification with their atrocities. British officers like Major Percival, the later commander of the British at the disastrous fiasco of Singapore in 1941/early 1942, did command groups of the Tans mixed with British Army forces in Cork. They were known for their murder of prisoners, their atrocities against civilians and their murders of priests. Most local people regarded Percival himself as what we today call a psychopath. The Tans, being denied membership in either the Army or the Constabulary, chose to wear a uniform that was half of each. You might describe them accurately as a British S.S., an organization they had much in common with.
@@brianmccarthy5557 Are you referring to the British Freikorps, the 100+ strong SS unit recruited from British POW camps? Because if you are that would be mid to late WWII. Certainly not at the time of the black and tans.
@@mikeycraig8970 No he isn't. If you look up the Freikorps, they were private militias established during the period immediately after WW1, where you had socialist revolutionaries clashing with with the far-right freikorps, made up often of demobilised soldiers from the army. They were the seed crystal for the likes of the SA (the brownshirts) to form.
The Black and Tans were part of the R I C. They did not have enough uniforms because R I C men were traditionally BIG IRISHMEN like BIG SCOTSMEN from The Hielans who were to be found in The Scottish Polis. Kitcheners Army were generally 5'' 8' or even smaller.
Great content, the ambush site is not far from where I grew up, most young people here today don’t know or care about the sacrifices and oppression endured by our great grandparents and previous generations under colonial rule. Thanks for taking an interest in our history, Éire go deo! 🇮🇪
Tom Barry was commander of the 3rd Cork Brigade of the Irish Republican Army.. there was no "what the hell am I doing here" They knew what they where doing.
If you mean the horrible Neil "fake IRA man" Jordan film "Michael Collins" starring Liam Neeson from the 1990's it's extremely inaccurate and badly cast. Try reading Tim Pat Coogan's excellent biography "Micharl Collins". Collins was a distant relative and went to the same Christian Brothers School in Cork as my grandfather but a couple of years ahead of him.
@@stormeaglegaming5395For more movies with an Irish War of Independence theme check out "Shake Hands With The Devil" from the 1950's and is in black and white and stars James Cagney and a young Richard Harris. This has action. Another black and white movie is " Beloved Enemy". This is from the 1940's and stars David Niven. The following movies are more slower paced with no real action in terms of combat but still give a good account of the turbulent period. "Fools Of Fortune" from the 1990's starring Ian Glen who would later be more famous for being in Game of Thrones. "The Last September" and "The Treaty". Irish TV made two excellent TV series about the 1916 Easter Rising and Irish War of Independence titled "1916" and "Resistance" respectively. The BBC made an excellent TV series titled "Rebel Heart" which incorporates the 1916 Easter Rising,Irish War of Independence and Iridh Civil War. Another movie is "A Nightingale Falls'. Hope this is helpful.
Where did you get the knowledge on all these wars most people focus on one war but with the war of independence and the civil war alot of the story's aren't written down I know a few of the story's by word of mouth originating from grand parents and my great grandparents who fought in the civil war and war of independence and the 1916 rising and there not these glamorous war story's you hear there the real details and how bloody the fighting was and the ones that are written down its very hard to find any information on
I know. You have to do a lot of digging and find disty old limited edition books on odd bookshops. I find there are a lot of peoole whose ancestors told them lies or exaggerations about what happened. In any case, like most things in Ireland, it can be both complicated and simple. Like a lot of Irish history, especially in Munster, it could be horrible at times.
The black and tans were a para military unit of the British Army and they were utterly ruthless. Many of the I.R.A. volunteers were probably ww1 veterans and had good grounding in tatics. Guerrilla tatics in its purest form. The german rifles were supplied by the kiaser in 1916 for the failed uprising Easter uprising.
Tom Barry wasn't wearing a British army uniform. He was wearing an Irish Volunteer uniform. But it did look like a British uniform and, given the IRA didn't usually wear uniforms, you can see how the Brits might have mistaken it for one.
It's ironic that the IRA were making such obvious targets of themselves when earlier on during a training scene the commander reprimanded one of his men for not stay down low enough while crawling and shot a packet of cigarettes laying flat off of a rock to demonstrate how little of you a sharp shooter needs to see to be able to hit you
@Peacelily In the context of the film and real life No. Because in the scenes before that they had a training montage where they were teaching them to crawl arm over arm and made a big deal of not blowing your cover. The real life flying column who took part in the ambush were trained by ex-British army soldiers. They didn't just grab a bunch of guns and head off half cocked to set up an ambush
Another good movie is Michal Collins it covers the Easter Rising, War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. My great great great great great great great great Grandfather is Hugo O'Neill leader of the Irish Forces during the Nine Years war.
Unfortunately "Michael Collins" was a very bad film and not very accurate, capped off by disastous and gruesomely funny attempt by Julia Roberts at an Irish accent. Read the Tim Pat Coogan biography "Michael Collins" for a good account.
my claim to fame is that my grate grandad was close to and and had a few friends in the third battalion he was killed during the conflict leaving my grate grandmother who was pregnant with my gran
@@brianmccarthy5557 Neeson was decent...even if he was too old (Collins was a young man). When those armoured vehicles rolled into Croke Park though...yikes.
"Come out ya blacks and tan come out and fight me like a man, Show you're Wife how you will never stound in Flanders, tell her how the IRA made you run like hell away, from the great and lovely kiloshandria." I don't remember how to spell the name but that's a old song about the IRA regiments talking about how the British got kinky boots and stuff. Kinky boots is also a song.
Over all an EXCELLENT analysis that only a true student of history and tactics would be aware of. But I disagree with you a bit o the idea that the IRA troops were badly camouflaged. I think they are WELL camouflaged. The brown hats blend well, I think, with the bushes that are brown, and the rocks that lay nearby. Also you are seeing them from the (rather close up for movie making needs) perspective of the guerillas. You have to try and imagine how it would look to the men coming up the road in the trucks. A different angle equals a different perspective.
0:00 what you talking bout man? there pretty well hidden with there green uniforms and tall grass, id struggle to see em until there is a bullet sized hole in my head also the U shaped formation is still effective...it gives you a effective firing line from multiple sides, and the enemy will have pressure from 2 sides and cant focus on a single hill which already has good cammofluage...also there on a hill meaning they will get the high ground..something bananakin cant get the defence perimeter techincally formed..in the battle..realize how the british spread out
By far the best Irish War movie. There are a few inaccuracies for movie purposes, but they are somewhat minor.The Kilmichael ambush, the IRA did not have Lewis guns, the battle was in closer proximity and at times hand to hand.They showed the Sinn Fein courts, the treatment of IRA prisoners and they complicated nature of the war - not everyone in Ireland supported the war and felt that the "legitimate" gov't was GB. It wasn't in my opinion, but many Irish ppl did think so. It is NEVER the masses that start revolutions, it is the minority.
You are way too picky. The move was far more accurate than most. I was baby sited by an Older irish couple back in the early sixties. The husband had a hearing aid. I asked why and they told me he got struck in the head by a Black and Tan rifle butt "For playing Irish football".
"Come out ye Black and Tans, come out and fight me like a man Show your wife how you won medals down in Flanders Tell them how the IRA made you run like hell away From the green and lovely lanes of Killashandra"
The IRA where cowardly terrorists who killed and maimed many innocent women and children. They were not noble freedom fighters they were the scum of the earth. Cowards who hid in the shadows and murdered unarmed civilians in cold blood. No surrender to the IRA
You are 100% correct but the IRA had to be flexible in case of a bigger convoy turning up. Barry's men were placed in such a way that they would be prepared to fire on a third truck if it arrived. Just a a few weeks earlier in Co Limerick a small IRA unit attacked a big British convoy. An IRA unit of just 4 men attacked a superior convoy of British soldiers(Bedfordshire & Herefordshire Regiment)in March 1921 in Co.Sligo.
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I'm the Curragh we were taught this daily be a vulture a weapon is no use to a dead man I can tell you've served yeah I'll sub we gotta support one another comrade ❤
People keep thinking about the American war of Independence, but I think the Irish is more impressive, especially since it’s a revolution next to the British homeland
And the longest standing revolution against the British for that matter!
The Turkish war of independence is also really impressive due to the fact that they were able to raise an army right after they lost in ww1.
@@tommiiii455 oh wow, gotta look in to that
Certain people don't like to teach or acknowledge that part of history.
nobody cares about the american war of independance
As an Irishman who lives 10 miles from this ambush, you analysed this pretty well. The ambush happened in November and the IRA took up their positions before daylight to avoid detection and remained all day and dared not even raise their heads. By nightfall just before dark, after a day of rainfall, a heavy frost came and even froze their clothes stiff because they were so wet. All fighting was close-quarter combat because General Tom Barry knew that the men couldn't miss at close-quarter range and the lack of bullets. They didn't have the bullets to waste on target practice not like the British who had basically a better long range shot. Beionets were used to the point that one IRA man got a mouthful of blood from the neck of one of the enemy. After the battle, the IRA was so traumatised that Tom Barry made the men drill among the dead to instil discipline. Killing a man at close range and watching the life leave his body no matter how justified will always take a piece of your soul unless you see them as subhuman which the IRA didn't. As General Tom Barry said" The British went into the gutter and into the gutter we had to go"
Well, as an Irishman this was a very pleasant and unexpected surprise! Pretty much no one ever covers anything to do with Ireland in these kinds of videos, and many of the ones that do are often very naïve or ignorant on the subjects being covered. So well done to you for doing a lot of research and being quite knowledgeable. Cheers from Ireland! Eirinn Go Bragh!
7:25 U shaped ambushed are actually a very viable tactic if you hold the highground and are firing down on the enemy
Tzun zu tactics
The Auxies were cold, tired, hungry. They had been riding around in November all day in open trucks without adequate clothing.(Try It, it will educate you for sure)They should have known better than be caught like that using the same route as battle hardened men. They should also have known The IRA never ambushed,lest the odds were heavily in their favour. At Kilmichael Two to one,at least.
@@philiprufus4427The citizens militia was cold, tired, and hungry too, they had marched in overnight in the rain, and hid for 8 hours enduring a frost until their enemy showed up. They were untrained and not particularly well-armed. What a testament to good leadership, organization, planning and the incredible motivating power of the struggle against injustice.
@@larryalvares1369 Wasn't it a small hill on one side of the road and a field on the other?
That's how I knew it, not 100% sure.
Also, U shaped ambushes can be performed in flat terrain too, it's just very risky. A disciplined army could pull it off safely by assigning well defined sectors of fire. A militia could just start shooting.
Both instances might be successful. There was a recording of Chechen fighters doing just that against a Russian convoy, which they wiped out to the last man in about a minute. There's a documentary about it on TH-cam. The Russians call it "Horseshoe ambush" and it was stated that their forces don't use it because the risk is too high but that it can be very effective.
@@daniels0376 I think so
Very nice job. Never thought you would do an analysis on the War of Independence
There is a a great song called the Boys of Kilmichael which depicts this battle
You could write that on Cecil Guthrie's gravestone ! I'm sure any descendants would love it.
I like the inclusion of Tom Barry's own accounts of the battle, but it's VERY important to understand that over the years from the battle until his death his own account of the battle has been inconsistent. Different accounts solely from Barry vary wildly, from differing numbers of men under his own command to differences in the number of casualties his column inflicted. Of course including a first-hand account of the battle is important, but his accounts are still being scrutinized here in Ireland to this day. I take a Military History course in college and one of the first things we did was analyse these different accounts from him
Memoirs and personal accounts are always problematic in many ways. They are often hard to verify, unless there are other sources to compare with. It is hard to tell an event from memory many decades after correctly. One also have to consider the reasons for telling the story.
There’s also that Revisionist political agenda based in Irish academia though, which has desperately been trying to depict Tom Barry as a “political serial killer” and other nonsense. As a part of that campaign the historian Peter Hart claimed to have interviewed eyewitnesses who had been dead for years. 🤣
@@hmmmmm6243 Being descended from Cork and Kerry folk who knew and were related to the men here, my own grandmother as a teenager even smuggling guns for the Republicans, I note that Hart is at least an Anglo-Irish name and one most often associated with Protestants. The Revisionist historians of the last half century or so in Ireland, normally based in Dublin or the UK, seem to be pursuing the British political agdnda or that of Continental socialism. Irish nationalism, especially from those primitive types in the South and West, is to be deplored. They don't seem to draw the line at falsifying documents either, which may account for some of the minor discrepancies of Barry's account of the Macroom ambush and other actions. It's not like the Flying Columns had the luxury of unit diaries and detailed after action reports. The reports back to Michael Collins in Dublin had to be short and concise and often verbal to avoid British interception. Since Collins was from this area he probably didn't need more than that from Barry. After the Revolution came the Civil War and several years of unrest before things started to calm down and memoirs be written. Any investigator or lawyer would be suspicious of accounts that didn't have minor variations. In short, don't necessarily trust your college professor.
@@brianmccarthy5557 my grandad was first cousin of Kevin Barry and I have harts as relations. Only a bullshit story changes. All lies surrounding Collins. He was a fukin traitor as are all TDs in the dail today and always have been. Working for the Vatican trust.filthy dirty bastards. Controlled opposition. I could write some stories but TH-cam hates truth. Trust no one. Educate yourselves.you would see what I know.
@@iersejounge Only a bullshit story changes? i don't think so! being asked again and again over time it seems inevitable differences will creep in. People will say "you must have seen X doing Y" - that gives you the possibility of either false memory or the implication that you don't remember, or that you lie.
This film breaks my heart so much I’m from Ireland just the way they made this movie was so true to the Irish people and who they are, how their mannerisms are displayed are spot on, their kindness to each other, their perseverance , their sincerity the way they were treated by the black and tans made the Irish more resilient they did the exact opposite to what they wanted, they tried their best and wanted more than anything to break the Irish peoples sprit but sprits were not truly broken until the civil war that followed after the war of independence ended, the Irish having to fight each other was the most heartbreaking for them all, it was brother against brother as shown in this movie. It rings out to us all so true we have all heard the stories from our own home places. They went through so much suffering just so we could be free! ❤
Great video man, great attention to detail especially to the mention of the flying columns and the difference between the auxiliarys and the tans, good to see a bit of me own history analysed
It would be cool if you reacted the the siege of jadotville! Love your content!
Real Irish Soldiers !
Very few films try to represent the anxiety and incompetence of inexperienced soldiers. Even US Civil War films about the start of the war rarely ever do this.
I went to Hamilton High. Former Garda Barracks building. The arrest scene was actually filmed in the Hammies dungeons. The cd box back cover with the boys resting with the rifles was actually shot just outside my school where we had our breaks.
This guys channel is epic, keep up the great content brother🥷🤝
OAK 💪
Is that a german Mauser in 3:26
I feel like the german Mauser in 12:38 is a kar98k
You should see Land and Freedom, by the same director, about the Spanish Civil War, if you haven't. It has a little battle, but for some reason it felt more realistic than a lot of other films (i don't remember it so much).
LOVE LOVE YOUR CHANNEL!! ❤️
While it could have been better overall the battle is well executed in the movie. Not overly flashy or too simplistic. No one tries to be too heroic except for the guy stopping the trucks.
Something you overlooked, alot of Commanders and even ordinary fighters in the War of Independence had either served during the First world war or been trained by somebody who had fought in that war, this gave the IRA at the time a good tactical advantage.
100% there is a lot of downplaying of the role of British veterans for political reasons
@@vanpallandt5799 well you'd think if you have common sense you can tell when something is wrong with history.
@@on-jo7716 i dont live in Ireland but its a comment read written by Irish historians
@@vanpallandt5799 I'm talking about how people can't tell that the movie is clearly going to be politically viewed by the people who won the battle as their point of view and not the British point of view. Because that's how it works like world war 2 everyone in America has mainly just American movies about how Americans are so great and did so much for the war when they only fought in the western front in 1944ish to 1945ish era and no one cares about the pacific campaign because Americans took heavy casualties and lost a lot in those battles and stuff. That's my example like just saying that the winners write history in their own views and ways and if someone thinks against that they are in the wrong like I know people who call the blacks and tans song racist even though they never even knew the song was about the Black and Tan uniforms. And stuff
@@on-jo7716 The Black and Tans were Cops. The Auxiliary Division of The R I C were the worlds first Anti Terrorist Force. Ex officers to a man, they had Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders and Americans in their ranks.Scots and Welsh were to be found also,even English. It will come as a surprise to most to find that perhaps as many as one third were Irish, but their were several Irish Regiments in the British Army then.
Krims they were not,as you could not join the British Army or The R I C
with a criminal record.
The Drivel one was fed fifty odd years ago in Glasgow.
A quick rule of thumb to distinguish between the Black & Tans and Auxiliary Division irrespective of the colour schene of uniform is simply this. The Black & Tans wore regular RIC forage caps the same shape as police forces in tbe Republic of Ireland,Northern Ireland and UK today. They arrived in March 1920 and they would eventually wear full RIC regular uniform. They only wore the mixed uniform for a short while. The Auxiliaries arrived in July 1920. When they arrived they were issued Tam O'Shanter bonnets but this would be changed for the smaller Balmoral bonnet in 1921. Both the Black & Tans and Auxiliaries would wear ribbon decorations and other WWI medals on their uniforms.
There's actually a Great movie about the Troubles and the story of one person stuck in Belfast
It's called '71 iirc
Different war, in a way. The Irish War of Independence was fought immediately after WWI. The ambush shown here was in Cork and the Irish involved were from Cork, Kerry and Tipperary. All of these are in Munster not Ulster. A half century separates the two conflicts.
Super great video!
Great channel thanks for your valuable coverage of the history of WW2. As a suggestion, could you analyze the divisions and campaigns of Steel Division 2?
id recommend listening to a song "Wolfhound - Barry's Column" and thanks for covering this no one ever does irish history
Great reaction to a great movie.
Being from Cork so glad to see you took the time to read about the ambush in depth and Irish history in a whole.
Only thing you got wrong about the ambush was that Tom Barry wasn’t wearing a British army uniform, but a IRA uniform like you would’ve have seen worn in the 1916 era.
Other than that you where spot on.
Thanks again!
In the video ‘Coiscéimeanna - Luíochán Chill Mhichíl (The Kilmichael Ambush)’ (th-cam.com/video/IIIveJreejA/w-d-xo.html) Michael O’Brien of Ballynacarriga (son of Paddy O’Brien, one of the Volunteers in the action, from whom Tom Barry borrowed the iniform) explains at 22:47 that the uniform had originally belonged to a British colonel, but had been altered to a Volunteer uniform.
Apologies and correction: having now read Paddy O'Brien's Bureau of Military History witness statement, I realise that though he had taken the uniform from Colonel Kirkwood while raiding for arms, it was indeed a Volunteer officer's uniform. He wrote: 'We took this, though we never found out the history of it.'
Lot of inaccuracies in the movie, especially as regards The R I C.
Battle hardened Auxies would have not allowed themselves to be shot down by civvies,in a pub.
Those guys were armed to the teeth.They were used to raiding German,Austrian and Turkish trenches,they were frightfull killers. They were NOT afraid of The IRA. Even Tom Barry said as much.
Very well broken down and I took away good tips. Must have been miserable conditions. The acquisition of needed firearms was worth the effort I imagine.
Try riding around in an open truck in winter all day,without proper clothing.Then have some yahoo shoot at you with his pals when you are cold,tired and miserable and far from home having just been through a horrific war.
Exciting Eh ?
“Do you know what I did to Chris? I’m not going to sell out” - Damien O’Donovan
I shot. Chris Reilly. In the heart. That was powerful stuff
Thank you for including that clip of Tom Barry, he was a hero to our family. I have read his book Tom Barry Gurellia Days over and over.
I worship homicidal maniacs too,some of them are mates.
Could you maybe react to Post Scriptum, it is a Military Simulator game set during the invasion of Normandy and Market garden. It is the most historically accurate world war 2 game i have ever played, but i have never seen a specialist react to it. Would really love to see it!
Do 71 about the troubles
I love these reactions keep it up
Every volunteer stresses when reloading these Men fought where thhey lived using the terrain accordingly this ambush is historic fact i enjoyed your critique though spot on ❤
My god is it odd I appreciate how much you about the actual history of this not many people do … 👍
I only watched this movie to see Mairtin de Cogain, a celtic music guy and storyteller. He was the lad who started the song Oro Se Do Bheatha Bhaile. Cool stuff.
A great matching song. Best heard in Gaelic as any kind of close translation would make little sense in English, especially to anyone not knowledgeable about traditional Ireland.
Yo! You're great!
The dark green of the Black and Tans was pretty much due to a lack of uniforms so that they had to often use royal Irish constabulary uniforms mixed with the British army khaki uniform thus the term Black and Tans.
The Black and Tans were a group of hunting dogs famous at the time in Ireland. Their masters were Anglo-Irish Protestants so this was an Irish insult. The group were being called English dogs. The uniforms were mixed as the ruffians recruited (much the same types as filled the worst sort of Freikorps in Germany at the very same time) were unemployable WWI veterans. They weren't members of either the British Army or the Royal Irish Constabulary and both organizations wanted to keep their jands clean of identification with their atrocities. British officers like Major Percival, the later commander of the British at the disastrous fiasco of Singapore in 1941/early 1942, did command groups of the Tans mixed with British Army forces in Cork. They were known for their murder of prisoners, their atrocities against civilians and their murders of priests. Most local people regarded Percival himself as what we today call a psychopath. The Tans, being denied membership in either the Army or the Constabulary, chose to wear a uniform that was half of each. You might describe them accurately as a British S.S., an organization they had much in common with.
@@brianmccarthy5557 Are you referring to the British Freikorps, the 100+ strong SS unit recruited from British POW camps? Because if you are that would be mid to late WWII. Certainly not at the time of the black and tans.
@@mikeycraig8970 No he isn't. If you look up the Freikorps, they were private militias established during the period immediately after WW1, where you had socialist revolutionaries clashing with with the far-right freikorps, made up often of demobilised soldiers from the army. They were the seed crystal for the likes of the SA (the brownshirts) to form.
Not The Auxies,They wore their old Army / RFC Uniform till they were issued R I C.
The Late Dave Alans dad was one two.
The Black and Tans were part of the R I C.
They did not have enough uniforms because R I C men were traditionally BIG IRISHMEN like BIG SCOTSMEN from The Hielans who were to be found in The Scottish Polis. Kitcheners Army were generally 5'' 8' or even smaller.
0:24 Cillian Murphy!? Is that you?! I thought you were a Peaky Blinder
I'm very livid after I did not die and you was not the first one to die all the volunteers in that battle lived
Tom Barry's own account of the battle stated that some parts of the firefight took place at 10 meters, that's very close.
that's amazing i love to see your reaction video about the movie and video game it is great i can't wait to watch more of your video again
Great content, the ambush site is not far from where I grew up, most young people here today don’t know or care about the sacrifices and oppression endured by our great grandparents and previous generations under colonial rule. Thanks for taking an interest in our history, Éire go deo! 🇮🇪
Tom Barry was commander of the 3rd Cork Brigade of the Irish Republican Army.. there was no "what the hell am I doing here" They knew what they where doing.
idk if i missed it or if it's never been done but will you ever do the movie The Siege of Jadotville?
Have you considered doing an analysis of the 1979 Warrenpoint Warrenpoint Warrenpoint ambush?
I can't believe he did my favourite movie 😁As an Irish person all I want to say is thank you
So where you from? Iraq? Iran? If so, then hello from the US! :D
@@matt815 ?? I'm from Ireland but uh hai 👋
@@cathanmccann1769 Oh Ireland, didn't know but again hello. :D
@@matt815 bruh
@@tttbbbeee what?
Q Michael Collins review would be amazing as well
It was a pretty bad and inaccurate movie. I wanted to like it but it was truly awful.
@@brianmccarthy5557 please exsplain how and in what context
The fact that they waited for 8 hours should have been mentioned in the film
my grandfather father was in the IRA he was killed in the 1920 he potentialy had around 20 confirmed kills
I watched this and Michael Collins , very interesting period of Irish history .
If you mean the horrible Neil "fake IRA man" Jordan film "Michael Collins" starring Liam Neeson from the 1990's it's extremely inaccurate and badly cast. Try reading Tim Pat Coogan's excellent biography "Micharl Collins". Collins was a distant relative and went to the same Christian Brothers School in Cork as my grandfather but a couple of years ahead of him.
@@brianmccarthy5557 I'll go check that out , thanks .
@@stormeaglegaming5395For more movies with an Irish War of Independence theme check out "Shake Hands With The Devil" from the 1950's and is in black and white and stars James Cagney and a young Richard Harris. This has action. Another black and white movie is " Beloved Enemy". This is from the 1940's and stars David Niven. The following movies are more slower paced with no real action in terms of combat but still give a good account of the turbulent period. "Fools Of Fortune" from the 1990's starring Ian Glen who would later be more famous for being in Game of Thrones. "The Last September" and "The Treaty". Irish TV made two excellent TV series about the 1916 Easter Rising and Irish War of Independence titled "1916" and "Resistance" respectively. The BBC made an excellent TV series titled "Rebel Heart" which incorporates the 1916 Easter Rising,Irish War of Independence and Iridh Civil War. Another movie is "A Nightingale Falls'. Hope this is helpful.
Thanks for the info. This is maybe my favorite film. Top 3 for sure
Excellent video!
The soldiers were drilled at the end of the ambush and given a speech
This happened during several ambushes during the war
Where did you get the knowledge on all these wars most people focus on one war but with the war of independence and the civil war alot of the story's aren't written down I know a few of the story's by word of mouth originating from grand parents and my great grandparents who fought in the civil war and war of independence and the 1916 rising and there not these glamorous war story's you hear there the real details and how bloody the fighting was and the ones that are written down its very hard to find any information on
things like books and documentaries are a good source ^^
I know. You have to do a lot of digging and find disty old limited edition books on odd bookshops. I find there are a lot of peoole whose ancestors told them lies or exaggerations about what happened. In any case, like most things in Ireland, it can be both complicated and simple. Like a lot of Irish history, especially in Munster, it could be horrible at times.
@@brianmccarthy5557 ya I'm in munster and all of it was very bloody the massacre of ballyseddy woods for example
Good research.
The black and tans were a para military unit of the British Army and they were utterly ruthless. Many of the I.R.A. volunteers were probably ww1 veterans and had good grounding in tatics. Guerrilla tatics in its purest form. The german rifles were supplied by the kiaser in 1916 for the failed uprising Easter uprising.
The Black and Tans were R I C so were The Auxies,the Army had nothing to do with them !
I enjoyed the film a lot
Even Teletubbies could hide better than that!
Do "1944" next please. It's an Estonian WW2 film that depicts divided Estonians that fight for both the Soviets and 20th SS Division.
Yes that is that is Tom Barry alright you have that bit rate
When are you gonna react to the HBO show called the Pacific?
In the coolavokig ambush they had access to 2 lewis guns.....so they did have access to lewis guns just not at kilmichael.
Most of these men would of been trained however and know how to fight so I do think all of them would of shot a rifle before.
Tom Barry wasn't wearing a British army uniform. He was wearing an Irish Volunteer uniform. But it did look like a British uniform and, given the IRA didn't usually wear uniforms, you can see how the Brits might have mistaken it for one.
You should react to a movie called '' fortress'' its about a B17 crew, i believe its free to watch on TH-cam
Very well researched.
I like to see this content, I hope more will come
0:14 no y'all are not the baddies
You haven't rung they got their Guns by breaking into places that had guns that is what my grandfather told me
It's ironic that the IRA were making such obvious targets of themselves when earlier on during a training scene the commander reprimanded one of his men for not stay down low enough while crawling and shot a packet of cigarettes laying flat off of a rock to demonstrate how little of you a sharp shooter needs to see to be able to hit you
@Peacelily In the context of the film and real life No. Because in the scenes before that they had a training montage where they were teaching them to crawl arm over arm and made a big deal of not blowing your cover. The real life flying column who took part in the ambush were trained by ex-British army soldiers. They didn't just grab a bunch of guns and head off half cocked to set up an ambush
Another good movie is Michal Collins it covers the Easter Rising, War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. My great great great great great great great great Grandfather is Hugo O'Neill leader of the Irish Forces during the Nine Years war.
Yes, and my great, great ... grandfather was George Washington
@@crazyyyyy2945 Shockingly lots of Irish know who their ancestors are. Unlike you who seem unsure who your real father was.
Unfortunately "Michael Collins" was a very bad film and not very accurate, capped off by disastous and gruesomely funny attempt by Julia Roberts at an Irish accent. Read the Tim Pat Coogan biography "Michael Collins" for a good account.
@@brianmccarthy5557 Hm, somehow I don't think Hugh O'Neill is his ... grandfather.
my claim to fame is that my grate grandad was close to and and had a few friends in the third battalion he was killed during the conflict leaving my grate grandmother who was pregnant with my gran
You should review the movie t-34
I watched this last night because of this review, I was not disappointed, I having Irish heritage I must say I shed a few tears...
Terrific video
Great movie
idk if you have made a video about it, but could you do a reaction to the movie Michael Collin?
As I've said in other comments here, unfortunately it was both inaccurate and badly done as a movie.
@@brianmccarthy5557 Neeson was decent...even if he was too old (Collins was a young man). When those armoured vehicles rolled into Croke Park though...yikes.
What a fantastic movie
They certainly werent thinking what they were doing there. They knew they were there for one reason
3:29 is the insurgent in the black coat carrying a Mauser 98k which did not exist in 1919?
indeed! I also think it's a very weak battlefield scene, there could have been so much more in it.😕
"Come out ya blacks and tan come out and fight me like a man, Show you're Wife how you will never stound in Flanders, tell her how the IRA made you run like hell away, from the great and lovely kiloshandria." I don't remember how to spell the name but that's a old song about the IRA regiments talking about how the British got kinky boots and stuff. Kinky boots is also a song.
It's "show your wife how you won medals down in flanders"
Excellent
Over all an EXCELLENT analysis that only a true student of history and tactics would be aware of. But I disagree with you a bit o the idea that the IRA troops were badly camouflaged. I think they are WELL camouflaged. The brown hats blend well, I think, with the bushes that are brown, and the rocks that lay nearby. Also you are seeing them from the (rather close up for movie making needs) perspective of the guerillas. You have to try and imagine how it would look to the men coming up the road in the trucks. A different angle equals a different perspective.
0:00 what you talking bout man? there pretty well hidden with there green uniforms and tall grass, id struggle to see em until there is a bullet sized hole in my head
also the U shaped formation is still effective...it gives you a effective firing line from multiple sides, and the enemy will have pressure from 2 sides and cant focus on a single hill which already has good cammofluage...also there on a hill meaning they will get the high ground..something bananakin cant get
the defence perimeter techincally formed..in the battle..realize how the british spread out
By far the best Irish War movie. There are a few inaccuracies for movie purposes, but they are somewhat minor.The Kilmichael ambush, the IRA did not have Lewis guns, the battle was in closer proximity and at times hand to hand.They showed the Sinn Fein courts, the treatment of IRA prisoners and they complicated nature of the war - not everyone in Ireland supported the war and felt that the "legitimate" gov't was GB. It wasn't in my opinion, but many Irish ppl did think so. It is NEVER the masses that start revolutions, it is the minority.
Hope you will reaction about " The Pacific " series.
Yes it is true
Who you have not a clue what the IRA did my grandfather was a person you fought in the 1916
Another great analysis. Please react to winter war 1989 movie battle scenes
Cool
You are way too picky. The move was far more accurate than most. I was baby sited by an Older irish couple back in the early sixties. The husband had a hearing aid. I asked why and they told me he got struck in the head by a Black and Tan rifle butt "For playing Irish football".
"Come out ye Black and Tans, come out and fight me like a man
Show your wife how you won medals down in Flanders
Tell them how the IRA made you run like hell away
From the green and lovely lanes of Killashandra"
“Come out and fight me like a man”
> Ambushes in every engagement and doesnt fight in open combat
@@WrenchWhacker its a song. They we're outnumbered
@@WrenchWhacker >expecting some Irish farmers with rifles to face the army of the British empire in open battle
@@WrenchWhacker Yes....... this is literally how revolutions are fought, there is nothing cowardly about it.
The IRA where cowardly terrorists who killed and maimed many innocent women and children. They were not noble freedom fighters they were the scum of the earth. Cowards who hid in the shadows and murdered unarmed civilians in cold blood. No surrender to the IRA
My grandfather Lord the turns into a trap and Dim the Ada volunteers opened fire
An ambush with numerical superiority
You are 100% correct but the IRA had to be flexible in case of a bigger convoy turning up. Barry's men were placed in such a way that they would be prepared to fire on a third truck if it arrived. Just a a few weeks earlier in Co Limerick a small IRA unit attacked a big British convoy. An IRA unit of just 4 men attacked a superior convoy of British soldiers(Bedfordshire & Herefordshire Regiment)in March 1921 in Co.Sligo.
We did have one Lewis gun
Seen it good film
Can you do pearl harbor?
Can you react to Unknown soldier?
The did not for you on coming down from the mountain
irish are just cool like that 😎
PT-BR
Please react to Belarusian movie
"Fortress of war"- from 2014 I think. please :D