Ebook: Irish Regiments in the Great War: Discipline and Morale

This book provides the first comprehensive study of discipline and morale in the British army during World War I by using a case study of the Irish regiments. It considers the wartime experience of the Irish regular and Special Reserve battalions and the 10th (Irish), 16th (Irish) and 36th (Ulster) Divisions. The book demonstrates that breaches of discipline did occur in the Irish regiments during the period but in most cases these were of a minor nature. Controversially, Timothy Bowman suggests that where executions did take place, they were militarily necessary and served the purpose of restoring discipline in failing units. The author also shows that there was very little support for the emerging Sinn Fein movement within the Irish regiments.