The Easter Rising - Research Paper Example

Lecturer: The Easter Rising The Easter Rising was a rebellion that started in Ireland in 1916 during the week of Easter and lasted for seven days. The rebellion was caused due to an increase in anti-British sentiment and World War I was a catalyst for the insurrection. The main demand of the group led by Patrick Pears and James Conolly and 5 other members from the Irish Brotherhood was the declaration of independence from Britain and therefore the establishment of the Irish Republic. As seen below although the rebellion was defeated, it did have a base strategy including capturing the General Post Office and the law courts. The first day of the rebellion was Monday, April 24, 1916, with approximately 1200 rebels participating in the fight against the government. The men were all volunteers but were less than what was expected due to the extreme secrecy of the group and the doubts some did have about the plan of attack. The plan was to use the General Post Office as their center of command due to its solid structure and ease of defense. As was to be proved later on while the GPO did have the advantage of defense, it would prove difficult to command the rebellion factions from it or plan attacks (Friedrich 10). Debate has risen over the significance of the GPO with some experts arguing that it was due to its symbolism of British imperialism that it was taken. The GPO was one of the largest buildings in the city and having being built by the British many saw it as a symbol of their superiority only comparable to Dublin Castle. By Noon on Monday most of those who had volunteered to fight took their positions divided into 4 battalions. The first battalion was led by Ned Daly who was to take control of the 4 courts with 250 men while the second Batallion led by Thomas MacDonagh was told to take charge of a biscuit factory South of the city center (Ciment and Russell 291), the factory was possibly to be a source of food as the fighting continued. The third battalion comprised of 130 men and was led by Eamon de Valera who were to control a bakery and Eamonn Ceannt was in charge of the 4th battalion that was made of 100 men and were to take charge of the Dolhpins barn in Emerald square in the town center and to prevent a counterattack by the Irish Army. The British government as well as most of the Irish population was taken by surprise at the commencement of the attack and responses were disorganized especially since Britain was at the time at war with Germany. The squad that was in City Hall with Conolly came under intense fire and soon had to surrender, Sean Conolly who was the commander of the group was shot dead in the fight and several others were arrested. The fourth battalion also faced some fire from the British army but they managed to hold their positions ("The 1916 uprising..."). On Tuesday April 25th the battle of Mount street canal was fought between the British soldiers and the insurgents. The British infantry had been commanded to take the most direct route to the Dublin Castle as this was where the British headquarters and so was a point of political and strategic importance. The castle was where the then incumbent Viceroy Lord Wimborne resided in and was also where commands were dispatched from. Sherwood Foresters had to pass through Northumberland Road in spite of the dangers that the place would pose as members of the rebellion had captured neighboring territories. As the group cut into Haddington Road, they were attacked by rebels resulting in Captain Dietrchsen being injured. This also signaled the other rebels to inform them that an attack had begun and they too began to fire on the foresters (Mcnally 76). The foresters attacked the group that was located in No. 25 that was behind them and had initiated the attack. The rebels had however prepared for this and had barricaded the doors and windows resulting in the British Foresters being cornered in the open road. Attempts to escape by dodging to the other side of the street were countered by a brigade that pushed them back and so they focused their efforts on securing the canal bridge. The British troops were unable to defend themselves adequately from the Volunteers who were in higher buildings and so could attack them with little risk. The group managed to reach the canal bridge and finally opened the route to the inner city although with great casualties, it is estimated that 120 British soldiers died on this day and it signified a turning point on how Britain viewed the insurgents. Until then they had been viewed as a clumsy unit of idealists who were not to be viewed as a serious threat however the high death toll changed this view. More caution was to be exercised by the future soldiers who were dispatched (Mcnally 77). On Wednesday the fighting continued with Snipers being the most active of both sides. The British troops had been withdrawn the previous day completely from the field leaving the Irish Army to deal with the volunteers a move which they objected to. The Volunteers were hidden in the distillery and used its cover as an advantage as only two members –Holland and Liston- were able to neutralize the Irish forces whose only covers were tree stumps and the canopy formed by the leaves. It should be noted that even as the rebellion progressed in the town the volunteers did not get support from the local population as there were mixed feelings in the community especially since they were now fighting against the Irish Army. Soldiers who tried to leave their cover were easily spotted and shot and soon the Irish forces had to retreat to the bridge at Rialto. The withdrawal of British troops had also meant that the Volunteers could move within the inner court and thus gave them another advantage over the attacking Irish forces. The Sherwood Foresters were the group to receive the most damage as the second battalion succumbed to the sniper bullets and the attack they received at Northumberland Road, they were however supported by the South Staffordshire regiment as they replaced them on the frontline. By evening however, there was some respite for the Irish troops as British troops from the 59th Infantry arrived to help them (O’Brien 65). The insurgents had failed to consider the importance of the railway and telegraph system which was in the building they captured in their plans for attacking the British government and so news of the rebellion was able to be transmitted immediately and troops could easily be transported to Dublin. On Thursday May 27th with the addition of British troops the tactics of the Empire changed, the Forestor Regiment were told to shift their focus to the hospital located in Kilmainham. The 2/8 regiments were to follow this plan of action while the rest of the military engineers and medical facility would follow behind with the 2/7 regiment as rear support. Given that the previous day the other regiments had passed through the Rialto Bridge safely, it was seen as a safe passageway to use to get to the destination. The march was led by Lieutenant Oates who was assisted by two Captains who both had experience in the 1st World War. The Volunteers were confident with their victories in the previous days and had let people resume normal activities but given their altitude vantage point they could easily spot the soldiers heading towards the Rialto Bridge. The volunteers caused a horse stampede and fired at the foresters before they could reach Rialto Bridge and Oates ordered his men to clear the Rialto buildings so as to have a cover as they advanced. A wagon was sent across the bridge to test the safety but it was fired at indicating the clear and present danger. Oates realized the danger his men would be in if they were to attempt crossing the bridge, the regiment would have no cover and they wouldn’t have ample time to prepare a counter attack even if they were willing to sacrifice some soldiers. The regiments halted and a request was made to Portobello barracks for more arms and men as they cleared the Southern Circular road of enemy snipers (O’Brien 79). Sir Fletcher Vane was dispatched together with a total of fifty men to assist the crew who were by now facing extreme fatigue from the period of attack and the long marching period. The nervousness was seen when upon his arrival the British men fired at him. With a fresh team and more experienced men as well as the assistance of the Royal Irish Constalbury on their side the Foresters were able to gain an advantage over the volunteers and separate the insurgents on the North and Insurgents on the South, thus decentralizing the chain of command and resulting in them no longer working as a united force ("The 1916 uprising..."). On Friday 28th April General Maxwell arrived in Dublin to act as military advice on the situation and took control as head of the military from John Lowe, however the situation was already coming under control with key members of the insurgents such as James Conolley being seriously injured. One of the key leaders Patrick Pearse was contemplating to surrender given the situation but issued a contradictory statement saying that they would win even if it would mean having to sacrifice their lives. Some men seeing that they were heavily surrounded attempted to escape by going through the British Barricades, these actions were however met with gunfire from the British and at this point Pearse accepted that their defeat was imminent and agreed to surrender stating that it was to save the remaining civilians who had no blame and so should not be killed unnecessarily and neither should his men. The head of the third battalion De Valera was however skeptic of the letter he received calling for a retreat and it was only when men in his battalion confirmed to him that the emissary was one of the volunteers that he acknowledged it as original (Dorney 44). By Saturday there weren’t many strongholds left standing in the area as most had surrendered to the Garrison. The GPO had succumbed to the bombardment of the British artillery and with British troops having increased to 16000 those that hadn’t surrendered on Saturday did so by Sunday ("The 1916 uprising..."). Some of the commanders such as Joe McGrath and John McBride knowing that they would be tried for treason opted to escape and encouraged their men to do so (Dorney 44). The Volunteers were still viewed with mixed feelings by the population with some calling or their execution while others acknowledged that they had fought bravely which was an important part of Irish culture. The leaders were eventually executed with some of the lower officers merely serving prison terms. The Easter Rising was a rebellion that started in Ireland in the week of Easter and lasted for 7 days before being completely crushed. The rebellion comprised of approximately 1200 volunteers divided into 4 battalions who stormed the GPO and other areas of strategic and symbolic importance to declare their independence on 24th April 1916. The rebellion caught the ruling class by surprise and they couldn’t mount a proper counterattack until the following day, and even then they were unable to immediately suppress the Volunteers who had taken several vantage points in the city square. The bombardment of the GPO and Britain’s commitment to sending more troops would eventually crush the rebellion but due to their brave efforts the Republic of Ireland would go on to be formed with the Volunteers being acknowledged as the ones to start the road to independence. Works Cited Ciment, James, and Thaddeus, Russell., The Home Front Encyclopedia: United States, Britain, and Canada in world wars I and II, Volume 1. California: ABC- CLIO, 2007. Print. Dorney, John, The Story Of The Easter Rising, 1916. Dublin; Greenlamp, 2010. Print. Friedrich, Tony, The Easter Rising as One of the Most Crucial Events in Irish History. Wittenberg: Martin Luther University, 2007. Print. Mcnally, Michael, Easter Rising 1916: Birth of the Irish Republic. Oxford: Osprey, 2007. Print. "The 1916 uprising: Personalities and Perspectives". National Library of Ireland. n,d. Web. 29th Nov 2013. O’brien, Paul, Uncommon Valour: 1916 & the Battle for the South Dublin Union. Dublin: Mercier, 2010. Print. Read More