Would the UVF have fought the British Army in 1914?

BalcombeSt4 · 03-07-2017 9:36pm #1

Would the UVF of Carson, Crawford & Craig really have fought the British Army to prevent Home Rule being "imposed" on Ulster in 1914 if the World War didn't break out? Or was the UVF & the Ulster Covenant merly Loyalist bluff?

If fighting had broken out would it have taken the form of similar wars in Ireland like 1641, 1798 & later in 1974 - 1976 that ended in sectarian bloodbaths?

Would it have been like Easter 1916 with UVF men taking over key buildings around Belfast & the rest of Ulster & cutting telephone lines, blocking ports, sabotaging train tracks etc..? They had drawn up plans for a Provisional government of Ulster to take care of everyday supplies.

Would it have been more like the IRA campaign of 1919 - 1922 with the UVF using large flying columns to take on the British military in ambushes and assassinating top opponent political & military figures?

Or would it have been what the UVF eventually did in Ireland during 1920 - 1922 throwing bombs at small Catholic children like in Weaver Street in February 1921. https://treasonfelony.wordpress.com/2016/02/04/the-weaver-street-bombing-and-not-dealing-with-the-past/

Or was it all just bluff?

for ourselves and our children, our cherished position of equal citizenship in the United Kingdom and in using all means which may be found necessary to defeat the present conspiracy to set up a Home Rule Parliament in Ireland.

all means which may be found necessary - sounds like a scary & radical statement but it's nicely ambigous. It does not say anywhere that "we will take up arms against the British state", unlike say the 1916 proclamation which says unequivocally arms will used against the British Empire.

paul71 · 04-07-2017 9:41pm

BalcombeSt4 wrote: »

Would the UVF of Carson, Crawford & Craig really have fought the British Army to prevent Home Rule being "imposed" on Ulster in 1914 if the World War didn't break out? Or was the UVF & the Ulster Covenant merly Loyalist bluff?

If fighting had broken out would it have taken the form of similar wars in Ireland like 1641, 1798 & later in 1974 - 1976 that ended in sectarian bloodbaths?

Would it have been like Easter 1916 with UVF men taking over key buildings around Belfast & the rest of Ulster & cutting telephone lines, blocking ports, sabotaging train tracks etc..? They had drawn up plans for a Provisional government of Ulster to take care of everyday supplies.

Would it have been more like the IRA campaign of 1919 - 1922 with the UVF using large flying columns to take on the British military in ambushes and assassinating top opponent political & military figures?

Or would it have been what the UVF eventually did in Ireland during 1920 - 1922 throwing bombs at small Catholic children like in Weaver Street in February 1921. https://treasonfelony.wordpress.com/2016/02/04/the-weaver-street-bombing-and-not-dealing-with-the-past/

Or was it all just bluff?

all means which may be found necessary - sounds like a scary & radical statement but it's nicely ambigous. It does not say anywhere that "we will take up arms against the British state", unlike say the 1916 proclamation which says unequivocally arms will used against the British Empire.

I think the more interesting question would be if the British army would have fought the UVF just think of the Curragh Mutiny

BalcombeSt4 · 07-07-2017 9:17pm

paul71 wrote: »

I think the more interesting question would be if the British army would have fought the UVF just think of the Curragh Mutiny

But weren't they Irish regiments? not ones sent over from England & Scotland?

And if civil war broke out would it have spread to main land Britain?

Would the UVF have fought the British Army in 1914?

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