Battle of Killmallock

Battle of Kilmallock
Part of the Irish Civil War
Date 25 July–5 August 1922 Location Kilmallock and surrounding countryside, County Limerick 52°23′56″N 8°34′30″W / 52.399°N 8.575°W / 52.399; -8.575 Result Irish Free State victory
Belligerents
Irish Free State's National Army and Dublin Guard	Anti-Treaty Irish Republican Army
Commanders and leaders
Eoin O'Duffy W.R.E. Murphy	Liam Deasy
Strength
1,500 troops (at start) 4,000 troops (by end), artillery and armoured cars	2,000 troops (at start), armoured cars
Casualties and losses
at least 20 killed	at least 21 killed
The location of Kilmallock

The Battle of Kilmallock took place between 25 July and 5 August 1922 in County Limerick. It was one of the largest engagements of the Irish Civil War.

It consisted of ten days of fighting in the countryside round Kilmallock in County Limerick, in which Irish Free State Army forces, advancing south from Limerick city, found their path blocked by anti-Treaty IRA troops, dug into a number of villages at Bruff, Bruree and Patrickswell. The fighting ended with the retreat of the anti-Treaty fighters and the occupation of Kilmallock by Free State forces.

The prelude to the battle was the fall of Limerick city to Free State forces. The Republican forces in the city under Liam Deasy, withdrew from their positions after a week's fighting and concentrated in Kilmallock and the nearby towns of Bruff and Bruree. The Free State forces, advancing south from the city, found their path blocked by the Republicans dug in at the three hilltop towns.

The National Army's attempt to break through this position produced the only 'line battle' of the war with the two sides facing each other along clear front-lines. The Kilmallock-Bruff-Bruree triangle would see some of the war's most intense fighting.

Whereas in the fighting in Dublin, Limerick and Waterford, Free State troops equipped with artillery overcame Anti-Treaty resistance relatively easily, at Kilmallock they had a much harder time. The main reason for this was that the Free State troops, most of whom were new recruits, were facing some of the best of the IRA forces without an advantage in numbers or firepower. General Eoin O'Duffy complained of shortage of arms and ammunition. He estimated that while his forces had about 1,300 rifles, the Republicans could muster over 2,000. He was also scathingly critical of the quality of the troops at his disposal, whom he described as, "a disgruntled, undisciplined and cowardly crowd".