November 30 and Warrenpoint ambush: Difference between pages
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The '''Warrenpoint ambush''', also known as the '''Narrow Water attack'''{{Fact|date=August 2007}} or the '''Warrenpoint massacre''',<ref name=bbc>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/27/newsid_3891000/3891055.stm Soldiers die in Warrenpoint massacre] — [[BBC News]] On This Day feature</ref> on [[27 August]] [[1979]] was a [[guerrilla]] action by the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] (IRA) that resulted in the [[British Army]]'s greatest loss of life in a single incident during [[the Troubles]] in [[Northern Ireland]]. |
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'''November 30''' is the 334th day (335th on leap years) of the year in the [[Gregorian calendar]]. There are 31 days remaining. |
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==Ambush== |
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'''Events:''' |
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This IRA ambush resulted in the death of 18 British soldiers. A 500 kg bomb hidden in a lorry loaded with hay, parked close to [[Narrow Water Castle]], was detonated as an army convoy drove past. The explosion killed six members of the [[Parachute Regiment]] ("Paras"). Twenty minutes later a second device exploded close to the gate lodge on the opposite side of the road. The IRA had been studying how the British Army acted after a bombing and correctly assessed that the soldiers would set up a command centre in the nearby gate house. The second explosion killed 12 soldiers, another 10 from the Paras and 2 from the [[Queen's Own Highlanders]] who had been airlifted into the area following the first bomb detonating.<ref name=cain>[http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/chron/1979.html Sutton Index of Deaths] — from the CAIN project at the [[University of Ulster]]</ref> |
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*[[1782]] - [[United States]] and [[Great Britain]] sign preliminary peace articles, ending [[American Revolution]]. |
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*[[1939]] - Start of [[Winter War]] between [[Finland]] and [[Soviet Union]]. |
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*[[1966]] - [[Barbados]] becomes independent. |
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*[[1999]] - First major [[Anti-globalization movement|anti-globalization]] protest held in [[Seattle]]. |
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Following the first explosion the British soldiers, believing that they had come under attack from the IRA, began firing across the narrow (57m) maritime border with the [[Republic of Ireland]]. An innocent British civilian, Michael Hudson, was killed by British forces, and another seriously injured, in this small arms fire. It has been suggested that the soldiers mistook the explosions of live ammunition from one of the trucks destroyed in the original explosion for enemy fire from across the riverine border. |
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'''Births:''' |
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*[[1508]] - [[Andrea Palladio]], master builder (+ [[1580]]) |
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*[[1667]] - [[Jonathan Swift]], writer, satirist (+ [[1745]]) |
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*[[1796]] - [[Carl Loewe]], composer (+ [[1869]]) |
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*[[1817]] - [[Theodor Mommsen]], author and recipient of the [[Nobel Prize in literature]] [[1902]] (+ [[1903]]) |
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*[[1835]] - [[Mark Twain]], writer (+ [[1910]]) |
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*[[1874]] - [[Winston Churchill]] , British political leader, writer (+ [[1965]]) |
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*[[1924]] - [[Shirley Chisholm]], American politician |
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*[[1936]] - [[Abbie Hoffman]], U.S. anti-war activist |
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*[[1947]] - [[David Mamet]], playwright |
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*[[1952]] - [[Mandy Patinkin]], actor, singer |
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*[[1955]] - [[Billy Idol]], musician |
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==Consequences== |
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'''Deaths:''' |
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Narrow Water happened on the same day as [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|Lord Louis Mountbatten]], a cousin once removed of [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]], was killed by an IRA unit in [[Sligo]]. The death of such a senior royal made the Warrenpoint ambush a footnote in that day's British news although, ultimately, the death of 18 British soldiers increased the move to [[Ulsterisation]]. The ambush also reinforced the British Army practice, already in place since 1975, of supplying their garrisons in South Armagh by [[helicopter]]. The IRA had effectively denied them the use of roads in the region.<ref>{{cite book | last = Harnden | first = Toby | authorlink = Toby Harnden | title = Bandit Country | publisher = [[Hodder & Stoughton]] | date = 1999 | pages = p. 19 | month = | isbn = 034071736X}}</ref> |
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*[[1900]] - [[Oscar Wilde]], writer |
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After the incident a republican rhyme was used to remember the day. |
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'''Holidays and Observances:''' |
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*[[Saint Andrew]]'s day |
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"You got 13, not forgotten, |
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---- |
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We got 18 and Mountbatten." |
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'''See Also:''' |
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The 13 being referred to are the innocent civilians slaughtered by British troops on [[Bloody Sunday]] |
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[[November 29]] - [[December 1]] - [[October 30]] - [[December 30]] -- [[historical anniversaries|listing of all days]] |
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==See also== |
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[[January]], [[February]], [[March]], [[April]], [[May]], [[June]], [[July]], |
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[[August]], [[September]], [[October]], [[November]], [[December]] |
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*[[The Troubles in Warrenpoint]] |
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==Notes== |
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<div class="references-small"> |
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<references/> |
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</div> |
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[[Category:The Troubles in County Down]] |
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[[Category:Provisional IRA actions]] |
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[[Category:1979 in Northern Ireland]] |
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[[Category:Military history of the United Kingdom]] |
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Revision as of 12:02, 27 August 2007
The Warrenpoint ambush, also known as the Narrow Water attack[citation needed] or the Warrenpoint massacre,[1] on 27 August 1979 was a guerrilla action by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) that resulted in the British Army's greatest loss of life in a single incident during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Ambush
This IRA ambush resulted in the death of 18 British soldiers. A 500 kg bomb hidden in a lorry loaded with hay, parked close to Narrow Water Castle, was detonated as an army convoy drove past. The explosion killed six members of the Parachute Regiment ("Paras"). Twenty minutes later a second device exploded close to the gate lodge on the opposite side of the road. The IRA had been studying how the British Army acted after a bombing and correctly assessed that the soldiers would set up a command centre in the nearby gate house. The second explosion killed 12 soldiers, another 10 from the Paras and 2 from the Queen's Own Highlanders who had been airlifted into the area following the first bomb detonating.[2]
Following the first explosion the British soldiers, believing that they had come under attack from the IRA, began firing across the narrow (57m) maritime border with the Republic of Ireland. An innocent British civilian, Michael Hudson, was killed by British forces, and another seriously injured, in this small arms fire. It has been suggested that the soldiers mistook the explosions of live ammunition from one of the trucks destroyed in the original explosion for enemy fire from across the riverine border.
Consequences
Narrow Water happened on the same day as Lord Louis Mountbatten, a cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth II, was killed by an IRA unit in Sligo. The death of such a senior royal made the Warrenpoint ambush a footnote in that day's British news although, ultimately, the death of 18 British soldiers increased the move to Ulsterisation. The ambush also reinforced the British Army practice, already in place since 1975, of supplying their garrisons in South Armagh by helicopter. The IRA had effectively denied them the use of roads in the region.[3]
After the incident a republican rhyme was used to remember the day.
"You got 13, not forgotten, We got 18 and Mountbatten."
The 13 being referred to are the innocent civilians slaughtered by British troops on Bloody Sunday
See also
Notes
- ^ Soldiers die in Warrenpoint massacre — BBC News On This Day feature
- ^ Sutton Index of Deaths — from the CAIN project at the University of Ulster
- ^ Harnden, Toby (1999). Bandit Country. Hodder & Stoughton. pp. p. 19. ISBN 034071736X.
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