บท 170: Chapter 170: Strengthening Security (Part 1)
When it came to organizing acts of terror, the British were still novices at this point, and the royalists who collaborated with them were far from experts. These royalists could only manage to spread rumors and were not even good at gathering intelligence, let alone carrying out terrorist attacks.
If you were to ask the royalists who they despised and wanted to eliminate the most, it would undoubtedly be the Jacobins, especially the likes of Robespierre. With Robespierre's inclination to keep a low profile and avoid unnecessary risks, the royalists, with a bit of courage, could have easily assassinated him. As for Éberl, it would have been even easier, as he lived in the chaotic slums.
In fact, the top leaders of the Jacobins, including Robespierre, were not adequately protected from assassination attempts. The royalists did not need to be highly intelligent or skilled; all they required was the courage to face the guillotine, and they could eliminate any of the prominent Jacobin leaders, be it Robespierre, Saint-Just, Danton, or Éberl. Even someone like Kotte, an sympathizer of the Brissotins, who had received no formal training, could have easily killed Marat.
This meant that the royalists were nothing more than a bunch of ineffective troublemakers with no moral values.
So, the British infiltrators were surrounded by a special task force from the National Army, whose main objective was to maintain law and order.
However, compared to the royalists, the British had more expertise. As soon as they realized they were surrounded, they launched a breakout attempt. If their opponents had been regular police officers or the poorly trained National Guard, they might have succeeded in breaking free.
But this time, they were up against the National Army's Law Enforcement Intervention Group, which specialized in urban warfare tactics. Following their well-presearched battle plan, they swiftly placed personnel mines on the streets and positioned three-pound cannons in the expected direction of the enemy's breakout.
As expected, the British walked right into the trap during their escape. They stepped on landmines, endured cannon fire, and faced gunfire and bombardment from small arms, creating chaos. In the end, the National Army's Law Enforcement Intervention Group suffered only single-digit casualties and annihilated this group of "rebels."
Since the British infiltrators were operating under the guise of royalists in France, the French had to respond. Thus, the Irish launched a new offensive in Ireland while the British were still unprepared. With a significant portion of the British forces diverted overseas, Irish forces saw an opportunity to launch large-scale attacks when the British presence in Ireland was relatively weak.
In the original history, the influence of the French Revolution led to an uprising by the United Irishmen in Ireland. However, due to their lack of combat experience and poor security, their major leaders, like Tone, Tandy, and Russell, were arrested before the uprising, resulting in their failed rebellion. Nevertheless, the remaining United Irishmen continued to rise against British rule.
However, the situation was significantly different in this timeline. Several of their leaders had received training in covert operations at Toulon, and the organization's overall efficiency had improved greatly. Although they couldn't yet compare to the later Leninist political parties, they were no longer the club-like organization they had been in the original history. While not on par with the Vanguard Party, they could now compete with some of the criminal organizations of the future.
It was during their training at Toulon that they met the spiritual mentor of the Irish revolution, Mr. Joseph Bonaparte. Later, after the Irish had fought bravely and achieved independence, Joseph's image was featured on the first edition of currency issued by the independent Irish government, appearing on the gold coin worth one Irish pound.
Joseph's most significant contribution to the Irish cause was not just providing weapons and training; it was his analysis of the situation in Ireland. He pointed out the correct path for the Irish to achieve independence:
"Most Irish people are farmers, and the majority of the Irish population lives in rural areas. This is different from England, where cities are the economic centers and the main sources of power. However, in Ireland, cities are merely appendages to the countryside. Without cities, the lives of most people will go on. In England, without cities, the entire economic life would collapse. But in Ireland, the cities are consumers, not producers. In a sense, in war, English cities are sources of strength, while Irish cities are burdens.
So, the Irish revolution must be a rural revolution. Whoever controls the countryside in Ireland can truly control Ireland. Therefore, there is no rush to attack cities, to carry the burden of cities. What's in the Irish cities? They cannot produce cannons or muskmelons. The colonizers will not allow them to have such capabilities.
So, let them stay in the hands of the English for now. We first need to control all the rural areas, and let those English in the cities be surrounded by the vast Irish countryside. They won't get anything in the cities; they will have to enter the countryside, the favorable territory for our people's war. I personally believe that this is the correct path for Ireland to achieve independence."
These ideas were accepted by the Irish, and at the first All-Ireland Assembly of the United Irishmen, held in Toulon, it was established as the "revolutionary general line": "Surround the city with the countryside and seize independence through armed struggle."
So, even during the phase when British forces were weak in Ireland, the Irish didn't blindly target cities. Initially, they took advantage of British arrogance and their eagerness for retaliation to lure them into the countryside, into the predetermined battleground. Then, they concentrated their superior forces to inflict damage and even annihilate the British forces.
As the British suffered losses and became reluctant to leave their fortified positions, the United Irishmen quickly filled the power vacuum, eliminating those who remained loyal to the British or forcing them to retreat to the British strongholds. This meant the British lost control of the entire Irish countryside.
The brutal British rule in Ireland, in a sense, had been helpful to the Irish revolution. For years, the British had looted the Irish and confiscated their land, placing most Irish land in the hands of the English. Therefore, in Ireland, the majority of landowners were English, or even if they weren't English, they were stooges of the English.
This made land reform in Ireland relatively straightforward, as national and class conflicts were in perfect alignment. The revolutionary ranks had no difficulty in achieving ideological unity. Once British forces were confined to their urban strongholds, land reform in the countryside became straightforward. Ireland was now a whirlwind of land redistribution, and during this time, the United Irishmen swiftly established their organizations in each village.
The British were not oblivious to these "Irish rebels' " actions. Such large-scale movements could never remain entirely secret. However, the British did not view the situation with great concern. They either thought the Irish rebels were powerless because the largest city they had captured was just a small town, or they ridiculed the rebels for being "backward country bumpkins" who didn't know to capture cities first. They couldn't comprehend why these rebels were in such a hurry to divide the spoils before winning the war.
"Once our large army arrives, we'll be able to sweep them away immediately." In reality, despite being besieged in various towns and strongholds, the British forces' morale was still quite good. Of course, this depended on not letting them venture into the countryside.
The British were efficient in mobilizing, and after the Parliament approved special appropriations, they quickly raised an army of over 40,000 soldiers. After about a month of training, they were deployed to Ireland. The Duke of Norfolk became the new Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and would lead this army to restore order.
The British troops landed in Dublin, and the Duke of Norfolk took residence in the recently restored Viceroy's Residence. He first inspected the security measures of the residence to ensure that the previous attack would not be repeated.
After his inspection, the Duke of Norfolk was dissatisfied with the current security measures at the Viceroy's Residence. He immediately issued new instructions: first, the square in front of the Viceroy's Residence was designated a restricted military area, and no one was allowed to enter without special permission. Second, some houses near the Viceroy's Residence were considered a significant security risk due to their proximity; thus, they needed to be demolished. In short, no other structures should exist within 300 feet of the Viceroy's Residence. Finally, the number of garrison troops at the Viceroy's Residence had to be increased to ensure security.
After addressing the security issues at the Viceroy's Residence, the Duke of Norfolk ordered the commencement of the campaign against the Irish rebels.
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