their Irish fellow unionists was immediate. The TUC, which was in session cent a delegation to renscert the right of free speech and public assembly. Special relief ships were organised and carried food and provisions to the strikers paid for by British trade unionists.
For the first few weeks the strike was well supported, British trade unionists held meetings for Larkin and raised lunds for the strike. But the TUC leaders were already beginning to vacillate. While they had so strongly condemned the August massacres they had been careful not to express support for the aims of the strike itself. Soon the Dublin workers were to face the barefaced treachery of the British labour leaders.
British TU support for the sirike was cnicial British unions organised large numbers of workers in Belfast, and the ability of the employers to move their cargoes in Dublin depended on the support of seamen. rauwaymen, cockers, and terrymen, memners British unions. Here was a clear demonstration of the validity of the smoathetic strike policy of the IT & GWU. Without a blockade of the Irish ports the strike was doomed. Unless British/workers were prepared to strika with their rich tellnt thinnice not ant waite the strike be defeated, but they would turn their own unions into direct strike breaking organisations.
Early in the strike the British TU bosses had attempted to go over the heads of the ll & GwU to find a compromise with the employers. By November they had opened up a inajor attack on Larkin. Thomas Ashton, secretary of the Miners Federation, complained that Larkin was using his Fiery Cross' tour of England to cause strife between the trade unionists and the leaders. Larkin, released from prison in mid November, wás attacked by J. H. Thomas of the NUR and Havelock Wilson, president of the Seamen's aid Foremen's Union, for appealing to British workers for strike action. Snowden and Smillie of the NUM also joined in the opposition to sympathetic action.
The final confrontation came at a special congress of trade unions on December 9th. Here Henderson, Sexton of the Dock Labourers Union and Gosling, resident or Ine transport workers reaciation, joined with Wilson and Thomas in defeating the proposal lor a blockade. It was leit to the gasworkers union delegate, supported by the compositors, to raise the flag of proletarian internationalism He dec are that the Dublin employers should be told that while ADour was orenate to exaust une Dossipies old peaceful settlement, it was equally prepared to exhaust the possibilities of war. When Larkin replied to his critics, he declared bitterly that he thought he'd come to a conference elected by the rank and file, and pointed to at least one delegate who had scabbed on the Dublin workers. When it came to a decision the capitulators tried to cloak their deeds by saying that they had no mandate from the union rank and file despite the fact that the conference had been three weeks delayed by the same gentlemen claiming the time to do precisely that.
"nis sellout or the rich workers was carried out in the face of strong sympathy among British workers for the irish sniggle. Huge amouns or monev were colleeted, and Irish boats blacked. But in both Dublin and Belfast, men who refused to scab were told by their union officials that other union men would bie brought over in their places, and when dockers refused to load: 2.consignment of Guinness at Sligo it was railed to Derry where Sexton's members loaded it. In November,: 216 branches of the NUR representin membere amanded the clima sta chen meeting of the executive to discuss the calling of a strike of miners, tailwaymen and transport workers is
A study of the role of the ny in the Rising reveals a The failure rinting presses, particularly Independent eland's Axel Springer) and e for the printing of mass The absence or mass Republican-held areas. The seize the Bank of Ireland / Cóllege. The rebels also eize and ration foodstuffs ig in republican-held areas.
Connolly failed to underoncept of the combat party general staff ' the Iss (Connolly was in good n this error-Karl Liebsa Luxembourg and Lcon kewise failed to understand i at that time.) This meant death the middle-class were = the waves of the national ize the leadership, behead the revolution, and in place y's Workers' Republic tead the present semi-dewritings have been the subCreat revival of interest in ently. His works are being i tne prophecy they unless the social system is ttle will change.
GERRY LAWLESS. any way to end the Dublin dispute, and the orthwall Dublin NUR branch demanded a similar eeting to stop blacklegs being brought over. Both guests were refused.
Following London conference the NUR dered its men in Dublin back to work. The NUDL The Seamen's and Firemen's Union rapidly llowed, ordering its men to unload and man ships aded by scabs. Immodiately the news was out, the aployers knew they had won and had nothing to fear om the British trade uníon movement. The strike ontinued till February when the men gradually went ick under conditions which denied them the right to e the sympathetic strike. By isolating Dublin the ritish labour leaders had helped the employers beat e strike, and all but destroy the IT & GWU, inflictg a blow on the Irish labour movement from which has not to this day recovered. Nor was this the first it of strike breaking by British trade union leaders. exton had broken the fragic unity of Catholic and otestant workers built by Larkin in the 1907 Belfast rike had expelled Larkin from the Union, and somed the lahour movement in Belfast to sectarian ligious division. Taken together these two acts were 'cisive in dividing the working class and tiooing the alance of Irish politics in favour of reaction in the orth and conservative nationalism in the South.
BERNARD REANEY JAMES CONNOLLY In the military sense of the term street? A street is a defile in a city pass through which troops can only move by narrowing their front, and therefore making themselves a good target for the enemy. A defile is also a difficult place for soldiers to manoeuvre in, especially if the flanks of the defile are held by the enemy.
A mountain pass is a defile the sides of which are constituted by the natural slopes of the mountain sides, as at the Scalp. A bridge over which are constituted by the river. the sides of which are constituted by the houses in the To traverse a mountain pass with any degree of safety • the sides of the mountain must be cleared by parties ahead of the main body; to pass over the banks of the river on each side must be raked with gun or rifle fire whilst the bridge street properly barricaded and held on both sides by forces in the houses, these houses must be broken into and taken Sv hand-to-hand fighting. position where artillery cannot operate to mr allers with in impregnable to frontal attack. a couple of hundred yards-the length of the average street-would mean the loss of the artillery if confronted even imperfectly drilled troops armed The Moscow revolution, where only 80 rifles were in the possession of the insurgents. annibilation of the artillery rifles been 800.
'The insurrection of Paris in June, 1848, reveals how distriets of towns, or villages, should be held. were barricaded at tactical points not on the main streets but commanding them, I so that passages were made inside the houses along the whole length of the streets: holed, as were also the front blocked by sandbags, boxes filled with stones bricks, chests, and other pieces of furtiture with all sorts a of odds and ends piled up against them.
Behind such defences the insurgents upon the troops through loopholes In the attack upon Paris by the allies fighting against Napoleon a village held in this manner repulsed several assaults of the Prussian •allies of England. i Prussians were relieved by the English these latter did not dare attempt a frontal attack, but instead broke into an and house on one side of the village street, and commence to take the houses one by one. inside the houses, and musket fire played but a small part On one side of the street they captured all the houses, on the other thev failed, and when a truce was declared the English were in possession of one side of the village, and their French enemies of the other.
The truce led to a peace. claimed the two sides of the village street were still held by opposing forces.
The defence of a building in a city, town, governed by the same rules. Such conquered is a serious danger even if its supports ane all defeated. If it had been flanked by barricades, and these barricades were destroyed, no troops could afford to push on and leave the building in the hands of the enemy.
unconquered force in their rear.
of a strong building, as a pivot upon which the defence of of the preparations regular army or insurrectionary.
what after all is a A defile is a narrow a river is a defile the sides of A street as a defile flanking a bridge is being rushed; to take a A street barricade placed in a ibring artillery within with rifles.
would have ended in the had the number of insurgent In the Franco-Prussian lines on the 4th of August.
The streets and stormed the outer The houses were broken through The pary walls were loop- after battalion was hurled against it.
the windows were and dirt, taken. yet it had only a garrison of. 200 poured their fire left for the purpose. line of houses. The took a whole army comps When these through to the other end of the village.
Thus all the fighting was and lanes. Every in a city.
When peace was finally For village is a building left un- upon to participate in. position ence of the enemy. find such a which check would be disasTherefore, the fortifying forms a principal object force, whether ICA War of 1870 the chateau, castle, of Geissberg formed such a position in the French The Germans drove in all the supports of the French party occupying this country house;
courts, but were driven back by the fire from the windows and loopholed walls. Four batteries of artillery were brought up to within 900 yards of the house and battered away at its-walls, and battalion The advance of the whole German army was delayed until this one house was To take it caused a loss of 23 officers and 329 men, In the same campaign the village of Bazeilles offered a similar lesson of the tactical strength of a well defended German Army drove the French off the field and entered the village without a struggle.. But it seven hours to fight its way A mountainous country has always been held to be diffcult for military operations owing to its passes or glens. A city is a huge maze of passes or glens formed by streets difficulty that exists for the operation of regular troops in mountains is multiplied a hundredfold And the difficulty of the commissariat which is likely to be insuperable to an irregular or popular force taking to the mountains, is solved for them by the sympathies of the populace when they take to the streets.
is of almost overwhelming importance in such warfare as a popular force like the Citizen Army might be called Not a mere passive defence of a valueless in itself, but the active defence of a position whose location threatens the supremacy or existrepare and fortify it, the courage of all must detend i Out of this combination of genius, skill and courage alone can grow the flower of military success.
The Citizen Army and the Irish Volunteers are open te ill who wish to qualify for the exercise ol 24th July 1915.
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STREET FIGHTING SUMMARY
The general principle to be deducted from a study of the example we have been dealing with, is that the defence
The genius of the commander must position, the skill of his subordinates mus