Operation Motorman

Operation Motorman
Part of The Troubles and Operation Banner
Location	Belfast Derry Newry Armagh Lurgan Coalisland
Planned by	Major-General Robert Ford
Objective	Retake republican-controlled areas
Date	04:00, 31 July 1972 (+01:00) (1972-07-31T04:00+01:00)
Executed by	British Army (22,000) Ulster Defence Regiment (5,300)
Outcome	Operation succeeds
Casualties	Civilians: 1 killed, 2 wounded Republicans: 1 killed

v t e The Troubles Timeline Directory Ireland Battle of the Bogside August 1969 riots Battle of St Matthew's Falls Curfew Scottish soldiers' killings Operation Demetrius Ballymurphy massacre McGurk's bombing Balmoral Furniture Co. bombing Bloody Sunday Abercorn bombing Donegall St bombing Battle at Springmartin Springhill massacre Bloody Friday Operation Motorman Claudy bombing Benny's Bar bombing Dublin bombings Coleraine bombings UWC strike Dublin & Monaghan bombings Miami Showband killings Bayardo Bar Drummuckavall ambush Reavey & O'Dowd killings Kingsmill massacre Flagstaff incident Chlorane Bar Ramble Inn Jonesborough Gazelle downing La Mon bombing Warrenpoint ambush Dunmurry explosion Nellie M 1981 Hungerstrike Glasdrumman ambush St Bedan Ballykelly bombing Maze Prison escape Newry barracks Ballygawley barracks Loughgall ambush Enniskillen bombing Milltown Cemetery Corporals killings Lisburn van bomb Ballygawley bus bomb 1989 Jonesborough ambush Derryard checkpoint Derrygorry Gazelle shootdown Operation Conservation RFA Fort Victoria 1990 proxy bombs 1991 Cappagh killings Glenanne barracks Coagh ambush Teebane bombing Bookmakers' shooting Clonoe ambush Cloghoge checkpoint Coalisland riots South Armagh sniper campaign 1993 Castlerock killings Cullaville occupation Battle of Newry Road 1993 Shankill bombing Greysteel massacre Crossmaglen Lynx shootdown Loughinisland massacre Drumcree conflict Thiepval barracks 1997 Coalisland attack July 1997 riots Omagh bombing Great Britain Aldershot bombing M62 coach bombing Guildford bombings Birmingham bombings Marylebone siege Hyde & Regent's Park bombings Harrods bombing Brighton bombing Deal barracks Downing St attack Warrington bombings Bishopsgate bombing Docklands bombing Manchester bombing Elsewhere Gibraltar 1988 Osnabrück barracks 1996

Operation Motorman was a large operation carried out by the British Army in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. The operation took place in the early hours of 31 July 1972 with the aim of retaking the "no-go areas" (areas controlled by Irish republican paramilitaries) that had been established in Belfast, Derry and other large towns.

Background

The Northern Ireland riots of August 1969 marked the beginning of the conflict known as "The Troubles". As a result of the riots, Northern Ireland's two main cities—Belfast and Derry—had become more segregated than before. Many neighbourhoods became either purely Irish nationalist and republican or purely unionist and loyalist. In some places, residents and paramilitaries built barricades to seal-off and protect their neighbourhoods from incursions by "the other side", by the security forces, or both. These became known as "no-go areas".

By the end of 1971, 29 barricades were in place to block access to what was known as Free Derry; 16 of them impassable even to the British Army's one-ton armoured vehicles.^[1] Many of the nationalist/republican "no-go areas" were controlled by one of the two factions of the Irish Republican Army—the Provisional IRA and Official IRA. On 29 May 1972, the Official IRA called a ceasefire^[2] and vowed that it would only launch attacks in self-defence.

On 21 July 1972, in the space of 75 minutes, the Provisional IRA detonated 22 bombs in Belfast. Eleven people (including two soldiers and a loyalist volunteer) were killed and 130 were injured. This attack prompted the British Government to implement Operation Motorman, just ten days later.^[2]

Preparations

Operation Motorman would be the biggest British military operation since the Suez Crisis of 1956, and the biggest in Ireland since the Irish War of Independence.^[2] In the days before 31 July, about 4,000 extra troops were brought into Northern Ireland.^[2] Involved were almost 22,000 soldiers^[2]—including 27 infantry and two armoured battalions—aided by 5,300 soldiers from the local Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR).^[3] Several Centurion AVRE demolition vehicles, derived from the Centurion tank, were used. These were the only heavy armoured vehicles to be deployed operationally by the British Army in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. The tanks had been transported to Northern Ireland on board the amphibious landing ship HMS Fearless, and were operated with their turrets traversed to the rear and main guns covered by tarpaulins.^[4]

This quick military build-up alerted the Provisional IRA and Official IRA that a major operation was being planned.^[5] According to local MP Ivan Cooper and others, the IRA left Derry's no-go areas the day before the operation.^[6]

The operation

The operation began at about 4:00am on 31 July and lasted for a few hours. In "no-go areas" such as Free Derry, sirens were sounded by residents to alert others of the incursion.^[7] The British Army used bulldozers and Centurion AVREs (tanks fitted with bulldozer blades) to break through the barricades before flooding the no-go areas with troops in smaller, lighter armoured vehicles.^[2][8] The Provisional IRA and Official IRA were not equipped to openly battle such a large force and did not attempt to hold their ground.^[5] Small scale operations were carried out in other places like Lurgan, Armagh, Coalisland and Newry.^[9] By the end of the day, Derry and Belfast had been cleared of no-go areas, but the Army remained cautious when operating in staunchly republican districts.

Casualties

During the operation, the British Army shot four people in Derry, killing a civilian and an unarmed IRA member.

• Daniel Hegarty, a 15-year-old Catholic civilian,^[10] was shot along with his two cousins as they walked along Creggan Heights in Derry.^[11] The boys had gone out to see the tanks and watch the operation unfold.^[11] The shots were fired from close range by soldiers who had hidden themselves behind a garden fence.^[11] Daniel was shot twice in the head and was killed outright. One of his cousins, Christopher Hegarty, survived being struck in the head by a bullet.^[12]

• Seamus Bradley, a 19-year-old Provisional IRA member,^[10] was shot as he climbed a tree in Bishop's Field, Derry. Seamus was then taken away in a Saracen APC but bled to death before he could be treated.^[5]

In Belfast some arrests were made but no armed resistance was met.

Aftermath

A few hours after the conclusion of Operation Motorman, the Claudy bombing occurred. Nine civilians were killed when three car bombs exploded on the Main Street of Claudy village, County Londonderry. Five of the victims were Catholic and four were Protestant.^[13]

See also

• Timeline of Ulster Defence Regiment operations

References

External links

• The Pat Finucane center
• Operation Motorman from Britain small wars
• CAIN project

v t e The Troubles History of Ireland History of Northern Ireland History of the United Kingdom Irish nationalism Irish republicanism Irish unionism Ulster loyalism Participants in the Troubles Republican paramilitaries Provisional IRA Official IRA Irish National Liberation Army Continuity IRA Real IRA IPLO Security forces United Kingdom British Army Royal Air Force Royal Navy Northern Ireland Ulster Defence Regiment Royal Irish Regiment Royal Ulster Constabulary Ulster Special Constabulary Republic of Ireland Garda Síochána Irish Army Loyalist paramilitaries Ulster Defence Association Ulster Volunteer Force Loyalist Volunteer Force Red Hand Commandos Young Citizen Volunteers Ulster Young Militants Ulster Resistance UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade Linked to: Some RUC and British Army members Chronology     Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association formed (1967) Battle of the Bogside (1969) Riots across Northern Ireland (1969) Beginning of Operation Banner (1969) Social Democratic and Labour Party formed (1970) Internment without trial begins with Operation Demetrius (1971) Irish government enacts Section 31 of the Broadcasting Authority Act preventing Sinn Féin and IRA members from having access to the media (1971) Bloody Sunday by British Army (1972) Northern Ireland government dissolved. Direct rule from London begins (1972) Bloody Friday by Provisional IRA (1972) Power sharing Northern Ireland Assembly set up with SDLP and Ulster Unionist Party in power (1973) Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape. Three Provisional IRA prisoners escape from Mountjoy Prison by helicopter (1973) Ulster Workers' Council strike causes power-sharing Northern Ireland Assembly to end (1974) Dublin and Monaghan bombings by UVF with alleged British Army assistance (1974) Kingsmill massacre by South Armagh Republican Action Force (1976) Warrenpoint Ambush by Provisional IRA (1979) 1981 Irish hunger strike by Provisional IRA and INLA members (1981) Hunger striker Bobby Sands elected MP. Marks turning point as Sinn Féin begins to move towards electoral politics (1981) Maze Prison escape. 38 Provisional IRA prisoners escape from H-Block 7 of HM Prison Maze (1983) Brighton hotel bombing by Provisional IRA (1984) Anglo-Irish Agreement between British and Irish governments (1985) Remembrance Day bombing by Provisional IRA (1987) Peace Process begins (1988) Operation Flavius, Milltown Cemetery attack and Corporals killings (1988) Broadcasting restrictions introduced by British government (1988) Bishopsgate bombing (1993) Downing Street Declaration (1993) First Provisional IRA ceasefire (1994) Broadcasting restrictions lifted (1994) Loyalist ceasefire (1994) Docklands bombing (1996) 1996 Manchester bombing (1996) Second Provisional IRA ceasefire (1997) Good Friday Agreement (1998) signals the end of the Troubles Assembly elections held, with SDLP and UUP winning most seats (1998) Omagh bombing by dissident Real IRA (1998) Political Parties Unionist parties Democratic Unionist Party Northern Ireland Unionist Party Ulster Unionist Party Progressive Unionist Party Conservative Party UK Unionist Party Traditional Unionist Voice Nationalist parties Democratic Left Fianna Fáil Fine Gael Labour Party Progressive Democrats Sinn Féin Social Democratic & Labour Party Workers' Party of Ireland Irish Republican Socialist Party Republican Sinn Féin Cross-community parties Alliance Party Historically important parties Nationalist Party Northern Ireland Labour Party Protestant Unionist Party Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party Northern Ireland Women's Coalition People's Democracy Republican Labour Party Anti H-Block Irish Independence Party The Troubles at Wiktionary The Troubles at Wikibooks The Troubles at Wikiquote The Troubles at Wikisource The Troubles at Commons The Troubles at Wikinews