The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) was established in January 1913, as a militant expression of Ulster Unionist opposition to the Third Home Rule Bill. Academic historians have tended to overlook Ulster Loyalism. This book provides the first comprehensive study of the UVF in this period, considering in detail the composition of the officer corps, the marked regional recruiting differences, the ideologies involved, the arming and equipping of the UVF and the contingency plans made by UVF Headquarters in the event of Home Rule being imposed on Ulster. Using previously neglected sources, it demonstrates that the UVF was better armed and less well-trained, with the involvement of fewer British army officers than previous historians have allowed, and suggests that the UVF was quite capable of seizing control of Ulster and installing the Ulster Provisional Government in the event of Home Rule being implemented in 1914. This book will be essential reading for military and Irish historians and their students, and will interest any general reader interested in modern paramilitary forces.

The first academic study of the Ulster Volunteer Force, a paramilitary organisation, which was formed in 1913 by Ulster Unionists opposed to the Third Home Rule Bill. The UVF provided the basis of the 36th (Ulster) Division formed in 1914 and was reactivated in 1920 to counter the I.R.A. threat to the new Northern Ireland state.

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 50. Chapters: Timeline of Ulster Volunteer Force actions, Dublin and Monaghan bombings, Glenanne gang, Miami Showband killings, McGurk's Bar bombing, Ulster Constitution Defence Committee, Loughinisland massacre, Battle of St Matthew's, Reavey and O'Dowd killings, Combined Loyalist Military Command, Protestant Action Group, Volunteer Political Party, Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee, Ulster Army Council. Excerpt: This is a timeline of actions by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group formed in 1966. It includes actions carried out by the Red Hand Commando (RHC), a group integrated into the UVF shortly after their formation in 1972. It also includes attacks claimed by the Protestant Action Force (PAF), a covername used by the UVF. Most of these actions took place during the conflict known as "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland. The UVF's declared goal was to destroy Irish republican paramilitary groups. However, most of its victims were Irish Catholic civilians, who were often chosen at random. Whenever it claimed responsibility for its attacks, the UVF usually claimed that those targeted were IRA members or IRA sympathizers. Other times, attacks on Catholic civilians were claimed as "retaliation" for IRA actions, since the IRA drew most of its support from the Catholic community. Such retaliation was seen as both collective punishment and an attempt to weaken the IRA's support. Many retaliatory attacks on Catholics were claimed using the PAF covername. Attacks resulting in at least three deaths are marked in bold. References for this year: and References for this year: and References for this year: and References for this year: and References for this year: and 14 May: The UVF, along with Sinn Fein, were declared legal following the passing of legislation at Westminster. References for...

UVF: Behind the Mask is the gripping new history of the Ulster Volunteer Force from its post-1965 incarnation to the present day. Aaron Edwards blends rigorous research with unprecedented access to leading members of the UVF to unearth the startling inner-workings of one of the world’s oldest and most ruthless paramilitary groups. Through interviews with high-profile UVF leaders, such as Billy Mitchell, David Ervine, Billy Wright, Billy Hutchinson and Gary Haggarty, as well as their loyalist rivals including Johnny Adair, Edwards reveals the grisly details behind their sadistic torture and murder techniques and their litany of high-profile atrocities: McGurk’s Bar, the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, the Miami Showband massacre and the Shankill Butchers’ serial-killing spree, amongst others. Edwards’ life and career has led him to the centre of the UVF’s long, dark underbelly; in this defining work he offers a comprehensive and authoritative study of an armed group that continues to play a pivotal role in Northern Irish society.