50: Banner Numbers

Banner By The Numbers:

Operation Banner was the operational name for the British Armed Forces' operation in Northern Ireland from August 14, 1969 – July 31, 2007  (37 years, 11 months, 2 weeks and 3 days.) It was one of the longest continuous deployments in British military history.

(British soldiers were initially welcomed by Northern Irish - 1969)

Belligerents:

1    1..)    British Armed Forces (1969-2007)

       Royal Ulster Constabulary (until 2001)

       Police Service of Northern Ireland (from 2001)

        Ulster Loyalist Paramilitaries

A.)    Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
B.)    Ulster Defence Association (UDA)
C.)    Red Hand Commando (RHC) (1972–1994)
D.)    Ulster Resistance (UR) (1986–1989)
E.)     Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) (1996–1999)

2  2.)    Irish Republican Paramilitaries

A.)    Provisional IRA
B.)    Official IRA (1969–1972)
C.)    Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) (1974–1998)
D.)    Irish People's Liberation Organisation (IPLO) (1986–1992)
E.)     Continuity IRA (1994–)
F.)     Real IRA (1997–)

Troop/Paramilitaries Strength At the Peak:

    1.)    British Armed Forces: 21,000 Soldiers in 1970; 11,000 Soldiers in 1980 and 17,750 Soldiers in 1992

    2.)    Royal Ulster Constabulary: 13,000 Officers

3   3.)    Ulster Defence Regiment: 6,500 Paramilitaries

     4.)    Ulster Volunteer Force: 1,5000 Paramilitaries

     5.)    Irish Republican Army:  750 Paramilitaries

Troop/Paramilitaries Casualties and Losses:

       1.)    British Armed Forces: 1,441 Total Soldiers/Servicemen Died

A.)    722 Soldiers Total Killed by Paramilitary attacks
B.)    719 Soldiers Total Died from accidents, suicide or natural causes
C.)    British Army: 814 Soldiers Died (477 Killed by Paramilitaries and 337 from accidents, suicide or natural causes)
D.)    Royal Marines: 26 Soldiers Died (21 Killed by Paramilitaries and 5 from accidents, suicide or natural causes)
E.)     Royal Air Force: 25 Servicemen Died (4 Killed by Paramilitaries and 22 from accidents, suicide or natural causes)
F.)     Royal Navy: 8 Servicemen Died (5 Killed by Paramilitaries and 3 from accidents, suicide or natural causes)
G.)    Other Army Branches: 2 Soldiers Died (Both Killed by Paramilitaries)

       2.)    Ulster Loyalist Paramilitaries: 727 Total Paramilitaries Died

A.)    Territorial Army: 17 Soldiers Died (9 Killed by Paramilitaries and 8 from accidents, suicide or natural causes)
B.)    Ulster Defence Regiment/Royal Irish Regiment: 548 Paramilitaries Died (204 Killed by Paramilitaries and 344 from accidents, suicide or natural causes)
C.)    Ulster Volunteer Force: 62 Paramilitaries Died (All Killed by Paramilitaries, the RUC or the British Military)
D.)    Red Hand Commando: 4 Paramilitaries Died (All Killed by Paramilitaries, the RUC or the British Military)
E.)     Ulster Defence Association: 91 Paramilitaries Died (All Killed by Paramilitaries, the RUC or the British Military)
F.)     Loyalist Volunteer Force: 3 Paramilitaries Died (All Killed by Paramilitaries, the RUC or the British Military)
G.)    Ulster Resistance: 2 Paramilitaries Died (All Killed by Paramilitaries, the RUC or the British Military)

        3.)    Irish Republican Paramilitaries: 368 Total Paramilitaries Died

A.)    Provisional IRA: 292 Paramilitaries Died (All Killed by Paramilitaries, the RUC or the British Military)
B.)    Irish National Liberation Army: 38 Paramilitaries Died (All Killed by Paramilitaries, the RUC or the British Military)
C.)    Official IRA: 27 Paramilitaries Died (All Killed by Paramilitaries, the RUC or the British Military)
D.)    Irish People's Liberation Organisation: 9 Paramilitaries Died (All Killed by Paramilitaries, the RUC or the British Military)
E.)     Real IRA: 2 Paramilitaries Died (All Killed by Paramilitaries, the RUC, the PSNI or the British Military)

Civilian Casualties and Losses: 

(Catholics Shot by the British Military on Bloody Sunday Derry/Londonderry 1972)

      1.)    By the British Military: 306 men, women and children Killed (156 of whom were unarmed)

      2.)    By the Irish Republican Paramilitaries: 721 men, women and children Killed

      3.)    By the Ulster Loyalist Paramilitaries: 878 men, women and children Killed

      4.)    Civilians Wounded from all Sides: 47,500 men, women and children

Approximately 52% of the dead during Operation Banner/The Troubles were Civilians. About 60% of the Civilian casualties were Catholics, 30% of the Civilians were Protestants. Most of the Catholic Civilians were killed by Loyalists, and most of the Protestant Civilians were killed by Republicans. 

Note: The British military was responsible for about 10% of all deaths in the conflict. According to one study, the British military killed 306 people during Operation Banner, 156 (~51%) of whom were unarmed civilians.  Another study says the British military killed 301 people, 160 (~53%) of whom were unarmed civilians. Of the civilians killed, 61 were children. Only four British Soldiers were convicted of murder while on duty in Northern Ireland. All were released after serving two or three years of life sentences and allowed to rejoin the Army. Senior Army officers privately lobbied successive Attorneys General not to prosecute soldiers, and the Committee on the Administration of Justice says there is evidence soldiers were given some level of immunity from prosecution. Elements of the British Army also colluded with illegal Loyalist Paramilitaries responsible for numerous attacks on civilians. Journalist Fintan O'Toole argues that "both militarily and ideologically, the Army was a player, not a referee".

Result of Operation Banner:

      1.)    Military stalemate

      2.)    Good Friday Agreement (1998)

      3.)    St Andrews Agreement (2006) 

      4.)    Withdrawal of British Forces

      5.)    Disarmament of Paramilitary Groups

      6.)    Continuing low-level armed conflict

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Banner
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles