Invasion of Northern Ireland

Invasion of Northern Ireland
Part of World War II
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7bdOQ938Lmg/sddefault.jpg Irish Soldiers handing weapons to riflemen outside Belfast
Date	1943 - 1945
Place	Great Britain
Result	Irish Victory Part of Northern Ireland incorporated directly into Ireland Northern Counties Special Zone formed
Belligerents
Ireland Supported by Germany United Kingdom
Leaders
Eamon D'Valera

The Invasion of Northern Ireland was the invasion of Northern Ireland by the Republic of Ireland against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (not to be confused with the post-war United Kingdom of Great Britain) during the Second World War.

The invasion, although inflicting significant losses to the ill-prepared and underequipped Irish Army, ultimately succeeded after two years of continued operations. The invasion was greatly supported by the German Reich due to the military plan of utilizing the ports of Ireland to cut off Britain from any supplies transported via sea, essentially starving out the British in a naval blockade.

With the majority of the British fleet stuck in the Mediterrean and a jumping off point from the Irish island, Operation Sealion was greenlit to proceed, resulting in the invasion of the British Home Islands, and the subsequent end of the European Theatre of the Second World War.

Amongst historians and analysts, the invasion of Northern Ireland is widely regarded as being the penultimate nail in the coffin of the Allied war effort.