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{
    "localId": "486501118",
    "label": "Report, Central Intelligence Agency, Ireland, Situation Report 48",
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    "id": "486501118",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Report, Central Intelligence Agency, Ireland, Situation Report 48",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/486501118",
    "collections": [
        "President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration)",
        "Intelligence Files"
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    "levelOfDescription": "item",
    "productionDates": [
        {
            "day": 1,
            "logicalDate": "1949-04-01",
            "month": 4,
            "year": 1949
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{
    "seq": 32,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602196/875515/875515-02-032.tif",
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    "ocrText": "SECRET\nCHAPTER IV\nMILITARY SITUATION\nIreland is incapable of offering effective resistance to an invading enemy without\nimmediate and substantial assistance. Government military policy contemplates a\nsmall, highly trained, regular army and the maximum possible number of reserves.\nThe armed forces are dependent on the United Kingdom for equipment and higher\nechelon training; British tactical doctrine is relied upon. For defense against inva-\nsion the Irish military rely heavily on the concept of \"spider-web\" defense under which\nsmall groups of forces would be spotted throughout the country at road junctions,\ndefiles, bridges, and other vital points with the idea of carrying on organized guerrilla\nwarfare which could be a serious problem for an occupying enemy.\nThe present strength of the army is about 8,000; reserve forces number about\n50,000. Equipment consists of light infantry weapons and light artillery of World\nWar II design or earlier. Stores of arms are insufficient to equip adequately the\nreserves that would be called up in an emergency. The air force has 58 planes, 11 of\nthem attached to a fighter tactical unit; air force personnel number about 400. The\nnaval service has 428 men; three corvettes recently obtained from the British serve as\ncoastal patrol vessels.\nThere are about 750,000 men of military age, 15 to 49, about 600,000 of whom\nwould be considered physically fit for some form of military service. It is believed, how-\never, that total effective strength could not be raised above 300,000 and that it would\ntake eighteen months to reach this level. 210,000 males had some military training\nin World War II. This includes 60,000 men who passed through the regular defense\nforces, 100,000 who served in home guard type units, and an estimated 50,000 who\nserved in some branch of the British armed services.\n29\nSECRET"
}