Guerrilla phase of the Irish Civil War

Guerrilla phase of the Irish Civil War
	Part of the Irish Civil War
	; Partial front page of a newspaper describing the death of Michael Collins on 22 August 1922.
Date	August 1922 – 24 May 1923
Location	Irish Free State
Result	Free State victory End of the Irish Civil War;
Belligerents
Irish Free State Irish National Army; Irish Air Corps; Irish Navy; CID; Citizens' Defence Force; ;	Anti-treaty IRA
Commanders and leaders
Michael Collins †; Richard Mulcahy;	Liam Lynch †; Frank Aiken;
Strength
Irish National Army: c. 55,000 soldiers and 3500 officers by end of the war; Irish Air Corps: 10 planes; Irish Navy: 1 ship; CID: 350;	c. 15,000
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown
	Civilians: Unknown

The guerrilla phase of the Irish Civil War began in August 1922, when the forces of the Irish Free State took all the fixed positions previously held by the Anti-Treaty IRA. The IRA then waged a guerrilla war to try to bring down the new Irish Government and overturn the Anglo-Irish Treaty. This guerrilla campaign was ultimately defeated.

The IRA called a ceasefire in April 1923 and "dumped arms" the following month. This phase of the war was characterised by small-scale military actions but also by assassinations and executions on both sides. The Free State also imprisoned up to 13,000 IRA fighters. In addition, the campaign saw the destruction of a great deal of infrastructure such as roads and railways by the IRA.