Battle of Craigavon Bridge (The Wind That Wrecked the Barley)

The Battle of Craigavon Bridge was a skirmish that took place between Unionists and rogue members of the British Army and the Irish Defense Force to take back Craigavon Bridge and route Irish forces out of the east side of Derry.

The Bogside Massacre
During the riots of the previous week, the Ulster Special Constabulary, known as the B-Specials, killed 12 people in the Catholic and nationalist areas known as The Bogside, causing violence to escalate across Northern Ireland. Citing the failure of the British Government to regain control and order, the Irish government sends Irish Defense Forces into West Derry to expel all Unionists and police to the other side of the River Foyle. From there, they set up a checkpoint on Craigavon Bridge, which connects The Bogside to the rest of the city. While the Irish Army are welcomed with open arms by the predominantly Catholic and supportive Irish republicans, many of the Protestant Unionists see this as an invasion of British soil. Within 24 hours after, the British Army arrives in East Derry with many of those involved in the riot, simply stopping from exhaustion.

Tensions Build
As the first round of violence ended, an uneasy peace fell over Northern Ireland. Because of the massacre and inaction of the British government, nationalists across Northern Ireland developed a deep mistrust of the police and even the British Army. Meanwhile, rumors begin to spread amongst Unionists that the Irish Defense Force could mount another advance to take over Derry, despite British Intelligence suggesting otherwise. On the night of the 23 August, former members of the B-Specials, which had been disbanded, established contact with sympathizers within a unit of the British Army and began to plan an attack on the checkpoint on Craigavon Bridge, using a planned protests as cover.