In this fully illustrated introduction, acclaimed historian Dr Aaron Edwards provides a concise overview of one of the most difficult and controversial actions in recent history.

Spanning 38 years of the ‘Troubles’, the British Army’s deployment in Northern Ireland (codenamed Operation Banner) was one of the most difficult and controversial in its recent history. Over 10,000 troops were on active service during much of the campaign, which saw armoured vehicles, helicopters and special forces deployed onto the streets of Ulster. In this book, Dr Aaron Edwards considers the strategic, operational and tactical aspects of Operation Banner, as the Army’s military objectives morphed from high-profile peacekeeping into a covert war against the IRA. Using personal testimony from both sides of the sectarian divide, as well as insights from the soldiers themselves, he presents an authoritative introduction to the Army’s role in the Troubles, providing expert analysis of Operation Banner’s successes and failures.

Updated and revised for the new edition, with full-colour maps and 50 new images, this is an accessible introduction to the complicated yet fascinating history of modern Britain‘s longest military campaign.

Aaron Edwards is a Senior Lecturer in Defence and International Affairs at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He holds a PhD in Politics and International Studies from the Queen's University of Belfast and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. His main research interests span modern war studies and contemporary military history and he is the author of several books, including Mad Mitch’s Tribal Law: Aden and the End of Empire (2014), UVF: Behind the Mask (2017) and Agents of Influence: Britain’s Secret Intelligence War Against the IRA (2021).