>>4398263National Army
Main article: National Army (Ireland)
In the early weeks of the Civil War, the National Army comprised 7,000 men mainly pro-Treaty IRA units, especially the Dublin Guard, whose members had personal ties to Michael Collins. They faced around 15,000 anti-Treaty IRA men and Collins needed to recruit experienced soldiers from wherever he could. The army's size mushroomed to 55,000 men, many war-hardened Irishmen – 20,000 National Volunteers had joined the British Army on the urgings of Nationalist leader John Redmond.
Likewise, Irishmen who had served in the British forces accounted for over half the 3,500 officers.[2] W.R.E. Murphy, second-in-command (January–May 1923), had been a lieutenant colonel in the British Army, as had Emmet Dalton. Two more of the senior generals, John T. Prout and J.J. "Ginger" O'Connell, had served in the United States Army. Collins promoted fellow-members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood but was slow to put Squad members in high positions.[2]
