Plan Kathleen facts for kids

Great Britain and Ireland on a 1939/40 German map

Plan Kathleen, also known as the Artus Plan, was a secret military idea during World War II. It was a plan for Nazi Germany to invade Northern Ireland. The plan was approved in 1940 by Stephen Hayes, who was then the acting leader of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

It's important to know that Plan Kathleen was different from Operation Green. Operation Green was another German military plan, also made in 1940, but it was about invading the whole of Ireland, not just Northern Ireland.

Why Plan Kathleen Was Made
- IRA Leadership and German Connections
- Sending the Plan to Germany
What Plan Kathleen Included
- The Invasion Idea
- Problems with the Plan
What Happened After Plan Kathleen
- German Agent Arrives in Ireland
- Discussions and Disappointments
The Plan Is Discovered
The Kurt Student Plan 1941
- A New German Idea
- Details of Student's Plan
Other German Spy Operations in Ireland
See also

Why Plan Kathleen Was Made

IRA Leadership and German Connections

At the time Plan Kathleen was created, the main leader of the IRA, Seán Russell, was away in the United States. He was working on a secret plan to get help from Germany. Because Russell was away, Stephen Hayes became the acting leader of the IRA in Ireland.

Hayes wanted to end the division of Ireland and unite the island. So, he approved the creation of an invasion plan. An IRA volunteer named Liam Gaynor wrote this plan in early 1940.

Sending the Plan to Germany

Hayes decided to send the plan to Nazi Germany. He had two main reasons for this. First, he wanted Germany to help the IRA with their operations in Ireland. Second, he wanted to restart the IRA's connection with German intelligence, known as the Abwehr. He hoped to get weapons and money from them.

A businessman from Dublin, Stephen Carroll Held, was chosen to take the plan to Germany. He arrived in Germany on April 20, 1940. He met with German intelligence officers. They found the plan he brought to be very basic and not well thought out. They were also a bit suspicious of Held because he seemed nervous.

Held's job was to deliver the plan and an invitation from Hayes for a German officer to come to Ireland. He returned to Ireland two days later.

What Plan Kathleen Included

Plan Kathleen suggested an invasion through Lough Foyle to the city of Derry.

The Invasion Idea

According to Hermann Görtz, a German agent, Plan Kathleen included a map. This map showed an idea for German forces to land near Derry in Northern Ireland. This would be a water-based attack, similar to a famous battle in Norway called Narvik. The main goal was to conquer Northern Ireland. This would happen with a German landing and a simultaneous uprising by the IRA.

The plan suggested that IRA fighters would gather in County Leitrim. This area is on the border facing Lough Erne and Upper Lough Erne. They would wait there for the German forces to arrive in Northern Ireland.

Problems with the Plan

However, the IRA's plan didn't explain how German troops would get to Derry. It didn't say how they would control the sea around Northern Ireland. It also didn't consider how Northern Ireland's coast was defended. Görtz later said the plan was "completely useless." He was very disappointed because it came from the IRA's leader.

Another description of the plan mentioned that it hoped to stop the British Royal Air Force (RAF) from using Lough Erne. The plan also called for 50,000 German troops to be involved.

Most people agreed that the plan was poorly made. German intelligence didn't take it very seriously. However, they saw it as a sign that the IRA was willing to help them. It's not clear if any serious planning was done based on Kathleen. But the idea might have been expanded later. This expanded idea included German paratroopers landing near Divis Mountain and Lisburn. This would happen along with a water-based attack on Lough Swilly and Magilligan Point.

What Happened After Plan Kathleen

German Agent Arrives in Ireland

Plan Kathleen was sent to Germany in April 1940. About two weeks later, Hermann Görtz parachuted into Ireland on May 5 as part of Operation Mainau. Before he left Germany, Görtz was told to contact the IRA. He needed to find out how strong the IRA was and if Plan Kathleen could actually work.

Görtz did meet with Stephen Hayes in Ireland to discuss the plan and the IRA's strength. Their discussions began on May 17 at Stephen Held's home. Hayes told Görtz that the IRA had about 5,000 members. He also believed they could get 10,000 more in Northern Ireland and 15,000 more in Southern Ireland if there was a revolt.

However, Görtz was disappointed with Hayes. He had expected a stronger leader. Görtz felt Hayes was not suitable to lead a nationalist group.

Discussions and Disappointments

Görtz claimed he told Hayes to stop IRA actions in Southern Ireland. Instead, he wanted them to focus only on Northern Ireland. Hayes reportedly agreed to this.

Görtz also said they discussed Plan Kathleen. He didn't tell Hayes that he thought the plan was useless. Instead, he used the discussion to learn more about the IRA's real strength. Görtz told Hayes that Germany needed more military information about Northern Ireland before the plan could be carried out. Hayes then admitted that the IRA didn't have enough weapons for any major action.

Görtz realized the IRA's military value was very low. He told Hayes that delivering weapons by sea to Northern Ireland or Southern Ireland was almost impossible. He suggested that only small amounts could be delivered on the open sea. Hayes liked this idea, but Görtz immediately regretted mentioning it. This led to the IRA having wild and unrealistic ideas about using islands for submarine refueling or bogs as airfields.

Görtz later said that nothing was achieved in Northern Ireland by the IRA. Also, the order to stop activities in Southern Ireland was not fully followed.

The Plan Is Discovered

On May 22, 1940, Stephen Held's house was searched by the police. They found equipment that Görtz had brought to Ireland, including his parachute. Most importantly, they found Plan Kathleen. The police waited for Held to arrive and arrested him.

In Görtz's room, they also found a typewriter and a file. This file contained military details about Irish harbors, airfields, bridges, roads, and where Irish defense forces were located.

With Plan Kathleen discovered, the Irish authorities immediately sent it to British intelligence (MI5) in London. MI5 then sent it to the police in Northern Ireland. The details of Plan Kathleen became a key part of a joint Irish and British defense plan called Plan W. This plan was developed the following year to prepare for a possible German invasion.

The Kurt Student Plan 1941

A New German Idea

Plan Kathleen, or a similar idea to take over Northern Ireland, came up again in Germany in January 1941. General Kurt Student, a German air force commander, met with Adolf Hitler. Student discussed a plan to take over Northern Ireland. He suggested that Southern Ireland (Éire) would be left alone and not occupied by German troops.

These discussions happened at Hitler's mountain home, the Obersalzberg. At this time, Hitler was still thinking about invading Britain. Student suggested a diversionary attack on Northern Ireland using paratroopers. This would happen at the same time as German landings on the south coast of England. Student also suggested dropping fake paratroopers to confuse the enemy.

Hitler stated that Éire's neutrality must be respected. He believed a neutral Ireland was more valuable than a hostile one. However, he also said that German units might accidentally land in Ireland.

Details of Student's Plan

Student suggested April as the best time for the operation. He thought April 25, the anniversary of the Easter 1916 Rising, would be a good date. His plan was to drop 20,000 paratroopers and 12,000 airborne troops at night in two areas of Northern Ireland.

The larger group would land between Lough Neagh and Divis Mountain near Belfast. They would capture RAF airfields like Aldergrove, Langford Lodge, and Nutts Corner. At the same time, a second group of paratroopers would land near Lisburn. Their job was to destroy planes at Long Kesh airfield and cut road and rail links between Belfast and the south. Student's fake paratroopers would be dropped over the Mourne and Sperrin Mountains to add to the confusion. By morning, German fighter planes would fly in from France and land on the captured airfields.

After World War II, Student claimed he thought the first part of his operation would have been successful. But if the landings in Britain went badly, he and his men would have tried to reach Southern Ireland. There, they would have asked to be held as prisoners of war rather than be captured by the British Army. However, Student didn't know that Dublin and London were working together on Plan W. Any German invasion would likely have led to a British invasion of Ireland.

Hitler never made a decision on Student's plan. The next day, Student was told by Hermann Göring, a top Nazi leader: "Do not worry about Ulster [Northern Ireland]. The Führer does not want to invade Great Britain. From now on Gibraltar will be your main task." This meant the focus shifted away from Ireland.