The battle of Isandlwana fought on 22 January 1879 was the greatest defeat suffered by the British Army during the Victorian era. On 20 January 1879 the Centre Column of the British invasion force under the British Commander in Chief Lord Chelmsford, reached a distinctive, rocky outcrop known as Isandlwana. Chelmsford's spies suggested that a Zulu army was on its way to attack him and he was concerned about a range of hills to his right front. On 21 January he sent a strong force of auxiliaries into the hills to scout them ...
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The battle of Isandlwana fought on 22 January 1879 was the greatest defeat suffered by the British Army during the Victorian era. On 20 January 1879 the Centre Column of the British invasion force under the British Commander in Chief Lord Chelmsford, reached a distinctive, rocky outcrop known as Isandlwana. Chelmsford's spies suggested that a Zulu army was on its way to attack him and he was concerned about a range of hills to his right front. On 21 January he sent a strong force of auxiliaries into the hills to scout them and at dusk on the same day they encountered a Zulu force at Mangeni 12 miles away. In the poor light they could not establish the size or intentions of this force. When news of the encounter reached Chelmsford he decided to take part of his force to attack the Zulus and marched out at about 3.00am leaving some 1700 white and native troops at the camp. Chelmsford was chasing shadows, however - the main Zulu army of 24,000 men had moved across his front (it was stragglers from this movement the scouts had encountered) and was marching to attack Isandlwana. From the start the British in the camp underestimated the danger that was descending upon them. The British line was eventually outflanked and the finals stage of the battle consisted of desperate hand-to-hand fighting amid the British camp, played out against the backdrop of a solar eclipse. Of the 1700 men in the camp over 1300 were killed; scarcely 60 Europeans survived. At least 1000 Zulus were killed outright and hundreds more mortally wounded. This title employs new research - including the archaeological survey of the battlefield carried out in 2000 - to describe the battle in greater detail and provide a newinterpretation of the course of the action.
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Add this copy of Isandlwana 1879: the Great Zulu Victory (Praeger to cart. $57.54, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Praeger Pub Text.
Add this copy of Isandlwana 1879: the Great Zulu Victory (Praeger to cart. $65.79, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Praeger Pub Text.
In 1879, the Battle Of Isandlwana produced the worst defeat ever inflicted upon a modern, well-equipped army by a tribal people. Though the British Government in London wished to avoid war with the Zulus, manipulative politicians and military men in the South African colonies adjoining Zululand had other ideas. They aimed to provoke a crisis, invade the country of their peaceful black neighbours and conquer before the news reached Britain.
Expecting quick and easy victory, the British commander Lord Chelmsford completely under-estimated the resourcefulness and fighting spirit of his opponents. He split his forces, rode off to seek out the Zulus and returned to find that the 1,800 soldiers and auxillaries who'd remained encamped at Isandlwana were dead or scattered (only 40 Europeans survived the massacre...all of them were mounted).
How the Zulus achieved this staggering victory is explained in Ian Knight's definitive account of the battle. He explodes long-held myths and describes terrain, tactics and weapons in clear, untechnical English. The illustrations are numerous and well-chosen; readers interested in uniforms, combat equipment and the details of 19th Century Army life will be fascinated by them; rarely-seen photographic images of the British and Zulu leaders and their fighting men are a real bonus. The locations and landmarks associated with the battle are shown from many viewpoints, there are also unique aerial maps. Each stage of the events or movement of forces is graphically depicted too.
This is not a long, dry history - it is a concise, vividly-told and lavishly-illustrated essay which manages to answer just about every question about the road to Isandlwana, the battle and its consequences. I rate it as an essential purchase for anybody who wishes to study the Anglo-Zulu War.
