Battle before: Zulu Civil War
Battle after: Rorke's Drift

Battle of Isandlwana
Conflict	Zulu War
Date	January 22, 1879
Place	Isandlwana, South Africa
Result	Pyrrhic Zulu victory
Combatants Britain Zulu Nation Commanders Lord Chelmsford Ntshingwayo Khoza Strength 1,400 men 22,000 men Casualties 52 officers, 1277 enlisted men 3,000 men

The Battle of Isandlwana was a battle in the Zulu War in which a Zulu army wiped out a British force on January 22, 1879. The British were commanded by Frederick Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford.

Contents

1 Overview 2 The fight 3 Results 4 External links

Overview

The British presented an ultimatum on December 11th, 1878 to the Zulu king Cetshwayo. Cetshwayo did not accede, which led the British to declare the existence of a state of war. Chelmsford moved his troops from where they were stationed in Pietermaritzburg to a forward camp at Helpmekaar, past Greytown. On January 9th, 1879 they moved to Rorke's Drift, and early on January 11th commenced crossing the Buffalo River into Zululand.

The British pitched camp at Isandlwana, but because of the size of the force (precluding a laager - circling the wagons), the hard ground, and lack of entrenching tools, did not fortify the camp. The British relied instead on their superior weapons and organization. Though the British posted lookout pickets, these did not have a full field of view so the British sent out reconnaissance parties as well. Although these parties skirmished with some Zulus and confiscated cattle, they did not discover the full magnitude of the Zulu force, which consisted of numerous impis (regiments).

The British army consisted of mounted regiments, infantry, and the Natal Native Contingent - local African auxiliaries. The support columns - oxen pulling wagon trains that needed prepared roads in order to progress - caused much delay.

Once he had established the camp at Isandlwana Chelmsford divided his army and set out to find the Zulus. He left the 1st battalion of the 24th Regiment, the South Wales Borderers, behind to guard the camp, under the command of Colonel Anthony Durnford.

The fight

While Chelmsford was in the field seeking them, the entire Zulu army attacked the British camp. Durnford's 1,400 soldiers fought bravely, but were totally overwhelmed. Approximately 60 British regulars escaped. Because the Zulus took no prisoners, all the rest were killed, including Durnford himself.

The traditional view [1] is that the British had difficulty unpacking their ammunition fast enough, causing a lull in the defence and a subsequent rout. Modern researchers [2] are of the opinion that Durnford retreated, and that the fleet-footed Zulu took advantage. Other recent research indicates that the British skirmish line was too long; instead of standing shoulder to shoulder, the British soldiers were separated from each other by few metres.

Either way, the Natal Native Contingent broke, and led the flight to Fugitive's Drift. After the battle, the Zulus, as was their tradition, ripped open the dead bodies of their casualties and the enemies to free the spirits.

Chelmsford had two indications that the camp was being attacked, but due to the hilly terrain had a poor view of the theatre of action. Unable to see anything amiss he apparently discounted both reports. He returned on the night of January 22nd, and his troops were forced to bivouac amongst the battle dead. The troops also could hear the sounds of battle at Rorke's Drift.

Results

Isandlwana was a Pyrrhic victory for the Zulus. The Zulus lost around three thousand men, plus a comparable number of wounded. This amounted to the death of 10% of all Zulu males, young or old, wedded or unwed. Such losses are clearly catastrophic. King Cetshwayo likened the battle to a spear-thrust to the belly of the Zulu people. From a morale perspective, this was made even worse by the victory of a small handful of British over hundreds or thousands of Zulus at Rorke's Drift. Cetshwayo, his generals, and his people now had to contemplate the coming war with an Empire so vast and powerful that a single company held up thousands of enemy troops, and that defeating the weakest third of a single army had gutted the entire Zulu population.

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A film version of this battle is Zulu Dawn.

External links

• The South African Military History Society Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift
• Personal account of the battle
• Zulunet description of the battle
• List of British officers killed during the Zulu war
• Military History Online