The Battle of Isandhlwana

The Battle of Isandhlwana by Charles Edwin Fripp

The Skinny:
Who- 1,700 British and Colonial troops versus 15,000 Zulu Warriors.
What-  A technologically superior British army invading Zululand in present day South Africa.
Where- The British encampment under the Isandhlwana rock formation in Zululand.
When- January 22nd, 1879.
Why- Britain sought capitulation and submission of the war-like Zulu. 
Outcome-  Complete annihilation of the 24th British regiment and Decisive Zulu Victory.

Background:
On December 11th, 1878, The British High Commissioner of Southern Africa, Sir Bartle Frere sent an ultimatum to the Zulu King Cetshwayo.  The terms of the ultimatum were written to be found unacceptable and to provoke a war with the Zulus.  It did.  Interestingly, Frere acted on his own initiate, without orders of the British government, and his actions surprised both Cetshwayo and the British Colonial Secretary in London.
It would also be important to mention the weaponry that was available to the combatants.  The average British soldier was equiped with a semi-automatic Martini-Henry rifle, while the Zulu warrior only had a leather shield and assegai, (a short stabbing spear).

The British and Zulu territory in December 1878  

Prologue to Battle:

British: The army commander, Lord Chelmsford, hoped to defeat the Zulu army in the field and then proceed to burn the Zulu capital to the ground.  He divided his army into three columns and began crossing the Buffalo river into Zulu territory on the 11th of January.  His right column remained near the Buffalo river at Rorke's Drift.  His center column camped under the Isandhlwana rock formation, and Chelmsford himself was with the left column on the day of the Battle.  On the 22nd Chelmsford had sent out scouts looking for the Zulu army with no success, however at midday the Zulus were spotted in a different and more threatening location than they were expected to be.  When the Zulus saw the English scouts, the attack begun.

Lord Chelmsford

Zulu: The Zulu intended to use the same tactics Shaka Zulu (1787-1828) had developed against his enemies over 50 years ago.  The Tactic is best described as a Buffalo head with a main body of soldiers in the middle or "head" who tied down the enemy force, while the left and right flanks or "horns" encircled the enemy.  On the 22nd, when the Zulu army or "Main Impi" was discovered, they were resting.  The Zulu commanders had not intended to attack until the next day, but when they were discovered by the colonial scouts, they went into battle.  Often Zulu warriors went into battle after eating hallucinogenic mushrooms to feel invulnerable and bullet proof.  However this was not the case at Isandhlwana as the Zulu army was resting only momentarily before the battle began.



Zulu Buffalo Horn Formation as developed by Shaka

The Battle:
The British deployment played right into the hands of the Zulu Buffalo formation.  When the Zulu center attacked the British line they were repulsed time and again.  However as the British were holding their own against the Zulu center, the Zulu right "horn" was going around behind the British camp, and more importantly the Zulu left "horn" was threatening to turn the entire British flank.  However the British still may have achieved victory if they didn't start to face ammunition shortages.  Past historians have often blamed strict quartermasters who only wanted to give ammunition to their own battalions and not to the men who needed it, however recent discoveries have shed new light on the battle.  Archaeologists have discovered many unfired bullets and it has been determined that many English bullets were damaged by their own men.  To open a cartridge box it was common for soldiers to hit the container with the butt of their rifle.  However it appears that at Isandhlwana the boxes were defective and that the impact from the rifles damaged many of the bullets.  Therefore when a soldier would go to fire his gun would jam and the Zulu warriors would be allowed more time to run up and stab the British soldier with his Assegai.
Eventually the Zulu left "horn" was able to break through and complete the envelopment of the British force.  At this point the British fought with bayonets and many small groups made last stands as no quarter was given to British combatants.  In a last act of defiance two British soldiers attempted to take the flag back to one of the other British army columns, but died in vain.  By the end of the battle over 1,300 British and colonial troops were dead to an estimated 2,000 Zulu deaths.

 Map of the Battle, note how the Zulu left "horn" is turning the flank of the British right

Aftermath:

Though the British were repulsed from Zululand after Isandhlwana, they suffered a tactical defeat the next day at Rorke's Drift .  Also Chelmsford returned later in the year with reinforcements and the Zulu were humiliated at the Battle of Ulundi on July 4.  After Ulundi, Cetshwayo was captured and the Zulu became a client state of the British Empire.  However, today over 10,000,000 Zulus reside in South Africa and remain the most numerous ethnic group in the country.

Present day Isandhlwana

Still Interested?

Two films document the Anglo-Zulu war. The first, made in 1964 is "Zulu" starring Michael Caine and detailing the defense of Rorke's Drift.  The second, made in 1979, is "Zulu Dawn" starring Peter O'Toole and Burt Lancaster is a prequel which covers the Battle of Isandhlwana. 

The trailer for "Zulu"

Sources:

Barthorp, Michael. The Zulu War. Dorset: Blanford, 1984. Print.