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| Battle of Isandlwana | |||||||||||||||||
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| Conflict | Zulu War | ||||||||||||||||
| Date | January 22, 1879 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place | Isandlwana, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||
| Result | Pyrrhic Zulu victory | ||||||||||||||||
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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.
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 PietermaritzburgPietermaritzburg is the capital of KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa, and before the end of Apartheid in 1994 it was the capital of Natal Province. Popularly called Maritzburg, it was founded by the Boers in 1838. Pietermaritzburg is also home to a c 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.
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.