Battle of Isandlwana
History — Military history — List of battles | |||||||||||||||||
| Battle of Isandlwana | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conflict | Zulu War | ||||||||||||||||
| Date | January 22, 1879 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place | Isandlwana, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||
| Result | Pyrrhic Zulu victory | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
The Battle of Isandlwana was a battle in the Zulu War in which a British army was routed by a Zulu army. It was fought on January 22, 1879. The British were commanded by Frederick Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford.
Overview
During the Anglo-Zulu War an ultimatum was presented on December 11th, 1878 to the Zulu king Cetshwayo, which expired. This caused a state of war to exist, and 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.
Camp was pitched at Isandlwana, but because of the size of the force (precluding a laager - circling the wagons), the hard ground and lack of entrenching tools it was not well reinforced. They considered that their superior weaponry and force of numbers would provide defence if necessary. Lookout points did not have full field of view. Reconnaisance parties were sent out, and there were skirmishes and though some Zulus were found, and cattle confiscated, the full extent of the Zulu impis was not discovered. Lieutenant Coghill fell from his horse and wrenched his knee in an attempt to catch a fowl but was able to remain with the column.
The army consisted of mounted regiments, infantry, and the Natal Native Contingent - local africans recruited into the British army. There were support columns - oxen pulling wagon trains - that needed prepared roads in order to progress. Much time and delay was over these wagon trains, while reconnaissance patrols cast about.
Chelmsford divided his army and set out to find the Zulus. He left the 1st battalion of the 24th regiment behind to guard the camp, under the command of Colonel Anthony Durnford.
The fight
While Chelmsford was out, the British camp was attacked by the entire Zulu army. The 1,400 under Durnford's command 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 [1] are of the opinion that Durnford retreated, and the fleet-footed Zulu took advantage. Either way, the Natal Native Contingent broke, and led the flight to Fugitive's Drift. 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, and after seeing nothing amiss he apparently discounted both reports. He returned on the night of January 22nd, and his troops were forced to bivouac amongst the dead of that days battle, and could hear the sounds of battle at Rorke's Drift.
Results
Though technically a victory for the Zulu forces, it was the very definition of a Pyrrhic victory. The Zulus lost around three thousand, plus a comparable number wounded. This amounted to the death of 10% of all Zulu males, young or old, wedded or unwed. Such losses are clearly catastrophic. Cetshwayo, king of the Zulu nation, 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. Cetawayo, his generals, and his people now had to comtemplate 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 from a frontier section gutted the entire Zulu population.