History is full of mismatches where either side wins. Meanwhile, Chelmsford starts rebuilding his forces for a second offensive on Zululand. On 22 January 1879 a British force stationed next to a hill called Isandlwana found themselves opposed by some 20,000 Zulu warriors, well-versed in the art of war and under orders to show no mercy. The diplomat Wilfred Gilbert Thesiger, who served in Addis Ababa in 1916, was another son, and father of the author and explorer Wilfred Thesiger. Call us at (425) 485-6059. Debris was everywhere, including half-burned tents, bits of uniforms, smashed boxes and scattered personal effects. 8 was Hamilton-Brownes pride and joy; he considered them his best men, and with good reason. Benjamin Disraeli Lord Lytton, the Viceroy of India, was about to invade Afghanistan without reference to London. This required, among other things, the disbandment of the Zulu Army, and war was the inevitable result. Frere was told in no uncertain terms to treat the Zulu with a spirit of forbearance. But Frere was not about to let official disapproval stand in his way; his plans were too far advanced for that. Nonsense there was six battalions of the 24th five of the 1st & 1 of the second along with the carabiners and artillery and some light horse. Thank you Cuan Elgin for your insights and level headed comments. No excuses please, the better generals won. british colonial expansionism at its worse.to compare losses and results is pointless as it was always going to be a mismatch but the zulu certainly inflicted a bloody nose and some embarrassment to the british. It would be discovered ten days later further downstream and now hangs in Brecon Cathedral. 3, or center column, was a strong one, composed of some 4,700 men, of whom 1,852 were Europeans. But could the whole issue have not been decided over a couple of beers, for Gods sake? (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 2023 Current Publishing. The heat was so intense it was like a furnace and the commandants head was swimming. [1] He was the uncle of the actor Ernest Thesiger. The Zulus had outmanoeuvred Chelmsford and their victory at Isandlwana was complete and forced the main British force to retreat out of Zululand until a far larger British Army could be shipped to South . They were the Spartans of South Africa. BBC 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Anyone have any thoughts ?? It was one of the few serious breeches she and Disraeli had during their political relationship. They could hardly be expected to mount an adequate defense, much less an offensive, if the main impi of 20,000 or so showed up. They saw the bigger picture, since Great Britain was at the height of her power and had global responsibilities. 16 June 1879 Lord Chelmsford is made aware that he is to be replaced by Sir Garnet Wolseley within weeks. Tak Berkategori . Therefore, I am correct and do not need to wake up or stop day dreaming. Over the years European missionaries in Zululand had complained of Cetshwayos rule, generally denouncing him as a bloodthirsty tyrant who arbitrarily killed his victimized subjects. Death. The whole company was composed of disaffected Zulu, and their change of allegiance did nothing to lessen their fighting abilities. The British line was composed of regular redcoat companies interspersed with colonial and native units. The Zulu nation had to be brought under British control, and its army destroyed, before the supposed blessings of confederation could take effect. Nevertheless the uKhandempemvu and uMxhapo regiments, among others, were being decimated. 4th June 1879 Aware that Chelmsford is preparing a second invasion of Zululand, Cetshwayo sends envoys to discuss peace. Durnford, as we have seen, did not disobey orders. Hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and subscriber rewards. The companies were overextended, and some historians maintain there were gaps as wide as two hundred yards between some of them. A heavy fog blanketed the area, thick cottony tendrils that hung close to the ground and caused the troops to shiver. A dangerous mix of self-confidence and contempt for their foes infected many in the British Army during the Zulu War. Hall 1978 quotes the London Standard reporting 473 counted dead and another 1000 or more wounded. . From left to right there was Captain Younghusbands C Company, 1/24th; some native units; then Captain Mostyns F Company, 1/24th; Captain Cavayes A Company, 1/24th; and Lieutenant Porteouss E Company, 1/24th. But the redcoat companies were starting to run out of ammunition; they had begun the action with 70 rounds each, but the firing was so rapid that their white ammunition pouches were almost empty. Dartnell had perhaps 1,400 men, but the bulk of his troops were the ill-trained and thoroughly demoralized NNC. 7th March The first of the reinforcements from Britain arrive at Durban. Disraeli was protecting Chelmsford not because he believed him to be blameless for Isandlwana, but because he was under intense pressure to do so from the Queen. While undoubtedly brave, for the Zulus to make suicidal frontal assaults against entrenched, disciplined British troops, was unwise, and in defiance of their own kings orders. The British captured King Cetshwayo in August 1879, and the war, to all intents and purposes, was over. He didnt want war with the abeLungu , the white men, yet war was being forced upon him. In this episode, Dan gets to explore one of his favourite places in all the world - the SS Great Britain - including some areas that are normally off-limits. Only thereafter should the historian allow revisionist versions to add colour to the tapestry. And the responsibility for this lay with Queen Victoria herself. Half of this number were either native auxiliaries or European colonial troops; the other half were from British battalions. Suddenly a Zulu warrior emerged from a nearby tent, his hand gripping a bloodied spear. Zulu territory expanded, as did Zulu military prowess, and by 1877 the tribe could muster an impi of around 40,000 or so all told. A message was sent to Col. Anthony Durnford ordering him to take his No. Their officers and NCOs were white, the latter often from the dregs of society. Chelmsford'. But all notions of auspicious times were quickly forgotten when the Zulu caught sight of Raws patrol gazing down on them from the valley lip. Need I discuss foot binding? Their timing was perfect, and the case whistled harmlessly over their heads. The invasion came after Cetshwayo, the king of the Zulu Kingdom, did not reply to an unacceptable British ultimatum that demanded (among other things) he disband his 35,000-strong army. The troopers could not believe their eyes, because there, sheltering in the valley spread at their feet, was the main Zulu impi. Isandlwana was a charnel house, a place of slaughter where every living thing had been killed without mercy. Fighting in the Fog: Who Won the Battle of Barnet? If I could add my own impression of the Battle of Isandlwana and then Rourkes Drift, I would say that the British were over-confident, and unprepared for the Zulu onslaught and thus destroyed at the former, and heroically desperate at the latter. 11th February 1879 News of the defeat at Isandlwana reaches London and reinforcements are requested. The Zulu army was an undulating carpet of humanity, a black flood that spilled over the plateau and seemed to gain momentum with each minute. The culmination of Chelmsford's incompetence was a blood-soaked field littered with thousands of corpses. Because thats killed only, not wounded. Ralph emerges onto the beach and is discovered by a British Naval officer who has come ashore after seeing the burning island from his ship. Colonel Anthony Durnford took charge of No. Chelmsford said no doubt poor Col. Durnford had disobeyed orders, in leaving the camp as he did Ld. But Dalton, an ex-NCO, came from what was considered the wrong background, and was ignored for almost a year. Total casualties of the Zulu wars were 1727 British killed and well over 6000 Zulus. No. In the final pages of Lord of the Flies, Ralph runs through the jungle fleeing both Jack and his pack of savage boys and the fire Jack set on the mountain. Last word, however, should go to the Zulus, many of whom mentioned that the British infantry continued to shoot at them until the final stages of the battle. Absolute rubbish, Zulu sacred lands my ar*e! Having retreated almost all the way back to the camp, Durnford reached a deep donga a watercoursewhich was a ready-made trench in which to position his men. 29th March 1879 Chelmsford leads out the central column to relieve Eshowe. Horses, mules and oxen had been dispatched, and even pet dogs were not spared. Taliking shite mate, the English were by far the largest contingent in what was at the time an English regiment. Delegates assembled in Philadelphia to form the Second Continental Congress, and one of its first acts was to adopt the Boston army as the official fighting force of the . In any case the defense was spread thin, too thin, almost like a sheet of tissue paper. I was Google-alerted to this discourse by Mels mention of my name, above. When dawn broke the vultures would appear, ready to feast impartially on the dead of friend and foe alike. I believe you mean Scots as Scotch is a drink. His plans were sound, his preparations thorough, but he couldnt seem to shake the feelings of superiority that many Victorians felt when dealing with native peoples. On 22 January 1879, at Rorke's Drift on the Natal border with Zululand, in South Africa, a tiny British garrison of 140 men - many of them sick and wounded - fought for 12 hours to repel repeated attacks by up to 3,000 Zulu warriors. He was recently appointed Visiting Professor of History at the University of Hull. But that means, on average, every British soldier only killed one Zulu. We can argue all day about what is a planned Battle and what is a skirmish. Well researched! This page has been archived and is no longer updated. As Shepstones fragile territories were bordered by Zululand, he formally outlined how regular border incursions by the Zulus were effecting the stability of the region. His body was buried in Brompton Cemetery in London.[2]. To judge people of 200 years ago against modern values is disingenuous. The Center, or No. Chelmsford left Isandlwana about 4:30 am on January 22, confident he was going to make contact with the main impi and defeat it. They were basically marking time, waiting for an auspicious time to attack. By the afternoon of the 21st the two units had met not far from the Mangeni River. lots of bad clean wounds amongst the fatal hits, apparently the Martini Henry rifles jammed after repeated firing,and as many as 1000 zulus were mortally wounded and died after the battle. By the end of the day, hundreds of British redcoats lay dead on the slope of Isandlwana Cetshwayo having ordered his warriors to show them no mercy. In the 1820s a dynamic king, Shaka kaSenzangakhona, put the Zulus on the road to greatness and power. Hamilton-Browne led his NNC men forward, but the going was rough owing to boulders strewn over the ground. The defeat of the Zulus at Ulundi allowed Chelmsford to partially recover his military prestige after the disaster at Isandlwana, and he was honoured as a Knight Grand Cross of Bath. In Battles of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift the British commander in chief, Lord Chelmsford, crossed the Buffao (Mzinyathi) River at Rorke's Drift, where it established a depot, and moved cautiously eastward into the Zulu kingdom. Both were posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for their actions and their heroic tale reached mythic proportions back home, resulting in it being relayed in various paintings and artwork. Cinema Specialist . 3 column, felt the camp was very extended and vulnerable. Find out more about how the BBC is covering the. What Was the Prelude to the Battle of Isandlwana? The military and the political are inseparable because one comes after the other in any order. Meanwhile Lord Chelmsford was urgently burying all the evidence that could be used against him. The Rorke's Drift Men Author: James W Bancroft Publisher: The History Press ISBN: 0750980605 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 224 Get Book. And behind that imagined threat was the looming specter of a general native uprising against the white population. 2nd April 1879 Chelmsfords force, marching to relieve Eshow, are attacked at Gingindlovu. Defeat at Isandlwana. Thesiger's great-uncle Sir Frederick Thesiger was aide-de-camp to Lord Nelson at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. The little known Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896 is generally considered to be the shortest war in history, lasting for a grand total of 38 minutes. An officer on Hamilton-Brownes staff, Captain Duncombe, replied, By orders of the Great White Queen. The exchange was the nearest the Zulu would ever get to a formal declaration of war. 5 column. The last chance to save the camp had been thrown away. 2 Who was Lord Chelmsford in India? An hour later, as the hard-pressed British defenders fought for their lives, a portion of Chelmsford's force at Mangeni Falls received word that the camp was in danger of being overrun. Can I recommend to Phil and anyone else, BritishMuzzleloaders series on Isandlwana on youtube. He propagated the myth that a shortage of ammunition led to defeat at Isandlwana. Ulundi was about 70 miles from the border, over primitive tracks that could well be inundated by rain. Book Description Through the night of 22/23 January 1879, a small garrison of British soldiers behind a makeshift barricade of bags and boxes successfully defended the storehouse and field hospital at Rorke's Drift, against an army of Zulu . He ensured that potential witnesses to his errors were unable to speak out. 4 was to invade Zululand from the Ncome River. Hamilton-Brownes memoirs are filled with contemptuous references to the natives under him, and at one point he even labels them these cowards. Yet how could their morale not be low? Commandant George Hamilton-Browne of the 1/3rd NNC went to his tent, only to find his servant dead, his two spare horses slaughteredthey were still tethered to a picket lineand his dog pinned to the ground by a Zulu spear. The mutilation was the Zulu way of releasing an enemys spirit. But at 4am on 22 January, Chelmsford made the first of a series of blunders by taking two-thirds of his force off to pursue what he believed was the main Zulu army. 2 columnup to this point assigned a passive defensive roleand move up to the camp at Isandlwana. At most there would have been approx 400 native troops. The only truly indigenous inhabitants of present-day South Africa, were the Khoi and San; today mainly extinct, or at most, represented by the mixed-race, so-called Coloureds. Any member of the Isandlwana garrison, white or black, who had an opportunity to at least try to escape, did so. Boy was a rank in the British Army at the time, applied to lads not yet 18, many of whom were the sons of men serving in the regiment. 'If I am called . In that time, the British force, reliant on ponderous ox-drawn transport and a poor excuse for a wagon road, has covered only 12 of the 85 miles to King Cetshwayo's capital at Ulundi. whos values European values? Three crewmen survived, though wounded. Moving slowly, Centre Column reached Isandlwana Hill on January 20, 1879. The Martini-Henry (MH in some accounts) was a single-shot breechloader that fired a heavy .450 bullet. It was a land grab. And the notion that some revolution might topple Cetshwayo from his throne was also to prove illusory. The war began on 11 January 1879, when the 5,000-strong main British column invaded Zululand at Rorke's Drift. Dartnell had encountered perhaps 1,500 Zulu. The Victorians were empire builders in a long line of empires stretching back over 7000 years of history. The Boers in South Africa before the Zulus???? Although they had a range of 1,200 yards, they were clumsy and inaccurate weapons. Their discovery prevented the camp from being taken by complete surprise. Hamilton-Browne conceded that while the white troops were cold, the nearly naked natives were blue and had chattering teeth. Natal Volunteer Cavalry were the first to cross, plunging into the cold waters supported by Royal Artillery guns on the Natal side. The Zulu were very observant, even in the heat of battle, and noticed that just before the blue-coated artillerymen fired they stood back from their pieces. 22nd January 1879 The right column, led by Colonel Charles Pearson, engages 6,000 Zulu troops near to the Inyzane River. Back at Ulundi, King Cetshwayo had been both baffled and alarmed by the British ultimatum. In taking over the Transvaal, Britain also inherited a long-standing, festering border dispute between the Boers and the Zulu. Sihayos homestead was set in a gorge, precipitous hills rising all around. The zulu people was great warriors. It was around 8 oclock when the British approached their stricken camp, and night had fallen. At 8 am a cavalry vedette rode in with some surprising intelligence: A force of Zulu was spotted approaching the plateau moving northeast. Encouraged by the pickly line of bayonets to their rear, the NNC timidly advanced. The number hit by bullets is probably more than double the killed. Re-enactment of the Battle of Isandlwana The women sit on one side of the hut and the men on the other. Lord Chelmsford, c.1870 The war began on 11 January 1879, when the 5,000-strong main British column invaded Zululand at Rorke's Drift. Durnford placed his men on the lip of the donga, and soon his entire command was blazing away. After centuries of being attacked the British Empire grew to be the greatest the planet has ever seen. Martini-Henry rifles flamed, and with each crashing volley scores of Zulu fell dead and wounded. The battle lasted 4 hours, and for most of that time the British Firing Line held the Zulus at bay. One story that circulated widely in the horrific aftermath of the battle was that Lord Chelmsford's men, returning to the devastated camp on the night of the 22nd, had seen 'young drummer boys' of the 24th Regiment hung up on a butcher's scaffold and 'gutted like sheep'. Wagons in laager would be stationary and therefore useless. Overall, I tend to side with the Zulus. The African tribal troops of his own NNC were notoriously inept at handling rifles, and someone's gun had gone off by mistake. Sihayo kaXongo, a Zulu border chief, had the misfortune of having adulterous wives, and his domestic difficulties provided Frere with an excuse for war. A British expeditionary force under the command of Chelmsford invaded the Zulu Kingdom, heading in three columns towards the Zulu capital, Ulundi. Alerted as to when a gun was about to fire, the Zulu would cry uMoya! (air!) and fling themselves lengthwise on the grassy ground. [10], Lord Chelmsford became lieutenant general in 1882, Lieutenant of the Tower of London (1884 until 1889), colonel of the 4th (West London) Rifle Volunteer Corps (1887), full general (1888), and colonel of the Derbyshire Regiment (1889). Knowing that London did not want a war with the Zulus (they were too preoccupied with troubles in India and Eastern Europe), Frere turned to the new British governor of Natal and the Transvaal, Sir Theophilus Shepstone, for reasons to invade. what happened to lord chelmsford after isandlwana. So what if there is a mismatch? Standing upright amid the rain of bullets, he shouted The Little Branches of Leaves That Extinguished the Great Fire (an honorific title of Cetshwayos) did not order you to do this!. Savages Emma!! Having learnt the lesson of Isandlwana, Lord Chelmsford's relief force of 5,500 men easily defeats 12,000 Zulus who fail to get within 30 yards of its heavily fortified wagon laager in southern Zululand. didnt look at native blacks with contempt. The British had taken South Africa in 1806; it had little intrinsic value at the time, but was considered an important port for the route to India. We will send you the latest TV programmes, podcast episodes and articles, as well as exclusive offers from our shop and carefully selected partners. At the Battle of Isandlwana Chelmsfords column is defeated and he retreats out of Zulu territory. All avoided the sailors sharp blade until a warrior crawled under the wagon and stabbed him from behind. His impis would drive the invaders from Zululand, but under no circumstances would they cross into Natal. Judging from the reports filtering in, it was clear that at least some Zulu were in the northeast, and it was possible they were planning to fall on Chelmsfords rear.