The Isandhlwana Encampment
The British force, under the Command of Lord Chelmsford, had crossed the Buffalo River at Rorkes Drift on the 11th of January, and encamped below a distinctive boot-shaped rocky hill known to the Zulus as Isandhlwana.
Uncertain of the whereabouts of the Zulu army, Chelmsford departed with roughly 2,500 men to search for it, leaving behind a mixed force of 950 Europeans and 850 natives with 100 ox-wagons and 2 field guns under the command of Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Henry Pulleine.
An order had been dispatched in the early hours of the 22nd to Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Durnford at Rorkes Drift, instructing him to bring his force up to Isandhlwana. Durnford arrived just after 10 am.
The Battle of Isandhlwana
It was at roughly 11am that troopers of a scouting force on the nearby Nqutu plateau spotted a group of Zulus herding cattle up a ridge some distance off. They gave chase and one of the troopers was forced to rein his horse in at the crest. He beheld in a ravine below him the entire assembled might of Zululand - 20-25,000 warriors.
The Zulus had been resting - it was bad luck to battle on the day of a ’dead moon’. Now that their position had been discovered, they had no choice but to attack.
The British were stood to arms, arrayed in lines some distance out from the encampment, with gaps of 2-300 yards separating each company. Their perimeter was stretched perilously wide.
Durnford, out on the plain, received word of the advancing Zulus and began an orderly retreat back to camp, halting at a donga (dry riverbed) to make a stand. It was at this point that a Rocket Troop under the command of one Major Russell was overwhelmed by the left horn of the Zulu army.
Upon reaching the plain, the Zulu army, under the command of senior Indunas (regimental commanders) namely Dabulamanzi, Mavumengwana and Tshingwayo, began it’s classic ’Bulls Horns’ envelopment. The 'horns', composed of young Impis (regiments) would race around each flank, encircling the enemy, whilst the ’chest’, comprised of older veterans, held the centre.
Disciplined volleys of Martini-Henry rifle fire hammered into the encircling Zulus, who crouched low and crept forward during the intervals, emitting a deep sonorous hum likened to the swarming of angry bees.
It was now apparent to Pulleine that he was taking on the entire Zulu army. Despite this, morale was high. However, the volleys became less effective as ammunition began to dwindle, and the rifles began to jam as the barrels heated up.
Drummer boys were dispatched to the ammunition wagons to collect fresh cartridges but dogmatic quartermasters refused to distribute ammunition to those not assigned to collect from their wagons. Legend relates a shortage of the screwdrivers required to open the heavy ammunition boxes but modern research has revealed that the boxes could be easily broken open with a rifle-butt or rock.
Noticing the slackening of fire, the Zulus sprang to their feet and charged, screaming ’Usuthu!’ (the name of the Zulu Royal House).
Within twenty minutes, the entire perimeter was obliterated, the redcoats falling beneath the long-bladed iklwa (stabbing spears) of the Zulus.
The battle then surged into the camp: isolated pockets of resistance were gradually wiped out. Hundreds of Native and Imperial troops died as they streamed back toward the Buffalo River.
By 4 pm, it was all over. Every living thing in the camp - soldiers and animals alike - had been killed. In accordance with Zulu tradition, the dead bodies of their foes were stripped and disembowelled - to free the warriors spirit, lest it haunt the man who had killed him.
Some 55 Europeans and 300 native troops survived the battle. Zulu casualties were never counted but it is estimated that 2,000 were killed in the battle, with many more wounded.
The Washing of the Spears (The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Nation)
Donald R. Morris
Pimlico Edition, 1994
Great Zulu Battles 1838 - 1906
Ian Knight
Weidenfeld and Nicolson: New Ed edition 1 June 2000.
