Isandlwana Anniversary January Isandlwana – Rorke’s Drift – Blood River Battlefields
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Uploaded on Jan 1, 2012Â The Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Eleven days after the British commenced their invasion of Zululand in South Africa, a Zulu force of some 20,000 warriors attacked a portion of the British main column consisting of about 1,800 British, colonial and native troops and perhaps 400 civilians.Â
Duration:
Day Trip / 1 Night, 2 Days / 2 Nights, 3 Days
Day Trip / 1 Night, 2 Days / 2 Nights, 3 Days
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The region boasts the largest concentration of battlefields in South Africa, drawing visitors from all over the world. It is here that military engagements that were to shape the course of South Africa and world history, and rock the pedestal of the British Empire raged over thorny hills and sweeping grasslands.
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The first war involved the continuing clash between the Voortrekkers and the Zulu nation during the period 1836-1852.Thereafter the Zulu nation was in conflict with British forces in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. The first battle of the war was at Isandlwana, when the 1500 strong British invading force was routed by Zulu impis. On the same day, the Zulus attacked Rorke’s Drift, a small Swedish mission station used by the British army as a magazine and hospital. It was here that for 12 hours the “Heroic Hundred” repelled a force of 4000 Zulus, losing 17 men and winning 11 Victoria Crosses – the most ever awarded for a single military engagement. The war was typical of the British army’s attitude in the Victorian era, in that it was a campaign waged not only against a courageous and forceful enemy, but also against distance and natural obstacles. Despite considerable experience in the field, the British generals underestimated the fighting ability of the Zulus, resulting in a series of disasters.
  Uploaded on Jan 1, 2012Â
The Zulu attack then developed in the traditional horns and chest of the buffalo, with the aim of encircling the British position. From Pulleine's vantage point in the camp, at first only the right horn and then the chest (centre) of the attack seemed to be developing. Pulleine sent out first one, then all six companies of the 24th Foot into an extended firing line, with the aim of meeting the Zulu attack head-on and checking it with firepower.
Durnford's men, upon meeting elements of the Zulu centre, had retreated to a donga, a dried-out watercourse, on the British right flank where they formed a defensive line.
The Rocket Battery under Durnford's command, which was not mounted and dropped behind the rest of the force, was isolated and overrun very early in the engagement. The two battalions of native troops were in Durnford's line; while all the officers and NCOs carried rifles, only one in 10 in the ranks was armed with a muzzle-loading musket with limited ammunition and many of them started to leave the battlefield at this point. Â
Durnford's men, upon meeting elements of the Zulu centre, had retreated to a donga, a dried-out watercourse, on the British right flank where they formed a defensive line.
The Rocket Battery under Durnford's command, which was not mounted and dropped behind the rest of the force, was isolated and overrun very early in the engagement. The two battalions of native troops were in Durnford's line; while all the officers and NCOs carried rifles, only one in 10 in the ranks was armed with a muzzle-loading musket with limited ammunition and many of them started to leave the battlefield at this point. Â
