Unexpectedly
employing diversionary tactics, an estimated 15000 Zulu
warriors surprised and successfully split the British
force at Isandlwana, near Nqutu, and in a two-hour
engagement killed all but 85 of the 1 500-strong
invading troop. Losses were heavy on both sides - the
Zulus lost over 1000 men of a total of
20 000.
The Queen's
Colour was finally lost a short distance away from the
Buffalo River, a place which became known as Fugitives
Drift, but only after a valiant attempts by Lieutenants
Coghill and Melville, subsequently immortalised for
their bravery. It is at this lonely spot that the two
fallen soldiers lie buried.
This battle
is remembered for all the errors made on the part of the
British, leading to their defeat and demise.
Whereas
it is popularly believed that the Zulus were never
intending to attack on the 22 January 1879 because it
was the day of the ‘dead moon’, a partial eclipse of the
sun, Paul Naish disputes this widely held misconception.
He asserts that the Zulus successfully duped the British
into splitting their concentrated forces at Isandlwana
on the morning of the 22nd. On the night of the 21st,
several hundred Zulus confronted Major Dartnell's
reconnaissance force above the Mangeni Valley.
Rorke's Drift
Two survivors of Isandlwana managed to reach Rorke's
Drift, a Swedish mission station, used by the British as
a magazine and field hospital. An immediate start was
made on preparing for defence, and bags of maize and
biscuit boxes were built up into a defensive breastwork
between the hospital and storehouse.
Within
hours and a mere 15 kilometres due west of Isandlwana,
some 4 000 Zulu attacked the station, but despite huge
odds, it was here that the 'Heroic Hundred' earned 11
Victoria Crosses - the most ever awarded for a single
engagement - while holding the impi at bay for 12 hours.
When the Zulu
finally retreated they left behind 500 dead - to the 17
British fatalities of a total of 139, of which 35 were
hospital patients.
Unexpectedly
employing diversionary tactics, an estimated 15000 Zulu
warriors surprised and successfully split the British
force at Isandlwana, near Nqutu, and in a two-hour
engagement killed all but 85 of the 1 500-strong
invading troop. Losses were heavy on both sides - the
Zulus lost over 1000 men of a total of 
Whereas
it is popularly believed that the Zulus were never
intending to attack on the 22 January 1879 because it
was the day of the ‘dead moon’, a partial eclipse of the
sun, Paul Naish disputes this widely held misconception.
He asserts that the Zulus successfully duped the British
into splitting their concentrated forces at Isandlwana
on the morning of the 22nd. On the night of the 21st,
several hundred Zulus confronted Major Dartnell's
reconnaissance force above the Mangeni Valley.
Within
hours and a mere 15 kilometres due west of Isandlwana,
some 4 000 Zulu attacked the station, but despite huge
odds, it was here that the 'Heroic Hundred' earned 11
Victoria Crosses - the most ever awarded for a single
engagement - while holding the impi at bay for 12 hours.