Zulu Wars

Zulu Wars
(1879)
   A brief conflict between the Zulu Kingdom of southern Africa and the British Empire. When British colonial possessions in southern Africa expanded through the annexation of the Transvaal in 1877, the Zulu people, under their chief Cetewayo, found themselves threatened by a far greater adversary than the neighboring Boers. The British, with designs on Zululand as part of their efforts to create a British federation encompassing the whole of southern Africa and anxious at the Zulus’ martial power, issued an ultimatum on December 11, 1878, deliberately designed to be rejected and therefore to serve as a casus belli. After receiving no reply from Cetewayo, a force under Lord Chelmsford, consisting of 5,000 British and 8,000 native troops, invaded Zululand in three columns. Cetewayo had at his disposal 40,000 highly disciplined and well-trained warriors, largely armed with spears. On January 22, 1879, a Zulu army caught the British center column, consisting of 900 British and more than 500 native levies, completely by surprise in their unfortified camp at Isandhlwana, annihilating the force.
   The Zulus followed up their victory by attacking on the same evening and through the following morning the nearby British base at Rorke’s Drift, where fewer than a hundred British soldiers tenaciously held their position against successive Zulu assaults. A second British force, meanwhile, became besieged at Eshowe, although this was relieved after another column, having driven off a Zulu attack at Gingindhlovu on April 3, reached the defenders the next day. Two further battles, at Hlobane and Kambula on March 28 and 29, respectively, and fought by separate British columns, favored the British, but in both cases the Zulus exhibited their usual fanatical bravery in the assault.
   A hiatus in fighting followed during April and May as Chelmsford awaited reinforcements from home. In June he opened a new offensive, marching on the Zulu capital, Ulundi, in the vicinity of which he confronted a force of 10,000 warriors with his own 4,200 British and Cape colonial troops and 1,000 native levies. His men deployed in a large hollow square, with cavalry sheltered inside, Chelmsford was assailed several times by the Zulus, who in each wave lost heavily to the concentrated rifle and machine gun fire of their technologically superior opponents. With the Zulus checked, the cavalry then emerged from the square and put the Zulus to rout. The war was effectively over, the fugitive Cetewayo was eventually captured, and his kingdom annexed to Natal.
   See also <>.
   FURTHER READING:
    Barthorp, Michael. The Zulu War: Isandhlwana to Ulundi. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2002;
    Castle, Ian. Zulu War, 1879. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing, 2005;
    David, Saul. Zulu: The Heroism and Tragedy of the Zulu War of 1879. New York: Viking Press, 2004;
    Knight, Ian. Brave Men ’ s Blood: The Epic of the Zulu War, 1879. London: Greenhill Books, 1990;
    Morris, Donald R. The Washing of the Spears: The Rise and Fall of the Great Zulu Nation. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1965.
   GREGORY FREMONT-BARNES

Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800–1914. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Zulu Dawn — Infobox Film name = Zulu Dawn caption = film poster by Tom Chantrell director = Douglas Hickox producer = Nate Kohn James Faulkner writer = Cy Endfield Anthony Story narrator = starring = Burt Lancaster Peter O Toole Simon Ward Bob Hoskins music …   Wikipedia

  • List of wars 1800–1899 — 1800 1809= *1800 War of the Castes in Haiti *1801 War of the Oranges *1801 1805 First Barbary War *1801 1807 Temme War *1802 1805 Second War of Haitian Independence *1802 1805 Second Anglo Maratha War *1803 1804 British Expedition to Ceylon *1803 …   Wikipedia

  • Ndwandwe–Zulu War — Zulu Civil War Date 1817–1819 Place Zululand, South Africa Result Zulu victory, Difaqane Combatants Zulu Kingdom Ndwandwe Commanders …   Wikipedia

  • South African Wars (1879-1915) — Ethnic, political and social tensions among European colonial powers, indigenous Africa, and English and Dutch settlers led to open conflict in a series of wars and revolts between 1879 and 1915 that would have lasting repercussions on the entire …   Wikipedia

  • Xhosa Wars — Military history of South Africa This article is part of a series Conflicts Khoikhoi Dutch Wars Anglo Dutch rivalry Xhosa Wars Zulu Ndwandwe civil war Battles between Voortrekkers …   Wikipedia

  • Anglo-Zulu War — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Anglo Zulu War partof= caption= A recent depiction of the Battle of Rorke s Drift date=11 January 1879 4 July 1879 place=South Africa result=Decisive British Victory End of the Independent Zulu Nation combatant1 …   Wikipedia

  • List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll — See also: List of wars, List of battles and other violent events by death toll, and List of natural disasters by death toll This is a list of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll. It covers the lowest estimate of death as well as… …   Wikipedia

  • American Indian Wars — An 1899 chromolithograph of US cavalry pursuing Native Americans, artist unknown Date 1622–192 …   Wikipedia

  • List of civil wars — Warfare Military history Eras Prehistoric Ancient Medieval Gunpowder Industrial …   Wikipedia

  • List of New Zealand Land Wars Victoria Cross recipients — A memorial to those who died in the land wars, located in the Auckland War Memorial Museum The Victoria Cross (VC) was awarded to 15 recipients for action during the New Zealand Land Wars. The VC is a military decoration awarded for valour in the …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”