Zulu Victory: The Epic of Isandlwana and the Cover-upThe battle of Isandlwana - a great Zulu victory - was one of the worst defeats ever to befall a British Army. At noon on January 22nd, 1879, a British camp, garrisoned by over 1700 troops, was attacked and overwhelmed by 20,000 Zulu warriors. The defeat of the British, armed with the most modern weaponry of the day, caused disbelief and outrage throughout Queen Victoria's England. The obvious culprit for the blunder was Lieutenant General Lord Chelmsford, the defeated commander. Appearing to respond to the outcry, he ordered a court of inquiry. But there followed a carefully conducted cover-up in which Chelmsford found a scapegoat in the dead - most notably, in Colonel Anthony Durnford. The popular conception of the Anglo-Zulu War is that of a conflict between British redcoats and Zulu Warriors. It is seldom realized that over 60% of Chelmsford's army was composed of black auxiliaries, and that the cavalry mostly comprised colonial settlers. Zulu Victory: The Epic of Isandlwana and the Cover-Up traces the history of the Zulu kingdom and its British neighbors, the Colony of Natal. It also details the composition of both armies from individual Zulu regiments to the tribesmen of the Natal Native Horse who fought on the side of the British. Using source material ranging from the Royal Windsor Archives to the oral history passed down to the present Zulu inhabitants of Isandlwana, the authors shed new light upon this famous Zulu victory in all its bravery and horror, and the scandal that followed. |
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Zulu Victory: The Epic of Isandlwana and the Cover-Up Ron Lock,Peter Quantrill No preview available - 2016 |
Common terms and phrases
Africa amaNgwane ammunition amongst Anglo-Zulu Anglo-Zulu War arrived artillery attack battalion battle Battle of Isandlwana Boers British Buffalo River Cape Captain cattle Cavaye Cetshwayo Chelmsford's column Clery Coghill Colonel Durnford Colonel Glyn colonial command companies Conical Hill Court of Inquiry Crealock crossing Dartnell Dartnell's Dingane donga Durban Edendale enemy escort fighting force Fynn George Shepstone Glyn's guns Hamilton-Browne Helpmekaar Higginson Hlubi horse horsemen imperial Isipesi iThusi killed king later Lieutenant Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Chelmsford Magogo Mangeni Falls Mansel Melvill miles military Milne Mostyn mounted infantry move Mpande Natal Carbineers Natal Native Native Contingent Nqutu Ridge Ntshingwayo orders picquet Pietermaritzburg Pulleine Pulleine's rifle rocket battery rode Rorke's Drift Royal Russell sent Shaka Shepstone Sihayo Sir Bartle Frere Sir Garnet soldiers South tent troopers troops Tugela Ulundi Valley vedettes volunteers wagons warriors whilst wrote Zulu army Zulu kingdom Zulu War Zululand