ISANDLWANA TO ULUNDI
◗ Chris Schoeman
◗ Amberley Publishing (2021)
◗ £20.00
◗ 288 pages (hardback)
◗ ISBN:9781445699301
◗ amberley-books.com
The author, who has previously written several books on the Anglo-Boer War, the First World War and this work (subtitled: The Anglo-Zulu War of 1879) begins by describing the origins of the Zulu kingdom and its development into a highly militarised society under Shaka and his successors. The second chapter describes the Zulus ’reaction to firearms and Cetshwayo’s attempts to train his warriors in their use. The AngloZulu border is dispute, the Boundary Commission of 1878 and Sir Bartle Frere’s ultimatum which provoked the war are explained in the third chapter.
The fourth chapter analyses British overconfidence at the start of the war, but also discusses Zulu War historian John Labland’s belief that the Zulus’ reputation as “the quintessential warrior race… turns out to be essentially a myth created (whether unconsciously or by design) and nurtured until it is accepted as fact… The subsequent Zulu defeat… once the British had adjusted their tactics appropriately to make proper use of their overwhelming fire-power in all-round defensive positions like laagers and infantry squares, was consequently cried up as a hazardous and laudable achievement by British arms over a truly formidable foe.” A chapter describing the Imperial and Colonial forces that participated in the war, unit by unit, is followed by one containing quotations from letters – in some cases their final letters – written by British soldiers waiting to march into Zululand. The next eleven chapters present a concise narrative of the war, from the battle of Inyezane to the final engagement at Ulundi, which makes use of extensive quotations from a wide range of original sources, including accounts by survivors of Isandlwana; John Chard’s report on the defence of Rorke’s Drift; Private Frederick Hitch’s account of that action and a letter from Private Henry Hook. Surgeon Reynolds’ account is also contained in the penultimate chapter on the Army Medical Department and the various nurses who treated the sick and wounded. The final chapter describes the exile in England and last years of Cetshwayo.
The twenty-eight monochrome illustrations are on glossy paper in an eight-page section bound into the second half of the book. They include the only map, a reproduction of a military map of Zululand/Natal. There are half page reproductions two familiar paintings: Fripp’s Battle of Isandlwana and Lady Butler’s Heroic Defence of Rorke’s Drift. Contemporary photographs show the men of the 24th Foot after Rorke’s Drift; Zulu warriors after the Battle of Gingindlovu; a Royal Navy Gatling gun team; officers of the Flying Column; Lord Chelmsford; Lieutenant Bromhead; Fort Pearson, and Cetshwayo in prison in Cape Town. Three modern photographs show a cairn marking British graves at Isandlwana, the Ulundi Battlefield monument and 18 Melbury Road in London where Cetshwayo stayed in 1882. There are no maps showing troop movements, nor any battle diagrams.
The Appendices contain a Roll of those present at Rorke’s Drift, largely based upon the Chard and Bourne Rolls, and an account of the Defence of Ekowe by Lieutenant W.N. Lloyd RHA. There are nineteen pages of end notes, an eight-page bibliography and an index conclude the book.
This single-volume history offers a very readable introduction to the Zulu War for general readers and could provide an ideal starting point for more detailed study by wargamers embarking on a new period.