Battle of Ulundi
The 17th Lancers at Ulundi
| date | 4th July 1879 |
|---|---|
| place | Ulundi , capital of the Zulu in South Africa |
| output | British victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
 Lord Chelmsford |
 King Cetshwayo |
| Troop strength | |
| 5,317 men | 20,000 men |
| losses | |
|
12 dead |
1,500 dead |
Isandhlwana - Nyezane - Rorke's Drift - Ntombe - Hlobane - Kambula - Gingindlovu - Ulundi
The Battle of Ulundi on July 4, 1879 was the decisive battle in the Zulu war between the people of the Zulu in South Africa and the British Empire . After the defeat at Ulundi , the Zulu ceased to exist as an independent nation.
prehistory
In 1843 the Natal area was formally annexed by the British. The powerful Zulu state in the neighborhood appeared to the British as a threat to their settlements in Natal. In January 1879 British colonial troops under Lord Chelmsford invaded the Zulu Empire of King Cetshwayo from Natal . In the Battle of Isandhlwana on January 22, 1879, the British suffered a catastrophic defeat, in which 1,329 of the 1,800 British soldiers involved were killed.
Lord Chelmsford began restructuring his army that summer. The British sent troops from across the Empire to South Africa during this period. Garnet Joseph Wolseley was sent to replace Lord Chelmsford. So he was looking for a quick decision.
The battle
The Zulu Army
King Cetshwayo's army was about 20,000 strong. It was divided into approximately 1,500 strong ambabutho ( regiments ). Every independent group of warriors in the campaign, regardless of their size, was called an impi . The Zulu fought in their classical, from King Shaka (1787-1828) introduced tactics: The impi were divided into four groups who took an order during the battle, which had the shape of a bull's head. The strongest group formed the chest ( Isifuba ) and attacked the enemy head-on. The second and third groups formed the horns ( Izimpondo ), which at the same time surrounded the opponents with a circular motion to prevent escape or retreat. The last group formed the reserve.
Zulu warriors were armed with a large cowhide shield ( isihlangu ). Its color provided information about the affiliation to a regiment. The Zulu warriors were armed with large war spears ( isijula ), sometimes with rifles captured in the course of the campaign.
course
This battle took place on July 4th near the Zulu capital at Ulundi. In the battle, 20,000 Zulu fought under their king against 5,317 men on the British side. The British formed a square , which was attacked by the Zulu from several sides. But after only half an hour the Zulu attack collapsed in the fire of British rifles and cannons and the British started a counterattack. The 17th Lancers chased the Zulu from the battlefield. The Zulu lost about 1,500 men in the battle, while the British lost only twelve men.
Result
The king survived the battle and fled north while the remnants of his army scattered in all directions. Two weeks after the decisive battle, the British announced that the Zulu Kingdom no longer existed. Cetshwayo was captured a month later. The Zululand was divided into 13 separate kingdoms.
Trivia
- The Zulu War was filmed in The Last Offensive ( Zulu Dawn ) from 1979 with Peter O'Toole and Burt Lancaster .
literature
- Donald Featherstone: Victorian Colonial Warfare. Africa. From the Campaigns against the Kaffirs to the South African War . Cassell, London 1992, ISBN 0-304-34174-6 .
- Ian Knight , Ian Castle: Zulu War . Osprey Publishing, Oxford 2004, ISBN 1-84176-858-8 .