Battle of Hlobane
| date | March 28, 1879 |
|---|---|
| place | Hlobane Zululand |
| output | Victory of the Zulu |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
Colonel Evelyn Wood |
Chief Mnyamana Buthelezi |
| Troop strength | |
| 675 | 25,000 (estimate) |
| losses | |
|
12 officers, 84 NCOs and soldiers and over 100 Africans |
unknown, minimal according to the Zulu |
Isandhlwana - Nyezane - Rorke's Drift - Ntombe - Hlobane - Kambula - Gingindlovu - Ulundi
The battle of hlobane was a battle in the Zulu War of 1879 and found near the mountain Hlobane in the colony Natal in South Africa instead.
prehistory
The IV. Division of the British Invasion Army, under the command of Colonel Evelyn Wood, was intended to attract the attention of the Zulu who lived on the high mountain plateau in the northwest of the Kingdom of Zululand . The great distance of these Zulu from the capital Ulundi gave them a certain independence from the rule of King Cetshwayo and enabled the local rulers to withhold their warriors for local defense instead of joining the main Zulu army. Lord Chelmsford wanted to distract these Zulu to prevent them from repeating the actions of the III. Division of the British Invading Army and their advance on Isandlwana and Ulundi.
On January 17, 1879 Wood moved with his department northeastward and proposed on January 20, a Laager - a fortified barricade - the Tintas Kraal 16 km south of flattened mountain chain. This mountain range, which runs about 24 km in a north-eastern direction, consists of the mountains Zunguin, Hlobane and Ityentika, which are connected by a low pass. While the wagon castle was being fortified, scouts exploring the mountains were attacked from the zunguin by about 1,000 Zulu people. On the morning of the next day, an attack was carried out on the Zunguin and the Zulu fled to the Hlobane. Wood observed about 4,000 Zulu drills on the Hlobane in the afternoon. An attack on the Hlobane began on January 24th, but was canceled when Wood learned of the British defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana . Wood retired to the wagon castle and decided to march northwest to Mount Kambula about 13 miles west of the Zunguin. When he and his troops arrived there on January 31, he received a message from Lord Chelmsford that all previous orders had been suspended and that, without being able to hope for reinforcements, he could expect an attack by the entire Zulu army.
Cambula
February 1879 passed without major fighting, only a few mounted patrols were sent out to attack the Zulu kraals who were attacking the 5th division of British troops in the neighboring Transvaal . A hexagonal wagon castle with closely connected wagons was built at the Kambula. The cattle were housed in their own wagon on the southern edge of the ridge. Trenches were dug around both wagon castles and earthen breastworks were piled up. A stone redoubt was built on a small hill north of the wagon castle. A wooden palisade protected the space, which was almost a hundred meters long. Two cannons between the redoubt and the wagon castle protected the northern flank and two more guns in the redoubt protect the north-east. Later that month, Colonel Wood received much-needed reinforcements from the Transvaal Rangers - a mounted unit - a force of German settlers and five companies from the 80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers) .
Colonel Wood hoped to use the great autonomy of the Zulu surrounding him to his advantage and undermine their allegiance to King Cetshwayo, relying on Uhamu, a half-brother of Cetshwayo, who was friendly to the British and was at war with the Zulu king. On March 13, Uhamu came to the British camp with 700 of his men and asked for escorts to lead the rest of his troops out of their hiding place. His troops lay in caves near the sources of the Black Umfolozi about 75 km east and only 60 km from Ulundi. There was a significant risk in safely guiding large numbers of people along this route. Colonel Wood said the benefit was worth the risk. A protection force of 360 mounted British soldiers and 200 of Uhamus warriors led a group of 900 more warriors to Kambula. Shortly after these troops got there, Colonel Wood received an order from Lord Chelmsford to conduct a diversion to withdraw additional troops from the siege of Eshowes . At the same time it became known that a unit of the Zulu Army was preparing to leave Ulundi in order to attack either Kambula or the British Fort Utrecht. Wood estimated that an attack on Hlobane on March 28 could drive herds of cattle off the mountain in order to provoke an attack on the well-prepared position at Kambula.
The battle
The Hlobane consists of two plateaus, the lower and smaller one rises to a height of 260 m on the east side of the 6 km long narrow connection to the Zunguin. On its east side the plateau rises again by 60 m to the second part of the mountain plateau. This is done via a narrow path littered with huge blocks of stone that form a type of staircase and is known as Devil's Pass . On this higher plateau there were around 2000 head of cattle and 1000 Zulu of the abaQulusi, many of which were equipped with firearms. Colonel Wood's plan was that a mounted force, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Redvers Henry Buller, supported by artillery and Zulu friends, should take the east climb to the higher plateau and drive the cattle down. A similar force under the command of Major RA Russell was to take the lower plateau.
British troops and their supporters set out early on March 27th. Their advance was hampered by severe thunderstorms and the Zulu firing at the targets revealed in the lightning bolt. Buller's mounted troops reached the summit at 6 a.m. the next morning. Local foot troops began to drive the cattle west. While Russell's troops were occupying the lower plateau, Colonel Wood, who was commanding the attack from close by, saw a detachment of the Border Horses that had been detonated by Buller's group. Wood ordered this group to advance to the upper plateau for battle, but the horsemen, most of whom were English settlers from the Transvaal, refused to give the order. Wood himself was riding with a small group and was about to follow Buller's path to the upper plateau when the members of the Border Horses joined him. When they, like Buller, were shot at from caves, the riders of the Border Horses again refused to give orders, not wanting to secure the way for Colonel Wood. As a result, five members of Wood's group attacked the cave in question. Two of Wood's officers were killed in this attack. Colonel Wood's remaining group then rode west to join forces on the lower plateau.
On his way, Wood rode along the south side of the Hlobane at 10:30 a.m. and discovered five large columns of the Zulu marching in the south-east. This was the main Zulu force that was not expected until the next day. The Zulu were fast approaching the British and were no more than three miles away. The Zulu forces were already beginning to split and Wood could see that they would cut Buller's path from the upper plateau and thus also set a trap for Russell. Although Wood ordered a quick retreat, a very quick march back to Kambula was required to reach it before the Zulu. Wood quickly tried to send a message to Russell, ordering him to withdraw on the connection with the Zunguin. But from his elevated position Russell had recognized the advance of the Zulu 90 minutes before Wood and had sent a message to Buller.
Buller recognized the threatening situation his troops were in. It was no longer possible for him to go back on his way up. The only way he had left was to the lower plateau, where he would find support from Russell's troops. Russell had led his troops from the lower plateau to the so-called Intyentika Neck in order to support Buller's troops on their way down from this narrow connection point. When the order reached Woods Russell, he believed, in consultation with his officers, that he should take up a position at another junction 10 km west of the Zunguin. Russell left only a small group behind and made his way to the new position, leaving Buller alone at the Hlobane.
For Buller's troops, only Devil's Pass was open as the route to the lower plateau. The dangerous path created a lot of confusion among Buller's troops and resulted in injuries and casualties accordingly. The danger was heightened by the abaQulusi, who had also seen the approaching Zulu troops and were therefore bolder in their attacks on the British troops. The British had to fight their way into the plain. On the plain, Buller gave the order to march immediately to Kambala. The British troops were in considerable confusion and had lost many horses, but nevertheless all soldiers managed to reach Kambula. The Zulu troops were only close behind the British and repeatedly involved the retreating troops in small skirmishes on their entire 20 km route.
Result
The result of the Battle of Hlobane was a British defeat. At least 12 British officers and over 80 NCOs and soldiers as well as more than 100 African auxiliaries were killed, and eight other British soldiers were injured. The Zulu losses were said to have been minimal. The loss of horses seriously affected Woods' troops. The Border Horses unit could not withdraw, it was surrounded and destroyed. Zulu units that had supported the British defected. Still, Wood was confident that he would emerge victorious in the now anticipated Zulu attack on Kambula. The Battle of Kambula ended with the hoped-for victory of the British troops.
Web links
References and comments
- ↑ There are quite different information about the British losses in the literature. The numbers given here are based on Frances E. Colenso: History of the Zulu War and its Origin. Assisted in those Portions of the Work which touch upon military Matters by Lieut.-Colonel Edward Durnford. Chapman & Hall, London 1880, p. 351. (PDF file; 35.3 MB).
Coordinates: 27 ° 42 ′ S , 30 ° 57 ′ E
Seventeen officers and eighty-two white troops were dead, as were some one hundred African levies