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The Battle of Ulundi |
The battle of Ulundi took place on the 4th July 1879 and marked the end of the Zulu War, as well as the break up of the Zulu nation. It was a war that had begun with the defeat of the British at Isandlwana the previous January, necessitating a humiliating retreat from Zululand. Ulundi effectively erased that humiliation, although it should be remembered that it was a battle fought between one of the best equipped modern armies in Europe and a Zulu army armed largely with shields and spears. Hardly a great victory. In fact one year later, during the first Boer War, the British were to show their inferior tactical abilities against a better equipped opponent.
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By 1st July 1879, the British were encamped by the White Mfolozi River. On the morning of the 4th, the bulk of the column, in the shape of a fortified square, crossed the river leaving behind the 1st/24th regiment (replacements for those killed at Isandhlwana) to guard the camp. Buller's horse and the 1st Dragoon Guards acted as skirmishers, scouting the surrounding countryside. 9.00am Lord Chelmsford halted the square within sight of Ulundi, Chief Cetawayo's kraal. After an initial skirmish with the horseman, it was the turn of the square to be attacked by a force of 20,000 Zulus. The British had a force of 5,300 men on foot and 899 mounted men. The attack was heaviest on the northern side but the combined firepower of Martini-Henry rifles, artillery and gatling guns prevented the Zulus from getting within more than 30 yards of the square. The Zulu reserve launched an attack to the south of the column but this also failed. The Zulus retreated and the 17th Lancers and the Frontier Light Horse charged out of the square after the stragglers. The battle had lasted half an hour. Chief Cetewayo had not stayed to watch the defeat of his army. The royal kraal of Ulundi was burnt to the ground and by the end of August Cetewayo himself was a prisoner of the British. |
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