The Battle of Ulundi, 4 July 1879

In 1879 Britain was at the height of its power when her forces in South Africa unexpectedly invaded neighbouring Zululand. The Zulu king, Cetshwayo, fought back and swiftly defeated the invading troops, firstly at Isandlwana (the defence of Rorke’s Drift notwithstanding) then Ntombe and Hlobane. It was only at Khambula that the British scored their first significant victory, restoring their confidence sufficiently for a renewed invasion that brought the opposing armies to Ulundi for the decisive clash of the war. The Zulus were defeated after a savage battle yet the British press and public, used to victories, showed less interest in the fight itself than in the subsequent fate of Cetshwayo, who was subsequently captured. His kingdom was divided into thirteen quarrelling chiefdoms and his cattle seized, destroying Zululand’s economy. In 1882 Cetshwayo was taken to England to meet Queen Victoria, who demanded his return to Zululand but only to a single chiefdom. Adrian Greaves offers a detailed account of the Ulundi campaign and of the battle itself, laced with insights from his knowledge of the terrain. He then continues his fascinating narrative with the events of Cetshwayo’s capture and release, and the subsequent Zulu civil war in which he was again defeated in battle. The tragic conclusion sees the fugitive former king fleeing to British protection but dying shortly after from poison. He was buried at a point most difficult for his followers to reach – today a Zulu shrine.

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