This dramatic colonial conflict saw the British Empire tested by the disciplined Zulu army. First-hand British officer reports, Zulu oral traditions, 1870s campaign maps, and extensive firsthand battlefield exploration support these studies—bringing to life the iconic battles of Isandlwana, Rorke’s Drift, and beyond through tactical and terrain-focused analysis.
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The Battle of Rorke’s Drift, 22-23 January 1879, was fought in the opening phase of 1879 Anglo-Zulu War. 139 British soldiers and colonial auxiliaries successfully defended a small mission station on the Natal-Zululand border against 3,000-4,000 Zulu warriors. The battle followed immediately after the Battle of Isandlwana, in which King Cetshwayo’s Zulu Army destroyed a British force of more than 1,200 soldiers.
The Battle of Isandlwana, fought on January 22, 1879, was the first major battle of the Anglo-Zulu War and one of the worst defeats ever suffered by the British Army. A force of more than 1100 British soldiers and 400 local levies was overrun by the Zulu Impis of King Cetshwayo