Battle Story: Isandlwana 1879

The first major encounter between the British Army and Zulu Kingdom—one of Britain's greatest military disasters Putting the reader at the forefront of the action, this is the story of January 22, 1879, when a 20,000-strong Zulu army attacked 1,700 British and colonial forces—spears and shields clashing with the latest military technology. Despite being poorly equipped, the numerically superior Zulu force crushed the British troops, killing 1,300 men, while only losing 1,000 of their own warriors. It was a humiliating defeat for the British Army, who had been poorly trained and had underestimated their enemy. The defeat ensured that the British had a renewed respect for their opponents and changed their tactics from a straight, linear formation to an entrenched system or close order formations. The defeat caused consternation throughout the British Empire, who had assumed that the Zulu were no match for the British Army—thus the army was greatly reinforced and went on to victory at Rorke's Drift.