Anglo-Zulu War
- Period
- January 1879 – July 1879
- Sides
- British Empire vs Zulu Kingdom
- Battles
- 9
The Anglo-Zulu War, or simply the Zulu War, was fought in present-day South Africa from January to early July 1879 between forces of the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Two famous battles of the war were the Zulu victory at Isandlwana and the British defence at Rorke's Drift.
Sources: Wikipedia — Anglo-Zulu War · CC BY-SA 4.0
Battles 9
January 1879
Battle of Rorke's Drift
The Battle of Rorke's Drift, also known as the Defence of Rorke's Drift, was an engagement in the Anglo-Zulu War. The successful British defence of the Swedish mission station and British supply depot at Rorke's Drift, it was carried out by a vastly outnumbered British force under the command of Lieutenants John Chard of the Royal Engineers and Gonville Bromhead of the 24th Regiment of Foot. It holds the record for the largest number of Victoria Crosses awarded for a single battle. After a large contingent of Zulu warriors broke off from the main force during the final hours of the British defeat at the day-long Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879, they travelled ten kilometres to attack Rorke's Drift later that day, with fighting continuing into the following day.
January 1879
Battle of Isandlwana
The Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 was the second major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom – the Battle of Nyezane having been fought and won earlier on the same day by Colonel Pearson's Coastal Column. Eleven days after the British invaded the Zulu Kingdom in Southern Africa, a Zulu force of some 20,000 warriors attacked a portion of the British main column consisting of approximately 1,800 British, colonial and native troops with approximately 350 civilians. The Zulus were equipped mainly with the traditional assegai iron spears and cow-hide shields, but also had a number of muskets and antiquated rifles.
January 1879
Battle of Inyezane
The Battle of Inyezane, was a British victory early in the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879.
February 1879 – April 1879
Siege of Eshowe
The siege of Eshowe took place during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. The siege was part of a three-pronged attack on the Zulu Impis of king Cetshwayo at Ulundi. After an incursion as far as Eshowe Colonel Charles Pearson was besieged there for two months by the Zulus.
March 1879
Battle of Kambula
The Battle of Kambula took place on 29 March 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War, when a Zulu military force attacked the British camp at Kambula, having routed the mounted element of the British force at the Battle of Hlobane the day before. The battle was a severe Zulu defeat and the warriors lost their belief in victory. The war ended after the Zulu defeat at the Battle of Ulundi on 4 July 1879.
March 1879
Battle of Intombe
The Battle of Intombe was an action fought on 12 March 1879, between Zulu troops loyal to Mbilini waMswati and British soldiers and African civilian conductors, drivers and voorloopers (scouts) defending a convoy of wagons on the road from Derby to Lüneburg. The convoy straggled badly along the road due to the rains and bogged on both sides of the Intombe river, which had risen and was in spate due to the rains. Most of the wagons were laagered, somewhat haphazardly, close to the river on the Derby side with a small party and two wagons on the Lüneburg side.
March 1879
Battle of Hlobane
The Battle of Hlobane took place at Hlobane, near the modern town of Vryheid in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa during the Anglo-Zulu War.
April 1879
Battle of Gingindlovu
The Battle of Gingindlovu (uMgungundlovu) was fought on 2 April 1879 between a British relief column sent to break the Siege of Eshowe and a Zulu impi of King Cetshwayo.
July 1879
Battle of Ulundi
The Battle of Ulundi took place at the Zulu capital of Ulundi on 4 July 1879 and was the last battle of the Anglo-Zulu War. The British Army broke the military power of the Zulu Kingdom by defeating the main Zulu army and capturing and burning the royal kraal of oNdini.
Earlier and later events nearby
- c. 1200Great Zimbabwe
- January 1879 – July 1879Anglo-Zulu WarThis page
- 1899–1902Second Boer War
- 1948Apartheid introduced in South Africa
- 1994Mandela elected President of South Africa
Who ruled this land
States that held this place in the historical borders data (Cliopatria). Years are approximate, as fine as the data's snapshots (every few years to a century). Tap to open the map for that year.