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Battle of Kambula took place in 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War. When a Zulu Army attacked the British camp at Kambula located at 27.669238° S 30.723095° ECoordinates: 27.669238° S 30.723095° E, resulting in a massive Zulu defeat. It is considered to be the turning point of the Anglo-Zulu War. Combatants United Kingdom Zulu Nation Commanders Sir Bartle Frere, Frederick Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford Cetshwayo Strength 14,800 (6,400 Europeans 8,400 Natal Troops) 40,000 Casualties 1,727 killed, 256 wounded 8,250+ killed, 3,000+ wounded The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the...
is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...
Kambala or KamblÄ is a rural sport, prominent in districts of Udupi and Mangalore in Karnataka and also Kasargod district in Kerala. ...
Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ...
Image File history File links KwaZulu_flag_1985. ...
Languages Zulu Religions Christian, African Traditional Religion Related ethnic groups Bantu Nguni Basotho Xhosa Swazi Matabele Khoisan The Zulu (South African English and isiZulu: amaZulu) are a South African ethnic group of an estimated 17-22 million people who live mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. ...
Photo submitted by Marion Hebblethwaite. ...
Ntshingwayo kaMaole (aka Ntshingwayo Khoza) was the second in command (induna) of King Cetshwayos Army. ...
Combatants United Kingdom Zulu Nation Commanders Sir Bartle Frere, Frederick Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford Cetshwayo Strength 14,800 (6,400 Europeans 8,400 Natal Troops) 40,000 Casualties 1,727 killed, 256 wounded 8,250+ killed, 3,000+ wounded The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the...
Combatants Britain Zulu Nation Commanders Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Henry Pulleine†Anthony Durnford†Ntshingwayo Khoza Strength 1,400 men 22,000 men Casualties 52 officers killed 1,277 other ranks killed 3,000 killed 3,000 wounded The Battle of Isandlwana was a battle in the Anglo-Zulu War in which...
Combatants Britain Zulu Nation Commanders John Chard Gonville Bromhead Prince Dabulamanzi Strength 139 4,000–5,000 Casualties 17 killed, 10 wounded Around 500-600 dead found in 500 foot perimeter Rorkes Drift was a mission station in Natal, South Africa, situated near a natural ford (drift) on the...
Combatants Britain Zulu Nation Commanders Captain David Moriarty Strength 106 troops Several thousand Casualties 62 killed Unknown, but light The Battle of Intombe (also Intombi or Intombi River Drift) was fought on March 12, 1879, between British and Zulu forces at . // The village of Lüneberg, situated at in the...
Combatants Britain Zulu Nation Commanders Evelyn Wood Unknown Strength 675 25,000 Casualties 225 killed 8 wounded Unknown, but Zulus claimed losses to be negligible The Battle of Hlobane was a battle of the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 fought at . // No. ...
Combatants Britain Zulu Nation Commanders Lord Chelmsford Somopho kaZikhala Strength 5,670 12,000 Casualties 11 killed, 48 wounded 1,000 killed The Battle of Gingindlovu (uMgungundlovu) was fought at between a British relief column sent to break the Siege of Eshowe and a Zulu Impi of king Cetshwayo on...
The Siege of Eshowe was part of a three-pronged attack on the Zulu Impis of king Cetshwayo at Ulundi. ...
Combatants Britain Zulu Nation Commanders Lord Chelmsford Cetshwayo Strength 5,317 20,000 Casualties 10 killed 87 wounded 1,500+ The Battle of Ulundi took place at the Zulu capital of Ulundi on July 4, 1879 and proved to be the decisive battle that finally broke the military power of...
Combatants United Kingdom Zulu Nation Commanders Sir Bartle Frere, Frederick Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford Cetshwayo Strength 14,800 (6,400 Europeans 8,400 Natal Troops) 40,000 Casualties 1,727 killed, 256 wounded 8,250+ killed, 3,000+ wounded The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the...
Languages Zulu Religions Christian, African Traditional Religion Related ethnic groups Bantu Nguni Basotho Xhosa Swazi Matabele Khoisan The Zulu (South African English and isiZulu: amaZulu) are a South African ethnic group of an estimated 17-22 million people who live mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. ...
Kambala or KamblÄ is a rural sport, prominent in districts of Udupi and Mangalore in Karnataka and also Kasargod district in Kerala. ...
Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...
Prelude
Following the disaster at Hlobane on March 28, Colonel Eveyln Wood’s forces prepared to receive an attack by the entire Zulu impi, of which they had only previously encountered the leading sections. Soon after dawn of the 29th Transvaal Rangers rode out to locate the enemy impi, the cattle were put out to graze and, after some deliberation, two companies were despatched to collect firewood. By 11am the Rangers had returned with the news that the impi was on the move and was to attack Kambula at noon. Wood also now received information that the impi was nearly 25,000 men strong, consisting of regiments that had already defeated the British at Isandlwana and other battles and that many of the Zulus were armed with rifles taken from the British dead at these battles. Shortly after this the Zulu impi was sighted 5 miles away across the plain, coming on due westwards in five columns. The woodcutters and cattle were brought back in and, confident that the defences could be manned within a minute and a half of an alarm being sounded, Wood ordered the men to have their dinners. Combatants Britain Zulu Nation Commanders Evelyn Wood Unknown Strength 675 25,000 Casualties 225 killed 8 wounded Unknown, but Zulus claimed losses to be negligible The Battle of Hlobane was a battle of the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 fought at . // No. ...
is the 87th day of the year (88th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Photo submitted by Marion Hebblethwaite. ...
Languages Zulu Religions Christian, African Traditional Religion Related ethnic groups Bantu Nguni Basotho Xhosa Swazi Matabele Khoisan The Zulu (South African English and isiZulu: amaZulu) are a South African ethnic group of an estimated 17-22 million people who live mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. ...
An Impi is an isiZulu word for any armed body of men. ...
Combatants Britain Zulu Nation Commanders Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Henry Pulleine†Anthony Durnford†Ntshingwayo Khoza Strength 1,400 men 22,000 men Casualties 52 officers killed 1,277 other ranks killed 3,000 killed 3,000 wounded The Battle of Isandlwana was a battle in the Anglo-Zulu War in which...
Kambula’s Defences The defences on Kambula consisted of a hexagonal laager formed with tightly locked together wagons, and a separate kraal for the cattle, constructed on the edge of the southern face of the ridge. Trenches and earth parapets surrounded both sections, and a stone-built redoubt had been built on a rise just north of the kraal. A palisade blocked the hundred yards between the kraal and redoubt, while four 7-pounders were positioned between the redoubt and the laager to cover the northern approaches. Two more guns in the redoubt covered the north-east also.
Two companies were sited in the redoubt; another company in the cattle kraal and the remaining infantry manned the laager. The gunners had been told that if the Zulus got in close they were to abandon their guns and make for the laager. In all, Wood’s force mustered 121 Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers, 1,238 infantry and 638 mounted men. With headquarters staff, it totaled 2,000 men, of which 88 were sick in hospital. Tactical Recognition Flash of the Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, generally known as the Royal Artillery (RA), is, despite its name, a corps of the British Army. ...
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army. ...
The battle At 12.45 the tents were struck, reserve ammunition was distributed and the troops took up their battle stations. As the troops moved to their posts they could see the Zulu right horn, circling north out of British artillery range before halting north-west of the camp. The left horn and centre of the impi continued westwards until they were due south of Kambula. At 1.30 Lieutenant-Colonel Redvers Henry Buller suggested his mounted troops sting the right horn into premature attack, which was agreed to. The men rode out to within range of the massed Zulus, fired a volley and then galloped back, closely followed by a great wave of 11,000 Zulu warriors. As soon as the horsemen had reached Kambula, and cleared the field of fire, the British infantry open fire with support from their four 7-pounders firing shell, and then when the Zulus got closer canister shot. A small number of Zulus managed to burst into the laager, and were repelled with bayonets, while the bulk of the advance was held at bay by the steady British musketry and gunfire. Some of the Zulu force swung right to come in against the western sides of the laager, but were met with equally effective resistance. After about half an hour the Zulu right horn drew back to the north-east. Sir Redvers Henry Buller (VC, GCB, GCMG) (7 December 1839-2 June 1908) was a British general and Victoria Cross holder. ...
A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to a bullet, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage includes large solid projectiles previously termed shot (AP, APCR, APCNR, APDS, APFSDS and Proof shot). ...
Canister shot was a kind of anti-personnel ammunition used in cannons. ...
At 2.15, as the right horn made its withdrawal, the left horn and center surged up out of the ravine, their leading warriors falling to crossfire from the laager and kraal as they came over the crest. However, more and more swarmed on to the glacis between the cliff and the defenders, funneling into the gap between the kraal and laager. The Zulus soon forced their way into the cattle Kraal and fought hand-to-hand with men of the 1/13th company. The cattle in the kraal hampered both sides, but with Zulu pressure mounting up the heavily outnumbered British troops managed to extricate themselves and pull back to the redoubt. Zulu rifleman were now able to open fire from behind the walls of the kraal to give their advancing comrades cover. At about this time the right horn came on again from the north-east, charging across the north face of the redoubt towards the guns and the eastern sides of the laager. A glacis, in military engineering (see Fortification and Siege) is an artificial slope of earth in the front of works, so constructed as to keep an assailant under the fire of the defenders to the last possible moment. ...
The closing stages of the battle of Kambula. A company of the 1/13th in the foreground are driving the Zulus back into the ravine. Although now attacked on both sides, Wood appreciated that the situation to the south was critical and ordered two companies to clear the Zulus off the glacis. Led by Major Hackett the men formed in line with bayonets fixed and charged across the open ground, forcing the Zulus back over the rim. The troops then lined the crest and opened volley fire into the packed warriors in the ravine. The counter-attack had succeeded perfectly but Hackett’s men suddenly found themselves under fire from their right, where Zulu marksmen had concealed themselves in a refuse tip. Hackett sounded the ‘Retire’ and his men returned to the cover of the laager, but not before losing a colour-sergeant, a subaltern and himself receiving a blinding head wound. The sight of this withdrawal encouraged the Zulus in the ravine to charge again, but along the narrow killing zone in front of the laager they could not this time prevail against the controlled volleys from behind the wagons and the redoubt. Image File history File links Kambula. ...
Image File history File links Kambula. ...
On the north side the Royal Artillery men fought their guns in the open, not taking cover, and poured round after round directly into the right horn.
The Zulus charged again and again, with unwavering courage, but the head of each charge was shot away and at about 5pm Wood sensed the impetus was going out of their attack. Two companies moved to clear the kraal and lined the rim off the cliff with a further company to fire into the dead ground. As soon as the Zulus began to pull away eastwards he ordered Buller to mount his men up and pursue. The Zulus were harried mercilessly for 7 miles, mounted troops firing one handed with carbines from the saddle or spearing them with discarded assegais. The Frontier Light Horse men singled abaQulusi warriors for their special attention, chasing them as far as Hlobane and extracting a savage revenge for their comrades killed the day before at the Battle of Hlobane. An Askari guards an Allied air training school at Waterkloof, Pretoria, South Africa. ...
Combatants Britain Zulu Nation Commanders Evelyn Wood Unknown Strength 675 25,000 Casualties 225 killed 8 wounded Unknown, but Zulus claimed losses to be negligible The Battle of Hlobane was a battle of the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 fought at . // No. ...
Results Over 800 Zulu dead were counted in the immediate vicinity of the position and hundreds more perished in the ravine and during the pursuit. 18 British soldiers were killed, and 8 officers and 57 men wounded, 11 of which later died. Kambula is considered as the turning point of the war, for the Zulus learnt the unhappy lesson that shield and assegai, no matter how courageously wielded, were no match for artillery and the Martini-Henry. Never again would an impi come on with the ferocity and resolution displayed up to this date. The Martini-Henry (also known as the Peabody-Martini-Henry) was a breech-loading lever-actuated rifle adopted by the British, combining an action worked on by Friedrich von Martini (based on the Peabody rifle developed by Henry Peabody), with the rifled barrel designed by Scotsman Alexander Henry. ...
See also The military history of South Africa chronicles a vast time period and complex events from the dawn of history until the present time. ...
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