Drawing on the archives of the National Army Museum, this book recreates the harsh
reality of the Anglo-Zulu War - one of the most dramatic campaigns in British
History. The Zulus were a fiercely independent and extremely brave warrior race.
When the might of the British army was defeated by this indigenous foe at
Isandlwana in 1879, it sent shock waves throughout the Empire - 1300 British
troops and their African allies were killed.
In the aftermath, Zulu reserves mounted a raid on a British border
post at Rorke's Drift, which was held by just 145 men. After ten hours of
ferocious fighting the Zulus were driven away. Eventually superior weaponry
carried the day for the British, (though not before the exiled French prince,
Louis Napoleon, was killed in skirmish).
Invading Zululand, the British took
the capital of Ulundi and 5000 British defeated 20,000 Zulus. King Cetewayo was
captured and the war was over. Ian Knight draws on a host of previously
unpublished letters and diaries, from ordinary soldiers to the British
commander-in-chief, to bring this war to life - one which saw great acts of
bravery an courage on both sides.
