The Zulu War (A David & Charles Military Book)

by David Clammer

Book Overview

This charts in detail the events of the Zulu war - from the terrible massacre of the British at Isandhlwana, through the courageous defence of Rorke's drift to the final victory. The author uses... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0715392468
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: David & Charles Uk
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.

Customer Reviews

At times, the facts are a little too fine

The battle between the British forces and the armies of the Zulu King Cetewayo in 1879 involved some of the largest armies ever arrayed on the side of the "natives" in the colonial wars of the nineteenth century. However, even though the Zulu armies vastly outnumbered the British, the end result was preordained. Nearly all of the Zulu soldiers were armed with shields and a short type of spear while the British forces had cannon and Gatling guns. Given the overwhelming technological superiority of the British, the comparative death rates in the two armies are what you would expect them to be in such battles. There were thousands of deaths in the Zulu armies to at most a few hundred in the British forces. In this book Clammer describes the early part of the war in exquisite detail. In many cases, the detail is so fine that you have no choice but to question the accuracy. While describing battles in progress, he quotes the comments that the participants supposedly made. This is especially true when the actions of Prince Imperial Louis Napoleon are described. The son of the deposed third Emperor Napoleon of France, the Prince desperately wanted to seek military glory, so he joined the British in their campaign against the Zulus. Impetuous and therefore difficult to control, the Prince managed to get himself killed. Some of the lines he supposedly uttered have the distinct sound of having been altered by an enthusiastic journalist. Putting aside what appear to be the usual exaggerated claims of precise knowledge, this book is a reasonably accurate rendition of one of the biggest colonial wars of the nineteenth century. Had the Zulus been able to acquire modern weapons, they would have withstood the British, a result that would have dramatically altered the history of Southern Africa.

Excellent battle history

A reprint in paper of this excellent one volume account of the Zulu War of 1879, taken from official reports and many first person accounts. In the year 1879, the British army invaded Zululand on the grounds of defending the British colony and therefore the Empire. But it was to become a costly and drawn-out struggle in a remote and hostile land, the Zulus vastly outnumbering the British troops.This book charts in detail the events of the war-from the terrible and bloody massacre of the British by the Zulus at Isandhlwana, through the courageous defence of Rorke's Drift to final victory. The author uses the personal recollections and correspondence of the men involved as well as official reports in this vivid portrayal of one of the most dramatic episodes in military history. * 1989 paper r/p of 1973 ed, 5 x 8, 239 pp, 17 illus, 12 maps, OB's, bibliog, index.