Customer Reviews

Zulu Vanquished: The Destruction of the Zulu Kingdom

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Zulu Vanquished proves to be a well written sequel to the authors' first book, Zulu Victory. However, unlike the first book where the prime subject was the Battle of Isandlwana (excellent account), this book deals with the second campaign against the Zulu Kingdom between February to July of 1879. Also missing from this book is the account of Rorke's Drift although with all honesty, there are enough books written about this battle to satisfied anyone and that Rorke's Drift is part of the initial campaign and won't fit into the premise of the second campaign.

The book covers the preparation and actions of the British forces as they recovered from the defeat at Isandlwana and Lord Chelmsford's race to finished off the campaign before his relief from command. One of the main characters of the book lies around the actions and generalship of Colonel Evelyn Wood whose major defeat at Hlobane Mountain one day was off set by his great victory at Kambula the next day. The account of both battles were excellently written and researched by the two authors.

Book continued on until the final battle of Ulundi where the Zulu Kingdom was finally overthrown. Zulu efforts to find a peaceful solution was totally rejected by Chelmsford who needed a military victory to redeemed himself from the shadow of Isandlwana. There's also a nice chapter on the death of Prince Louis Bonaparte which marked this war on the front pages of every European newsapers.

Its pretty clear that the authors' knowledge on this war proves to be very complete. They also seem to have clear understanding of the terrain it was fought under and its conditions. Many first hand sources were used to reflect on numerous incidents of the war. The book also come with clearly marked maps and color photographs.

If there was a weak point in this book, I thought the authors could have gone into the aftermath of the war more deeper. Fate of Lt. Carey whose's action led to the death of Prince Louis remains a mystery unless the reader have a prior background knowledge. However, while the book isn't as detailed as the first one, I believed that the book did great justice to the understanding of this war.

This is a sequel to the authors' previous book, ZULU VICTORY (2004), the story of the disastrous British defeat at Isandlwanda early in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. ZULU VANQUISHED continues the story of the war from February through July 1879, culminating in the overthrow of the Zulu Kingdom after the Battle of Ulundi. This is a very well-written and fast-paced book, based on primary sources, memoirs, and secondary studies, with extensive use of eyewitness accounts by participants. The authors' assessment of the Battle of Hlobane (28 March 1879) is a major contribution that revises earlier studies, based on the previously-unused papers of a colonial officer. Outstanding photographs, many in color, assist the reader in understanding the distinctive terrain features. A must-have for anyone interested in the Zulu War.