Zulu Victory: The Epic of Isandlwana and the Cover-up [Hardcover]

Ron Lock (Author), Peter Quantrill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2002

The battle of Isandlwana - a great Zulu victory - was one of the worst defeats ever to befall a British Army. At noon on January 22nd, 1879, a British camp, garrisoned by over 1700 troops, was attacked and overwhelmed by 20,000 Zulu warriors. The defeat of the British, armed with the most modern weaponry of the day, caused disbelief and outrage throughout Queen Victoria's England. The obvious culprit for the blunder was Lieutenant General Lord Chelmsford, the defeated commander. Appearing to respond to the outcry, he ordered a court of inquiry. But there followed a carefully conducted cover-up in which Chelmsford found a scapegoat in the dead - most notably, in Colonel Anthony Durnford. The popular conception of the Anglo-Zulu War is that of a conflict between British redcoats and Zulu Warriors. It is seldom realized that over 60% of Chelmsford's army was composed of black auxiliaries, and that the cavalry mostly comprised colonial settlers. Zulu Victory: The Epic of Isandlwana and the Cover-Up traces the history of the Zulu kingdom and its British neighbors, the Colony of Natal. It also details the composition of both armies from individual Zulu regiments to the tribesmen of the Natal Native Horse who fought on the side of the British. Using source material ranging from the Royal Windsor Archives to the oral history passed down to the present Zulu inhabitants of Isandlwana, the authors shed new light upon this famous Zulu victory in all its bravery and horror, and the scandal that followed.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Lock and Quantrill, freelance writers and former military men, have written a densely detailed account of the 1879 Zulu defeat of the British at a major British camp in Natal, Africa. Relying primarily on British sources but also including surviving Zulu testimonies and firsthand research in the area, the authors painstakingly describe the background and details of the Battle of Isandlwhana and the subsequent attempt of British commander Lord Chelmsford and his cronies to shift the blame for the defeat. The authors bring the battlefield to life by following the conflict almost minute by minute. They also delve into the history of the Zulu kingdom and its relationship with its British neighbors at Natal. The authors conclude that British underestimation of Zulu strategic and fighting ability was the major cause of the defeat, as Zulu Chief Cetshwayo simply out-thought his colonial counterparts. This generally well-written book portrays a complex and interesting segment of British/African history, but nonexperts might suffocate in the detail. Recommended for academic and large public libraries with solid collections in African or British history. Anthony Edmonds, Ball State Univ., Muncie, IN
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Ron Lock, author of Blood on the Painted Mountain (1853672017), and Peter Quantrill spent over three years researching and traveling in the footsteps of both armies. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Greenhill Books (October 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1853675059
• ISBN-13: 978-1853675058
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,866,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Out Thought & Out Fought - History as Sharp as an Asegai, March 6, 2003

By 

B. Musler "History Gamer" (New York, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zulu Victory: The Epic of Isandlwana and the Cover-up (Hardcover)

Zulu Victory is a valuable synthesis of research on the battle of Isandlwana, where a British Army under Lord Chelmsford was outmaneuvered and defeated in detail by King Cetshwayo's Zulu Army. The strength of this book lies in its clarity. Every important personality and event in the campaign is thoroughly weighed and explained, without ever losing sight of the overall context. The result is a fluid, balanced account of a very confused set of circumstances.

This book is equally valuable as an all-in-one historiography of the battle. Serious history readers will appreciate this facet from the Forward, written by Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, right through the appendices. The quality of the writing keeps the history from becoming dry. The narrative remains vivid, even after multiple readings. As with Morris' "The Washing of the Spears," the storytelling is flat out exciting.

Try not to be put off by the subtitle: "The Epic of Isandlwana and the Cover-Up." The twin themes of the book are clear. 1) The Zulus did not simply stumble on and overwhelm a British encampment. They made use of their advantages, which included better mobility and communications as well as a superior understanding of the local terrain, to outmaneuver and defeat an overconfident enemy. 2) Chelmsford and his supporters attempted to shift responsibility for the defeat to a colonial cavalry leader, Colonel Anthony Durnford, (Royal Engineers) who was killed in the fray. (You may know him as Burt Lancaster in the movie "Zulu Dawn.")

Perhaps the 2nd point is more marketable, to scholars, but what most amateur historians will find instructive is the campaign narrative. While much has been made in the past of how courageous individual Zulu warriors were, and of their famed "head and horns" battlefield tactics, this is a depiction of how the Zulu lured Chelmsford into splitting his force. It explains the thinking from 'both sides of the hill' without attributing an artificial superiority to European tactics, or shortchanging the sophistication of the native leadership.

The book makes it clear that although Chelmsford was both arrogant and defeated, he was not necessarily the fool played by Peter O'Toole. He operated with tremendous logistical challenges that severely constrained his freedom of action. Moreover, while Chelmsford was overconfident, the British still might have withstood the Zulu Impis had they recognized the danger sooner and employed different tactics...as later battles were to prove.

All the usual debates are covered, including a detailed appendix (C) devoted to the infamous British Ammunition boxes and their (potential) impact on the battle. The book has 11 very clear maps and 75 illustrations, many of which are in color and really capture the battlefield from the perspective of contemporary eyes.

If you have an interest in 19th century imperialism, military history, or even what happens when indigenous peoples and colonials collide, read this book. It's excellent history and a ripping good yarn to boot.

24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb book!, January 23, 2003

By 

lordhoot "lordhoot" (Anchorage, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zulu Victory: The Epic of Isandlwana and the Cover-up (Hardcover)

Battle of Isandlwana was one of the greatest victories that native Africans ever achieved against an European power. This book proves to be one of the best books on this battle. The book covers all your usual stuff like political conditons, military conditions leading up to the war and so forth. But key element of the book was how its dealt with the battle itself. As far as I know, it got one of the clearest blow by blow account of the battle if that could be possible. Many myths about what happened at Isandlwana seem to be more clearer now and respect for Zulu military organization grows as you read on. Its amazing how long it took the British to finally realized that they were coming uder a full scale attack. The book also discussed the covered up by Lord Chemsford after the battle. The covered up was basically to protect Chemsford's military carelessness and the fact that he have been out-generaled by the Zulus. In this, he chose Colonel Durnford since the good colonel was already dead. Interesting how blaming a dead people for mistakes have always been a popular habits of all defeated commanders. The book appears to be well research and the authors' distaste for Chemsford become pretty clear as you read the book. It also got very details maps which help understand the battle. The nice photographs helped - including the infamous British ammo box which showed what a pain it can be to opened one up. Well, with or without ammo, British were doomed in this battle anyway. Probably the best book written on Isandlwana right now.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The General did it., May 17, 2010

By 

Tom L. (NYC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Zulu Victory: The Epic of Isandlwana and the Cover-up (Hardcover)

The authors gained access to many documents, letters, journals, etc. from the participants in and survivors of the battle not previously available - particularly British. They present a new and different narrative of the course of Isandlwana and the maneuvers leading to it. Aspects are clarified and myths dispelled. They demonstrate beyond any debate that Lord Chelmsford was responsible for the British catastrophe and that he and his aide Crealock disgracefully shifted the blame onto Durnford, the colonial officer who died on the field.

Well done and an excellent read for those interested in the wars of the Victorian period.