SA History

The annihilation of Lord Chelmsford’s invading army by the Zulus at Isandlwana on 22^nd January 1879 was arguably the most devastating humiliation in British Imperial history. Only 55 out of 2000 men escaped the carnage and more officers were lost in those few blood-soaked hours than at Waterloo. Thus the recently discovery of a complete set of letters fro Lietenant Henry Curling RA, the only survivor of his troop, which lost all its guns, is hugely important.

Not only did Curling record the dramatic events of that fateful day in graphic detail but he captured the atmosphere of the whole campaign and the age in which it was fought. 158 pages.

The Anglo-Zulu war of 1879 is one of the most discussed and analysed of all the colonial wars of the Victorian era and remains crucially important in understanding the history of the British Empire.

Drawing on the superb archives of the National Army Museum, this book vividly recreates the extraordinary campaign, from the opening stages of the war, the battle of Isndlwana and the defence of Rorke’s Drift, to the defeat of the Zulu nation at Ulundi and the capture of King Cetshwayo. Letters and diaries, from the ordinary soldiers’ to senior officers’, including the British commander-in-chief Lieutenant General Lord Chelmsford, give new insights into the harsh reality of the fighting. 294 pages.