The Battle of Isandlwana: From above 

How do you know that it is correct? I mean it probably is... but that was my first fear.

I can’t imagine how scary it must have been for both sides to face each other, I salute them too. Brave men.

@Coll Maxwell Coll Maxwell They fight like real men under command off fools. True commanders fight to win not to look manly or heroic. Real commanders use wagon lagers and terrain to equalize the playing field with estimated 15 000 Zulus against approximately 340 Boors. Go and get educated about the battle at Blood river before making snide remarks joining the ranks off FOOLS:

@@hermanleeuwner5295 Cough "Holkrans,Dimawe,Italeni,Sekhukhune wars,Senekal war" cough.

@@hermanleeuwner5295 Also spaniards had a similar battle against incas and mapuches who like zulus had neither firepower nor cavalry.

If there are any positives of the Zulu war (And i can think of just this one) Its the fact that the Zulu fought so hard and so well that ignorant and racist attitudes were challenged arguably for the first time The British soldiers soon found they had to respect their enemy I also feel this respect was also given back based on some of the accounts of the Zulu from the battle

I'll second that. bantu names have always eluded me but5 you were very good.

You have just answered a question i asked minutes ago. Thank you.

Hi mate - there are many versions of the story but you are right - there is a cave which I've also climbed up to before...Worth exploring if you ever come back

@@redcoathistory Cheers - no, never made it out there it was a soldier mate of ours who climbed up there - no doubt you've seen the famous painting The Last Of The 24th at Isandhlwana? Congrats on a great video, btw...

@@redcoathistory Sounds like a worthwile basis for a video. The lone soldier up in that cave was surely the last brit soldier to survive and I've always wondered why more "fugitives" didn't retreat up there.

The last time I was there, they had posted signs up forbidding people from climbing up the mountain. We were not even allowed to go up the gentle slope before it goes up steeply..

Siyabonga mfwethu!

Thanks, Denise.

Their's were not to reason why. Their's were but to do or die!

That's great thanks so much. I am now qualified as a tour guide and by 2023 hope to be running regular tours so maybe we can meet!

Redcoat. Oh really. That's great. I would love to do one of your tours.

@@lyndoncmp5751 Cheers mate. You could be a guest speaker! If you are keen then maybe you could register for the newsletter over at redcoathistory.com (you'll also get a free book for your trouble!)...I'm still learning and practising on friends and other guides but I'm hoping to run a few tours in 2023 and kick off the business.

Yep was my exact first thought when I saw how the battle was unfolding. Always know your ground

I think the terrain would actually have benefited the defence if the firing line was pulled in much closer, and with attention also paid the rear at the 'saddle' area.

Thanks Sakhe - that feedback means a lot - would love to hear more about your great grandfathers one day.

Glad you enjoyed it!

@@redcoathistory mind if I share it about to a historical table top Wargaming Facebook group I'm part of?

Thanks, Wilko - this one was a beast to edit but I enjoyed it.

Thanks, Rick. You are spot on.

No, the Zulu commanders failed in restraining their army from attacking. Their religion stictly forbid it, attacking on Jan 22nd was analogous to a Christian offensive bloodbath on Christmas, which shows you how important religion is when human survival comes first. THC, psychedelics, and the collective intelligence of the Zulu to form into the horns upon discovery is admirable more than anything the old Zulu commander controlled directly.

@@patrickcooper7629 Don´t ride so high. Flank assaults were used without THC, psychedelics, and the collective intelligence of anybody from the dawn of warfare.

@@morriganmhor5078 I can't think of such a military victory where the senior commanders tried or allegedly tried to call off the attack.

You are trying to compare apples to oranges, not fair...

Thanks, Paul. It's such a big, complicated battlefield that I am glad that this is able to help people to better understand.

Thanks a lot Lee. Appreciate that.

How does one 'learnt' exactly?...

Morning, that's great I'm Glad it was helpful...Maybe you'll get here one day!

Thanks, Vass.

Siyabonga Alexander - appreciate your comments. Keep in touch.

Many thanks - I really appreciate your feedback. Maybe we will meet one day (I have just qualified as a tour guide for KZN in South Afrtica)...

Yes, it is a shame that parts of the battlefield are beiung built on.

Thanks, Andy. Yes, I think it was a major factor and as you say, it often is. Hope you are well and I look forward to catching up soon.

The Battle of Islandlwana occurred three years after the Battle of Little Bighorn but the British did not learn from Custer's mistake. Both Custer, Chelmsford were afraid that they could not entice the enemy into battle. Each divided his troops. underestimated the indigenous enemy and failed to conduct sufficient scouting.

Much appreciated! Thanks William.

Thanks for watching!

Glad you enjoyed it - thanks, Bill.

I was there in 1989, well before RU-vid. There was no one else there so we had the entire battlefield to ourselves. Unforgettable.

Thanks Michael

Thanks, Lars! I'm really chuffed that you liked the book.

Thanks mate - I'm really glad that you enjoyed it. Off the top of my head I think Lt Anstey who commanded the last stand of the 1/24th down by the Manzinyama stream was born in Australia...

@@redcoathistory There were a few Aussies involved in the Zulu wars notably, James Grove White born in Melbourne who had a long military career and was knighted and Rupert La trobe Lonsdale also born in Melbourne

There are several well researched books about Zulu history, including Isandlwana, but I think the best by far is "Washing of the Spears," by Donald R. Morris.

Many thanks. I don’t have their knowledge, my books are more a ‘soldiers view’ of the war.

Thank you very much!

Glad you enjoyed it!

But also, to be fair, the Boers who had spent several decades successfully fighting the Zulus had a pretty clear blueprint for how to do it, a blue print that was entirely ignored.

therealmrfishpaste Totally different with the Boers. Boer wagons were far smaller and lighter. They could be formed into a tight laager quite quickly. British army wagons were huge heavy things that took dozens of men to manhandle onto position. Also, the camp at Isandlwana was a kilometre in extent. Very very difficult to do. Can't do it as a battle is happening.

@@lyndoncmp5751 ...I've never heard that. Boer wagons often required 12-20 oxen to pull them...those are not small wagons...also the camp at Isandlawana was only a km across precisely because they didn't laager up...or to put it another way...they didn't take the Boer advice of always forming camp into a defensive position of some sort no matter how short your intended stay would be - because the Boers knew how quickly the Zulu could move across country and how vulnerable you'd be if not in some sort of laager.

Yes the British Army wagons were very different to the much smaller and lighter Boer wagons. Apples and oranges. Also, the wagons were required to perform shuttle missions, bringing supplies up from Rorkes Drift. The NEXT camp was supposed to be the first fortified camp. Ten miles further east at Isiphezi Hill at the other end of the Isandlwana plain. The camp at Isandlwana was 1km in extent because it had to house nearly 5,000 people. It could not be akin to a usual Boer laager. The Boer laggers numbered in the hundreds of personnel not 5,000 personnel. Remember, there were two battalions of the 24th, there were the NNC, the colonial forces, Royal Artillery plus all the civilians. Then the room needed for horses and the oxen catttle. 5,000 personnel and huge numbers of horses and cattle cannot be put in a small Boer sized laager.

The really simple answer is what happened only a few hours later at Rorke's Drift. With an even smaller ratio of defenders/attackers they managed a victory. The very fact they didn't encamp in a defensible position speaks volumes of the arrogance of the command structure and their failure to heed experienced advice. BTW my gr-uncle died there; a trooper in the Natal Carbineers and the youngest member of the colonial force at 16yrs and 28days.

Cheers, David.

Yes, Captain Younghusband's company - I guess you reach that stage where you realise there is no way out except death...It must be a sobering moment to say the least.

@@redcoathistory and an act worthy of researching and turning their life stories into a video on your channel I daresay?

@@redcoathistory do I feel a 5minute Friday approaching?

Cheers, Andy - hopefully we'll get to meet eventually. Shame I can't get down from Joburg this week.

I hope so too pal. All the best. Keep safe. Andy

Thanks, Brian.

The disaster need not have happened had Durnford in particular not made the decisions he did.

Hay you are back! I know this sounds silly but I was genuinely worried that I hadn't heard from you in so long. Good to know that you are ok mate.

@@redcoathistory Sorry mate, I havnt forgot about you. I am a industrial engineer and work all over the country. Off again for six weeks or so on the 24th-25th.

Thanks a lot - appreciate it.

Many thanks!

Thanks 👍