Post by Die Fledermaus on Jan 23, 2009 16:28:52 GMT -4
OK, it was yesterday. Jan 22.
The Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 was the opening, major encounter in the Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. A 20,000 strong Zulu army defeated a mixed British and native force. 850 British soldiers and around 450 African soldiers in British service died. Those in the firing line were killed to a man. Only 50 European enlisted men and five officers escaped, in addition to several hundred Africans who fled the battlefield. The Zulus suffered some 1,000 dead and many wounded.
Isandlwana remains the worst military defeat for Britain at the hands of a colonial force. A decisive tactical victory for the Zulus, the defeat pushed the British into a much more aggressive approach to the Anglo-Zulu War, destroying King Cetshwayo's hopes of a negotiated peace.
The Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 was the opening, major encounter in the Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. A 20,000 strong Zulu army defeated a mixed British and native force. 850 British soldiers and around 450 African soldiers in British service died. Those in the firing line were killed to a man. Only 50 European enlisted men and five officers escaped, in addition to several hundred Africans who fled the battlefield. The Zulus suffered some 1,000 dead and many wounded.
Isandlwana remains the worst military defeat for Britain at the hands of a colonial force. A decisive tactical victory for the Zulus, the defeat pushed the British into a much more aggressive approach to the Anglo-Zulu War, destroying King Cetshwayo's hopes of a negotiated peace.
