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10 Fascinating Facts about the Zulu’s Victory Over the British at the Battle of Isandlwana

Posted byBy Olivia | Published on: | Updated on February 15, 2024 CommentsComments (10)
(c) The Royal Welsh Regimental Museum Trust; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation

(c) The Royal Welsh Regimental Museum Trust; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation

Contrary to popular belief, the Zulus did not win because the British were unarmed.

Some historians have attempted to downplay this Zulu victory by claiming that the British forces lacked ammunition. However, Horace Smith-Dorrien, a British survivor of the Battle of Isandlwana, wrote a letter to his father admitting that he had acquired a supply of ammunition and had distributed it to the British troops of the front line. In addition, an article on Military-history.org conveys that, in 2000, “an archaeological survey of the site found the remains of the tin lining of a number of boxes along the British firing positions.”

via thediehards.co.uk

via thediehards.co.uk

The myth about Zulu warriors torturing British drummer boys was debunked.

The same article has debunked the myth that British drummer boys were tortured by the Zulu warriors. The story of Lord Chelmsford’s men seeing “young drummer boys’ of the 24th Regiment hung up
on a butcher’s scaffold and ‘gutted like sheep” has been widely-accepted throughout history. Yet, the drummer boys of the Battle of Isandlwana were not children at all; “the youngest was 18 and the oldest in his 30s.” In addition, today’s historians admit that “no single case of torture was proved against [the Zulus].”

 

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