The Anglo-Zulu War was one of many colonial campaigns in which the British Army served as the instrument of British imperialism. The conflict, fought against a native adversary the British initially under-estimated, is remarkable for battles that included perhaps the most humiliating defeat in British military history-the Battle of Isandlwana, January 22, 1879-and one of its most heroic feats of martial arms-the defense of Rorke's Drift, January 22-23, 1879. While lasting only six months, it is one of the most examined, studied, and debated conflicts in Victorian military history. Anglo-Zulu War, 1879: A Selected Bibliography is a research guide and tool for identifying obscure publications and source materials in order to encourage continued original and thought-provoking contributions to this popular field of historical study. From the student or neophyte to the study of the Anglo-Zulu War, its battles, and its opponents to the more experienced historian or scholar, this selected bibliography is a must for anyone interested in the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War.

A new and complete history of Zululand, and its destruction at the hands of the British in 1879. This book is not only a complete history of the Zulus but also an account of the way the British won absolute rule in South Africa. In the early decades of the nineteenth century, Shaka Zulu established a nation in south-east Africa which was to become the most politically sophisticated and militarily powerful black nation in the entire area. Although the Zulus never had any quarrel with their British neighbours, the rulers of the Cape Colony could not conceive of them as anything but a threat. In 1879, under dubious pretences, the British finally crossed the Buffalo River, and embarked on a bloody war that was to rock the very foundations of the British Empire. The story is studded with tales of incredible heroism, drama and atrocity on both sides: the Battle of Isandlwana, where the Zulus inflicted on the British the worst defeat a modern army has ever suffered at the hands of men without guns; Rorke's Drift, where a handful of British troops beat off thousands of Zulu warriors and won a record 11 VCs; and Ulundi, where the Zulus were finally crushed in a battle that was to herald some of the most shameful episodes in British Colonial history. Comprehensive, vast in scope, and filled with original and up-to-date research, this is a book that is set to replace all standard works on the subject.

The full, fascinating true story of the Anglo-Zulu conflict - responsible for some of the bloodiest battles in British history, including Rorke's Drift. Drawing on primary sources and original research, Schoeman's readable and accessible style is perfect for this single-volume study of the conflict.

In 1878 southern Africa’s two most senior figures, army commander General Lord Chelmsford and the High Commissioner Sir Henry Bartle-Frere created a false threat of a Zulu invasion of British Natal. In an astonishing act of over-confidence and without any government permission, Frere and Chelmsford invaded Zululand with five independent columns of troops. Both leaders ignored the serious implications of their two recently failed expeditions against the Zulus’ neighbouring King Sekhukhune and his Pedi people. The Zulu war lasted only six months and witnessed two separate British invasions of Zululand – one catastrophic, one successful. This book gives the reader a general overview of the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879 with descriptive text, location photographs and illuminating map overviews of the twelve main battles including Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift. The author’s unique maps are based on his own lecture notes and ‘battlefield map handouts’ as a Zulu War battlefield guide for over 25 years. These maps were avidly collected by his many groups and other guides; they clearly explain each battlefield’s layout and sequence of events but also included many little known details of each fierce and bloody engagement. At the suggestion of the Anglo Zulu War Historical Society, these maps are now reproduced in book form. While volumes have been written on the subject, this work gives us an even better insight into these gruelling and complex battles.