Battle of Kambula

Isandhlwana - Nyezane - Rorke 's Drift - Ntombe - Hlobane - Kambula - Gingindlovu - Ulundi

The Battle of Kambula was fought on March 29, 1879 as part of the Zulukriegs. The British troops under Evelyn Wood won it an army of Zulu under Ntshingwayo Khoza.

Prehistory

1843 the area of Natal was formally annexed by the British. The mighty militaristic Zulustaat in the neighborhood appeared to the British but as a threat to their settlements in Natal. In January 1879, therefore, British colonial troops invaded under Lord Chelmsford from Natal into the Zulureich King Cetshwayo one. In the battle of Isandhlwana on 22 January 1879, the British suffered a disastrous defeat, in which the participating 1,300 British soldiers was completely annihilated.

During the middle and right division of the British were pushed back by the Kastastrophe at Isandhlwana, was on the left division under Evelyn Wood alone in Zululand. On March 28, it came to a fight between Woods cavalry, under Redvers Buller, and the main army of Zulu at Hlobane in which the Zulu were victorious.

The Battle

Wood had taken a fortified position after the defeat of Hlobane at Kambula. He oversaw 1,200 infantry, 650 cavalry and 120 artillery men, a total of about 2,000 men. Facing him was the main force of the Zulu under Ntshingwayo Khoza, who had already won the battle of Isandhlwana. In the Zulustreitmacht also fought regiments, which had beaten the British at Isandhlwana already and were equipped with captured firearms there. The battle began around 13:30 clock. The Zulus attacked in waves until about 17:30 clock unsuccessfully to the British position, in which they had to mourn loss of about 800 men in killed alone. Then Wood began the counter-attack, in which an estimated at least another 300 Zulu were killed.

Result

With the defeat at Kambula the morale of the victor of Isandlwana was significantly weakened and restored that of the British. Lord Chelmsford began in the summer to restructure its army and was on the 4th of July in the vicinity of the capital to destroy the Zulu Zulu at Ulundi.