Why were British troops slaughtered at Isandlwana

Before any battle the Zulu Impi would be "blessed" as it were by a Sengorma or witch doctor to make bullets go around them, and believe it or not Sengorma's also carried out brain surgery. Quite how many lived after such surgery is unknown.

Strange you mentioned the bayonet. A few years ago in my shop I was serving a buddy of mine when he asked if I still had my Number 1 Lee Enfield with the 18 inch bayonet, when I said I did he asked to look at it. I went out to the vault got the rifle and attached the bayonet, when I walked into the front of the shop a black fella was talking to my salesman, his eyes opened like organ stops and backed off telling my salesman he don't like the bayonet.
 
I have read alot of accounts from soldiers from this war and many mention how the Zulus would charge against volley fire in what the Europeans called a reckless manner but they would show the bayonett some healthy respect.
 
I have read alot of accounts from soldiers from this war and many mention how the Zulus would charge against volley fire in what the Europeans called a reckless manner but they would show the bayonett some healthy respect.

I have no idea why, but tribesmen do not like cold steel.
 
Before any battle the Zulu Impi would be "blessed" as it were by a Sengorma or witch doctor to make bullets go around them, and believe it or not Sengorma's also carried out brain surgery. Quite how many lived after such surgery is unknown.

Strange you mentioned the bayonet. A few years ago in my shop I was serving a buddy of mine when he asked if I still had my Number 1 Lee Enfield with the 18 inch bayonet, when I said I did he asked to look at it. I went out to the vault got the rifle and attached the bayonet, when I walked into the front of the shop a black fella was talking to my salesman, his eyes opened like organ stops and backed off telling my salesman he don't like the bayonet.

About these “religious” ceremonies - in 1970-71 I witnessed such a ceremony in Japan. One of our Japanese workers had lost part of his hand in one of our machines and the other workers refused to work until the US Authorities brought in “shaman” to drive the “daemons” from the machines.
Might have been a scam to get a couple of days off work, but we had to honor it. The image of (I assume) Shinto priest in costume dancing around our machines will always be with me.

Belief in a supernatural source of evil is unnecessary - men alone are quite capable of all kinds of wickedness. Joseph Conrad
 
I have no idea why, but tribesmen do not like cold steel.

It was explained to me that they had a better understanding of stabbing weapons as it was what they used as firearms may still have held some magical, mystical qualities about them.
They were considered "magical" so could be defeated with more magic, whereas 18" of cold steel was, cold steel! as Corporal Jones so rightly put it; "They don't like it up 'em!"
 
Yes, a speciality of British infantry right up the 1960s at least, as far as training was concerned certainly. At that time the pig-sticker was preferred in combat to the flat blade generally. (unless my Regiment differed from the rest of the Army!) Either way, it is a nasty weapon to face.
 
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About these “religious” ceremonies

I suppose you could call it a religious ceremony, kind of.

It was explained to me that they had a better understanding of stabbing weapons as it was what they used as firearms may still have held some magical, mystical qualities about them.
They were considered "magical" so could be defeated with more magic, whereas 18" of cold steel was, cold steel! as Corporal Jones so rightly put it; "They don't like it up 'em!"

If you pointed a firearm at a Xhosa or Zulu, he'd laugh at you, but present something like a Bowie knife and he'd probably run.

I wouldn't like one up me either lol
 
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Yes, a speciality of British infantry right up the 1960s at least, as far as training was concerned certainly. At that time the pig-sticker was preferred in combat to the flat blade generally. (unless my Regiment differed from the rest of the Army!) Either way, it is a nasty weapon to face.

It was used in the Falklands. The battle for Mount Tumbledown saw the bayonett put to use. Wouldn't like to be on the receiving end at all, nearly stabbed once while at work and that was bad enough:(
 
It was used in Iraq, by a Scottish Regiment


The Bayonet Charge



The battle began when over 100 Mahdi army fighters ambushed two unarmored vehicles transporting around 20 Argylls on the isolated Route Six highway near the southern city of Amarah. Ensconced in trenches along the road, the militiamen fired mortars, rocket propelled grenades, and machine gun rounds. The vehicles stopped and British troops returned fire. The Mahdi barrage caused enough damage to force the troops to exit the vehicles.The soldiers quickly established a defensive perimeter and radioed for reinforcements from the main British base at Amarah – Camp Abu Naji. Reinforcements from the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment assisted the Argyles in an offensive operation against the Mahdi militiamen. When ammunition ran low among the British troops, the decision was made to fix bayonets for a direct assault.




The British soldiers charged across 600 feet of open ground toward enemy trenches. They engaged in intense hand-to-hand fighting with the militiamen. Despite being outnumbered and lacking ammunition, the Argylls and Princess of Wales troops routed the enemy. The British troops killed about 20 militiamen in the bayonet charge and between 28 and 35 overall. Only three British soldiers were injured.This incident marked the first time in 22 years that the British Army used bayonets in action. The previous incident occurred during the Falklands War in 1982.





II. Why the Bayonet Charge Was a Tactical Success

The bayonet charge by British troops in Basra achieved tactical success primarily because of psychological and cultural factors. It also shows that superior firepower does not guarantee success by either side. In this case, the value of surprise, countering enemy expectations, and strict troop discipline were three deciding characteristics of the bayonet charge.


 
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Nice one Le. My own experience is of a Scots infantry regiment, and the bayonet charge is indeed a psychological weapon. An advancing ans dtermined line of fixed bayonets, firing volleys on each single command of 'Bullets', and shrieking like banshees and fully intent upon leaping on and into their opponents as against simply thrusting is intended to strike terror, and my verdict on such Scots regiments is the famous quotation:- I don't know what the effect on their enemies is - but, By God (sic)- they terrify me!' Was that Wellington'?
 


II. Why the Bayonet Charge Was a Tactical Success


The bayonet charge by British troops in Basra achieved tactical success primarily because of psychological and cultural factors. It also shows that superior firepower does not guarantee success by either side. In this case, the value of surprise, countering enemy expectations, and strict troop discipline were three deciding characteristics of the bayonet charge.



Absolutely true! I've always thought that with bullets, you can duck behind cover, or just hope the guy's a rotten shot. With a bayonett its personnal. He is comming for you and it is you or him.
 
What many historians fail to mention regarding the battle of Isandlwana and Rorkes Drift, is the ambient temperature. January in South Africa is the height of summer while temperatures in the 120-140F range is not unusual. Now imagine fighting hand to hand wearing thick heavy jackets and trousers, it must have been horrendous and strength sapping. Troops must have been drinking water by the gallon, also taking into account that heatstroke can put someone on their back in a heartbeat.
 
Most of the 1st Battalion of the 24th, who fought at Isandlwhana had been in the Cape for some time and were suposedly aclimatised, but still, as you say it mus have been a strength sapping experience, especially as the firing line broke up and they started to fight hand to hand and have to run for their lives.
The only Europeans to survive the battle were on horse back.
They must have been parched from not only the heat but from the dust and the clouds of smoke from all the firing.
The uniforms were made from wool, so they would have been sweating just by standing still in them let alone trying to fight a battle in them.
Normal human body temperature is 36.9 centigrade. An increase of 2 degrees can be fatal.
 
Some info on the bayonet.

The bayonet is primarily a weapon of intimidation. In modern battle, which is delivered with combatants so far apart; man has come to have a horror of man. He comes to hand-to-hand fighting only to defend his body as if forced to it. With the exception of knife fighting or actual hand-to-hand combat, there is no more direct and personal way to inflict death or die in combat than by the point of the bayonet. The threat of the bayonet causes an irrational fear of being stabbed. This fear destroys the enemy’s will to fight and by destroying the will to fight, the ability to fight is also destroyed. The intimidation factor of the bayonet is amplified when its use is directed against poorly trained or troops with low morale.

To be most effective the bayonet charge must be delivered in an orderly manner. The men must arrive simultaneously so that the defenders do not get a chance to overwhelm the individual soldier. This implies a disciplined approach; an application of offensive spirit. There is a great deal of physical effort required to use the bayonet. The first is overcome the reluctance to kill at close range. It is one thing to fire a rifle at a distant target and see it fall. The other side is no longer a faceless target. At bayonet range, the soldier could look directly into the eyes of his opponent; he could hear the screams and perhaps be splashed with his foe’s blood. Secondly, with this reluctance to directly attack at close range, human instinct is to use other tools; such as the butt of the rifle rather than an edged weapon. The final factor to overcome is not only the reluctance to use the bayonet but to overcome the fear of being stabbed yourself. Only when that fear is subdued are you willing to come to that intimate death dealing range. The bayonet also serves as a serious psychological tool. When the bayonet is affixed to the weapon it affirms that the assault or defense is going to be a desperate affair.
 
The uniforms were made from wool, so they would have been sweating just by standing still in them let alone trying to fight a battle in them.
Normal human body temperature is 36.9 centigrade. An increase of 2 degrees can be fatal.
Wool though, can get saturated & actually in the long run can have more of a cooling effect than cotton. My Dad used to talk about when he was visiting Camp Shelby (he was a pilot) in Miss in '42 watching 2 companys drilling. One had the new cotton uniforms & the other had the wool WWI uniforms. At 1st the guys in wood looked like they were having a hard time, but eventually most of the guys keeling over had the cotton uniforms. Probably upper 90s with humidity thick enough to see it!
 
Wool though, can get saturated & actually in the long run can have more of a cooling effect than cotton. My Dad used to talk about when he was visiting Camp Shelby (he was a pilot) in Miss in '42 watching 2 companys drilling. One had the new cotton uniforms & the other had the wool WWI uniforms. At 1st the guys in wood looked like they were having a hard time, but eventually most of the guys keeling over had the cotton uniforms. Probably upper 90s with humidity thick enough to see it!

I don't doubt it George, but these guys were fighting for their lives.
On top of everything else, Adrenaline was surging through their systems and this is a powerful Vaso Constrictor.
It closes down the blood flow to the extremities, whereas to cool off you want to Vaso Dilate. So they would be over heating very quickly.
Today we understand about hydration and the importance of water intake. They had their hands full just shooting at the enemy with little time to stop and drink.
These poor devils were in a hostile enviroment in every sense of the word.
They also knew, towards the end that they stood little chance of survival and were just putting off the inevitable.
 
The weather in the Cape is far more agreeable (cooler) then in Natal. I climbed up to the saddle where Captain Younghusband was killed and even in November when the temperature is not as high as in January, I was pouring with sweat.
 
The British defeat/Zulu victory at Isandlwhana came about as the result of numerous factors that came together on the 22nd January 1879.
In the imediate aftermath the people in charge,and responsible, Lord Chelmsford, Sir Henry Bartle Frere, and others tried to divert the blame from themselves and onto the people who could not defend themselves because they were dead. (sounds familiar!)
They put the blame of the British collapse on Colonel Durnford, and various other individuals and made up non existant issues, such as the "Ammunition Myth" for example. Survivors' testimonies were ignored or supressed. One surviving officer was not even allowed to give evidence at the subsequent enquiry!
Bottom line, they underestimated the Zulus and got a severe shock.
They could have defeated the Zulus, and initially they had them at bay but, as the various factors came together the Zulus took advantage of every opportunity they could take and produced an outstanding victory against their enemy.
 
The British defeat/Zulu victory at Isandlwhana came about as the result of numerous factors that came together on the 22nd January 1879.
In the imediate aftermath the people in charge,and responsible, Lord Chelmsford, Sir Henry Bartle Frere, and others tried to divert the blame from themselves and onto the people who could not defend themselves because they were dead. (sounds familiar!)
They put the blame of the British collapse on Colonel Durnford, and various other individuals and made up non existant issues, such as the "Ammunition Myth" for example. Survivors' testimonies were ignored or supressed. One surviving officer was not even allowed to give evidence at the subsequent enquiry!
Bottom line, they underestimated the Zulus and got a severe shock.
They could have defeated the Zulus, and initially they had them at bay but, as the various factors came together the Zulus took advantage of every opportunity they could take and produced an outstanding victory against their enemy.

There were a lot of mistakes made at Isandlwana, a laager wasn't formed when the camp was first set up, Chelmsford split his forces to go hunting for Zulu's, before the attack tents were not struck, very poor deployment of what artillery they had on hand. I firmly believe that if a square had been set up two ranks deep, each rank of 100 men with an F group in the middle to plug any gaps the Zulu could have been beaten, or at least held until Chelmsford showed up again. The Zulu tactic of outflanking with the buffalo horns would have failed.

Any yes, the British did get a hell of a shock, never underestimate your enemy.
 
There were a lot of mistakes made at Isandlwana, a laager wasn't formed when the camp was first set up, Chelmsford split his forces to go hunting for Zulu's, before the attack tents were not struck, very poor deployment of what artillery they had on hand. I firmly believe that if a square had been set up two ranks deep, each rank of 100 men with an F group in the middle to plug any gaps the Zulu could have been beaten, or at least held until Chelmsford showed up again. The Zulu tactic of outflanking with the buffalo horns would have failed.

Any yes, the British did get a hell of a shock, never underestimate your enemy.

The thing was, the European forces didn't just underestimate the Zulus once, at Isandlwhana, but at subsequent battles leading up to the final battle at Ulundi where they finaly did form a square with artillery and gattling guns. But, by then the Zulu army had lost some of its fighting spirit. They were tired of the war, and knew they couldn't win.
Ultimately its a war that should never have been fought.
 
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