Battle of Intombe 1879
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 12 March 1879 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1879 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | South Africa | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Anglo-Zulu War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | -27.2325, 30.6114 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Intombe (also Intombi or Intombi River Drift) was an action fought on 12 March 1879, between Zulu troops loyal to Mbilini waMswati and British soldiers and African civilian conductors, drivers and voorloopers (scouts) defending a convoy of wagons on the road from Derby to Lüneburg. The convoy straggled badly along the road due to the rains and bogged on both sides of the Intombe river, which had risen and was in spate due to the rains. Most of the wagons were laagered (parked close together as an obstacle), somewhat haphazardly, close to the river on the Derby side (the north bank) with a small party and two wagons on the Lüneburg side (the south bank).
The Zulu leader Mbilini waMswati and his followers could see how vulnerable the convoy was from the high ground of the Tafelberg. Mbilini assembled a large force of Zulu irregulars and attacked the laager on 12 March. Using the early morning mist for camouflage, the Zulu were able to rush the laager and overrun the British and their African auxiliaries. A few men managed to reach the river and dived in, hoping to be washed across to the south bank, where the small British party there engaged the Zulus on the north bank with rifle-fire.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Intombe (revision 1370443760), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Holkrans · 42 km
- Battle of Kambula 1879 · 52 km
- Battle of Blood River Poort 1901 · 60 km
- Battle of Hlobane 1879 · 62 km
- Battle of Laing's Nek 1881 · 78 km
- Battle of Majuba Hill 1881 · 78 km
Other battles of the Anglo-Zulu War
- Battle of Gingindlovu 1879
- Battle of Hlobane 1879
- Battle of Inyezane 1879
- Battle of Isandlwana 1879
- Battle of Kambula 1879
- Battle of Rorke's Drift 1879
- Battle of Ulundi 1879
- Siege of Eshowe 1879
- Zungeni Mountain skirmish
All 10 battles of the Anglo-Zulu War →
Browse more: battles in South Africa · Africa · 19th century battles