Battle of Isandlwana 1879
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 22 January 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, Zulu Kingdom | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | -28.3564, 30.6525 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Isandlwana (alternative spelling: Isandhlwana) on 22 January 1879 was the second major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom – the Battle of Nyezane having been fought and won earlier on the same day by Colonel Pearson's Coastal Column. Eleven days after the British invaded the Zulu Kingdom in Southern Africa, a Zulu force of some 20,000 warriors attacked a portion of the British main column consisting of approximately 1,800 British, colonial and native troops with approximately 350 civilians. The Zulus were equipped mainly with the traditional assegai iron spears and cow-hide shields, but also had a number of muskets and antiquated rifles.
The British and colonial troops were armed with the modern Martini–Henry breechloading rifle and two 7-pounder mountain guns deployed as field guns, as well as a Hale rocket battery. The Zulus had a vast disadvantage in weapons technology, but they greatly outnumbered the British and ultimately overwhelmed them, killing over 1,300 troops, including all those out on the forward firing line.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Isandlwana (revision 1381249496), 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
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Other battles of the Anglo-Zulu War
- Battle of Gingindlovu 1879
- Battle of Hlobane 1879
- Battle of Intombe 1879
- Battle of Inyezane 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