Battle of Gingindlovu
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Gingindlovu (uMgungundlovu) was fought on 2 April 1879 between a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 relief column sent to break the Siege of Eshowe
Siege of Eshowe
The Siege of Eshowe was part of a three-pronged attack on the Zulu Impis of king Cetshwayo at Ulundi during the Anglo-Zulu War. After a successful incursion as far as Eshowe, Colonel Charles Pearson was besieged there for two months by the Zulus....

 and a Zulu impi
Impi
An Impi is an isiZulu word for any armed body of men. However, in English it is often used to refer to a Zulu regiment, which is called an ibutho in Zulu. Its beginnings lie far back in historic tribal warfare customs, where groups of armed men called impis battled...

 of king Cetshwayo
Cetshwayo
Cetshwayo kaMpande was the King of the Zulu Kingdom from 1872 to 1879 and their leader during the Anglo-Zulu War . His name has been transliterated as Cetawayo, Cetewayo, Cetywajo and Ketchwayo.- Early life :...

.

Prelude

Charles Pearson had led the No. 1 Column of the British invasion force across the Tugela River
Tugela River
The Tugela River is the largest river in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The river originates in the Drakensberg Mountains, Mont-aux-Sources, and plunges 947 metres down the Tugela Falls...

 with the intention of creating an advanced base at Eshowe. This they did, but found themselves besieged in the hastily constructed base, at a deserted Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 mission station. A relief column was organised, and under the leadership of Lord Chelmsford it departed Fort Tenedos
Fort Tenedos
Fort Tenedos was large earth-walled fort was constructed on the Zulu side of the Tugela River in January, 1879, opposite Fort Pearson, to support the British at the start of the Anglo-Zulu War. It was named Fort Tenedos after the British warship of the same name, , whose crew formed part of the...

 on 29 March to march to Pearson's relief. The column composed 3,390 Europeans and 2,280 Africans, and a range of artillery, including two 9-pounders (4 kg), four 24-pounder (11 kg) rocket tubes and two Gatling gun
Gatling gun
The Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. It is well known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat...

s. The progress was slow, as Chelmsford took a roundabout route to avoid ambush in the close country Pearson had previously passed through. In addition, the rivers they had to traverse were swollen by heavy rains and fearing a repeat of Isandlwana
Battle of Isandlwana
The Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom...

, Chelmsford ensured his men spent much time laagering and entrenching their camp at the end of each day.

Despite this slow progress, Pearson's observers at Eshowe could see the relief column laagering on the south bank of the Inyezane on the evening of 1 April. The laager was sited on a 300-foot (100 m) ridge running roughly west-east. West of the ridge, the ground dipped, only to rise again to the 470 foot (140 m) Umisi Hill. The ground sloped away in all directions, allowing a good field of fire. A trench surrounded a waist high wall of earth, which itself encompassed 120 wagons formed a square with sides of 130 yards (120 m) in length.
While these defences were being constructed, a scout returned in the evening bearing news of Zulus massing on the far side of Umisi Hill. A second scouting party reported no forces there, but that an impi was camped to the north west of the laager. While the scouts could not assess the Zulu strength because of the darkness, this impi was in fact composed of 12,000 warriors, all of whom had been at Isandlwana. The impi had been ordered to ambush the relief column, and thwarted by Chelmsford already; this was their final chance to stop the column before it reached Eshowe. The night passed with no attack.

The battle

At daybreak on 2 April 1879, the morning sun revealed a muddy and sodden ground and a heavy mist. Chelmsford could not move his wagons until the ground dried out, and so sent out the Natal Native Contingent to provoke the Zulus into an attack while he held a strong position. Once the mist lifted, the left horn of the impi was seen advancing eastwards over the river towards the British laager before disappearing into tall grass. A long burst of fire from one of the Gatling guns saw the warriors disappear into the long grass. When the left horn re-emerged it had joined the rest of the impi and the left horn, chest and right horn were advancing over Umisi Hill. The whole charging buffalo formation came in at a run on the three sides of the laager. This was the scenario Chelmsford had planned for, at a range of between 300 and 400 yards (300 to 400 m), the British infantry opened fire, supported by the Gatling guns and rockets. Zulu marksmen caused a few casualties within the laager, but the defenders kept the Zulus at bay and Chelmsford's defence was working. Though the Zulu regiments made persistent rushes to get within stabbing range, their charges lacked the drive and spirit that had pushed them forward at the Battle of Isandlwana
Battle of Isandlwana
The Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom...

 and Rorke's Drift
Rorke's Drift
The Battle of Rorke's Drift, also known as the Defence of Rorke's Drift, was a battle in the Anglo-Zulu War. The defence of the mission station of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenant John Chard of the Royal Engineers, immediately followed the British Army's defeat at the Battle of...

. After 20 minutes, the Zulu impi began to crumble away. Seeing this, Chelmsford ordered pursuit by the mounted troops and the native contingent. Large numbers of Zulu warriors were killed in this chase. By 07:30, the Zulus had fled and the grim task of killing Zulu wounded was undertaken.

Around the laager itself, 700 Zulu bodies were counted and 300 more were killed in the mounted chase of the retreating warriors. The British took eleven dead, including a Lieutenant-Colonel, and 48 wounded.

Aftermath

The battle restored Chelmsford's confidence in his army and their ability to defeat Zulu attacks. With the last resistance between Chelmsford and Pearson's columns removed, he was able to advance and relieve Eshowe.

External links

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