#anglo zulu war

[victusinveritas]

On the set of Zulu Dawn filmed in January 1979 on the actual site, 100 years to the month, of the real battle of Isandlwana.

Unlike the jingoistic crap fest of Zulu (1964, a favorite movie of mine because of Michael Caine and not any message in the movie), Zulu Dawn managed to take a slightly more post imperial look at the British Empire and hint that maybe, just maybe, they were the baddies. There's still a lot of chest pounding and that sort of thing, but if you want to see a movie where the people in red all die except for like a few of them, this is one for you.

[lionofchaeronea]

The Defense of Rorke's Drift, 1879, Alphonse de Neuville, 1880

[deceptigoons-attack]

oh my god, you’ve seen Zulu (1964)?! my dad made me watch it with him because I wouldn’t shut up about Waterloo (1970) and I suppose he was right to because it’s fully affirmed my love of war and war movies… I don’t understand why they’re building a bridge across a stream that can be crossed on foot, though? am I missing something?

Yes!!! 🤣 I've watched both of those so many times. 😂 I mean keeping in mind I haven't watched it in a long time, I think it's just because it would be more practical to have an actual bridge for troops to cross rather than slowly wading across through that shallow bit.

Some bonus stuff 🤣 I actually don't know when this photo is from, but it's of the Buffalo River (KwaZulu-Natal) near Rorke's Drift, so it at least gives an idea of what they were representing. I believe Chard was also just repairing the pontoon bridge(s) instead of building them, but that's a detail that isn't at all important to the movie. 🤣

[lightdancer1]

Wrapping up today with King Cetshwayo:

Cetshwayo, the last independent ruler of Zululand, was the ruler who led the fight against the British and who, after defeat, sough to keep up the fight to keep Zulu land Zulu and to resist the land grabs by both Boer and Briton. That he was one of many rulers who failed does not distinguish him from others, that he and his people outright won multiple major victories before their defeat instead of fighting a heroic but ultimately futile set of last stands to defy the courses of time, OTOH, very much does.

His career and his defeat marks an appropriate swansong prior to the Partition of Africa and in many ways the close of the era when European power in Africa was limited to enclaves either right on its coastlines or in the case of South Africa, the one significant zone of conquest that reached into the interior to any great degree.

[cannotthinkofanaccountname]

Opinions on Kanduu (Episode 10 SPOILERS)

I love that Kanduu is not entirely a villain, more like an anti-hero, he's just someone who believes what he is doing is the right thing. He was also not a villain to begin with, rather he was just a soldier, or rather a Lieutenant, who was responsible for the well-being of other soldiers under his command. He was just someone who ended up desperate to prevent even more deaths and to survive, and people can make bad decisions when they're desperate.

While it is wrong to try to sacrifice 1000 people, I also do see where he's coming from and that he is right in wanting to stop wars. He's just going the wrong way about it.

I believe the war he was in was the Anglo-Zulu war, and in real life, the British wanted the Zululand in South Africa for a few reasons, but one was so they could get the Zulu people to perform labour digging/mining for diamonds. Kanduu says "We were fighting in a country we did not belong in, for something that was not ours to begin with", and this is what I believe he's referring to.

As for the next season, which I do believe is coming, it would be stupid to not have a second season when season 1 ended on a cliffhanger, I think Kanduu is going to be far more dangerous. He wanted to see if he could make the kids understand what he was doing, to try to see where he was coming from, but now that he knows they're against him he's not going to take "no" for an answer a second time. He's not going to play fair or be nice.

[leapyearforever]

Portrait of a man tattooed by Sutherland MacDonald, 1897

Sutherland Macdonald (1860 - 1942) was a prominent English tattoo artist in the late 19th century and early 20th century, and the first tattooist in Britain with an identifiable premises open to the public. Macdonald served in the British Army in the 1870s as a telegraph operator in the Royal Engineers and was in the Anglo-Zulu War. He trained George Burchett. He died at his home on 3 Guilford Avenue, Surbiton and is buried at Surbiton Cemetery.

[ancestorlegacy]

You know what, it's April fool's day so I'm letting go of all my worries about how this insane rambling will look like cause IT'S TIME TO TALK ABOUT THE ZULU KINGDOM BABY

What is the Zulu kingdom? It is a African kingdom located in Austral Africa, founded in 1816 by the first king Shaka Zulu (also called Shaka kaSenzangakhona).

This kingdom stayed independent until 1879, when the Anglo Zulu war saw the British empire take control of the state, but before this, the Zulu kingdom had an enormous impact on Southern Africa as a whole, both in terms of geography, culture and warfare.

To explain this, let's go back to the foundation of the kingdom. At the time, the Zulus were not a kingdom, but a tribe. Shaka Zulu, who was one of the numerous children of the tribe leader Senzangakhona, took power after his death and set out to do numerous reforms to the way of life of the Zulus, which would turn crucial to the tribe's transition into one of the most fearsome military states of its time.

The first reforms were in weaponry: while the Zulus, like other tribes of the region, used mainly spears to fight, Shaka introduced new ways of fighting with the iklwa (an assegai which would play a role similar to a sword) and the isihlangu (a 2 meter tall cow hide shield perfect to shield Zulu soldiers from enemy spears). With those, the strategy would be to rush towards the enemy lines, who still used spears, and go into hand to hand combat where the iklwa were superior.

Shaka Zulu also introduced new military tactics, which were never seen before in Southern Africa -owning him the nickname of "the African Napoleon"-, though the one he is the most well known for is the bullhorn strategy. This tactic would separate the army in three contingents: the horns, formed of the younger soldiers whose role would be to deploy quickly and circle the enemies as to stop them from running; the chest, the main force which would then hit the enemy (in a hammer and anvil formation similar to those of Alexander the Great); and the loin, a special force staying behind and ready to intervene wherever they would be needed, wether it was finishing off fleeing enemies, helping a struggling group or assisting in the retreat.

All of this lead the Zulus to easily beat and take control of the neighboring tribes and states, in an event knows as the Mfecane (crushing in Zulu), where people would flee the Zulu menace and bring in their escape the Zulu strategies, which in turn would make them a danger to the people they were fleeing into. But not everyone fled, and a lot of tribes became integrates into Zulu society.

This is where we can see Shaka Zulu's reforms of the military to their full extent: the first thing he did with it was to organize the military into ranks based on veterance. As said before, the youngest soldiers would form the horns, and the oldest the chest. Another thing was that every group of soldier (the impi) was to be formed of men from different tribes. This way, a feeling of unity would form that would stop the conquered groups from wanting to revolt.

By doing this, Shaka Zulu created a sentiment of Zulu identity even in groups originally not Zulu, which would stay up to this day.

And that is how the Zulu kingdom came to be! Through the numerous reforms and military genius of Shaka Zulu, was born a brand new actor in Southern Africa, one that would one day inflicts to the British their worst defeat in a war of colonization- but that's for another time!

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Imagine this as the teaser trailer for a stand-alone sequel to “Prey”:

It’s the middle of the Anglo-Zulu War. A group of Zulu warriors (the leader/main character is played by Djimon Hounsou) approaches a set of British barracks that they planned on attacking. Once inside, they discover that the entire barracks has been ransacked, with all the soldiers inside already dead. One Zulu warrior asks if this was the work of another Zulu unit, but Djimon says, “No…someone else did this”. He says this because he finds scorch marks on the walls that clearly didn’t come from either British or Zulu weaponry.

Just then, they find one survivor among the British. The British soldier is heavily injured and coughing up blood. Just as the Zulu soldiers are about to approach and demand answers, the British soldier shouts, “They’re still here, they’re baiting you! Get out now!”

Suddenly, the Zulu soldiers are covered with Predator laser sights. To make matters worse, the way the lasers are scattered around the room indicates that there are multiple Predators outside. One Zulu soldier panics and shouts, “What is this!?” Djimon, who is also panicking but trying to remain calm, whispers, “I don’t know.”

Djimon then looks outside the window and sees at least three Predators staring right back at him. Sudden cut to black…reveal the title screen of “PREY 2”.

[enig-og-tro]

Hate British military literature. I'm reading about the Anglo-Zulu war and for some reason I'm reading half a chapter about some guy named Lieutenant Glynn and his career in Gibraltar??

[peashooter85]

The Disastrous Anglo-Zulu War

[victusinveritas]

Michael Caine in action in Zulu (1964). Zulu Dawn is a better film and the good guys (Zulu) win in that one.

[pintsizeddeepthoughts]

25 of 250: Favorite Films - Zulu

Not long ago, work colleagues and I got into a discussion about what our favorite films were. Given my categorical nature I could not resist writing down a list and, as a writing challenge, have decided to write 250 word reviews of my favorite 25 films of all-time. Note: these are my favorite films, not what I think are the best films of all time.

Directed by: Cy Enfield

Written by: John Prebble and Cy Enfield

Starring: Stanley Baker, Michael Caine, Jack Hawkins, James Booth

Year/Country: 1964, United Kingdom

Is the British classic Zulu racist or anti-imperialist? The film has vociferous defenders and critics, each having good ammunition for their arguments. The subject of the film is the Battle of Rorke’s Drift during the Anglo-Zulu War in which 100 British soldiers managed to survive determined attacks by 4,000 Zulu warriors. It still holds the title for the most Victoria Crosses awarded in a single battle.

For those who claim the film is racist, it’s impossible to ignore that the Anglo-Zulu was fought for racist and nakedly imperialist reasons, the battle features African warriors armed with spears against Europeans wielding breech-loading rifles, and the film starts with the exploitive scene of a Zulu wedding ceremony. These are all valid critiques and impossible to ignore. And we shouldn’t. The Anglo-Zulu War led to a century of apartheid in South Africa, just as other colonial adventures did.

However, the arguments claiming the film is anti-imperialist are just as valid. The soldiers are all professionals who view the Zulus as dangerous and worthy opponents; they are unmotivated by patriotism. When one private asks a grizzled veteran “why us?”, the sargeant deadpans “because we’re here, lad.” The nihilism of the troops undercuts any rah-rah moments, resulting in a much more human story than might’ve otherwise been told. At the end of the battle, one officer asks, “So, you’ve fought your first battle. How do you feel?” The answer: “Sick.” Such moments go a long way to minimizing the film’s more troubling attributes.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 9.1 (after 1870)

1870 – Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Sedan is fought, resulting in a decisive Prussian victory. 1873 – Cetshwayo ascends to the throne as king of the Zulu nation following the death of his father Mpande. 1878 – Emma Nutt becomes the world's first female telephone operator when she is recruited by Alexander Graham Bell to the Boston Telephone Dispatch Company. 1880 – The army of Mohammad Ayub Khan is routed by the British at the Battle of Kandahar, ending the Second Anglo-Afghan War. 1894 – Over 400 people die in the Great Hinckley Fire, a forest fire in Hinckley, Minnesota. 1897 – The Tremont Street Subway in Boston opens, becoming the first underground rapid transit system in North America. 1923 – The Great Kantō earthquake devastates Tokyo and Yokohama, killing about 105,000 people. 1939 – World War II: Germany and Slovakia invade Poland, beginning the European phase of World War II. 1939 – J. Robert Oppenheimer and his student Hartland Snyder publish the Oppenheimer–Snyder model, proving for the first time in contemporary physics how black holes could develop. 1944 – World War II: Launch of Operation Ratweek, complicating German retreat. 1961 – TWA Flight 529 crashed shortly after takeoff from Midway Airport in Chicago, killing all 78 people on board. At the time, it was the deadliest single plane disaster in U.S. history. 1967 – Six-Day War: The Khartoum Resolution is issued at the Arab Summit, and eight countries adopt the "three 'no's against Israel". 1969 – A coup in Libya brings Muammar Gaddafi to power. 1973 – A 76-hour multinational rescue effort in the Celtic Sea resulted in the Rescue of Roger Mallinson and Roger Chapman. 1974 – The SR-71 Blackbird sets (and holds) the record for flying from New York to London in the time of one hour, 54 minutes and 56.4 seconds at a speed of 1,435.587 miles per hour (2,310.353 km/h). 1981 – Central African President David Dacko is ousted from power in a bloodless military coup led by General André Kolingba. 1982 – The United States Air Force Space Command is founded. 1983 – Cold War: Korean Air Lines Flight 007 is shot down by a Soviet jet fighter after the commercial aircraft strayed into Soviet airspace, killing all 269 on board, including Congressman Lawrence McDonald. 2004 – The Beslan school siege begins when armed terrorists take schoolchildren and school staff hostage in North Ossetia, Russia; by the end of the siege, three days later, more than 385 people are dead (including hostages, other civilians, security personnel and terrorists). 2008 – Iraq War: The United States Armed Forces transfers control of Anbar Province to the Iraqi Armed Forces. 2022 – Physicians at AdventHealth Central Florida Division developed a new five hour test for brain-eating amoebas.

[lightdancer1]

Hlobane was the other great Zulu victory:

While Isandlwana gets a great deal of fame, Hlobane was a victory in its own way no less momentous and confirming one of the key elements that made this war distinctive. While the war would change at Khambula when newer-style artillery finally made its full debut on the battlefield along with machine guns, the earlier battles were rifles vs. spears and, save at the static fighting at Rorke's Drift that was more than a little akin to Blood River the Zulus rolled over the British. This underscores a key lesson of real wars, that machines alone can decide things in certain contexts but in others they create very real weaknesses that a seemingly obsolete force can and will exploit and make itself certain to do so.

It should also be noted in European terms of the time that artillery was the real killer in war, so the Zulu falling to that and to machine guns was a case of patterns that happened to European armies as well, and when a European army falls to this at Sadowa or Sedan they are considered incompetently led but it's not taken as an entire verdict on a people or a culture.

[cannotthinkofanaccountname]

Info on Kanduu's character

Name: Rupert (surname unknown)

Nationality: British (English)

Age: canonically unknown, but likely in his late 30s to early 40s (if we're saying his age is the same as the actor's then he's 42)

Height: 6 ft

Eye colour: blue

Hair colour: light brown

Army Rank: Lieutenant

War he was involved in: Anglo-Zulu war

[fifihunterbakariafrocentric]

The Disastrous Anglo-Zulu War