Texas Star
US Veteran
I saw a very interesting video on YouTube that was, I think, a BBC presentation. It discussed the tragedy of the Zulu attack on the British troops camped by the mountain Isandlwana in Jan., 1879. You can see this mountain in the movie, "Zulu", about the subsequent attack on the small force defending the mission station at Rorke's Drift, a battle for which 11 Victoria Crosses were awarded for outstanding gallantry!
It has been widely reported that the Zulus won largely because the British troops couldn't access ammunition packed in wooden boxes secured by metal bands. Those with tools to unlock the boxes were soon killed and the men had to fight with what ammo they had on them and with their bayonets.
This is partly true, but the show demonstrated how the butts of the Martini-Henry .450 rifles could be used to strike a downward blow at a crucial point, to break off the fronts of those boxes. The men were vets of earlier campaigns and would know this. Bodies were found with many empty ctg. cases by them and opened boxes. These soldiers had ammo; certainly many did.
The real culprits seem to have been an overcast day with an eclipse, which meant that they were fighting in darkness, and the smoke from the black powder made it additionally difficult to see their sights.
The Zulu had infiltrated up some small arroyos/nullahs and were largely unseen until they were in attacking distance. Remember, their warriors could run for 50 miles a day and still fight!
Until I saw this program, I hadn't known about the solar eclipse and the other issues.
As with Custer's troops at the Little Big Horn, early brass or copper ctg. cases were difficult to extract when the rifles got dirty from firing. The Martini was a better rifle than the US Springfield .45-70, but frequent firing of black powder and weak ctg. cases could gum up extraction.
Now, you understand better how the Zulus could slaughter a force of about 1300 men, but couldn't defeat the far smaller force at Rorke's Drift, where they had the fort as shelter and innovative tactics by the officers and ample ammo and better light.
I was impressed.
It has been widely reported that the Zulus won largely because the British troops couldn't access ammunition packed in wooden boxes secured by metal bands. Those with tools to unlock the boxes were soon killed and the men had to fight with what ammo they had on them and with their bayonets.
This is partly true, but the show demonstrated how the butts of the Martini-Henry .450 rifles could be used to strike a downward blow at a crucial point, to break off the fronts of those boxes. The men were vets of earlier campaigns and would know this. Bodies were found with many empty ctg. cases by them and opened boxes. These soldiers had ammo; certainly many did.
The real culprits seem to have been an overcast day with an eclipse, which meant that they were fighting in darkness, and the smoke from the black powder made it additionally difficult to see their sights.
The Zulu had infiltrated up some small arroyos/nullahs and were largely unseen until they were in attacking distance. Remember, their warriors could run for 50 miles a day and still fight!
Until I saw this program, I hadn't known about the solar eclipse and the other issues.
As with Custer's troops at the Little Big Horn, early brass or copper ctg. cases were difficult to extract when the rifles got dirty from firing. The Martini was a better rifle than the US Springfield .45-70, but frequent firing of black powder and weak ctg. cases could gum up extraction.
Now, you understand better how the Zulus could slaughter a force of about 1300 men, but couldn't defeat the far smaller force at Rorke's Drift, where they had the fort as shelter and innovative tactics by the officers and ample ammo and better light.
I was impressed.
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But we shouldn't jump to conclusions on the sample burials. More research is needed, covering a wider range of Neanderthals.
