“Like a cyclone, Imperialism spins across the
globe; militarism crushes peoples and sucks
their blood like a vampire.”
–Karl Liebknecht
In 1879, the Anglo-Zulu War took place in Zululand, South Africa between the British empire and Kingdom of Zulu. It is known to be a military disaster for the British though, they emerged victoriously in the end.
The British invaded South Africa, whom they regarded as native savages. These people identified as Zulus, mustered a 20000 strong force to counter the intruders. The Zulus were ill-equipped with traditional Assegai iron spears and shields whereas the British were armed with superior weaponry like loading rifles and mountain guns. Though the natives were disadvantaged in weapons technology, they remained numerically superior, flabbergasting the British force who were poorly commanded and deployed by Lord Chelmsford, whilst he divided the British forces, leaving a main chunk of his army exposed at the camp in Isandlwana. This resulted in a humiliating defeat, later followed by another victory by the Zulus, on a British supply depot called the Rorke’s Drift. The soldiers defending this terminus were able to hold off their foes for hours, even celebrated by the Queen Victoria. Eventually, this conviction wiped out the stain of the real disaster at Isandlwana. This resistance remains as a great opposition against white intervention in South Africa.