Zungeni Mountain skirmish

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Zungeni Mountain skirmish
Part of the Anglo-Zulu War
Death of lt frith.png
Death of Lieutenant Frith, as depicted by Melton Prior in the Illustrated London News of 2 August 1879
Date5 June 1879
Location
Zululand
28°17′S30°57′E / 28.283°S 30.950°E / -28.283; 30.950 [1]
Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg British Empire Zulu Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Frederick Marshall
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Redvers Buller 		Unknown
Strength
  • 500 regular cavalry
  • 300 irregular horse
 300 irregular infantry
Casualties and losses
One officer killed
At least two men wounded		 At least 25 killed
South Africa adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
class=notpageimage|
Approximate location in present-day South Africa

The Zungeni Mountain skirmish (referred to in some contemporary British accounts as the affair at Erzungayan) [2] took place on 5 June 1879 between British and Zulu forces during the Second invasion of Zululand in what is now part of South Africa. British irregular horse commanded by Colonel Redvers Buller discovered a force of 300 Zulu levies at a settlement near the Zungeni Mountain. The horsemen charged and scattered the Zulu before burning the settlement. Buller's men withdrew after coming under fire from the Zulu who had threatened to surround them.

Contents

A force of British cavalry commanded by Major-General Frederick Marshall arrived on the scene and were eager to see action. A squadron of the 17th (The Duke of Cambridge's Own) Lancers, led by Colonel Drury Drury-Lowe, charged the Zulu. They cleared the open ground but were not able to press into an area of long grass and bushes from which the Zulu were firing upon the British. The lancers withdrew after their regimental adjutant, Lieutenant Frederick John Cokayne Frith, was killed by a sniper and the Zulu threatened to outflank them. The British then withdrew to their camp of the previous night. Aside from Frith the British casualties included two irregulars wounded; two months after the battle the remains of 25 Zulu were discovered on the battlefield. After the skirmish the British paused to fortify their camp before proceeding further into Zululand, decisively defeating the Zulu in the 4 July Battle of Ulundi.

Background

Following the discovery of valuable mineral deposits in Southern Africa it became British policy to expand and consolidate their influence in the region. [3] The High Commissioner for Southern Africa, Sir Henry Bartle Frere, viewed the independent Zulu Kingdom, borderingto the British colonies of Natal and Transvaal, as a possible threat and sought an excuse to declare war and annex it. After failing to use a boundary dispute as a means of forcing the Zulu king Cetshwayo into war Frere seized upon a July 1878 legal dispute. After two wives of the Zulu chief Sihayo kaXongo had fled to Natal an armed band, led by his sons, entered the colony to retrieve them for execution. [4]

In December 1878 Frere mobilised British troops on the borders of Zululand and presented Cetshwayo with an ultimatum, requiring him to turn over Sihayo's sons and the renegade Swazi prince Mbilini waMswati, who had raided into the Transvaal, and pay a fine of cattle. [5] [6] He also demanded wholesale changes to the Zulu system of government including limits on the use of the death penalty, the requirement for judicial trials, supervision by a British official, admission of Christian missionaries and the abolition of the Zulu social/army system and the associated restrictions on marriage. [5] The ultimatum was harsh, demanding radical change in the Zulu way of life, and it was intended by Frere that Cetshwayo would reject it. [7]

The Zulu social system, amabutho, established by Shaka separated men into age-grouped regiments based in barracks spread across the country which served as focal points of royal authority and a pool of labour in peacetime. When granted permission to marry, around age 40, the men were released to the control of local chiefs, but remained liable for recall as a form of reserve. In times of war they were called up to form the royal army, though some chiefs kept back men for their own use. [8]

Although he could not comply with the British terms, particularly the abolition of the amabutho, Cetshwayo made some attempts at conciliation, sending representatives and cattle to the British. When these were rejected Cetshwayo made preparations for a defensive war. He ordered the regiments, set to assemble at the Zulu capital of Ulundi on 8 January for the umKhosi (First Fruits) ceremony, to come prepared for combat. [9] By this time the number of men liable for service in the army numbered around 42,000-44,000, out of a population of around 300,000. [10] [11] Around 25,000 assembled at Ulundi for the ceremony. [12] Although there were around 20,000 firearms in Zulu possession by the start of the war, most were obsolete muskets (British forces were armed with breach-loading rifles) and the men were not trained in their use. Zulu practice was to use them as secondary weapons, in place of the traditional assegai throwing spear, and to be discarded in favour of closing with the enemy to allow use of the iklwa stabbing spear. [13]

British invasions of Zululand

When the ultimatum expired British forces, under Lieutenant-General Lord Chelmsford invaded Zululand in three columns. [14] One of the first actions of the British Centre Column was to attack Sihayo's homestead near the Natal border on 12 January. Sihayo and the main bulk of his men had already left to join the royal army but a party of old men and boys offered a determined resistance to the British attack from the cover of rocky and vegetated terrain. [15] [16] On 22 January the royal army attacked the British camp at Isandlwana, effectively wiping it out and ending the first invasion. The British Right Column was aftwerwards besieged by the Zulu at Eshowe while the Left Column remained in the vicinity of Kambula where it engaged local Zulu forces. [17] Chelmsford requested reinforcements and troops sent out from Britain included a cavalry brigade formed by the 1st King's Dragoon Guards and the 17th (The Duke of Cambridge's Own) Lancers under the command of Major-General Frederick Marshall. [18]

Chelmsford relieved the siege of Eshowe on 3 April and withdrew the Right Column back to the British Colony of Natal. He reorganised his forces into two main thrusts. The reinforced Right Column was re-designated the First Division and was tasked with a steady advance along the east coast. The survivors of the Centre Column were reinforced with the cavalry brigade and other fresh troops and became the Second Division that would advance on the Zulu capital Ulundi. [19] The Left Column, containing a high proportion of colonial irregular horse, which fought as mounted infantry, was re-designated as a flying column under Colonel Evelyn Wood. [20] Wood's column was to operate in conjunction with the Second Division, supporting its advance on Ulundi. [19] [20]

By the end of May the Second Division, commanded by Major-General Edward Newdigate, had moved forward from Dundee and was assembled on the banks of the Ncome River at Koppie Alleen, ready to commence the invasion. Chelmsford joined the division on 31 May and commenced the advance into Zululand, simultaneously with Wood further to the north. [21] On 1 June Napoléon, Prince Imperial of France, who had marched with the Second Division, was killed during a skirmish. [22] The Second Division and Wood's flying column met on 3 June at a point on the Nondweni River. [20] [23] The following day a patrol of Baker's Horse from the flying column fought a minor skirmish at a cluster of four Zulu homesteads, belonging to Sihayo kaXongo, around 400 yards (370 m) west of Zungeni Mountain. They recovered three wagons and an ammunition cart that had been looted from the British at Isandlwana. [24]

Skirmish

Irregular horse

British movements shown on a contemporary map. 2nd Division in red, Wood's flying column in blue. Location of Zungeni Mountain in yellow and Fort Newdigate in green. Onward movements to Ulundi in orange. Zungeni map.png
British movements shown on a contemporary map. 2nd Division in red, Wood's flying column in blue. Location of Zungeni Mountain in yellow and Fort Newdigate in green. Onward movements to Ulundi in orange.

Early on the morning of 5 June mounted irregulars from Wood's flying column encountered a force of around 300 Zulu at eZulaneni, a collection of four large homesteads between the Zungeni Mountain (which was known to the British as Ezunganyan Hill) and the Ntinini stream. [25] [26] The horsemen were commanded by Colonel Redvers Buller and included a squadron of Baker's Horse, a squadron of the Frontier Light Horse, No. 3 Troop (Bettington's Horse) of the Natal Horse, a troop of the Natal Light Horse and a number of Shepstone's Native Horse, totalling around 300 men. [27]

Buller's men charged, scattering the Zulu, and proceeded to burn the homesteads. The Zulu counterattacked around the British flanks, in their classic "horns of the buffalo" formation. The British recognised the risk of being surrounded and withdrew, being fired upon by Zulu skirmishers from cover on their flanks. [21] [25] Two of Buller's men were wounded in this first phase of the skirmish. [26]

Regular cavalry

The 2nd Division received intelligence on the evening of 4 June that a sizeable Zulu force had been spotted near to Wood's column. [26] Marshall was ordered to proceed to Wood's position the following morning, leaving at 4.30 am with around 500 men of his brigade. [26] [28] Passing through Wood's camp Marshall followed the sound of gunfire until found Buller's men retiring from combat. [26] [21] Marshall's men, recently arrived in Africa, were eager to see their first action. A squadron each from the King's Dragoon Guards and the 17th Lancers were committed to an attack on the Zulu. [29]

Three troops of the 17th Lancers were led forwards by their colonel, Drury Drury-Lowe. [26] [30] Drury-Lowe ordered some of his men to dismount and return the fire of the Zulu who were sniping from concealment in long grass and bushes. [26] He led the remainder on a charge in line formation. The cavalry swept past the Zulu several times but were unable to engage them effectively in close combat owing to the difficult terrain. [21]

The Zulu held their ground and shot at the passing riders. [21] The 17th Lancer's adjutant, Lieutenant Frederick John Cokayne Frith, was struck in the heart by a shot from a range of 300 yards (270 m) and killed. [31] The Illustrated London News 's correspondent Melton Prior witnessed Frith's death and noted he was killed whilst riding between Colonel Drury-Lowe and Francis Francis, correspondent of The Times . [32] In an 1899 talk on the war, eyewitness Private Miles Gissop of the 17th Lancers recalled that Frith had been shot immediately after Drury-Lowe had reassured his troops: "you are all right men. You are all right, they [the bullets] are all passing over your heads". Gissop noted that Frith stated "Oh I'm shot" before falling dead from his horse. [31] It was later determined that the bullet that killed Frith had been made in Britain and was fired from a Martini–Henry rifle, both having been captured by the Zulu during earlier engagements. [21]

Frith's death and the movement of the Zulu to outflank the lancers led to the end of the action. [21] Marshall moved a troop of the King's Dragoon Guards forwards to cover the lancers as they withdrew and Buller's irregulars also provided covering fire. [25] Gissop noted that after the withdrawal some Zulu emerged from the bushes to count the British dead, though Frith was the only one. [31] The Zulu shadowed the retreating British forces for several miles. [33]

Later events

After the skirmish the British participants returned to their own columns and the Nondweni camp, some 5 miles (8.0 km) back on the route of march. [26] Frith's body was carried back to the camp where he was buried in a mealie field that evening. [31] [21] Zulu casualties are not certain but, on 3 August, a British firewood gathering party found the remains of 25 Zulu in the bushes and grass of the battlefield. [26] [25]

During the day of the action Chelmsford had spoken with three peace envoys from the Zulu king Cetshwayo; these were sent away in the evening with conditions that Chelmsford knew would be largely unacceptable to Cetshwayo. [26] The British established the camp at Nondweni as a fortified base, known as Fort Newdigate, to support the advance further into Zululand. [21] A further raid on Zungeni was mounted on 8 June by a force of lancers, dragoons and two 7-pounder artillery pieces. This drove off a force of Zulu and burnt many homesteads. [30]

The discovery of a group of Zulu at Zungeni had initially led to fears that the Zulu royal army was nearby. This led to the postponement of the court-martial of Lieutenant Jahleel Brenton Carey for failing in his duty as commander during the death of the Prince Imperial. [34] However, intelligence gathered during the skirmish at Zungeni proved that the Zulu were not from the main army, which had been dispersed after the victory at Isandlwana, but were local levies. [34] [10] Cetshwayo was still hopeful that peace could be negotiated and had delayed the recall of the royal army, now around 20,000 strong, to Ulundi until later in June. [35] Carey's court-martial proceeded on 12 June and he was found guilty of "misbehaviour before the enemy". [36]

The 2nd Division and Wood's flying column continued their march into Zululand, patrolling regularly to drive off Zulu forces and establishing several more fortified camps. The Zulu were finally defeated at the 4 July Battle of Ulundi. Afterwards, some of the horsemen from the force were returned to Natal, while others were kept on for some months to ensure the pacification of Zululand. [20] [1] Prior had made a sketch of the moment of Frith's death during the skirmish and an engraving based on this was published on the front page of the 2 August 1879 edition of the Illustrated London News. [37]

Analysis

British historian Ian Knight regards the skirmish as an example of the expanded role played in the war by irregular, locally-directed Zulu forces after Isandlwana. [10] South African historian John Laband notes that while the irregular forces were the only Zulu offering any real resistance to the second invasion, in the early 20th century they were derided by veterans of the royal army who had little praise for men who they considered fought "in forests and fastnesses" rather than taking "up a position in the open and [coming] face to face with the foe". [38]

Laband regards the unknown Zulu commander during the skirmish at Zungeni to have displayed excellent tactical command skills and the ability to innovate, which he considers was lacking in the elderly commanders of the Zulu royal army who defaulted to assaults on fortified positions. Laband notes that at Zungeni the Zulu deployed skirmishing and enfilading tactics and made good use of cover and difficult terrain to engage the technologically superior British force. [39] The action followed the similar success by a small force of Zulu irregulars on 1 June, overrunning a mounted patrol sent from Chelmsford's column and killing the French royal, Louis-Napoléon, Prince Imperial. Engagements such as this and at Zungeni Mountain were successful in locally and temporarily disrupting the actions of the British and causing embarrassment to Chelmsford, but ultimately had no effect on the outcome of the war. [40]

Laband notes that the tactics exhibited at Zungeni Mountain resembled those of the most successful Zulu irregular forces, those operating in the north-west of Zululand. There, partly under the leadership of the renegade Swazi prince Mbilini waMswati, locally directed Zulu forces inflicted defeats on the British at the 12 March Battle of Intombe and the 28 March Battle of Hlobane. The Kubheka people of the region, operating as guerrillas from their cave homesteads, became the last Zulu forces to resist the British, not surrendering until 8 September. [41] [10] [42]

References

  1. 1 2 Smith 2014, p. 194.
  2. ↑ Annual Army List (PDF). London: John Murray. 1883. p. 138.
  3. ↑ Knight 2008, p. 4.
  4. ↑ Knight 2008, p. 5.
  5. 1 2 Greaves 2012, pp. 30–31.
  6. ↑ Smith 2014, p. 26.
  7. ↑ Paulin 2001, p. 70.
  8. ↑ Knight 2015, pp. 33–35.
  9. ↑ Greaves & Mkhize 2014, pp. 92–94.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Knight 2008, p. 110.
  11. ↑ Greaves & Mkhize 2014, p. 95.
  12. ↑ Knight 2015, p. 35.
  13. ↑ Laband 2009b, p. 43.
  14. ↑ Greaves 2005, p. 108.
  15. ↑ Knight 2015, pp. 210–211.
  16. ↑ Greaves & Mkhize 2014, pp. 98–99.
  17. ↑ Knight & Castle 2003, p. 62.
  18. ↑ Laband 2009a, p. 35.
  19. 1 2 Knight & Castle 2003, p. 86.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Laband 2009a, p. 309.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Greaves 2005, pp. 299–300.
  22. ↑ Knight & Castle 2003, p. 87.
  23. ↑ Smith 2014, p. 189.
  24. ↑ Laband 2009a, p. 313.
  25. 1 2 3 4 Laband 2009a, pp. 323–324.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rothwell 1989, p. 96.
  27. ↑ Laband 2009a, pp. 10, 100, 175, 176, 254, 323–324.
  28. ↑ Laband 2009a, pp. 150, 323–324.
  29. ↑ Laband 2009a, pp. 323–324, 138, 68.
  30. 1 2 Smith 2014, p. 190.
  31. 1 2 3 4 Clammer 1980, pp. 87–88.
  32. ↑ "Zulu War Illustrations". Illustrated London News. No. 2094. 2 August 1879. p. 109.
  33. ↑ Knight 2015, p. 211.
  34. 1 2 David 2004, p. 331.
  35. ↑ Sutherland & Canwell 2004, p. 98.
  36. ↑ David 2004, pp. 333.
  37. ↑ "The Zulu War Death of Lieutenant Frith in Skirmish at Erzungayan Hill". Illustrated London News. No. 2094. 2 August 1879. p. 97.
  38. ↑ Laband 2014, p. 251.
  39. ↑ Laband 2009b, pp. 43–44.
  40. ↑ Laband 2014, pp. 251–252.
  41. ↑ Laband 2009b, p. 44.
  42. ↑ Laband 2014, p. 252.

Bibliography

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