Great Zulu Battles, 1838–1906

Great Zulu Battles, 1838–1906 surveys nearly seven decades of warfare involving Zulu armies and communities, beginning with the era of Dingane and the Battle of Blood River. Ian Knight follows changes in leadership, military organisation and political circumstances as the Zulu kingdom confronted Boer expansion, internal rivalry and eventually the full military power of the British Empire.

The book gives particular attention to the battles of the Anglo-Zulu War, including Hlobane, Kambula and Ulundi, before carrying the story into the colonial period and the Bambatha Rebellion of 1906. By setting famous engagements beside less familiar conflicts, Knight shows how Zulu military traditions survived, adapted and were ultimately constrained by the transformation of southern Africa under settler and imperial rule.