The Sun Turned Black

The Sun Turned Black reconstructs the two linked battles of 22–23 January 1879 that came to define the opening of the Anglo-Zulu War. At Isandlwana, the main Zulu army overwhelmed a British and colonial camp in a devastating victory after Lord Chelmsford had divided his force. Knight examines the command decisions, battlefield movement and fighting that led to the destruction of the camp.

The narrative then shifts to Rorke’s Drift, where a small British garrison under John Chard and Gonville Bromhead resisted repeated attacks by a Zulu force led by Dabulamanzi kaMpande. By treating the British disaster and the successful defence as parts of the same operational day, Knight contrasts two very different outcomes while challenging myths that accumulated around both battles.