Zulu - The Heroism and Tragedy of the Zulu War of 1879 - Saul David [EPUB & PDF]

The Zulu war of 1879 was the most controversial and brutal British imperial conflict of the nineteenth century. Yet as Saul David reveals, this war, which needlessly cost thousands of lives, has an even darker side.
As a pre-emptive strike launched against the Zulu kingdom of King Cetshwayo — who had no quarrel with the British Empire — the war was supposed to turn a host of disparate colonies into a South African confederation. But from the start it did not go to plan. A catastrophic early defeat at Isandlwana left 1,300 dead and Lord Chelmsford’s invasion strategy in tatters. Only the heroic — but tactically insignificant — defence of Rorke’s Drift the same day saved Chelmsford’s job; that and a cynical cover-up deflecting the blame elsewhere. What had been planned as a short, sharp strike to destroy Zulu military power became a protracted and expensive war that dragged on for months with political repercussions that helped lose Disraeli the 1880 election.
Using new material from British and South African archives, Saul David exposes the underbelly of this sordid imperial war, with several startling conclusions: that the orders for confederation came from London and only the timing of the war can be blamed on an ambitious proconsul; that the victory at Rorke’s Drift was blown out of all proportion to reduce the impact of the far more significant defeat at Isandlwana, and the record number of Victoria Crosses awarded was part of that process; that British troops committed atrocities — including murder and the destruction of villages — just as bad as Zulu practices; and that British commanders put reputation before the lives of their men by ignoring King Cetshwayo’s attempts to sue for peace.
Saul David’s Zulu is a brilliant work of history that is charged by breathtaking writing and controversial new research; it also has important resonances for the modern world.