Zungeni Mountain skirmish

Zungeni Mountain skirmish
Part of the Anglo-Zulu War
Death of Lieutenant Frith, as depicted by Melton Prior in the Illustrated London News of 2 August 1879. Frith is supported in the saddle by a civilian and a fellow officer of the 17th Lancers; a trooper holds the bridle of Frith's horse.

Belligerents
British Empire	Zulu Kingdom
Frederick Marshall Redvers Buller	Unknown

The Zungeni Mountain skirmish took place on 5 June 1879 between British and Zulu forces during the second invasion of Zululand, in what is now South Africa, in the later stages of the Anglo-Zulu War. British irregular horse commanded by Colonel Redvers Buller discovered a force of 300 Zulus at the settlement of eZulaneni near Zungeni Mountain. The horsemen charged towards and scattered the Zulus before burning the settlement. Buller's men withdrew after coming under fire from Zulus who threatened to surround them.

Buller's men were joined by more irregulars and a force of British regular cavalry, the latter under the command of Major-General Frederick Marshall. Two squadrons of the 17th (The Duke of Cambridge's Own) Lancers, led by Colonel Drury Drury-Lowe, approached the Zulu position. They could not close with the Zulus, who were in an area of long grass and bushes, and Zulu fire killed the 17th Lancers' adjutant, Lieutenant Frederick John Cokayne Frith. Drury-Lowe ordered some of his men to dismount and return fire. When the Zulus threatened to outflank the British, Marshall ordered a withdrawal. Aside from Frith, British casualties included two irregulars wounded; two months after the battle, the remains of 25 Zulus were discovered on the battlefield. After the skirmish, the British paused to fortify their camp before proceeding further into Zululand. They then decisively defeated the Zulu in the 4 July Battle of Ulundi.

Background

The British High Commissioner for Southern Africa, Sir Henry Bartle Frere, sought to annex the independent Zulu Kingdom as part of a plan to form a confederation of colonies in southern Africa. Frere seized upon a legal dispute in July 1878 involving Zulu chief Sihayo kaXongo. Two of the chief's wives had left him and escaped across the border into the British Colony of Natal. Sihayo's sons then led an armed band into the colony that retrieved the women for execution. In December 1878, Frere mobilised British troops on the borders of Zululand and presented Cetshwayo with an ultimatum whose terms required the turning over of Sihayo's sons, changes to the Zulu judicial system, the admission of Christian missionaries and the abolition of the Zulu social/army system known as iButho. The ultimatum demanded radical change in the Zulu way of life, and it was intended by Frere that Cetshwayo would reject it.

Although he could not comply with the British terms, particularly the abolition of the iButho, 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. 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. Around 25,000 assembled at Ulundi for the ceremony and were formed into the royal army. Although there were around 20,000 firearms in Zulu possession by the start of the war, most were obsolete muzzle-loading muskets 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.

British invasions of Zululand

When the ultimatum expired, British forces under Lieutenant-General Lord Chelmsford invaded Zululand in three columns. The British Centre Column attacked Sihayo's homestead near the Natal border on 12 January but faced determined resistance. On 22 January, the Zulu royal army attacked the British camp at Isandlwana, effectively wiping it out and ending the first invasion. With the Right Column besieged by the Zulu at Eshowe and the Left Column engaged near Kambula, Chelmsford requested reinforcements be sent from Britain. These 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.

Chelmsford relieved the siege of Eshowe on 3 April and withdrew the Right Column to the British Colony of Natal. He reorganised his forces into two main thrusts. The reinforced Right Column was re-designated the 1st 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 2nd Division that would advance on Ulundi. The Left Column, which contained a high proportion of colonial irregular horse that fought as mounted infantry, was re-designated as a flying column under Colonel Evelyn Wood. This column was to operate in conjunction with the 2nd Division, supporting its advance on Ulundi.

By the end of May, the 2nd Division commanded by Major-General Edward Newdigate had advanced from Dundee and was assembled on the banks of the Ncome River at Koppie Allein, ready to begin the invasion. Chelmsford joined the division on 31 May and commenced the advance into Zululand simultaneously with Wood further to the north. On 1 June, Napoléon, Prince Imperial of France, who had marched with the 2nd Division, was killed when the patrol he was with was overrun by Zulus. The 2nd Division and Wood's flying column made contact on 3 June but continued to camp separately; on 4 June, Wood camped at a site near the Nondweni River while the 2nd Division remained 3 miles (4.8 km) to the west.

Also on 4 June, a patrol of Baker's Horse scouting southwards from the flying column encountered a force of several hundred Zulus at eZulaneni, a collection of four large homesteads between the Zungeni Mountain and the Ntinini stream belonging to some of Sihayo's headmen. The British also identified, at one of the homesteads, three wagons and an ammunition cart captured by the Zulu at Isandlwana. The Zulus formed a skirmish line among the dongas (dry watercourses), thorn trees and mimosa bushes and were engaged by a skirmish line of Baker's Horse. The Zulus operated in their classic "horns of the buffalo" formation and their right "horn" crossed a steep-sided donga and came within 30 yards (27 m) of the rear of the British line. A Zulu volley wounded two men before the men of Baker's Horse could withdraw to Wood's camp.

Wood passed word to Chelmsford that a significant force of Zulus were in the area, implying this was the long-expected appearance of the Zulu royal army. Chelmsford ordered the 2nd Division to laager its camp and erect earthworks in anticipation of an imminent attack. The fear of an imminent action forced the postponement of the court-martial of Lieutenant Jahleel Brenton Carey. The trial of Carey, in nominal command of the patrol in which the Prince Imperial had been killed, had been ordered by a 4 June court of inquiry headed by Marshall.

Skirmish

Irregular horse

At dawn on 5 June, a reconnaissance force was dispatched from the flying column to eZulaneni, with orders to determine if the Zulus encountered on 4 June formed part of the royal army. This force, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Redvers Buller, included a squadron of Baker's Horse, a squadron of the Frontier Light Horse and a troop of the Natal Light Horse, totalling around 300 men. At 4:30 am, the 2nd Division sent out a force under Marshall's command that included two squadrons of lancers, one squadron of the King's Dragoon Guards, 130 men of Shepstone's Native Horse and 7 men from No. 3 Troop (Bettington's Horse) of the Natal Horse, totalling around 500 men. Marshall's force halted for breakfast at the camp of the flying column before following in Buller's wake.

Buller's men approached eZulaneni via the eastern flanks of Mahutshane mountain, at the same time mapping a potential wagon route for future use. It was still early morning when the British force was seen by the Zulus at eZulaneni; 300 of whom formed a skirmish line between the British and the eZulaneni homesteads. Buller formed his own line on the opposite side of the Ntinini stream; Baker's Horse formed up on his left, the Frontier Light Horse in the centre and the Natal Light Horse on his right. Buller then ordered a mounted charge against the Zulus, breaking into a gallop after they had crossed the steep-sided bed of the Ntinini. The Zulus broke formation and reformed into companies in the cover of the vegetation and dongas at the foot of Zungeni mountain, around 400 yards (370 m) east of the homesteads, from which they opened fire on the British force.

Buller led most of the Frontier Light Horse and Baker's Horse towards the Zulus as a distraction while the Natal Light Horse set fire to the homesteads. Buller's men dismounted at the edge of the vegetation and engaged the Zulus from the cover of some nearby anthills. The British found it hard to discern the Zulus in the cover and had to fire at the smoke indicating their position. Buller observed the action by using a telescope from atop an anthill and gave the order to withdraw as soon as all the homesteads were on fire. He had also become aware of the risk of being surrounded, as a party of Zulus had moved up into a mealie field on his left. The irregulars had to withdraw on foot and mount up under Zulu fire, particularly from the Zulus in the mealie field who were within 80 yards (73 m) of the British horses. At least one horse was killed and several others wounded, one of which had to be abandoned. Two men of Baker's Horse were also lightly wounded before Buller's force pulled back.

Regular cavalry

After leaving the camp of the flying column, Marshall's force followed the sound of gunfire until they found Buller's men retiring from combat at a point around 2,500 yards (2,300 m) west of Zungeni Mountain (and back across the Ntinini). Marshall's regulars, who had recently arrived in Africa, were eager to see their first action and keen to avenge the death of the Prince Imperial. Two squadrons of the 17th Lancers under Colonel Drury Drury-Lowe were committed to an attack on the Zulus. The lancers approached the mountain in line formation but came under fire as they reached the burning homesteads. The cavalry passed by the Zulu position several times but were unable to engage them effectively in close combat owing to the difficult terrain.

The Zulus held their ground and shot at the passing riders. 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 was killed. 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. In an 1899 talk on the war, eyewitness Private Miles Gissop of the 17th Lancers recalled 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. It was later determined that the bullet which killed Frith had been made in Britain and was fired from a Martini–Henry rifle, both having been captured by the Zulus during earlier engagements. General Garnet Wolseley, who replaced Chelmsford as commander of British forces in southern Africa in early July, was told that Marshall had fainted from excitement when Frith was shot.

Following Frith's death Drury-Lowe dismounted a troop within 150 yards (140 m) of the Zulu skirmishers in the vegetation and began exchanging fire to little effect. Again, Zulu forces moved to outflank the British skirmish line. Marshall spotted the difficulty the lancers were in and ordered them to retire, sending the squadron of the King's Dragoon Guards across the Ntinini to provide supporting fire from their right flank. When the Zulu fire declined, the lancers were able to withdraw with a captain and two troopers carrying Frith's body. Gissop noted that after the withdrawal, some Zulus emerged from the bushes to count the British dead, though Frith was the only one.