Battle of Inyezane

Battle of Inyezane, British victory during the early phase of the Anglo-Zulu war.

Battle of Inyezane
Part of the Anglo-Zulu War
Date 22 January 1879 Location North bank of the Inyezane River 28°57′2″S 31°32′36″E Result British victory
Belligerents
British Empire	Zulu Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Charles Pearson	Godide kaNdlela
Strength
2,400 (1,000 Europeans) 2 × 7-pounder guns 1 × 24-pound rocket battery 1 × Gatling Gun	6,000
Casualties and losses
10 Europeans and 5 NNC killed 16 - 20 wounded	300+ or 400-600 killed 2 prisoners

Background

In December 1878, the British invasion force assembled on the Zulu borders in five columns. However, columns No. 2 (under Anthony Durnford) and No. 5 were allocated a defensive role. The remaining three columns advanced on Ulundi (Zulu capital) from thee sides, and crossed the Zulu border between 6 and 12 January 1879. On the north, No. 4 (Left Flank) Column crossed the Blood River into the Zululand on January 6. No. 3 (Centre) Column (accompanied and effectively commanded by Lord Chelmsford) crossed into Zulu territory across the Rorke's Drift following the expiry of the British ultimatum, on 11 January 1879 . Day after, on 12th January 1879, No. 1 (Right Flank) Column, under command of colonel Pearson, began to cross into Zulu territory, in order to advance along the coast. In response, on 17 January 1879, King Cetshwayo's army marched out from the royal homesteads at oNdini. On 18 January 1879, Cetshwayo's force divided: the main section (some 25,000 strong), under Ntshingwayo kaMahole and Mavumengwana kaNdlela, advanced west towards Rorke's Drift, while a smaller detachment (some 3–4,000 men) under Godide kaNdlela moved south to support Zulu forces harassing Pearson's advance.

Pearson's Column No. 1 advanced north slowly, hamperd by 384 heavy wagons with more than 1,000 oxen and several rivers on its way. Crossing of the river Tungela (southern border of the Zululand) by ferry at Fort Pearson lasted from 12 to 16 January. On the northern bank Pearson erected Fort Tenedos in order to protect the ferry, which was finished by January 18. From there, Pearson split his forces into two divisions, in order to advance faster with lighter units, cavalry and pioneers in the first division and prepare the river crossings on their way for the slow and heavy wagon train which was left with the second division. In the mid-morning of 22 January, Zulu forces under command of Godide, some 6,000 strong, intercepted Pearson's column during the crossing of the river Nyezane, on its northern bank.

Opposing forces

British No. 1 Column

British No. 1 Column had some 4,750 men, including 4,271 combat troops and 384 vagons with more than 500 civilian drivers under command of colonel Charles Knight Pearson. It included 2 battalions of the British infantry - 8 companies of the 2nd battalion/3rd Regiment (with 749 officers and men) and 6 companies of the 99th Regiment (with 515 men) as well as more than 200 sailors from the Naval Brigade with two 7-pounders and a Gatling gun, and a company of Royal Artillery with two field guns. There was also some 312 European horsemen, including Imperial mounted infantry and three small colonial volunteer cavalry units: Victoria Mounted Rifles (47 men), Stanger Mounted Rifles (37 men) and Natal Hussars (39 men). African auxiliary troops included one company of pioneers (104 men) and two battalions of the 2nd Regiment of NNC, some 2,256 men divided in 20 companies, each comprising 9 Europeans (3 officers and 6 NCOs), 10 African NCOs armed with rifles and 90 African spearmen. Cavalry was commanded by Major Percy Harrow Stanley Barrow, 2nd Regiment NNC by Major S. Graves, and native pioneers by Captain G. Beddoes. One company of sailors and several companies of the NNC were left to garrison Fort Pearson, on the south bank of the Tungela river, and another company of sailors and two companies of the 99th regiment were left in Fort Tenedos, on the northern bank of Tungela. From there, No. 1 Column advanced to Eshowe in two divisions, and only the first division, little more than a half of the entire British force, was engaged in combat. That way, Colonel Pearson's first division had about 2,400 men: 2nd battalion/3rd Regiment (749 men), three troops of volunteer cavalry (123 men), 100 sailors with 2 cannon and one Gatling gun, and several companies of the NNC.

Literature

• Morris, Donald R. (1988). The Washing of the Spears: The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Nation Under Shaka and its Fall in the Zulu War of 1879. Cardinal. ISBN 9780747401940.
• Laband, John (2009). Historical dictionary of the Zulu wars. Historical dictionaries of war, revolution, and civil unrest. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6078-0. OCLC 276930370.
• Lock, Ron (2017). The Anglo-Zulu War-Isandlwana: the revelation of a disaster. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-5267-0742-0. OCLC 991077017.
• Knight, Ian (2003). The Zulu War 1879. Essential Histories 56. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9781841766126.
• Knight, Ian (2013). British infantryman versus Zulu warrior: Anglo-Zulu War, 1879. Combat 3. Oxford: Osprey Pub. ISBN 978-1-78200-365-6.
• Castle, Ian; Ruggeri, Raffaele (2003). Zulu War - Volunteers, Irregulars & Auxiliaries. Men-at-Arms 388. Osperey Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9781841764849.
• Thompson, Paul Singer (2006). Black soldiers of the queen: the Natal native contingent in the Anglo-Zulu War (Rev. ed.). Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 978-0-8173-5368-1.
• Greaves, A. (2012). "Battle of Inyezane (Nyezane)". Forgotten Battles of the Zulu War. Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-84468-939-2. Retrieved 2024-09-10.