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Experts find site of Zulu siege
BBC ^ | 22 Aug 2006 | Stephen Stewart

Posted on 08/22/2006 10:26:50 AM PDT by Marius3188

British soldiers fighting the Zulus experienced appalling conditions similar to the muddy killing fields of World War I, it has emerged.

Archaeologists have revealed details of soldiers' battle for survival during a bloody siege in the Anglo-Zulu War.

The colonial war in 1879 was dramatised by Michael Caine in the film Zulu.

Historians lacked detailed evidence of the troops' daily lives, but a team of experts from Glasgow have now uncovered a forgotten British fort.

The site at KwaMondi, Eshowe, in South Africa, has been hailed as a treasure trove of historical information which sheds light on the heroism and skill of the Royal Engineers.

The group from Glasgow University was headed by Dr Tony Pollard, star of the popular BBC's Two Men in A Trench series, and used metal detectors to survey the site.

The fort was built by the British army following the invasion of Zululand in January 1879 and was besieged by a huge Zulu force for more than two months.

Dr Pollard, Dr Iain Banks and their team brought to light the endeavours of men such as Captain Warren Wynne, who built the fort and surrounding roads under the threat of an overwhelming Zulu attack.

They also discovered that heavy rains during the siege turned the fort into a polluted quagmire leading to an outbreak of typhus which killed large number of men.

Iconic locations

Dr Pollard said: "During the rains of January to March, the interior of the fort would have been very wet and prone to waterlogging.

"The presence of 1,700 men and their horses would quickly turn the soil into a muddy mess, little different from the mud that their sons and grandsons would face in the trenches of Flanders.

"The artefacts provide an insight into the lives of men who lived in the fort for the duration of the siege.

"They show the value of metal detecting as a technique and also of the less well known sites that have been pushed into the background by iconic locations such as Rorke's Drift or Isandlwana."

Dr Pollard said the story of the fort provides a testament to the skill of the Royal Engineers and particularly of Captain Warren Wynne.

He added: "It is a story without the stuff of legend but nonetheless a story of achievement under difficult and testing conditions; the remains of the fort are a memorial to the men who built and served under such trying circumstances.

"My favourite find is undoubtedly a Martini Henry bullet converted into a plumb bob.

"You can imagine the row when it was discovered there wasn't one in the tool box and Wynne the engineer commanding one of his men to make one - if he didn't make it himself.

"Its also interesting archaeologically to have something designed to kill transformed into something constructive."

Before arriving at Eshowe, the relief column under Lord Chelmsford fought off a 12,000-strong Zulu force.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; Unclassified; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: banglist; battle; godsgravesglyphs; milhist; military; siege; soldiers; southafrica; zulu
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To: Leatherneck_MT

"God I Love that!"

Lol!You're easy to please! Haven't seen the movie, but it's going on my "gotta watch" list.


21 posted on 08/22/2006 10:58:32 AM PDT by derllak
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To: Marius3188

Strict, military discipline saved their a$$.


22 posted on 08/22/2006 10:59:04 AM PDT by johnny7 (“And what's Fonzie like? Come on Yolanda... what's Fonzie like?!”)
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To: colorado tanker

Thanks for posting those details of the battle... Great movie... even if it did exaggerate the "history".


23 posted on 08/22/2006 11:06:06 AM PDT by ReleaseTheHounds
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To: derllak

It's just the typical british dry humor. Which is made that much better in a tense military situation.

One of my next favorites was from A Bridge to Far, but I'll tell you about that one later lol.


24 posted on 08/22/2006 11:07:30 AM PDT by Leatherneck_MT (In a world where Carpenters come back from the dead, ALL things are possible.)
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To: ReleaseTheHounds
Actually, "Men of Harlech" was not the Regimental song at the time of the battle, but I really love that song and that scene in the movie!

(And the majority of the men in the battle weren't Welsh!)

25 posted on 08/22/2006 11:12:25 AM PDT by colorado tanker
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To: Marius3188

H-ll of a battle, H-ll of a movie BUMP


26 posted on 08/22/2006 11:16:07 AM PDT by VOA
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To: Marius3188

PBS's "Secrets of The Dead" had a good investigative report to find the reasons
the British troops didn't fare so well in another engagement with the natives:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/case_zulu/clues.html


27 posted on 08/22/2006 11:19:43 AM PDT by VOA
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To: coconutt2000

"Apparently even old films are reviewed in terms of newer movies, not just history."

Nothing new under the sun.

IIRC, Lucas used WWII gun-camera footage as a model for "Star Wars".


28 posted on 08/22/2006 11:21:39 AM PDT by VOA
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To: Junior

"Zulus, Colour Sergeant. Thousands of them."

be quiet now will you, there's a good gentleman, you'll upset the lads.


29 posted on 08/22/2006 12:15:11 PM PDT by BadAndy ("Loud mouth internet Rambo")
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To: Marius3188
Zululand Battlefield Map - Anglo-Zulu War 1879
30 posted on 08/22/2006 12:38:26 PM PDT by blam
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To: Marius3188

31 posted on 08/22/2006 12:43:33 PM PDT by blam
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To: Leatherneck_MT
Colour Sergeant Bourne to the Swedish Reverend: "Be quiet now sir, that's a good gentleman. Don't upset the lads."

Colour Sergeant Bourne to his troops: "Mark your targets, look to your front."

It reminds me of one of my favorite Kipling poems (about the importance of NCOs)-The 'Eathen.

32 posted on 08/22/2006 12:47:17 PM PDT by 91B (God made man, Sam Colt made men equal)
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To: 91B

Amen, had to love Bourne.

another of his

Private: He's right you know.. why us Colour Sergeant? Why us?

Colour Sergeant Bourne to Private: Because we're 'ere lad, nobody else. Just us!


33 posted on 08/22/2006 12:50:29 PM PDT by Leatherneck_MT (In a world where Carpenters come back from the dead, ALL things are possible.)
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To: BadAndy

He says that when the drunk Swedish preacher, locked in a shed, is yelling that they are all "going to die".


34 posted on 08/22/2006 12:51:08 PM PDT by 91B (God made man, Sam Colt made men equal)
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To: Leatherneck_MT

Yep-that's another good one.


35 posted on 08/22/2006 12:51:55 PM PDT by 91B (God made man, Sam Colt made men equal)
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To: Marius3188

The Washing of the Spears: A History of the Rise of the Zulu Nation Under Shaka and Its Fall in the Zulu War of 1879
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0306808668/102-7470135-0759303?v=glance&n=283155


36 posted on 08/22/2006 12:55:31 PM PDT by abb (The Dinosaur Media: A One-Way Medium in a Two-Way World)
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To: Marius3188

"Its also interesting archaeologically to have something designed to kill transformed into something constructive."

I see these archaeologists are brainwashed, too. Their focus on how a bullet kills, not how it saves the lives of those who wield them. A bullet that kills and enemy and saves one's life or the life of a buddy in combat is doing something constructive.

A UW professor of design used warplanes in one of his lectures, talked about the beauty of the design but how horrible the function. Evidently, defending our nation is horrible.


37 posted on 08/22/2006 12:56:23 PM PDT by Ghost of Philip Marlowe (Liberals are blind. They are the dupes of Leftists who know exactly what they're doing.)
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To: 91B

"He says that when the drunk Swedish preacher, locked in a shed, is yelling that they are all "going to die"."

I know that, but it was one of the best lines in the movie.


38 posted on 08/22/2006 1:00:27 PM PDT by BadAndy ("Loud mouth internet Rambo")
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To: Leatherneck_MT
Get this-Bourne died on VE day.

link

39 posted on 08/22/2006 1:01:08 PM PDT by 91B (God made man, Sam Colt made men equal)
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To: dd5339; cavtrooper21

Ping!


40 posted on 08/22/2006 1:03:18 PM PDT by Vic3O3 (Jeremiah 31:16-17 (KJV))
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