ZULU TACTICS OF WARFARE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8337, 21 January 1907, Page 3

ZULU TACTICS OF WARFARE.

' Once more the' rising of some of the Natal natives has turned men's thoughts to the famous Zulu tactics. In the minds of most these ;are associated with the name of, Tyaka, the ruthless Zulu conqueror, -who welded into the stock of Amazulu, People of the Heavens, all the young men of the various tribes he conquered, incorporating them into regiments, and thus building up a powerful military nation. < Yet it was to DINGISIWAYO, THE WANDERER that the inception was due, says "South Africa." This man, the son •of the chief of the Umtetwa, was driven into exile in consequence of an abortive plot to seize the reins of power. During that exile he lived in Cape Colony and saw the military methods and organisation , of the British. With instinctive ' genius he saw how the idea could be adapted to his own "nation, and on his return and accession to the chieftainship he divided'up his people into regiments, distinguishing them by names and by a special colour of shield for each regiment, though for .:.a time they retained the umkonto or throwing assegai as their chief weapon. He heard of the great use made by the British infantry of their favourite weapon, the bayonet, and ?so he replaced the umkonto by the ixwa, or broad-bladed stabbing assegai. The peculiarity of the Zulu tactics Oias earned it the name of the cres--cent formation ; of attack, and it is noteworthy that, broadly speaking, it was the method employed by the Boers in their invasion of Natal and ladoptedby LORD ROBERTS in his advance through Orange River , Colony, and it was the fear of its success which kept the Boers continually on the run. The best thing with which to compare it is the head of the stag-headed beetle. Horns .•are thrown out widely on either flank, while the main body forms the head itself. From the main body a -small force is detached to engage the enemy while the horns creep round the flanks. This force, in the days of Tyaka, was frequently despatched with the command, "Go, sons of Zulu, go and return no more," and death at the hands of their fellows was the fate of those who returned. While this force was holding the enemy the horns carried out their task, if possible, and as soon as a signal was; given that the two horns had met the rear of the enemy the head or! -che'st was launched upon the position,; \and in the upshot, >as a rule, the'j whole force of the foe' TASTED THE ASSEGAI. For in that war no quarter was given or asked. Perhaps no grander military spectacle was ever seen than that which marked the last use of these tactics on a grand scale. In the gray, cold dawn of July 4th, 1879, the, British mounted men began to cross the drifts of the White Umvolosi River, where it swept in : a horsehoe bend .around the camp they had held for ten ; -days. Forward they went as a screen: .before the infantry, which had been formed in hollow square with the big guns and Gatlings at the angles and in the centre of each force. On the whole body of ' picked soldiers marched, burning Nodwengu kraal as it went forward to take position •on the ground chosen on the previous day. At last it reached its bourne. "The mounted men carried out their , -orders, fired at the Zulus wherever they appeared, and at last retired to the shelter of the square. Then the -onlookers, of whom the writer was •one, witnessed A MOST AWE-INSPIRING SPECTACLE. On either flank a force advanced in triple line of columns 'abreast (these formed the horns) and after •sweeping grandly past us at' a distance of 700 yds or so, wheeled into line and_swept rapidly till their extreme points met. Then from the Toyal kraal of Umdi marched out the Umcityu regiment with their shields, of white, and then the battle joined. The upshot was a splendid' British victory. In less than an hour the military organisation of the People of the Heavens was being whipped along the Mahlabatini Plains by the '*long~assegais" ofvthe 17th : Lancers, and the vicious bullets of the mounted volunteers. It is doubtful whether , the warriors of to-day, unused to fighting for a generation past, could ever make so grand a.stand in the open as their forbears; but in close and broken country, armed only with their assegais, they could give even a strong British force ' SOME UNPLEASANT MEMORIES to .take. One thing should be added. The Zulu is not naturally cruel. His mutilation of slain enemies'is no token of dishonour, but is done as. a safeguard for himself, sinCe he is ' persuadedthat, should the victim's body swell and burst he would himself die miserably in like fashion.