Anglo-Zulu War
Thesiger was promoted to major general in March 1877, appointed to command British forces in the Cape Colony with the local rank of lieutenant general in February 1878, and in October succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Chelmsford. He brought the Ninth Cape Frontier War to its completion in July 1878, and was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in November 1878. His experiences fighting against the Xhosa created a low opinion of the fighting capabilities of African soldiers, which later led to disastrous consequences during the Anglo-Zulu War.
In January 1879, the official Sir Henry Bartle Frere, a personal friend of Chelmsford, engineered the outbreak of the Anglo-Zulu War by issuing the Zulu king Cetshwayo an ultimatum to effectively disband his military. Cetshwayo refused this ultimatum, an act which led to an outbreak of war between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom upon the deadline of the ultimatum on 11 January. Chelmsford initially planned to invade with his forces split into five small columns which would converge on Ulundi, where the primary residence of Cetshwayo was located. His invasion plans changed, with two columns being held in defensive positions, and a British expeditionary force under the command of Chelmsford invaded the Zulu Kingdom, heading in three columns towards the Zulu capital, Ulundi. The force was attacked by a Zulu force at Isandlwana, during which the Zulus overran and destroyed the central column of Chelmsford's separated forces which had been left under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Pulleine. The engagement was an unexpected victory for the Zulus, which threw British war plans into disarray. The total number killed was: 1,300+ killed: · 52 officers · 690 British regulars · 476 others including: · 343 African Natal Native Contingent troops · 133 European Colonial troops. The portion of the column which had left Isandlwana prior to the attack under Chelmsfod's command reached the scene of the defeat after dark. They observed the glowing of fire from Rorke's Drift, where another battle was taking place, but Chelmsford ordered the column to get what sleep they could. The next day, Chelmsford and his tropps marched back to Rorke's Drift, where they learned that the garrison there had held out successfully. Following the defeat at Isandlwana, Chelmsford's command retreated across the border, with Chelmsford sending a despatch to Colonel Charles Pearson to inform him that his number 1 column could not expect support and that an attack by the full force of the Zulu army could come at any time. When he reached Pietermaritzburg, Chelmsford sent a message to inform the government of the defeat at Isandlwana and to request reinforcements for a new invasion into Zululand. Many more reinforcements than he had requested were sent, and they began to arrive in Durban in March.
Afterwards, the British government, anxious to avoid the Zulus threatening Natal, issued orders for the hasty relief of Chelmsford of his command and for him to be replaced with Sir Garnet Wolseley. However, this order could not be implemented until the arrival of Wolseley, and in the meantime, Chelmsford ignored diplomatic overtures from King Cetshwayo and made plans to capture Ulundi, aiming to defeat them in a decisive engagement and salvage his reputation before Wolseley's arrival. The advance to relieve the Siege of Eshowe was hampered by bad weather conditions which had particularly negative effects on the troops as Chelmsford had ordered, intending to reduce the size of the wagon train, that no tents be brought along for the men and that they should instead sleep underneath the wagons. In late May, hoping to draw Zulu forces and to prevent them from attacking the right flank of the 2nd Division when it began its advance, Chelmsford ordered all forces along the border to launch raids into Zululand. The Battle of Ulundi took place on 4 July 1879, being the last major battle of the Anglo-Zulu War. After a half-hour bombardment by the Royal Artillery, of which there were 12 guns, Chelmsford attacked a Zulu army massed at Ulundi, making full use of concentrated small arms fire from Gatling guns and rifles, leading to the destruction of the Zulu force. The British Army's casualties, after the sharp but brief engagement was ten killed and eighty-seven wounded, in exchange for nearly sixty times that number of Zulu dead. Hall 1978 quotes the London Standard reporting 473 counted dead and another 1000 or more wounded. Chelmsford ordered Ulundi to be burnt, after which he handed over command to Wolseley on 15 July at the fort at St. Paul's and left South Africa by ship for England two days later. The defeat of the Zulus at Ulundi allowed Chelmsford to partially recover his military prestige after the disaster at Isandlwana, and he was honoured as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. However, he was severely criticised by a subsequent enquiry launched by the British Army into the events that had led to the Isandlwana debacle, and did not serve in the field again.
