THE SHADOW OF ISANDLWANA: The Life and Times of General Lord Chelmsford and his Disaster in Zululand

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Biography explores the personal character and military career of British General Lord Chelmsford, who served in the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, and the Abyssinian Expedition, before commanding the British invasion of the Zulu Kingdom in South Africa. In January 1879, disaster struck when Chelmsford divided his forces at Isandlwana in the face of the enemy and the Zulu overwhelmed his camp, killing more than 1,300 of its defenders. Such a defeat was almost unprecedented in a Victorian colonial campaign. Despite Chelmsford's later victories at Gingindlovu and Ulundi, he was humiliatingly relieved of his command. His responsibility for Isandlwana dogged him for the rest of his days, and he would forever be associated with this historic defeat.