The battle of Kambula (29 March 1879) is the definitive battle of the Zulu War. After the disaster at Isandlwana, when Lord Chelmsford’s Centre Column had temporarily ceased to exist, the focus of the Zulu War had turned to Evelyn Wood’s Column in the north. Not that the British had yet fully learned their lesson about underestimating the Zulus. The Northern Column suffered two disasters – one at Ntombe Drift (12 March) and the other at Hlobane (28 March), before the rampant Zulu army tried their luck on the British base camp at Kambula the following day.
Now situated in a forestry reserve north-west of Vryheid, the area is remote and difficult to reach, especially in a low-slung car or in the rainy season. The signage hasn’t been spruced up for some time either, and the only badly faded sign says “Nkambule”. But don’t be deterred – it’s the right place. The site of the battle is largely unspoilt. Fragments of commercial plantations only marginally spoil the integrity of the site, which is otherwise as pristine as the day it took place.
A stone plinth on top of a small hillock marks the site of Evelyn Wood’s redoubt, and one can clearly see the trench dug around it in the stony ground. If you look about a mile to the north-west you will see the monuments in the British cemetery. To your left (or West) is the site of the laager, with the artillery positions on the saddle between the...
