Zulu Impi

Origins

The impi, the army of the Zulu Kingdom, was largely Shaka's creation in the 1810s and 1820s. Age-grade regiments already existed among the northern Nguni peoples, and Shaka learned war under Dingiswayo of the Mthethwa. When he took power over the small Zulu chiefdom in about 1816, he turned these regiments into a standing army loyal to the king. Within about a decade the Zulu had conquered or absorbed their neighbors and become the great power of south-eastern Africa. The wars of this period caused huge upheaval across the region. Shaka was assassinated in 1828 by his half-brothers, and Dingane and then Mpande and Cetshwayo inherited the system.

Organization & Training

The army was made up of amabutho, regiments of young men of the same age, called up together by the king. Each regiment had its own name, its own royal barracks and its own shield colors. The men herded the king's cattle, worked his fields and fought his wars, and they could not marry until the king released the whole regiment, often when the men were in their thirties or older. Discipline was harsh and bravery was rewarded. The warriors traveled light and fast, living off the land and cattle driven with the army, and they were famous for how quickly they could cover ground on foot.

Weapons & Equipment

Tradition credits Shaka with replacing the thrown assegai with the Zulu Iklwa, a short, broad-bladed stabbing spear used with the great cowhide war shield in close assault. Warriors hooked the enemy's shield aside with their own and stabbed under the arm. Throwing spears remained in use, and many men carried a wooden knobkerrie club. By 1879 the Zulu had also bought thousands of firearms, most of them old muskets, but few men were trained to shoot well. After Isandlwana they captured about a thousand British rifles, the Martini-Henry Rifle, and used some of them later in the war.

The standard attack was the "horns of the buffalo". The chest pinned the enemy from the front, the horns raced wide to encircle him, and the loins waited in reserve, by tradition sitting with their backs to the fight so as not to become overexcited. Speed, discipline and shock did the rest.

Notable Actions

At Blood River in 1838, Dingane's army was beaten by Boer settlers firing from a wagon laager. In January 1879 Britain invaded the kingdom of Cetshwayo (see Anglo-Zulu War). At the Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January, some 20,000 warriors enveloped and destroyed a British camp, killing more than 1,300 soldiers and African auxiliaries. It was one of the worst defeats a British army suffered against an African force. That same afternoon and night, fewer than 150 defenders of Rorke's Drift held off about 3,000 to 4,000 warriors. At Khambula in March the Zulu were beaten attacking a fortified camp, and at Ulundi on 4 July the British infantry square broke the last great charge. The kingdom was divided and later annexed by Britain / United Kingdom.

Legacy

The impi is still the model of what a pre-industrial army could achieve through organization, training and courage. Isandlwana is its proof, and the battle remains a source of pride in South Africa today. The regimental system itself survived in ceremonial form, and Zulu regiments still gather for royal occasions.

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