The Battle of Kambula

Hi Gary and all

I have found it.

The men of the 80th at Khambula manned the two 6pdr Armstrong guns under the command of Lt Nicolson R.A. (page 114 of Ians book below).

It was in Ian Knights book 'Rorke's Drift - Zulu war' (which also includes the battle of Khambula).

On page 111, Ian says that No11 battery, 7th brigade R.A. were armed with four 7pdr field guns, two rocket troughs and two 6pdr Armstrong guns.

So it would appear that the R.A. men manned the four 7pdr field guns and the two rocket troughs, while the detachment of the 80th manned the two 6pdr Armstong guns, under Lt Nicolson.

Martin.

Hi Martin.
Well done , good effort .
cheers 90th

Hi Martin

Nice one & well done

Thanks chaps, gee, I'm blushing. :lol:

Gary, I will let you buy me a pint mate when you visit dear old England. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I must have read this before when I read Ians book, but couldn't recall it, anyway, at least we all know that the 80th did take part in the battle of Khambula, some manning two 6pdr Armstrong guns, and others in the I.M.I.

This forum is great for sharing information and gaining knowledge, nice to know that people appreciate it.

Thanks again chaps.

Martin.

Hi Martin.
No worries , happy to buy one , I've been to good old England twice so dont know if Ill get back there again . . I wouldnt mind some coolish weather its been 38 frid , 39 in my area today and back to work tomorrow and 35 ! . I could do with some spare snow Martin if you have any !!. :lol: :lol: :lol: .
cheers 90th.

Hi Gary

Thanks mate, and I would get you one back.
If you want some cool weather, then visit Lancashire, it's always cool up here in the North. Sorry mate, can't send you any snow, we have had some, but it's all gone now (untli the next dollop), and looking at the sky today, it doesn't seem like it will be too long before it comes again.

What a climate we live in. :lol:

Martin.

Hi All

An interesting account of Kambula

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Thanks Graves for posting articals.

Hi all

They are no 6pdr Armstrong guns at Kambula ,but four 7 pdrs.,mules of the 11 Battery,7 th Brigade between the redoubt and the wagon laager with two 9pdrs rocket troughs of the Rocket Section (Lt A.J. Bigge) and two 7 pdrs.,on Kaffrarian carriages ?of Section (Lt F. Nicolson) in the redoubt...


No 4 Column (Col E. Wood, VC)

11/7 Battery (less one section with Pearson)
(Maj E.G. Tremlett)
Four 7 pdrs.,on mules.

Rocket Section (Lt A.J. Bigge)
two 9pdrs rocket troughs on mules.

Section (Lt F. Nicolson)
Two 7 pdrs.,on Kaffrarian carriages ?

Kambula - 29th March, 1879

11/7 Battery (less one section)
Four 7 pdrs.,on mules.

Rocket Section
Two 9pdrs rocket troughs on mules.

Section 7 prs
Two 7 pdrs.,on Kaffrarian carriages ?

Lt Nicolson's 7 pr section was in the redoubt, while the four guns of 11/7 were in action outside.

Nicolson was mortally wounded early in the action.

With a muzzle loading gun, it was necessary for one of the men to 'serve the breech' by placing his thumb on the vent during the sponging out after each round was fired.

This prevented a draught which could cause the smouldering fragments of the previous cartridge to burst into flame.

The Zulu attack at Kambula was so fierce and the guns, as they poured forth shrapnel and case, became so hot that water had to be poured over them to allow the breeches to be served.

After his capture, Cetewayo said that it was only with the greatest difficulty that his men could be forced to face the guns.

One round of case killed ten headmen of his own regiment, in addition to wounding others;



Pascal

Pascal

Ian Knight clearly states in his book 'Rorke's Drift - Zulu War' (which also contains the battle of Khambula), on page 111, that there were four 7pdr field guns, two Rocket troughs, and two 6pdr Armstrong guns at Khmbula.

On the plan (page115), the four 7pdr field guns are shown between the main laager and the fort (redoubt), the fort is shown with the two 6pdr Armstrong guns.

On the plan it states that the main laager contained 7 companies of the 90th regiment, 4 and a half companies of the 13th regiment, and the mounted men. It shows the fort containing 1 and a half companies of the 13th regiment, 1 company of the 90th regiment, and the two 6pdr Armstrong guns. The cattle laager had 1 company of the 13th regiment. The Natal native horse is shown placed to the west of the main laager.

On page 114 Ian clearly states that the fort had wooden firing platforms added for the two 6pdr Armstrong guns manned by the detachment of the 80th regiment, and that Lt Nicolson R.A. commanded tem.

The Kaffrarian carriage was a modified version of the 9pdr carriage.

Martin.

Hi all

We will never know what it was because everything changes each new book of any author ...

What is almost over, was that there were any 6 PDRs with the 5th column, but for the 4 th column ?



Pascal

Hi every one
I was wondering if you could help me.
I am part of a small team who are recreating the battle of kambula with 28mm models.
We intend to construct a 14x6 foot table. We have all the terrain we want but we are trying to get it as accurate as possible.
I have been trying to get any current colour photo's of the area of the time of year that the battle commenced, or even better an artists impression at the time.
We have the skill and the material to represent the hills and surrounding area but are unsure what the grassland would look like. Some pictures from the time period show a fairly green grass, some show a lot less grass and a dried out grass.
Would any of you have any pictures to confirm either way so we can make it as accurate as possible.
The game is taking place over the Queens Jubilee weekend at a local Victoria museum.

Thanks in advance for any help given. This thread has already been very helpful as it stands.

Paul Williams

Hi Paul

Welcome to the forum. I am not a wargamer myself, but there are people on here that are, and that also make some great models, and no doubt you will get some help with this. I don't know about actual photos from that time, but there are perhaps some of the members that have visited the area and taken photos at the time they were there, so with a bit of luck you will get what you need to help you.

Hope that you enjoy your time on the forum, there are some good chaps (and chapesses), on here.

Regards

Martin.

Hi all

Zebs, how do you play scales, a figure for how many real men ? a inch for how many real yards ? and what rule?



Pascal

Hi

we use a rule set called black powder so a normal company would be represented by 24 men.
With muself and 2 others i would estimate there will be aboout 1100-1200 actual 28 mm Zulu figures on the table.
The scale of the ground is not going to be exact, but i'd say 100 yards would be approx 8-10 inches

Paul

Hi Zebz .
Welcome to the forum , I'm sure those who have been to Sth Africa will be able to give you details of the ' Lay of the land ' etc etc in regard to conditions at Kambula late March . . Let's not forget those on here who actually live there , i'm sure they will post something as well .
cheers 90th.

Hi Paul,

I play with " Defense of Rorke's Drift " of 3W ( 1 Figure for a white and 5 figures for a black) and " Victoria Cross II " of Worthington Games of ... (a figure for 50 black and 1 figure for 10 white )

I adapted both to play wargames with figures of 28 mm (instead of cardboard markers) that I make a majority, the others I turn into a general ...

I no longer use the traditional rules for years ...

These war games are more realistic because they are not generalists



Pascal