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Posts : 10236 Join date : 2009-04-07 Age : 64 Location : Melbourne, Australia
Subject: At Bay. Isandlwana. Tue Jan 05, 2010 5:00 am
hi all. If anyone is interested , I purchased one of these also from the same seller , put yourself in their shoes ! I think its quite moving , imagine what you would be thinking if it was you .
Posts : 374 Join date : 2009-01-22 Age : 58 Location : Timisoara , Romania
Subject: Re: At Bay. Isandlwana. Tue Jan 05, 2010 6:22 am
At the start of the battle the British would have been confident in victory , i often wonder at what point came the realisation that it was all over for them and how that must have felt .
sas1
Posts : 629 Join date : 2009-01-20 Age : 42
Subject: Re: At Bay. Isandlwana. Wed Jan 06, 2010 11:29 am
I would imagine they knew it was all over when they saw the Zulu “horns” which raced to find the end of the British flank and envelope it. On the right the companies of the 24th and the NNI were unable to prevent this envelopment. Then it was a choice to stay and fight or escape. And as we know quite a few officers on horseback managed to escape, even if it was under the pretence of saving the colours. As for the regular troops that stood their ground a fought to the bitter end it must have been a nightmare, for they would have seen what the Zulu’s were doing to their comrades (Zulu Rituals) and must have known that there would be no escape for them. I wonder what they must have thought seeing their officers leaving, at a time when they were needed most.
90th
Posts : 10236 Join date : 2009-04-07 Age : 64 Location : Melbourne, Australia
Subject: At Bay. Isandlwana. Wed Jan 06, 2010 11:51 am
hi sas1 , Do you think there is a possibility that some of the rank and file may have shot some of the officers attempting to escape ?. I have never seen , heard or read anything along these lines . Pure conjecture , but , is it worth considering ?. Also if it did happen , you would think there would be zulu testimony , so maybe its stretching it a bit !. cheers 90th.
old historian2
Posts : 1095 Join date : 2009-01-14 Location : East London
Subject: Re: At Bay. Isandlwana. Wed Jan 06, 2010 8:12 pm
There is a good chance that a few shots were fired at those officers leaving, but its one of those issues that can never be proven. The other question is, did any soldiers commit suicide, instead of letting the Zulus do their work on them. It would have been a difficult choice to make, but then again easy considering the consequence.
24th
Posts : 1857 Join date : 2009-03-25
Subject: Re: At Bay. Isandlwana. Wed Jan 06, 2010 8:39 pm
There are two examples of this, one was Rorkes Drift where a deserter was shot as he tried to run, and the other was at Hlobane where Mossop had spoken to a soldier seconds before the soldered put his rifle to his mouth and pulled the trigger. So it wasn’t un-heard of. I believe there were some that escaped Isandlwana with bullet wounds, but who’s to say whose bullet it was. Was it a British Bullet or Zulu?
garywilson1
Posts : 374 Join date : 2009-01-22 Age : 58 Location : Timisoara , Romania
Subject: Re: At Bay. Isandlwana. Thu Jan 07, 2010 6:00 am
How long is the MH ? would it not be quite difficult to shoot yourself with it ? a pistol OK , but in close combat i think it would be hard to have time to turn a MH round and shoot yourself.
Do i take it that the concensus on the Forum is that we are not happy with the officers "saving the colours " ?
90th
Posts : 10236 Join date : 2009-04-07 Age : 64 Location : Melbourne, Australia
Subject: At Bay. Isandlwana. Thu Jan 07, 2010 6:22 am
hi gary. Not sure if I"m " not happy " with the " Saving of the Colours " but I can assure you , Sir Garnet wasnt overly impressed ! . Interesting to see what sas1 thinks of the matter . The main thing we must remember is Melvill and Coghill did not leave at the same time , as Sir Garnet may have thought . So it may be a moot point even discussing it . cheers 90th.