The South Wales Borderers and its predecessor units were one of the most distinguished, as well as one of the most venerable, line regiments in the British Army. Formed in 1689, the year of the 'Glorious Revolution' the regiment played a major part in Britain's 18th century wars with France, and in colonial conflicts of the 19th century. It's finest hour came at the legendary defence of Rorke's Drift in the 1879 Zulu War, when a record 11 VCs were won in a single day - seven of them to the regiment's members - during the successful and heroic siege of the Natal mission station against Zulu warrior. This magnificent regimental history concludes with the story of the Borderers in the Great War and its aftermath.

This is one of the most valuable books in the armoury of the serious student of British Military history. It is a new and revised edition of Arthur White's much sought-after bibliography of regimental, battalion and other histories of all regiments and Corps that have ever existed in the British Army. This new edition includes an enlarged addendum to that given in the 1988 reprint. It is, quite simply, indispensible.

South African born and bred, David Rattray's name is today synonymous with the Anglo-Zulu War. Now for the first time, his encyclopaedic knowledge is available to the reading public. With its magnificent colour artwork, including superb paintings, detailed maps and lively and informative text, this book will be greatly welcomed by both readers at home and visitors to the sites themselves.

Fought on the night of 22/23 January 1879 and immortalised in the film epic Zulu, Rorke's Drift represented one of the most glorious, if subsequently controversial episodes in British military history. For twelve desperate hours, outnumbered by over 25-1, barely 140 British soldiers, based at the remote mission station of Rorke's Drift, South Africa, were locked in a ferocious life or death struggle with over 4000 seasoned warriors of the hitherto victorious Zulu Army - the most powerful indigenous African army. Only hours earlier, in the shadow of the ominous Sphinx-like Isandlwana Crag, other elements of this same Zulu force had virtually annihilated a 1700-strong British colonial force - one of the greatest defeats of Queen Victoria's reign. In the wake of this massacre, the survival of the British Empire in South Africa rested with the tiny garrison of Rorke's Drift.

Between 1838 and 1888 the recently formed Zulu kingdom in southeastern Africa was directly challenged by the incursion of Boer pioneers aggressively seeking new lands on which to set up their independent republics, by English-speaking traders and hunters establishing their neighboring colony, and by imperial Britain intervening in Zulu affairs to safeguard Britain's position as the paramount power in southern Africa. As a result, the Zulu fought to resist Boer invasion in 1838 and British invasion in 1879. The internal strains these wars caused to the fabric of Zulu society resulted in civil wars in 1840, 1856, and 1882-1884, and Zululand itself was repeatedly partitioned between the Boers and British. In 1888, the old order in Zululand attempted a final, unsuccessful uprising against recently imposed British rule. This tangled web of invasions, civil wars, and rebellion is complex. The Historical Dictionary of the Zulu Wars unravels and elucidates Zulu history during the 50 years between the initial settler threat to the kingdom and its final dismemberment and absorption into the colonial order. A chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, maps, photos, and over 900 cross-referenced dictionary entries that cover the military, politics, society, economics, culture, and key players during the Zulu Wars make this an important reference for everyone from high school students to academics.

The vast majority of books on the Zulus concentrate on their stunning victory at Isandlwana over the invading British Army and the tragedy of their subsequent defeat during the Anglo-Zulu Wars.??By tracing the long and turbulent history of the Zulus from their arrival in South Africa, where they were not indigenous as were the Koi and San population, and the establishment of Zululand, The Tribe that Washed its Spears is an important and readable addition to this popular subject area. It describes the violent rise of King Shaka and his colourful successors under whose leadership the warrior nation built a fearsome fighting reputation without equal among the native tribes of South Africa. It also examines the tactics and weapons employed during the numerous inter-tribal battles over this period. They then became victims of their own success in that their defeat of the Boers in 1877 and 1878 in the Sekunini War prompted the well-documented British intervention.??Initially the might of the British empire was humbled as never before by the shock Zulu victory at Isandlwana but the 1879 war ended with the brutal crushing of the Zulu Nation. But, as Dr Greaves reveals, this was by no means the end of the story. The little known consequences of the division of Zululand, the Boer War and the 1906 Zulu Rebellion are analysed in fascinating detail.??An added attraction for readers is that this long awaited history is written not just by a much published leading authority but, thanks to the co-author’s contribution, from the Zulu perspective using much completely fresh material.??As reviewed in the 'Ashford Herald', 'Folkestone Herald' and 'Hythe Herald'