The battle of Ntombe drift - another British disaster of the Zulu War

the Battle of in tombe drift just behind me may not be one of the most remembered of the Anglo Zulu war but it's a fascinating battle and it's a great battlefield to visit so the village of Luneberg which is about 11 or 12 kilometers over my left shoulder was a settler community farmers missionaries etc and it was right on the border it was disputed territory they had been nervous since the war began and eventually the British sent four companies of the ATF regiment under Maj Tucker to come and defend the area so regular convoys would have to bring supplies down this track over the in tombe River here and then along and up to Luneberg in early March one of these convoys found itself stuck on route 2 Luneberg after a logistical mix-up the convoy had been left without a military escort and Maj Tucker sent out a company sized detachment under captain David Moriarty who was a veteran of the Crimea and the Indian Mutiny their mission was to retrieve the wagons they managed to help move the convoy to Mayer's drift on the intone Bay River but it was in full flow and they were now forced to wait for the water to subside ok so actually finding the battlefield is proving a bit tricky we put in the satellite coordinates it's broad is more or less to the right place but the signage ends with the main road and we've had to stop and ask a few locals but luckily they knew and they've sent us down this tiny track filled with very aggressive looking cows we don't want to move for the Corps but we're getting there so after a lot of driving we're getting close the convoy that the men were escorting included me listing about 2,000 rounds of my team it had been raining for four days straight and this track was in a terrible state and the river was flooded that's why the wagons couldn't get across Moriarty formed the 17 wagons into a v-shaped lager on the north side of the river but it was a sloppy job with gaps between the wagons on the south bank lieutenant Harwood commanded 35 men including sergeant Anthony Booth and NCO with 14 years service behind him so we're looking off across the river and the main logger of wagons was over there was in a triangular shape but it wasn't really doing its job because the water had receded and there was a gap at the base of the lager meaning it was very easy for the Zulus to infiltrate inside to add to that Moriarty who was in charge decided to pitch his tent over there outside the lager for the thousands of female fans who subscribe to this channel you'll be excited to hear I'm in shorts today I'm gonna see if I can wade it let's see if it's doable I've lost my flip-flops already it's not a good start okay so I just tried to Ford the river it was a bit of a disaster I lost my flip-flops almost straightaway got stuck in the mud it was already coming up over my knees and I realized okay without swimming which I didn't want to do that wasn't gonna work so after some shenanigans I finally made it onto the north side of the intone be the Derby sight and now I'm walking a little bit out of breath actually I'm walking towards the river along the path that the wagons would have come so this is more or less where the log good positions would have been where the camp was along here across there is the memorial and mass grave and that there is the church on that side of the river so on that night at the 11th of March 1879 two centuries were posted 20 yards up from the end of the lager as you can see from the terrain here I'm guessing this is more or less where they were they could only see about another 50 yards anyone could have been sneaking up over that hill and they would never have known early in the morning around half past four there was a sound of a gunshot the startle the century sergeant booth so uneasy he got dressed and he came out to see what was going on on the north side of the river Moriarty showed little concern and apparently went back to sleep but at around 5:00 a.m. there was a sudden crash of gunfire as thousands of unbeli knees Warriors infiltrated into the lager and began to attack the sleeping British so I'm inside what would have been the logger then and it's hard to imagine the amount of chaos the death the shooting the stabbing going on in such a small area on top of that there was the animals going wild just a sheer chaos is almost impossible to imagine now Moriarty fought bravely and as he died he called out I'm done fire away boys death or glory on the south side of the river the men rallied in two small groups firing volleys at the Zulus who tried to cross as they began to be outflanked leftenant Harwood's nerves broke and he took his horse and galloped away towards Luneberg so this is one of the original wagons there was a Zulu killed right on top none completely lined it's clearly modern it's crazy really when you think how few lessons had been learned from his and Juana I mean the lagering was terrible the number of centuries was insufficient and just the general attitude of the officers in command here just but it leaves you wondering what the hell they were thinking to the north side of the river you're related to unbeli me who was in in command of the Zulu troops here he's my royal blood well and and there's the history of the battlefield get passed on I mean is it something local people around here still remember and care about most people doesn't know what what happened here what makes you want to keep the keep the history alive because it's related to us yes Bellamy is the firstborn son of my great-grand I'm so I did a second ma boo so the third million is the first one he was born in Swaziland at war then when he grew up his father trained him as a soldier would you say for yourself and other relatives you're still proud of what he was able to achieve I mean he gave the British the runaround not just here but also at fob on a mountain as well I mean is that something you you you know still remember and celebrate as you can see the history of South Africa so if we we started it it's worth visiting this vital floats because it reminds us and year of our history so you can we can reconcile and look for it the survivors under Sargent boof began a fighting withdrawal over this undulating landscape booth had rallied them and made a stand at a deserted farmhouse nearby for his bravery and leadership under fire he was later awarded the Victoria Cross meanwhile Harwood found Tucker who quickly dispatched reinforcements the Zulus took everything of value from the wagons and withdrew back to their mounting stronghold I must say this is a really nice battlefield to visit the graves and the memorials are really well maintained and I imagine I could be wrong but I imagine it looks pretty much exactly the same as it did on the day of the battle forty men of the ATF including Moriarty were found dead on the battlefield 20 more were missing presumed drowned surgeon koban and 17 of the civilian wagon drivers were also killed only 25 zulu bodies were found testament to the brilliance and the surprise nature of their attack lieutenant Harwood was later acquitted by a court-martial for his actions but the fact that he deserted his men men that his career was over and he had no option but to resign his commission if you've enjoyed today's battlefield visit then please do consider subscribing because there's lots more films like this you can also follow me over at Twitter and Instagram where I'm at read Co history thanks guys see you next time

Channel: Redcoat History

Views: 44,955

Keywords: military history, British army, war, zulu, anglo zulu war, zulu war, 80th regiment, staffordshire regiment, KZn, South Africa, military history visualized, history

Id: _9byTwfFTL4

Length: 9min 12sec (552 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 01 2019