"Zulu skirmishers" Topic

In several of the AZW rule sets I am aware of, Zulus seem to lack tactical finesse.

Usually about twice the size of any British unit, the large Zulu masses are mostly "point 'em in the right direction & charge", IMO. Their "special power" is to be able to soak up casualties because of their size & melee fiercely. We use TSATF & to be honest, it's a little boring commanding the Zulus.

We're looking at changing from TSATF to 'The Men Who Would Be Kings'; partly, at least, because it gives the Zulus more credit for battlefield manoeuvres but also because it invites tweaking of the rules.

I'm thinking about the creation of Zulu skirmishing forces. In other words a finite number smaller units (half or even a quarter the size of a normal unit) that would thus be easier to manoeuvre. I'm also thinking they should have the ability to "Go to Ground' more easily than a normal unit (their "special power").They would be useful augmentations to the usual large Zulu units.

How historically accurate is this? Did the Zulus always operate in huge regiments or could they detach smaller groups for specific tasks such as skirmishing?

Well, they did at Rorkes Drift. They deployed the rifles in a small unit overlooking the site. Not sure about Close combat units. They did tend to operate in regiments. But if you want why not!

I cannot remember where I read it but I got the impression that they did use small units of skirmishers, other than the rifle ones mentioned above. I am in the process of making two twelve man units for skirmishing and will later do a rifle armed unit. I will either use Black Powder or Sharp Practice when I eventually paint some British.

As I recall the Zulus did have small skirmish units – young chaps – but the main combat force were the massed age-cohort regiments

Part of this might be history – prior to Shaka the Zulus and their opponents fought largely as mobs of skirmishers who threw javelins at each other; Shake introduced close order shock infantry who mowed their opponents like grass; victory is a hard thing to get out of your memory

Thanks, gents. TMP (nearly) always supplies answers & it's appreciated!

The Zulu regiments detached part of their strength to form a skirmish line which went ahead of the main force. this would engage small enemy forces it thought it could handle. This happened several times, Nyazene being an example. At Rorkes drift, regiments (Notably uThalwana) sent waves of several hundred at a time (IE Several companies – regiments were composed of units of between 20-80)
At Hlobane mountain, there were only skirmish forces involved till the left horn of the passing main Zulu Impi joined in.
The Prince Imperial was killed by a small force of Zulus.

Played a game of The Men Who Would Be Kings today, Brits vs. Zulus. You may go to ground and skirmish there I believe (our first game). Seems extremely reasonable to allow both for many tribal type armies.

Ochoin you might find this article useful.
link
Here is a PDF by South African Historians.
PDF link

@ Bashy: pure gold: thank you

@ 21eRegt. I'm aware of this which is why I want to adapt the skirmish idea to small units.

I'd love to hear more about your gaming with these rules BTW

I play in 15mm and have dedicated firearm armed skirmish stands. I mark a few of theseon the bottom to represent a marker for a hidden impi. So when the British get within a short distance of them the Impi marked units suddenly "rise up out of the grass". I also allow the skirmish stands to fire at the british to at most disorder them.

Not sure if this will help you with ideas for 28mm but thought I would throw it out there.

IIRC, by the time of the Anglo Zulu War, almost every Zulu warrior carried a rifle or musket of some kind. Before Isandlwana, they were mostly obsolete trade muskets which were discharged and then discarded before closing to hand to hand combat. Also, IIRC, almost all of the British killed and wounded at Rorkes Drift were caused by small arms fire, some of them by nasty slugs fired by the trade muskets. I think TMWWBK gets it right by allowing the Tribal infantry to fire, albeit very poorly, when they get within 6 inches of their target.

On a battlefield visit to Isandlwana, we were told that – of the 25,000 Zulus present – about 5,000 had a firearm of some description.

Alas, I am not sure how they were organised: were the chaps with rifles parceled out into smaller units or did they just charge with the other fellows and loose of a couple of pot shots if they got the chance?

Zulus with firearms were not 'organised' as such, though by 1879 a high proportion of warriors owned one as a result of trade with Natal and viewed as a status symbol.

Tactically, the regiments would advance in extended order, skirmishing as they came and putting down quite a weight of fire (several contemporary accounts speak admiringly of the Zulus' ability to manoeuvre and skirmish) before closing up for the final charge.

There were occasions, as described above, when detachments of riflemen were used but that would have been more along the lines of "right, you men with rifles, get up amongst those rocks over there and start shooting at the redcoats while the rest of us are advancing through the elephant grass' instead of formal sub-divisions of the Ivoyo

From Ian Knight's Osprey Combat British Infantryman Vs. Zulu Warrior: "The exact number of guns available to the Zulu in 1879 can only be estimated, but contemporary British reports place it at upwards of 20,000, and even this might be an understatement." "A few Zulus had been trained to use guns effectively by the professional hunting parties that operated in Zululand from the 1850's, but most had not, and had only the haziest idea of how to get the best results from their weapons. As a result of these factors, observers noted that Zulu musketry was often heavy in battle – but very little of it was accurate. Many Zulu, indeed,regarded a gun as an extension of their throwing spears, and rather than engage in prolonged fire-fights they preferred to advance as close as possible to the enemy, fire a shot and then throw down their firearm, and rush forward with their stabbing spears."

My reading of the period is that it was a dangerous chore for the Brits to scout about for Zulus. Some parties went out and did not return. Most parties went out and found nothing- there were no peasants or buy-able townsmen to give information. The Brits sort of went out into the void and knew they would get into contact- but not when or where. The Zulus owned the "small-war" game.