The Ballade Of The Battle Of Isandhlwana Poem by Gert Strydom

I
In the shadow of the ultimatum-tree
the British dreamt about their reign in Africa,
brought demands to bring Zulu independence to an end,
are set that nothing would thwart British plans.

II
Chorus:
King Cetshwayo wants to keep Zulu independence intact
and where he views the British intentions as threatening and hostile,
he sends captain Ntshingwayo KaMahole Khoza with an impi,
to destroy the British army where he does not trust the British.

III
To the hillock iSandhlwana marches Lord Chelmsford with his British army,
that he views as a strategic place to ward off any Zulu army
and in an attack rifles that take bullets are used and they set an unconquerable square,
do believe that seasoned soldiers will be able to deadly halt any native impi.

IV
At Blood-river Ntshingwayo did fight the Boer who were armed with blunderbusses,
where to the bloody lessons of that battle Ntshingwayo gives great value,
where he knows that the speed of the attack, stealth and surprise does bring victory,
where he refuses the British to find shelter and to make entrenchments.

V
Unknown to the British the Zulu general hides his impi in a valley,
near to their camp that goes shallow as it leads to the hillock,
he does not take to the advice of his witchdoctors to attack on another day,
when a British scouting party comes into contact with his hidden Zulu soldiers.

VI
A diversionary force is send to take Lord Chelmsford on a wild-goose chase,
to draw the attention of the British away a regiment makes amuck,
where in vain the British follow that regiment across the veldt
and that disorderly British camp has to pay a deadly price for this mistake.

VII
The bull's head and chest with two horns is formed by the regiments
primitive, cruel and brave and honourable with assegais are rushed on the camp,
with rifles that take bullets the British set their unbreakable square against the Zulus
and the British army are deadly caught as the pressure of the bullhorns become enormous

VIII
with the mass of Zulus that scorning death rush forward,
where almost everyone in that camp perishes against the assegais and war-clubs,
where that square breaks as in no other battle or war against the Zulus impi
and the Zulus do stab the British to death and a native army surprises the British Empire.

IX
At the end of the battle Dbulamanzi a subordinate officer is sent to follow those
that does escape with only two regiments and the British do heroic fire on them
at Rokes Drift and only a few of the British survive and are seen as heroes,
where Dbulamanzi and his two regiments pull back in the morning at four o'clock,

X
the Zulus swim back through the full river and join the march of that great impi,
that returns to king Cetshwayo's kraal with their great booty
and the British do give out eleven Victoria Crosses
after the crushing of iSandhlwana where a native impi did stop the British army.

[Poet's notes:Captain Ntshingwayo KaMahole Khoza acts as a general for king Cetshwayo at iSandhlwana.At iSandhlwana 85 British officers,806 soldiers and 470 natives that fought for the British did die and the British estimate that about a 1000 Zulus did perish or were wounded and only 55 British soldiers did escape.An impi here does refer to a whole tribal army with different regiments making it up.Usually a kraal is a rural village but here it does refer to a large compound in which the Zulu king did live with some of his regiments of soldiers and his many wives. An assegai is a slender iron tipped spear of hard wood especially used by the South African native peoples.]

© Gert Strydom