Historical Organization
British Army
British Army
Details
Organization Timeline
British forces attack the Dutch position at Muizenberg
📅 7 August 1795British forces attacked the Cape during the French Revolutionary Wars. The battle began Britain's first occupation and transferred colonial power without consulting the indigenous or enslaved...
Britain defeats the Batavian forces at Blaauwberg
📅 8 January 1806A British invasion defeated Batavian troops near Cape Town and began the second British occupation. Colonial rule over the Cape's African and enslaved population changed hands again.
Makhanda leads an attack on Grahamstown
📅 22 April 1819Makhanda led thousands of amaNdlambe fighters in a daylight attack on the British military centre at Grahamstown. The assault was a major attempt to resist British invasion and land dispossession on...
King Hintsa enters the British camp under safe conduct
📅 29 April 1835During the Sixth War of Dispossession, Hintsa entered Governor Benjamin D'Urban's camp to negotiate after receiving assurances of safety. The British detained him and demanded cattle and territorial...
British forces kill King Hintsa
📅 12 May 1835Hintsa was shot while attempting to escape British custody. His killing became a lasting symbol of colonial betrayal and Xhosa resistance.
AmaNgqika attacks begin the Eighth War of Dispossession
📅 24 December 1850AmaNgqika fighters attacked a colonial patrol at Boomah Pass and military villages after Governor Harry Smith deposed Sandile. AmaGcaleka, AmaThembu and Kat River rebels joined the wider resistance.
British forces invade the Zulu Kingdom
📅 12 January 1879British columns crossed into Zululand after Cetshwayo rejected the ultimatum. The invasion began an imperial war to destroy Zulu political independence.
British troops establish an exposed camp at Isandlwana
📅 20 January 1879Chelmsford's column camped beneath Isandlwana without entrenching or forming a wagon laager. Zulu forces were already moving to oppose the invasion.
The Zulu army defeats the British at Isandlwana
📅 22 January 1879Zulu forces destroyed the main British camp at Isandlwana in one of the most significant African victories over a European imperial army during the nineteenth century.
Zulu forces attack Rorke's Drift
📅 22 January 1879After the victory at Isandlwana, a Zulu reserve force attacked the British post at Rorke's Drift. The garrison held the position after an overnight battle.
Zulu forces defeat a British column at Hlobane
📅 28 March 1879Zulu forces attacked Evelyn Wood's troops at Hlobane and drove the British from the mountain. The engagement preceded the larger battle at Kambula.
British forces defeat the Zulu army at Kambula
📅 29 March 1879The British defensive position at Kambula inflicted heavy losses on the Zulu army. The defeat weakened the kingdom's capacity to resist the invasion.
British forces defeat the Zulu army at Ulundi
📅 4 July 1879The British burned the royal capital after defeating the Zulu army. The battle destroyed the kingdom's military power and opened the way for its political fragmentation.
British forces capture King Sekhukhune
📅 2 December 1879After a combined British and allied assault on the Pedi stronghold, Sekhukhune surrendered and was imprisoned. His defeat ended a major centre of African resistance to settler and imperial expansion.