02 Crucible of Honour: The Battle of Rorke's Drift (The Anglo-Zulu War Book 2) by James Mace

Author:James Mace
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Legionary Books
Published: 2017-07-27T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter XVI: Retaking the Camp

Isandlwana

7.30 p.m.

Mahlabamkhosi Hill, immediately south of Isandlwana

Later known as ‘Black’s Hill’

The last glows of the setting sun illuminated the hills to the west, while the low ground on which the No. 3 Column marched was slowly enveloped in darkness. Every man had his gaze turned towards the remnants of the camp, filled with the vain hope that they might find their friends still among the living. Was Isandlwana really taken or were the reports from Commandant Lonsdale simply the ravings brought on by his head injury?

Imperial redcoats from the 24th advanced in close order, bayonets fixed, their eyes scanning for any sign of enemy warriors. The NNC on their flanks were becoming skittish and had to be prodded constantly by their officers and NCOs. Carbineers and volunteer cavalry screened the far flanks of the column, while the Imperial Mounted Infantry acted as a vanguard. These men were led by Lieutenant Anthony Walsh; a regular army officer from the 13th Light Infantry, who’d volunteered for service in Southern Africa. It was he who the previous night had brought some much needed rations and blankets to the beleaguered NNC troops at Mangeni.

About two miles from the camp, they spotted a lone rider coming out of a donga to the southeast of Isandlwana. He waved to the men and quickly galloped his horse over to them. “Thank God, they did not get you as well!” the man said excitedly. He saluted the officer and introduced himself. “Trooper James Raymond, Newcastle Mounted Rifles, sir.”

“Are you all that’s left?” the lieutenant asked.

“Of those who did not escape, sir,” the trooper replied. “We ended up with Durnford’s mounted darkies and fought those savage niggers from a donga about a mile up that way.” He waved over his shoulder towards the mountain. “Some of us got scattered when the colonel ordered the retreat. Saw a couple of lads from the rocket battery on stolen horses heading west. I thought the rest of you had gotten the chop, so I was waiting until dark to make my escape.”

“So, the Zulus are still between here and the camp?” Walsh persisted.

“No idea, sir,” Raymond confessed. “Once I got clear of the immediate danger, I went to ground.”

“Alright,” the officer replied. He felt a mixture of pity and loathing for the man. He had clearly been through a terrifying ordeal, yet he ran instead of falling back with his mates. Given the extreme improbability of there being any witnesses to his conduct, Lieutenant Walsh reckoned he could not order the man arrested and court-martialled for cowardice. Under the circumstances, simply being alive was not exactly a crime. Still, it irritated him that the trooper had no useful intelligence for them. Walsh dismissed him, ordering him to report to Lieutenant Jones who had a handful of men from the Newcastle Mounted Rifles on the left flank.

The column continued on about another quarter mile when a loan African wielding a spear and shield sprang up from the tall grass.

“Hostiles

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