Battle of Ulundi

Six months after Isandlwana, a second British invasion of Zululand reached the royal capital at oNdini. Lord Chelmsford formed about 5,000 men into a hollow square on open ground, with Gatling guns, artillery and rifles on every face. The Zulu army attacked in the traditional horns-and-chest formation but was cut down at range by concentrated fire, and none reached the square. Once the attack faltered, British lancers rode out and pursued the survivors. Chelmsford burned oNdini, and the Zulu kingdom, which had fought well, collapsed within weeks.

Ulundi is often read as the revenge for Isandlwana, but historians point out that Chelmsford had already been replaced as commander and fought to finish the campaign before Sir Garnet Wolseley arrived. The tactical lesson, that a prepared formation with modern firearms could defeat a massed assault, was repeated across Africa in the following decades. The Zulu army had also already suffered heavy losses at Kambula and Gingindlovu earlier in the campaign.