@@TheArmchairHistorian Our club's war room is based in York, PA. We've been playing wargames one night a week for 18 years running! The invite to you is absolutely open. Your content is outstanding and we were saddened--but not surprised--to hear the Google Thought Police found your military history "too edgy."
@@LittleWarsTV I'm literally two hours away, I'm up north around Allentown, PA haha. We could definitely set something up, I'll shoot you guys an email. And thank you, I've been watching your content for a while now too and I'm a big fan. Recently the demonetization problem has been getting better thankfully!
Little Wars TV is simply brilliant. The history you guys bring alive is really a fantastic thing for anyone not familiar with the subjects you guys cover. Never Forget; Never Forgotten.
Okay, I'm only 1:33 into the video, and I'm already yelling, "LAAGER!! LAAGER NOW!!!" Seriously, this shows the Brits were in deep bantha poodoo no matter what they did, given the disparity in numbers and the fact that Chelmsford divided his force to chase phantom enemy formations. Excellent video. Subscribed.
I used to have the Battle of the Little Bighorn game with Custer. I was a good game player with other war games and usually won. I was Custer in this game and it did not end well for me! I write this because the British and Custer's men learned the same thing. Don't mess with the natives!
I don't understand why Pulleine didn't use the topography to it's full offering. Pull his left flank back to use Islandwana heights to squeeze the Zulu chest to shrink so that the artillery could volley into swollen ranks with canister. Place some of his better marksmen on the Islandwana heights to perform harassing fire as well as acting lookout, perhaps seeing and signaling Pulleine about the right horn. Not having a topographical map in my hands I cannot remark further as to use of rise, fall and gully obstacle use. Regardless Pulleine was sorely outnumbered with scant chance to summon side. A well played engagement by the British side.
Terrific video. Used to have a lot of fun playing Rorkes Driift in 25mm using skirmish rules on the anniversary of the battle - every British soldier had his name on the base. There were so many Zuius we had to use whatever was available, including goblins, to represent them. It was great fun seeing the fight on the roof and through the hospital as the Zulus set fire to the building and the combat went into the night. My friend played the sound track from the film Zulu in the background. Sometimes the Zulus won, but not always!.
Brilliant episode guys. Just gets better and better. 6mm really shows the panorama of this battle, the Zulu host vs such a small force of brave Welshmen. Respect to the men of Harlech, and those incredible brave Zulus who basically charged the Martini Henry, armed with a spear and a cow hide shield. How do you motivate a man to do that?
I have visited Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift myself so that was great to see Steve's film from the battlefield. The terrain, figures and game were outstanding. A brilliant episode.
Hey, I’d like to say thank you for making these extraordinary battle reports.These are the funniest one’s I’ve seen, and because of this channel I’ve painted up my own Roman and Carthaginian armies. Though it seems no one else at school plays, but just painting the models is fun in itself, thank you!
Superb show and one of my favourite battles. The ammunition story has in the main been debunked now, I believe the distance between the ammo and the firing line was a big problem, oh and a lot of Zulus.
I thought the firing line itself was the problem long and thin it could not defend in depth. The bayonet square with the ammo boxes in the center was the way to roll at the base of the mountain. This one was 'Pilot error' and a bad cause to start with.
@@nowthisnamestaken Hi, I am curious about what do you mean by 'Pilot error' and a bad cause. I think the square was a good opinion, but even a square would be unlikely to withstand such overwhelming odds.
@@@andymoore9977 Hi, I mean bad leadership by 'pilot error' Bad cause would relate to the situation they are in - A partial force divided and subdivided, unable to support each other, fighting a far numerical enemy then dividing itself in half leaving the other half unsupported. Also there are racist undertones that lead them to underestimate the Zulu fighting ability and tactics. Same as Custer. Fighting in a long thin firing line gives the Zulu the most frontage possible to use their forces to the maximum. The human wave vs the thin line means once the line is breached the flank is turned and the rout begins. This is what happened My strategy would have to be loose skirmishers close to camp falling back into square at the base of the hill using the wagon lager. Guns between the wagons colonial troops standing behind the British and the natives without guns in the center. Cut the Calvary loose to harry the flanks of the horseless Zulus. Give the Zulus too little room for maneuver while taking volleys to the face. They may not have had a chance but I think it would have been a better chance. The beauty of Monday mornings yeah? 800 Regulars is a pretty small force but if you don't want the 1000 allied colonial forces to flee as they always do, you have to "corset" them up-stiffen up the backbones. Some of these natives had NO guns and would have been best employed behind the men that did. The losses of the colonial troops compared to the starting numbers and the Zulu ownership of the field tell us that half of them fled the field while only about 60 British survived. The British obviously went down swinging or were run down while their native "allies" had a good head start running away. It happens to us Now in Afghanistan. it happened in Niger. Benghazi. It happens everywhere. it would have been better to keep the entire force together and in sight of each other Sorry for the long answer. I hope that gets it.
@@nowthisnamestaken Hi, your plan does seem to have an element of Ulundi about it where a huge mobile square was used to attack the Zulu kraal and end the war. Is that what inspired your thinking or am I taking a leap too far?
Great job guys. Really a pleasure to see wargamers do their due diligence, historical research-wise, prior to playing. The problem with playing Isandlwana, or any battle involving tactical surprise, is the whole 10,000' general syndrome. But at least you tried to address the command and control issues on some level. I don't know the rule set. Hearing that they were skirmish rules from Osprey made me fear a ridiculous result but things seemed to work out reasonably well despite the inevitable acceptance of Mike Snook's view that the British troopers remained Zulu-slaying automatons to the very end. (That didn't really happen according to the Zulu survivors...but it pleases Anglophiles to believe otherwise.) Does this mean that if Pulleine was alerted to the Zulu threat before it appeared, and if he had actual battle experience, (and therefore exercised better tactical judgement/command and control during the engagement,) as well as unflagging morale among both the British and Native troops present the colonial force would have been engulfed and destroyed anyway? Yes, it does. Neither Pulleine nor Durnford can reasonably be held responsible for the defeat. That blame lays with Chelmsford who somehow allowed an enormous enemy force to be encamped undetected a short march from his base...and then took half his force away to weaken that vulnerable position even further. In other words this battle was decided the moment it began and this replay reflected that reality -- so my hat if off to you!
Beautiful job creating the board. I for one would be very interested to see how it was made. Quite the dedication to paint all those Zulus. Great job on everything.
Gentlemen at Little Wars TV congratulations on one of the best wargaming videos I have seen. Loved the opening as well as the weapons and cheers used. You guys are such a blast to watch, the battlefield, the vast hordes of minis, the few brits, the humour, camaraderie shown and the humour make your club second to none. Well done to the British for keeping it as close as possible. Roark's Drift next????
I think this game demonstrates that the British could have done even better if they were better led. I've seen it suggested that the British could have turned their wagons on their sides, creating a makeshift fort, as was done at Rorkes Drift, keeping the Zulu Asagis at arms length, and creating a more easily defended perimeter. The cavalry would also been better off defending from behind cover, if it had been available, and they could have reached it. The people distributing the ammunition, would have been less exposed, too. It would be interesting seeing the battle fought again, using those "what ifs".
Ah ! What a battle chaps. A true "nail biter" to the end. Looking forward to the extras and must say that the armies look magnificent. Last but not least, would be awesome to have a special about using 6mm/10mm playing rulesets for larger scales. Note: really like how you guys took the "realistic" approach of sending someone out with the word and giving the scenario a touch of authenticity as opposed to a "gamey" decision of having it on the table just because you could. Snappy Salute. An awesome episode.
Excellent opening summary guys. I had the pleasure of being guided round the battlefield by Doug's father, the legendary David Rattray, when I visited the site with a colleague in 1996. It may be of interest to viewers that the white blobs visible from the upper slopes of Isandlwana @5:34 onward are actually whitewashed cairns marking the graves of the fallen British (and allied) troops. These dramatically show the progress of the battle from the firing line up to the area of the camp and then beyond as the fleeing survivors were chased down and killed.
So, now that you've got a pretty much historical result here, are you going to do a Rorke's Drift that follows this Isandlwana and see if that goes historically too? Since there are going to be fewer Zulus, I think it would be likely to go historically too.
I tried to recreate Rorks Drift in 25mm figures on my 4ft by 8ft table. I had only 24 Brits and about 200 Zulus (all I had). Not even close to the odds at Rorks Drift. (They had more Zulus) I ignored the fact that the Zulus had a few rifles. I gave the Brits any advantage I could regarding morale and fortified possitions. Lots of Zulus died but eventually they closed with the Brits and it only took a few turns of hand to hand combat before the Brits were killed. I was satisfied with the game results. They reflected what I expected to happen but this did not reflect the actual outcome of the actual battle. don't know what the British had that I didn't allow for. Perhaps if I replaced the rifles with machine guns.
@@john-peterhundt5662 most rules systems fail to account for the morale 'slump' after a failed first attack; second attack; third attack ... after a certain point only the most insane or personally injured will 'go into the breach' of such a solid defense.
@@Malinski66 I had a variety of Zulu troop quality classes from A really "gung Ho" to D "rather be someplace else". As the units came within rifle range the losses were high and those units shot at, faultered but the better quality troops made it to impact. Since the Zulus had overwelming odds their reaction tests (for units without casualties) were good enough to continue. It's a game and rules can only aproximate what might happen. As I said, I felt the results were realistic from my point of view but I was not there - fortunately.
Good morning Little wars! It was a pleasure to have you at Fugitives Drift and the video is fantastic! There are many more battles to do out here so I think a few more visits are in order. (I hope the travel account will allow it!)
Great video guys! I love that you added all that history to give a complete understanding of the conflict. I just wish I could have played the game with you. Years ago I came to Army Group York. You said I had to get an ok to come out and play but even after I sent several emails no one responded. I feel like the kid who never got to play in the baseball game because he never got picked. So sad! Glad you are all doing well and appear to be having fun.
I was thinking about this battle today and just how similar this was to Custer's Last stand. Both U.S. and British armies faced an inferior native tribal yet larger armies. Both U.S. and British forces were commanded by ego driven commanders. Both battles involved open terrain and tactics although fairly basic were also similar. Both Native armies swarmed their enemies and through attrition won out. Both European and U.S. were armed with superior weapons but these weapons also had an limit of which was ammunition. Once the bullets were gone, that was it, they were left to the very basics of weapons, knives and bayonets. Natives had spears/shields. Indian tribes had bows/axes/spears and horses. The end result for both battles was the annihilation of Euro/U.S. armies... and today both battle sights commemorate the victor and the loser. :)
Actually the indians at Little Big Horn were armed in large numbers with the Winchester repeating rifle, which according to many historians was a deciding factor as it allowed them to pour continuous rapid fire onto Custers men who by comparison were armed pretty much entirely with Springfield singleshot carbines. By comparison at Isandlwana only a few firearms were employed by the Zulu, less than 1%, and were mostly old muskets. Hence the Zulu's won the day at Isandlwana due mainly to clever tactics on their part, whilst at the same time the British underestimated their foe. Had the British been quick to form a tighter defence I believe things could've turned out different, but based on the starting position of both forces I doubt it could've resulted in a British victory, more likely just a lot more Zulu casualties. Question is, if you've got a ~1,000 man square, i.e. a 250 man firing line on all four sides, could it have held back 20,000 Zulus ?
@@bellator11 www.historynet.com/battle-of-little-bighorn-were-the-weapons-the-deciding-factor.htm... a soldier/survivor of one company belonging to the 7th Cav puts the Indians at half using bows and arrows... The other half using a mix lot of carbines and repeaters. By ratio of man vs. man 7th Cav was outnumbered.. so the half ratio of indians using guns... could very well be the = proportion to the 7th Cav fighting.
Great comment. Bravo!! I'd like to add that each commanders concern was how they were going to keep the enemy from escaping and also forcing them into battle. They both took risks they should not have. Each commander decided to divide his force into three parts, Only one part being destroyed to give name to the battle.
@@bellator11 i would not call it clever tactics mostly British obliging annihilation...spiting your forces in the face of massive enemy is stupid...as afar as pincer attack bye the zulu and picking that ground it is pretty obvious
@@willb8684 Call it what you will, but based on the equipment they had available the Zulus played their cards pretty well, where'as the British failed to put their superior equipment to proper use. Immediately adopting a defensive square could've potentially saved the British from annihilation on that day, but instead the lines were stretched thin and the flanks left open to attack.
Evening, I have just watched my first ‘battle report’ with this one and came to you through a quick vid you did a while ago through a UA-cam algorithm. You guys make throughly entertaining and engaging reports, just enough content of historical information to keep it paced evenly and drawing you into research tabs on search engines. Thanks and I will be watching MANY more. Stay safe all. 😎
That is awesome to hear. Thanks, Ryan. We have plenty more battles on the channel and hope the UA-cam gods help connect us with other history buffs who may not know what this hobby is quite yet!
Well done gentlemen. No time for tea during this episode. Enjoyed the unexpected lead in as well as added commentary explaining the board goings on. Keep it coming.
Fantastic game report! A great job explaining both the strategy and rules behind each turn - while offering a tense, entertaining narrative throughout the battle. Well done!
Great game guys. I remember playing a board game version in 1978 or so where the each British soldier had an individual counter and the Zulu forces were sized at 10 Zulus per counter. The British could win if they could hold off the Zulus with volley fire, but if the Zulu made contact, the fight was all over.
I’m a board wargamer, not a miniatures player, but I must say, this video is far superior in production and content to anything I’ve seen for board wargames. Well done gents!
When the Zulu King heard about the losses suffered at Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift he cried “An Assagai has been thrust into the belly of the Zulu nation.”
Been a long time fan of you guys, the last 6 months I have been in army basic training and infantry school, now I’m in airborne school, due to the corona virus I can’t go home or war game at all, so I watch your videos and it helps pass the time, keep up the awesome videos!
I just found these videos and i have to say they are great i love your production and the battles are great Im sure youve heard from others as these are old but the inside look at the stats and rolls of the game is cool.
Greetings from KwaZulu-Natal. The camp at Isandlwana was continuously under Chelmsford's watchfull eye. One of the major blunders was that the camp wasn't struck down when the Zulus attacked (a protocol procedure overlooked by Isandlwana comanding officers... and you too as I see ;)). This lead Chelmsford to believe that what his adjutans were seeing, throught the field telescope, was a native contingent exercise. Had the proper procedures been followed, Chelmsford would most probably have hurried back to the camp. I'd like to propose a challange that you gentlemen calculate the time it would take for Chelmsford to return, replay this game with the camp struck, and introduce this time variable. It would be very interesting to see if Chelmsford 's forces (if only portion of it) could return fast enought to avert this disaster. I enjoyed your video tremedously. Thank you .
Excellent. Well done and thanks. I've done Isandlwana a couple of times in 6mms but not, I think, as successfully. The key is picking the correct start point - a time when the British have done some of their deployment too far from camp but not so much as to give them no hope of rallying back to that camp. Starting them completely out of position is a Zulu walkover. Starting them compact in camp is almost a guaranteed British win. Anyway, watching this video makes me think it's time to do it again. Cheers, Andrew.
SON OF A .....BEST VID EVER VOTED FOR BY ME BUDDY'S WELL DONE BRAVO...... WILL MET YOU GUYS THIS SUMMER ....THAT IS MT BUCKET LIST NO. 1...LOL...Really nice i just am so happy , I dont watch tv ... just tube like to learn ...AND HOW WITH YOU GUYS I WILL DONATE THIS SUMMER ...when i get my law suite 9 years we won 8 operations o enough of that just so happy to know others care about our history of this world we live in...guys dont ever get mad at each other every one of you are a part of something bigger than you will ever know....later...keepem coming..
Gentlemen, Tremendous effort on all counts - table, video production values and general presentation. I did find it interesting that the Zulus needed to roll as high as 7 on two die to be able to charge home, as that leaves generous odds to fail and stand flatfooted in the face of persistent volleys; I wonder if this was a scenario balancing choice. Again, thanks for raising the bar in the presentation of our hobby.
The Ft. Leavenworth SIMSATS did Zulus a while back at the U.S. Army museum on base. They fought 2 battles on 2 tables - The Relief Column Battle & The Rourk's Church Battle - Table 1 - the Relief Column of cavalry, infantry, wagons, and artillery marched down the valley road between bushy hills when 5 Zulu tribe-groups attacked from the front and both sides ! The lead Brit cavalry was able to ride by the Zulus blocking and ride on down the road to get to Table 2 ( Rourk's Church). The rest of the Brit infantry formed up at each wagon defense position and were over-whelmed and fell back to the next wagon as the Zulus burnt each one and then advanced to the next - when the Brits got to the last wagon where the 2 artillery were there was a Gatling Gun in the last wagon with lots of ammo - the Zulu mass broke here ! Table 2 - the Brit infantry behind the stone walls here were attacked by 3 Zulu tribe-groups in over the walls melees - the Zulus also had a few muskets and their leaders on a close hill firing in over the walls - when the Zulus broke thru the wall the Brits fell back into the stone church to just defend each window and doorway in melee combat ( a last stand) - just then the Brit cavalry showed up on table 2 and the Zulu leaders signaled a withdrawl to honor the Brit's brave defense !!
The statement about not being able to appreciate a battle until you visit the field is oh so true. I have visited many in my lifetime, from Spanish stone forts in Florida to wooden French forts in Canada, American Revolutionary-Civil War battlefields. And to cover a spectrum, at Gettysburg I was just floored at how massive an area was covered during the 3-days and on the converse, at the battle of Cowpens, I was amazed at how small an area it encompassed. So, if you ever have the chance or can make a plan to go and visit any historical battlefield, please do so. Great educational experience for kids too. I am watching your entire series from inception until now and I am amazed at the spectrum of battles you have covered. I hope you guys followed up with a Rorke's Drift battle sometime after this one. I am skipping the Star Wars episode because I just don't buy into fantasy games.
Wish I could like it twice! Love the Osprey war games rules. I've gotten a lot of fun out of Lion Rampant, Dragon Rampant, Men who would be Kings and Rebels and Patriots. For my own large battle tweek of the rules i'm planning a Lion Rampant game where each stand has 9 figures on it otherwise playing the game the same. It just looks bigger! A cavalry unit of 6 stands has 54 figures in it!
Just watched this battle yet again, it is truly an epic classic, and started thinking about the possibility of y'all fighting it again. It seems like the players, Ed and Chal especially, learned much from their defeat and would be interesting to see if they could put their lessons into practice.
Hi guys. I had no idea there were figures in the scale of 6mm. I have a fair number of colonial war figures, british and Zulu, painted and non-painted, in the scale of 1/72 as well as the famous Roarkes Drift buildings. I also have a number of games on the subject. Table top gaming is new to me. I started using 15mm figures from Warlord Games, covering the American Civil War. Later i got the Napoleonic era of same scale figures plus buildings and terrain. Two things bother me, though. First, the rules are so vast concerning firing, moving, retreating, etc. I use more time consulting the rule book than actually playing a game. Secondly, figures are stuck on a base, so you have to place a casualty marker for every hit, making it look silly having a surviving base of figures with a number of tokens beside it, rather than playing with individual figures that can be knocked down as they take a hit, or removed in case of wound. I stick to board games but like to set up dioramas using figures of different time periods, which makes table top war-gaming looking so good. Keep up the good work.
Definitely a smart idea to form a square. It held up very well and truly would have changed the course of the battle. Not sure it would have made any ultimate difference, but it would have altered the battle calculus quite a bit.
Played a board game (paper maps and cardboard miniatures) " Victoria Cross " that contains this Isandlwana battle and the Rourk's Drift battle too !! :-)
Fantastic place to visit. Isandlwana tour one day, Rorkes Drift the next...Very impressive commemoration of BOTH sides.... Staying at the Fugitives Drift Lodge... made possible only (and somewhat sadly - for the locals) by the weakness of the Rand against the AUD. As far as Rorkes Drift goes, remember the attack on the mission station was unauthorised. (It was in British territory and the Zulu king was determined not to give the Brits the excuse that he had "invaded".) Had the full weight of the Zulu forces been thrown in its pretty clear what the result would have been.
Sawubona! Really enjoyed this video of my province. If you get the chance have a look at the battle of Congella in Port Natal (aka Durban). Love 6mm wargaming!
Awesome game! Ive been looking forward to this. Please play other battles from the Anglo-Zulu War besides Isandlwana & Rorkes Drift- those are the two best known. I looked on your site but did not see the modified rules- maybe not up yet? Thank you for this!
There was a problem with the cartridges made with too thin brass jamming and slowing the fire. Broken cartridges are found in the British firing positions.
According to some experts one of the reasons of the defeat was the ammo boxes and the quartermasters inflexibility .The ammo boxes had a number of screws holding the lid on which slowed down the distribution of the ammo to the troops .
Interesting report, and great to see you all having fun. I noticed your portrait gallery has Hannibal beside "Uncle" Bill Slim. Perhaps a coincidence: My son has just submitted an essay which compares their major campaign performance, and aspects of their generalship.
Awesome wargame guys, I've to invite some friends over and try out this scenario!
Better yet, you should join us for a game! We're big fans of yours here at LWTV.
@@LittleWarsTV Where are you guys located?
@@TheArmchairHistorian Our club's war room is based in York, PA. We've been playing wargames one night a week for 18 years running! The invite to you is absolutely open. Your content is outstanding and we were saddened--but not surprised--to hear the Google Thought Police found your military history "too edgy."
@@LittleWarsTV I'm literally two hours away, I'm up north around Allentown, PA haha. We could definitely set something up, I'll shoot you guys an email. And thank you, I've been watching your content for a while now too and I'm a big fan. Recently the demonetization problem has been getting better thankfully!
Now this is epic
Little Wars TV is simply brilliant. The history you guys bring alive is really a fantastic thing for anyone not familiar with the subjects you guys cover. Never Forget; Never Forgotten.
These cold opens are getting better and better, this one was well worth the wait!
Okay, I'm only 1:33 into the video, and I'm already yelling, "LAAGER!! LAAGER NOW!!!"
Seriously, this shows the Brits were in deep bantha poodoo no matter what they did, given the disparity in numbers and the fact that Chelmsford divided his force to chase phantom enemy formations. Excellent video. Subscribed.
I think both Pullaine and Durnford realised how much trouble they were in and they would be unlikely to survive this, especially Durnford.
I used to have the Battle of the Little Bighorn game with Custer. I was a good game player with other war games and usually won. I was Custer in this game and it did not end well for me! I write this because the British and Custer's men learned the same thing. Don't mess with the natives!
I don't understand why Pulleine didn't use the topography to it's full offering.
Pull his left flank back to use Islandwana heights to squeeze the Zulu chest to shrink so that the artillery could volley into swollen ranks with canister. Place some of his better marksmen on the Islandwana heights to perform harassing fire as well as acting lookout, perhaps seeing and signaling Pulleine about the right horn. Not having a topographical map in my hands I cannot remark further as to use of rise, fall and gully obstacle use. Regardless Pulleine was sorely outnumbered with scant chance to summon side. A well played engagement by the British side.
Terrific video. Used to have a lot of fun playing Rorkes Driift in 25mm using skirmish rules on the anniversary of the battle - every British soldier had his name on the base. There were so many Zuius we had to use whatever was available, including goblins, to represent them. It was great fun seeing the fight on the roof and through the hospital as the Zulus set fire to the building and the combat went into the night. My friend played the sound track from the film Zulu in the background. Sometimes the Zulus won, but not always!.
I wish all American documentary makers would take lessons from your channel. Concise, informative and fun.
Brilliant episode guys. Just gets better and better. 6mm really shows the panorama of this battle, the Zulu host vs such a small force of brave Welshmen. Respect to the men of Harlech, and those incredible brave Zulus who basically charged the Martini Henry, armed with a spear and a cow hide shield. How do you motivate a man to do that?
Welsh? They were British. And despite the film “Zulu” portraying the defenders of rorkes drift as Welsh, most of them were English.
@@lesdodoclips3915 Welsh people are British...
The soldiers there were English dipshit not Welsh, despite the film Zulu portraying them as welsh
I have visited Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift myself so that was great to see Steve's film from the battlefield. The terrain, figures and game were outstanding. A brilliant episode.
Wow! Can’t say that I expected the tour of South Africa!
Really looking forward to the rest of this series
Epic fight, great terrain and minis. Thanks for another entertaining (and let's not forget informative) episode, chaps👍🏻
12:25 Delightful use of understatement! Wellington would have been proud.
I had the biggest smile when I saw this video in my feed. Another awesome battle!
Hey, I’d like to say thank you for making these extraordinary battle reports.These are the funniest one’s I’ve seen, and because of this channel I’ve painted up my own Roman and Carthaginian armies. Though it seems no one else at school plays, but just painting the models is fun in itself, thank you!
Superb show and one of my favourite battles. The ammunition story has in the main been debunked now, I believe the distance between the ammo and the firing line was a big problem, oh and a lot of Zulus.
Yes, George, that is as I understand it.
I thought the firing line itself was the problem long and thin it could not defend in depth. The bayonet square with the ammo boxes in the center was the way to roll at the base of the mountain. This one was 'Pilot error' and a bad cause to start with.
@@nowthisnamestaken Hi, I am curious about what do you mean by 'Pilot error' and a bad cause. I think the square was a good opinion, but even a square would be unlikely to withstand such overwhelming odds.
@@@andymoore9977 Hi, I mean bad leadership by 'pilot error' Bad cause would relate to the situation they are in - A partial force divided and subdivided, unable to support each other, fighting a far numerical enemy then dividing itself in half leaving the other half unsupported. Also there are racist undertones that lead them to underestimate the Zulu fighting ability and tactics. Same as Custer.
Fighting in a long thin firing line gives the Zulu the most frontage possible to use their forces to the maximum. The human wave vs the thin line means once the line is breached the flank is turned and the rout begins. This is what happened
My strategy would have to be loose skirmishers close to camp falling back into square at the base of the hill using the wagon lager. Guns between the wagons colonial troops standing behind the British and the natives without guns in the center. Cut the Calvary loose to harry the flanks of the horseless Zulus. Give the Zulus too little room for maneuver while taking volleys to the face. They may not have had a chance but I think it would have been a better chance. The beauty of Monday mornings yeah?
800 Regulars is a pretty small force but if you don't want the 1000 allied colonial forces to flee as they always do, you have to "corset" them up-stiffen up the backbones. Some of these natives had NO guns and would have been best employed behind the men that did. The losses of the colonial troops compared to the starting numbers and the Zulu ownership of the field tell us that half of them fled the field while only about 60 British survived. The British obviously went down swinging or were run down while their native "allies" had a good head start running away.
It happens to us Now in Afghanistan. it happened in Niger. Benghazi. It happens everywhere.
it would have been better to keep the entire force together and in sight of each other
Sorry for the long answer. I hope that gets it.
@@nowthisnamestaken Hi, your plan does seem to have an element of Ulundi about it where a huge mobile square was used to attack the Zulu kraal and end the war. Is that what inspired your thinking or am I taking a leap too far?
The col pulleine guy genuinely seemed nervous which actually made the roll play realistic and the beginning brief cool!!!
Great job guys. Really a pleasure to see wargamers do their due diligence, historical research-wise, prior to playing. The problem with playing Isandlwana, or any battle involving tactical surprise, is the whole 10,000' general syndrome. But at least you tried to address the command and control issues on some level. I don't know the rule set. Hearing that they were skirmish rules from Osprey made me fear a ridiculous result but things seemed to work out reasonably well despite the inevitable acceptance of Mike Snook's view that the British troopers remained Zulu-slaying automatons to the very end. (That didn't really happen according to the Zulu survivors...but it pleases Anglophiles to believe otherwise.) Does this mean that if Pulleine was alerted to the Zulu threat before it appeared, and if he had actual battle experience, (and therefore exercised better tactical judgement/command and control during the engagement,) as well as unflagging morale among both the British and Native troops present the colonial force would have been engulfed and destroyed anyway? Yes, it does. Neither Pulleine nor Durnford can reasonably be held responsible for the defeat. That blame lays with Chelmsford who somehow allowed an enormous enemy force to be encamped undetected a short march from his base...and then took half his force away to weaken that vulnerable position even further. In other words this battle was decided the moment it began and this replay reflected that reality -- so my hat if off to you!
Beautiful job creating the board. I for one would be very interested to see how it was made. Quite the dedication to paint all those Zulus. Great job on everything.
Gentlemen at Little Wars TV congratulations on one of the best wargaming videos I have seen. Loved the opening as well as the weapons and cheers used. You guys are such a blast to watch, the battlefield, the vast hordes of minis, the few brits, the humour, camaraderie shown and the humour make your club second to none. Well done to the British for keeping it as close as possible. Roark's Drift next????
I think this game demonstrates that the British could have done even better if they were better led. I've seen it suggested that the British could have turned their wagons on their sides, creating a makeshift fort, as was done at Rorkes Drift, keeping the Zulu Asagis at arms length, and creating a more easily defended perimeter. The cavalry would also been better off defending from behind cover, if it had been available, and they could have reached it. The people distributing the ammunition, would have been less exposed, too. It would be interesting seeing the battle fought again, using those "what ifs".
12:00 - 12:37 - he's got our lingo right. That is roughly the language one would expect to hear from the officer class back in the past.
Ah ! What a battle chaps. A true "nail biter" to the end. Looking forward to the extras and must say that the armies look magnificent. Last but not least, would be awesome to have a special about using 6mm/10mm playing rulesets for larger scales.
Note: really like how you guys took the "realistic" approach of sending someone out with the word and giving the scenario a touch of authenticity as opposed to a "gamey" decision of having it on the table just because you could.
Snappy Salute. An awesome episode.
Excellent opening summary guys. I had the pleasure of being guided round the battlefield by Doug's father, the legendary David Rattray, when I visited the site with a colleague in 1996.
It may be of interest to viewers that the white blobs visible from the upper slopes of Isandlwana @5:34 onward are actually whitewashed cairns marking the graves of the fallen British (and allied) troops. These dramatically show the progress of the battle from the firing line up to the area of the camp and then beyond as the fleeing survivors were chased down and killed.
So, now that you've got a pretty much historical result here, are you going to do a Rorke's Drift that follows this Isandlwana and see if that goes historically too?
Since there are going to be fewer Zulus, I think it would be likely to go historically too.
At least 4000 Zulus at the drift.
I tried to recreate Rorks Drift in 25mm figures on my 4ft by 8ft table. I had only 24 Brits and about 200 Zulus (all I had). Not even close to the odds at Rorks Drift. (They had more Zulus) I ignored the fact that the Zulus had a few rifles. I gave the Brits any advantage I could regarding morale and fortified possitions. Lots of Zulus died but eventually they closed with the Brits and it only took a few turns of hand to hand combat before the Brits were killed. I was satisfied with the game results. They reflected what I expected to happen but this did not reflect the actual outcome of the actual battle. don't know what the British had that I didn't allow for. Perhaps if I replaced the rifles with machine guns.
@@john-peterhundt5662 most rules systems fail to account for the morale 'slump' after a failed first attack; second attack; third attack ... after a certain point only the most insane or personally injured will 'go into the breach' of such a solid defense.
@@Malinski66 I had a variety of Zulu troop quality classes from A really "gung Ho" to D "rather be someplace else". As the units came within rifle range the losses were high and those units shot at, faultered but the better quality troops made it to impact. Since the Zulus had overwelming odds their reaction tests (for units without casualties) were good enough to continue. It's a game and rules can only aproximate what might happen. As I said, I felt the results were realistic from my point of view but I was not there - fortunately.
@@john-peterhundt5662 actually the Zulus withdrew because a relief column was on the horizon and they weren't even supposed to be there anyways.
Good morning Little wars! It was a pleasure to have you at Fugitives Drift and the video is fantastic! There are many more battles to do out here so I think a few more visits are in order. (I hope the travel account will allow it!)
Thanks! All of us at the club were extremely jealous of Steve's trip to the lodge, as it looked stunning over there!
The attention to detail makes this work. No telling how much hard work you guys put into this to bring us these wonderful videos...Thx
Great video guys! I love that you added all that history to give a complete understanding of the conflict. I just wish I could have played the game with you. Years ago I came to Army Group York. You said I had to get an ok to come out and play but even after I sent several emails no one responded. I feel like the kid who never got to play in the baseball game because he never got picked. So sad! Glad you are all doing well and appear to be having fun.
Your hard work paid off by producing this excellent recreation of this significant historic battle!
I was thinking about this battle today and just how similar this was to Custer's Last stand. Both U.S. and British armies faced an inferior native tribal yet larger armies. Both U.S. and British forces were commanded by ego driven commanders. Both battles involved open terrain and tactics although fairly basic were also similar. Both Native armies swarmed their enemies and through attrition won out. Both European and U.S. were armed with superior weapons but these weapons also had an limit of which was ammunition. Once the bullets were gone, that was it, they were left to the very basics of weapons, knives and bayonets. Natives had spears/shields. Indian tribes had bows/axes/spears and horses. The end result for both battles was the annihilation of Euro/U.S. armies... and today both battle sights commemorate the victor and the loser. :)
Actually the indians at Little Big Horn were armed in large numbers with the Winchester repeating rifle, which according to many historians was a deciding factor as it allowed them to pour continuous rapid fire onto Custers men who by comparison were armed pretty much entirely with Springfield singleshot carbines.
By comparison at Isandlwana only a few firearms were employed by the Zulu, less than 1%, and were mostly old muskets. Hence the Zulu's won the day at Isandlwana due mainly to clever tactics on their part, whilst at the same time the British underestimated their foe. Had the British been quick to form a tighter defence I believe things could've turned out different, but based on the starting position of both forces I doubt it could've resulted in a British victory, more likely just a lot more Zulu casualties.
Question is, if you've got a ~1,000 man square, i.e. a 250 man firing line on all four sides, could it have held back 20,000 Zulus ?
@@bellator11 www.historynet.com/battle-of-little-bighorn-were-the-weapons-the-deciding-factor.htm... a soldier/survivor of one company belonging to the 7th Cav puts the Indians at half using bows and arrows... The other half using a mix lot of carbines and repeaters. By ratio of man vs. man 7th Cav was outnumbered.. so the half ratio of indians using guns... could very well be the = proportion to the 7th Cav fighting.
Great comment. Bravo!! I'd like to add that each commanders concern was how they were going to keep the enemy from escaping and also forcing them into battle. They both took risks they should not have. Each commander decided to divide his force into three parts, Only one part being destroyed to give name to the battle.
@@bellator11 i would not call it clever tactics mostly British obliging annihilation...spiting your forces in the face of massive enemy is stupid...as afar as pincer attack bye the zulu and picking that ground it is pretty obvious
@@willb8684 Call it what you will, but based on the equipment they had available the Zulus played their cards pretty well, where'as the British failed to put their superior equipment to proper use. Immediately adopting a defensive square could've potentially saved the British from annihilation on that day, but instead the lines were stretched thin and the flanks left open to attack.
Evening, I have just watched my first ‘battle report’ with this one and came to you through a quick vid you did a while ago through a UA-cam algorithm.
You guys make throughly entertaining and engaging reports, just enough content of historical information to keep it paced evenly and drawing you into research tabs on search engines.
Thanks and I will be watching MANY more.
Stay safe all. 😎
That is awesome to hear. Thanks, Ryan. We have plenty more battles on the channel and hope the UA-cam gods help connect us with other history buffs who may not know what this hobby is quite yet!
I love how you strung these three battles together and included all the interviews, battlefield tours and everything. It all made for great viewing :)
I absolutely loved this map. Sad I'll only get to see it once. But wonderful video guys. I loved seeing it and it made me smile.
I've been binging your content. Honestly you put so much work into this battle it deserves an award. Bravo!
Very good episode, once more time!
Bravo!
:-)
Always jealous to see you on the battle fields at the end of the world!
Wow- what a great game! Really illustrated the disparity of numbers.
Well done gentlemen. No time for tea during this episode. Enjoyed the unexpected lead in as well as added commentary explaining the board goings on. Keep it coming.
Awesome battle, great to see you going over to the location and being true to the history behind it.
Excellent batrep. I look forward to the video on making the board and painting the minis. You guys just get better and better.
That was awesome! I’d love for you guys to make another Baccus video! Looking forward to your next upload!
Saw this, immediately subscribed. I love to see this recreations of fameus battles. Good work, Well played.
Excellent video. Having visited the battlefield myself, I really liked the accuracy of the table. Great work!
This is great ! There is nothing as informative, and entertaining as Little Wars TV - Spread the word ...
Fantastic game report! A great job explaining both the strategy and rules behind each turn - while offering a tense, entertaining narrative throughout the battle. Well done!
Thanks guys, great game and love the way you spice it up with local color and a sense of humor, really enjoyed this one!!!
Great game guys. I remember playing a board game version in 1978 or so where the each British soldier had an individual counter and the Zulu forces were sized at 10 Zulus per counter. The British could win if they could hold off the Zulus with volley fire, but if the Zulu made contact, the fight was all over.
A great ‘Washing of the Spears’ game!! That campaign is a childhood fav. Many thanks. Looking forward to your next episode.
Looks great, lovely minis, terrain, explanations...and atmosphere!
Great game and great reporting guys. Good editing and pacing. Thank you.
I’m a board wargamer, not a miniatures player, but I must say, this video is far superior in production and content to anything I’ve seen for board wargames. Well done gents!
Thanks, Evan! We do play plenty of board games in the club. Hopefully we can convince you to try pushing some miniatures around in the near future!
When the Zulu King heard about the losses suffered at Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift he cried “An Assagai has been thrust into the belly of the Zulu nation.”
Absolutely fascinating! Really looking forward to getting to see this series unfold as well.
Been a long time fan of you guys, the last 6 months I have been in army basic training and infantry school, now I’m in airborne school, due to the corona virus I can’t go home or war game at all, so I watch your videos and it helps pass the time, keep up the awesome videos!
Good luck at airborne school and we're glad the channel has provided some much-needed wargaming entertainment!
I just found these videos and i have to say they are great i love your production and the battles are great Im sure youve heard from others as these are old but the inside look at the stats and rolls of the game is cool.
great show and a very quick battle. love the red rubber-bands for casualties! been there.
I strangely just found this and I love it. Awesome vid!
I love all of these wargaming videos... you guys make them fun, funny, and entertaining... keep up the great work
Greetings from KwaZulu-Natal. The camp at Isandlwana was continuously under Chelmsford's watchfull eye. One of the major blunders was that the camp wasn't struck down when the Zulus attacked (a protocol procedure overlooked by Isandlwana comanding officers... and you too as I see ;)). This lead Chelmsford to believe that what his adjutans were seeing, throught the field telescope, was a native contingent exercise. Had the proper procedures been followed, Chelmsford would most probably have hurried back to the camp. I'd like to propose a challange that you gentlemen calculate the time it would take for Chelmsford to return, replay this game with the camp struck, and introduce this time variable. It would be very interesting to see if Chelmsford 's forces (if only portion of it) could return fast enought to avert this disaster. I enjoyed your video tremedously. Thank you .
I love to play speculative games like that. 'What if...' I have played Rorke's Drift three times and twice the Zulus win through.
Excellent. Well done and thanks. I've done Isandlwana a couple of times in 6mms but not, I think, as successfully. The key is picking the correct start point - a time when the British have done some of their deployment too far from camp but not so much as to give them no hope of rallying back to that camp. Starting them completely out of position is a Zulu walkover. Starting them compact in camp is almost a guaranteed British win. Anyway, watching this video makes me think it's time to do it again. Cheers, Andrew.
SON OF A .....BEST VID EVER VOTED FOR BY ME BUDDY'S WELL DONE BRAVO...... WILL MET YOU GUYS THIS SUMMER ....THAT IS MT BUCKET LIST NO. 1...LOL...Really nice i just am so happy , I dont watch tv ... just tube like to learn ...AND HOW WITH YOU GUYS I WILL DONATE THIS SUMMER ...when i get my law suite 9 years we won 8 operations o enough of that just so happy to know others care about our history of this world we live in...guys dont ever get mad at each other every one of you are a part of something bigger than you will ever know....later...keepem coming..
Gentlemen, Tremendous effort on all counts - table, video production values and general presentation. I did find it interesting that the Zulus needed to roll as high as 7 on two die to be able to charge home, as that leaves generous odds to fail and stand flatfooted in the face of persistent volleys; I wonder if this was a scenario balancing choice. Again, thanks for raising the bar in the presentation of our hobby.
The Ft. Leavenworth SIMSATS did Zulus a while back at the U.S. Army museum on base. They fought 2 battles on 2 tables - The Relief Column Battle & The Rourk's Church Battle - Table 1 - the Relief Column of cavalry, infantry, wagons, and artillery marched down the valley road between bushy hills when 5 Zulu tribe-groups attacked from the front and both sides ! The lead Brit cavalry was able to ride by the Zulus blocking and ride on down the road to get to Table 2 ( Rourk's Church). The rest of the Brit infantry formed up at each wagon defense position and were over-whelmed and fell back to the next wagon as the Zulus burnt each one and then advanced to the next - when the Brits got to the last wagon where the 2 artillery were there was a Gatling Gun in the last wagon with lots of ammo - the Zulu mass broke here ! Table 2 - the Brit infantry behind the stone walls here were attacked by 3 Zulu tribe-groups in over the walls melees - the Zulus also had a few muskets and their leaders on a close hill firing in over the walls - when the Zulus broke thru the wall the Brits fell back into the stone church to just defend each window and doorway in melee combat ( a last stand) - just then the Brit cavalry showed up on table 2 and the Zulu leaders signaled a withdrawl to honor the Brit's brave defense !!
yet an other Fantastic game, Thanks L W TV keep up the Great work
The statement about not being able to appreciate a battle until you visit the field is oh so true. I have visited many in my lifetime, from Spanish stone forts in Florida to wooden French forts in Canada, American Revolutionary-Civil War battlefields. And to cover a spectrum, at Gettysburg I was just floored at how massive an area was covered during the 3-days and on the converse, at the battle of Cowpens, I was amazed at how small an area it encompassed. So, if you ever have the chance or can make a plan to go and visit any historical battlefield, please do so. Great educational experience for kids too.
I am watching your entire series from inception until now and I am amazed at the spectrum of battles you have covered. I hope you guys followed up with a Rorke's Drift battle sometime after this one. I am skipping the Star Wars episode because I just don't buy into fantasy games.
Great video. Loved the opening of the video.
I've never been too interested in this subset of history, however you all made this a very enjoyable video.
Great work!
"I stay in the square and roll high" Words to live by or in this case not so much. Still great observation.
Brilliant game, one of the best you've done. Really looking forward to the other videos from South Africa.
A fantastic video and It's scary to see how easily the desires of one man can get two countries into a bloody war.
...and loss of lives
Wish I could like it twice! Love the Osprey war games rules. I've gotten a lot of fun out of Lion Rampant, Dragon Rampant, Men who would be Kings and Rebels and Patriots. For my own large battle tweek of the rules i'm planning a Lion Rampant game where each stand has 9 figures on it otherwise playing the game the same. It just looks bigger! A cavalry unit of 6 stands has 54 figures in it!
Just watched this battle yet again, it is truly an epic classic, and started thinking about the possibility of y'all fighting it again. It seems like the players, Ed and Chal especially, learned much from their defeat and would be interesting to see if they could put their lessons into practice.
Please play rorke's drift next! PLLEEASSEEE the same volley fire tactics will show their effect.
Thanks for all the work done to bring this to us.
Great job guys
I rarely watch battle reports, but everything about this really grabbed me... super charming, new subscriber for sure!
Hi guys. I had no idea there were figures in the scale of 6mm. I have a fair number of colonial war figures, british and Zulu, painted and non-painted, in the scale of 1/72 as well as the famous Roarkes Drift buildings. I also have a number of games on the subject. Table top gaming is new to me. I started using 15mm figures from Warlord Games, covering the American Civil War. Later i got the Napoleonic era of same scale figures plus buildings and terrain. Two things bother me, though. First, the rules are so vast concerning firing, moving, retreating, etc. I use more time consulting the rule book than actually playing a game. Secondly, figures are stuck on a base, so you have to place a casualty marker for every hit, making it look silly having a surviving base of figures with a number of tokens beside it, rather than playing with individual figures that can be knocked down as they take a hit, or removed in case of wound. I stick to board games but like to set up dioramas using figures of different time periods, which makes table top war-gaming looking so good. Keep up the good work.
Definitely a smart idea to form a square. It held up very well and truly would have changed the course of the battle. Not sure it would have made any ultimate difference, but it would have altered the battle calculus quite a bit.
Good game and great video, thanks for making it guys.
One minor quibble at 19:47 you say the Martini Henty is .577, actually its .45 calibre
Excellent terrain, excellent game, excellent video. Perfect all-round.
Great channel. Interesting content. I absolutely love the camaraderie of the club. Just one concern, have Chal practice saying 'cavalry'.
Played a board game (paper maps and cardboard miniatures) " Victoria Cross " that contains this Isandlwana battle and the Rourk's Drift battle too !! :-)
Video is 3 Hours up and tzhe comment section is already brimming. Well done lads.
Fantastic place to visit. Isandlwana tour one day, Rorkes Drift the next...Very impressive commemoration of BOTH sides.... Staying at the Fugitives Drift Lodge... made possible only (and somewhat sadly - for the locals) by the weakness of the Rand against the AUD. As far as Rorkes Drift goes, remember the attack on the mission station was unauthorised. (It was in British territory and the Zulu king was determined not to give the Brits the excuse that he had "invaded".) Had the full weight of the Zulu forces been thrown in its pretty clear what the result would have been.
Sawubona! Really enjoyed this video of my province. If you get the chance have a look at the battle of Congella in Port Natal (aka Durban). Love 6mm wargaming!
You are crazy and i love it. Good job, amazing game and awesome that you where at the real location.
Thanks! A dream come true being able to visit such an iconic battlefield on the other side of the world!
Cannot wait for the rest to be put on UA-cam.
Oh muh Jeebus, you guys got me on the "hookey" with this series!
A nail-bitting fight
Awesome game! Ive been looking forward to this. Please play other battles from the Anglo-Zulu War besides Isandlwana & Rorkes Drift- those are the two best known. I looked on your site but did not see the modified rules- maybe not up yet? Thank you for this!
We intend to post them soon! They absolutely will be made available.
Just an outstanding effort start to finish!
Yeah I was absolutely blasting “Rorkes Drift” by Sabaton in my head for this.
Also... even if they didn’t speak Zulu... it’s a nice attempt
Kommando293 it was the same with me but that song covers the battle that followed this one
I just went and listened, cool song. Thanks!
@Ndfan92 SHOW THEM NO MERCY
@@radec5437 *AND FIRE AT WILL*
Looking forward to Steve's other videos. Nice to see the battlefield too.
man i love this channel, you guys need 100k subs asap!
this is a phenomenal channel. i hope it gets the subscribe base it deserves in the future.
This was the best battle report I've ever seen for miniature warfare gaming
Thanks, Kevin! We hope you'll check out a few of our other games too!
There was a problem with the cartridges made with too thin brass jamming and slowing the fire. Broken cartridges are found in the British firing positions.
YES ...YOU GUYS ROCK
Great intro, and awesome battle. Thanks guys.
Great start! Loved it!
According to some experts one of the reasons of the defeat was the ammo boxes and the quartermasters inflexibility .The ammo boxes had a number of screws holding the lid on which slowed down the distribution of the ammo to the troops .
Interesting report, and great to see you all having fun. I noticed your portrait gallery has Hannibal beside "Uncle" Bill Slim. Perhaps a coincidence: My son has just submitted an essay which compares their major campaign performance, and aspects of their generalship.
Really looking forward to seeing how all those minis were painted up!