January 11

British Forces Invade Zululand

Lord Chelmsford led three British columns across the Buffalo River into Zululand after King Cetshwayo refused an impossible ultimatum demanding the dissolution of the Zulu army. The invasion began one of the most dramatic campaigns in British imperial history.

The Anglo-Zulu War exposed the vulnerability of British forces to disciplined indigenous armies and resulted in one of the worst British military defeats in Africa.