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- Aug 16, 2014
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- 1,602
the Boonesborough siege of 1778, yes, the kentucky marksman picked them off at longer ranges as they attacked their fort. attacking fortified positions with lines of unsupported infantry then, as now, is suicidal. (see also the ref. to new orleans i added). the zulus even knew that. their king told his generals to never attack the brits in fortified positions. they slaughtered the brits in the open field of isladlwana, and were in turn slaughtered by a few hundred brits in the hastily fortified mission at rourke's drift when the king's brother ignored his orders. most zulus at rourke's drift were killed at 300-600 yds by martini-henrys from behind barricades. the hand to hand shown in michael caine's movie was largely fiction. the brits won that war, as well as the boer war by out manufacturing the zulu/boers, outnumbering them in the end and out nastying them. the brits were not in fact very honourable. they invented the concentration camp, put the boer women and children in them and systematically starved thousands of them them to death until the boer guerillas surrendered.
p.s. - i didn't meanto imply the sniping by rebels was ineffective, it was, it just wasn't a major battle winner in the traditional sense.
p.p.s. - the movie 'zulu' was on this afternoon here, i recorded it and am watching it now i've only seen it a few hundred times. i've got my iklwa and iwisa by my side. justincase.
FYI.. I friggin LOVEEEEEEEEE the movie Zulu and Zulu Dawn. I remember watching them as a kid and wanting a martini-henrys so bad after that. I love when the Zulu's starting singing to the brits as a sign of respect for such an epic battle. The Zulu's were the true gentlemen in that instance.