I. The Matabele: The Matabele were originally from Zululand. They had been a subject people in Shaka's kingdom. Mzilikazi, the Matabele chief at the time, had a falling out with his Zulu overloard and, after bloodying a Zulu impi, withdrew into the interior with about 300 warriors. Absorbing numerous small clans and tribes on the march, the Matabele eventually settled in the Transvaal north of modern Pretoria. Large Map (27K) Jumbo Map (Slow 66K) During the 1830's the Matabele were again uprooted, this time by the Boers. One hundred and seven whites and 40 armed Griquas led by Hendrik Potgeiter defeated a huge Matabele impi in the running battle. Forced to move again, Mzilikazi was shown to a new territory by a British missionary named Robert Moffat. In this new land, the Matabele quickly became dominant over their neighbors, the Mashonas, or Makalangas, were transformed into a tributary people, supplying cattle, men, and women to the Matabele cause. Eventually, blood became watered a bit, although the pure-blood Matabele, the Abensanzi, carefully distinguished themselves from the absorbed Mashonas, or Maholi. The essentially Zulu nature of the Matabele society and army did not change. Boys were sporadically grouped into intangas and eventually into regiments. Primary weaponry for the Matabele was the stabbing assegai, It was supplemented with throwing spears, knobkerries, and some firearms. A sketch form the GRAPHIC shows Matabele warriors carrying large cowhide shields. A drawing by R. Caton Woodville shows at least one warrior wearing a headring. At the outbreak of hostilities, the Matabele army numbered roughly 20,000 men. Some 6,000 of these were unavailable for field service. Shortly before the war started, these men had been sent to Barotseland, now southwestern Zambia, on an expedition. The impi was quickly recalled and arrived in Bulawayo, the Matabele capital, before the first engagement. The ranks, however, were riddled with smallpox, so most of the impi sat out the war isolated in quarantined kraals. The other 14,000 were stationed along the likely invasion routes: the roads from Salisbury, Fort Victoria, and Tati. II. The British: The British forces involved in the war totaled less than 3,000 men. These men were organized into three unequally sized columns. Two columns were based in Mashonaland at Salisbury and Fort Victoria respectively. Major Patrick Forbes commanded the former and Major Allan Wilson the latter. Both were officers in the British South Africa Company Police. Leander Starr Jameson, the BSAC Administrator for Mashonaland marched with Forbes. On October 14, 1893, when the two columns united at Iron Mine Hill before entering Matabeleland, the force numbered 750 men and was commanded by Forbes. Called the "Company" column because it was organized and financed by the BSAC, Forbe's men included both Whites and Blacks. Most of the manpower was supplied by 400 Mashonas who had marched with Wilson. The backbone of the force were the officers and men of the BSAC Police, about 240 strong. When first organized, the police numbered 600 and had been organized into six troops. After occupying Mashonaland, however, the police were reduced to 150 men (this was in 1891). Each troop in 1893 consisted of three officers, five NCO's and 49 troopers. The uniform of the BSAC Police and that of the other major unit in the field, the Bechuanaland Border Police, were quite similar. Jackets were khaki and trousers were of cord. Wide brim campaign hats were standard issue, but period illustrations also show slouch hats and cork helmets being worn. Officers wore butcher boots, as did some of the men. Putees were also worn during the campaign. Equipment included bandoliers, Martini-Henry rifles and Henry repeaters, and a large number of revolvers. Jameson had requested that Cecil Rhodes, the BSAC himself, "find money" for artillery, swords, and bayonets. Whether he go the artillery or not, I don't know. However, all three columns were supplied with Maxim Guns. The remaining men in the Company Column were volunteers raised in Mashonaland or in the Transvaal and Cape Colony. When preparing for war, Jameson had sent Commandant Pieter Raaf, who had raised the Transvaal Rangers during the Zulu War, to the Cape and the Transvaal to buy horses. He returned with 750 horses and about 300 volunteers. Some of the latter, calling themselves the Cape Colony Africans, were to play an important role in the coming campaign. The third column was the "Imperial" Column and was commanded by Colonel Goold-Adams of the Bechuanaland Border Police. Its white elements were primarily the BBP and Raaf's Transvaalers. Together they numbered about 500. At least one book I have read says that there were British regulars with this force, but none of the others have made references to units or numbers. The bulk of the column consisted of the 1700 men of the infantry regiment raised by Khama, a Bechuana chief. An engraving from the GRAPHIC shows the regiment dressed in jackets and either trousers or loincloths. Most are barefoot. Most of the men in the drawings have rifles, but only one is recognizably a Martini-Henry. Some of Khama's men have slouch hats but most have head-dresses which have a bearskin look to them. All carry bandoliers. III. The Campaign in Matabeleland: The first of the two columns to move into Matabeleland was the Company Column. On October 16th, the column left Iron Mine Hill and headed toward Bulawayo. Six days after starting for Bulawayo, the column entered the Somabula Forest and same close to the enemy for the first time. The Matabele commanders had chosen the forest for an ambush site because the terrain and dense vegetation would negate the Whites' firepower. Luckily for the invaders, a thick fog rolled in and prevented the Matabele from finding their quarry. Two days later, the column crossed the Shangani River and laagered. The Matabele indunas decided to attack the invaders the next dawn even though the terrain favored the enemy. Early the following morning, in the half-light of dawn, 5,000 Matabele from the Insukameni, Inhlati, Amaweni, and Siseba regiments closed in on the laager. Victory quickly turned into disaster when the Matabeles suddenly stumbled upon the column's Mashona warriors, who were sleeping outside the laager. Although a large number of Mashonas were slaughtered, surprise was lost and the men in the laager began to pour a heavy fire into the impi. One witness said that the impi "was so closely massed that them resembled a stretch of burnt grass". He continued reporting that "the maxims and other guns began to speak and within a quarter of an hour one could see that it was all up with them. The sun rose, and the surrounding country was strewn with dead and wounded". A sad aftermath to the battle occurred when Manonda, the induna of the Insukameni Regiment, distraught over the slaughter, committed suicide. Major Forbes did not dally on the Shangani, but pressed on quickly. On October 28th, after crossing the Imbembesi River, the column again made contact with the Matabele impi, which had reinforced by the Imbezu and Ingubu Regiments to a strength of 7,000. About 11:30 A.M., while the column was busily making a laager near the village of Ntabezinduna, the impi attacked. It was spearheaded by the two fresh regiments. Most of the column was busy cooking a noon meal when shots from the horse picket were heard. Firing as quickly as possible, the picket, drawn from the Cape Colony Africans, held it's ground and prevented the loss of all the column's horses and draught animals. They were quickly reinforced from the laager and within thirty minutes, the Matabele were retreating. A witness later wrote that "the maxims again did deadly work". The impi's casualties were estimated at 800-1000. The same trooper also wrote that the "Imbezu and Ingubu appeared practically annihilated." The aftermath of the battle took an unsavory turn when the captured Matabele, most of whom were wounded, were all executed. The Company Column encountered no further resistance on its march to Bulawayo. On November 3rd, Jameson reach the royal kraal and, in effect, Rhodesia existed. The Matabele king, Lobengula (Mzilikazi's son), had fled northward two days earlier, He died early in 1894 on the Zambesi River. The Imperial Column was organized at Tati on the Bechuanaland border. The operations of this column were as nearly inept and casual as those of the other columns were ruthless. Although under pressure from the British government to beat Jameson and the BSAC to Bulawayo, the leading elements of the Imperial Column did not leave its base until October 23rd. Communications were very bad and the force did not help the situation when it failed to set up heliograph stations along the route. For a week the column dallied n the Ramaquabane River. On November 1st, Khama's regiment joined the column, bringing it to the strength of 2200 men. The following day, the column was attacked by an impi several thousand strong under the leadership of an induna named Gambo. The attack was a half hearted effort, the Matabele having been demoralized by news of defeats on the Shangani and the Imbembesi. A few days later, Khama, disgusted with the conduct of the campaign, withdrew his regiment and headed back to Bechuanaland. He claimed that smallpox had appeared in his ranks. On November 15th, the Imperial Column entered Bulawayo to find the BSAC in control and not about to let the British government interfere with its negotiations with the Matabele. Goold-Adams could do little except turn around and return to Bechuanaland. Some of the volunteers from the Imperial Column opted to remain in Matabeleland and serve with Jameson. The war ended on twin notes of treachery and tragedy. When Jameson had found that Lobengula had fled Bulawayo, he sent Forbes and Wilson with a large force in pursuit. Early in his flight, the Matabele king sent an induna named Sehulohulo with 1,000 gold sovereigns to Forbes as a peace offering. Sehulohulo surrendered the gold to two troopers who kept it. Caught after the campaign was over, the two were arrested, tried, and convicted of theft. Sentenced to long prison terms, the two were released after two years because of "insufficient evidence". Many, including Jameson, were convinced that the trooper's action contributed heavily to Lobengula's death and the final fighting of the war. Forbes and Wilson concentrated their search for the fugitive king along the Shangani River. On December 3rd, while Forbes kept the bulk of the force south of the river, Major Wilson led a small patrol across to the north back and through a tree line. Beyond the trees, Wilson found the Matabele in force. He sent for reinforcement. Forbes gave him only twenty men and no maxim guns. Raaf argued against reinforcing the patrol and in favor of withdrawing it to the south bank. Before Forbes could make a decision, nature intervened. It had been raining for several days and the Shangani suddenly began to rise to flood levels. The next day, Wilson and his men were gradually hemmed in and wiped out by the impi. For over half a day, several thousand warriors were held at bay by the policemen and volunteers. An engraving in the GRAPHIC shows the last members of the patrol, out of rifle ammunition, behind the horseflesh breastworks blazing away with revolvers at the horde of warriors only a few yards away. The was the last major action of the war. Using Raaf's knowledge of the bush, Forbes retreated without incident to safety. He need not have feared, for the Matabele indunas had decided to bargain for peace. Bibliography Glass, Stafford. The Matabele War, Longmans, 1968. Leonard, Arthur Glyn. How We Made Rhodesia, Bulawayo: Books of Rhodesia, 1973. Samkange, Stanlake. Origins of Rhodesia, New York: Praeger, 1969. Woolford, J.V. "The Matabele War." History Today, 28: 537-43; 605-11. Aug-Sept, 1978. Back to MWAN #19 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1986 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com