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Zulu War VCs: Victoria Crosses of the Anglo-Zulu War, 1879
by James W. BancroftThe Anglo-Zulu War lasted only six months in 1879, but in that relatively short time twenty-three men were awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry under most trying and dangerous circumstances. Zulu warriors gave no mercy and expected none in return, yet half of the awards were given to men who went back into the midst of fierce fighting to rescue stranded comrades, well-aware that they risked suffering a particularly brutal death.Two men received posthumous awards for their efforts to save the Queens color of their regiment after the disastrous engagement against overwhelming numbers of warriors at Isandlwana, and perhaps the most famous of all awards of the Victoria Cross were the eleven gained for the immortal defence of Rorkes Drift, the battle brought back to the public consciousness by the motion picture _Zulu!_The conflict has never left the publics imagination, and continues to stir hot debate among military historians and enthusiasts.With information compiled over four decades by James W. Bancroft, a well-known and respected historian and author of several publications on the subject, this book brings together more information about the men than has ever before been collected together in one publication.
Zulu Warriors:The Battle for the South African Frontier
by John LabandToward the end of the nineteenth century, the British embarked on a concerted series of campaigns in South Africa. Within three years they waged five wars against African states with the intent of destroying their military might and political independence and unifying southern Africa under imperial control. This is the first work to tell the story of this cluster of conflicts as a single whole and to narrate the experiences of the militarily outmatched African societies.<P> Deftly fusing the widely differing European and African perspectives on events, John Laband details the fateful decisions of individual leaders and generals and explores why many Africans chose to join the British and colonial forces. The Xhosa, Zulu, and other African military cultures are brought to vivid life, showing how varying notions of warrior honor and manliness influenced the outcomes for African fighting men and their societies.
The Zulus at War: The History, Rise, and Fall of the Tribe That Washed Its Spears
by Adrian Greaves Xolani MkhizeBy tracing the long and turbulent history of the Zulus from their arrival in South Africa and the establishment of Zululand, The Zulus at War is an important and readable addition to this popular subject area. It describes the violent rise of King Shaka and his colorful successors under whose leadership the warrior nation built a fearsome fighting reputation without equal among the native tribes of South Africa. It also examines the tactics and weapons employed during the numerous intertribal battles over this period. They then became victims of their own success in that their defeat of the Boers in 1877 and 1878 in the Sekunini War prompted the well-documented British intervention. Initially the might of the British empire was humbled as never before by the shock Zulu victory at Isandlwana but the 1879 war ended with the brutal crushing of the Zulu Nation. But, as Adrian Greaves reveals, this was by no means the end of the story. The little known consequences of the division of Zululand, the Boer War, and the 1906 Zulu Rebellion are analyzed in fascinating detail. An added attraction for readers is that this long-awaited history is written not just by a leading authority but, thanks to the coauthor’s contribution, from the Zulu perspective using much completely fresh material.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
Zumwalt: The Life and Times of Admiral Elmo Russell "Bud" Zumwalt, Jr.
by Larry BermanAdmiral Elmo Russell Zumwalt, Jr., the charismatic chief of naval operations (CNO) and "the navy's most popular leader since WWII" (Time), was a man who embodied honor, courage, and commitment. In a career spanning forty years, he rose to the top echelon of the U.S. Navy as a commander of all navy forces in Vietnam and then as CNO from 1970 to 1974. His tenure came at a time of scandal and tumult, from the Soviets' challenge to the U.S. for naval supremacy and a duplicitous endgame in Vietnam to Watergate and an admirals' spy ring.Unlike many other senior naval officers, Zumwalt successfully enacted radical change, including the integration of the most racist branch of the military—an achievement that made him the target of bitter personal recriminations. His fight to modernize a technologically obsolete fleet pitted him against such formidable adversaries as Henry Kissinger and Hyman Rickover. Ultimately, Zumwalt created a more egalitarian navy as well as a smaller modernized fleet better prepared to cope with a changing world.But Zumwalt's professional success was marred by personal loss, including the unwitting role he played in his son's death from Agent Orange. Retiring from the service in 1974, Zumwalt spearheaded a citizen education and mobilization effort that helped thousands of Vietnam veterans secure reparations. That activism earned him the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Today Zumwalt's tombstone at the U.S. Naval Academy is inscribed with one word: "Reformer." Admiring yet evenhanded, Larry Berman's moving biography reminds us what leadership is and pays tribute to a man whose life reflected the best of America itself.