ABSTRACT
The classic academic statement on the Zulu use of firearms during the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879 was written by Jeff Guy in 1971. 2 Despite being published over 40 years ago, Guy’s ‘Note’ has remained the most influential work on the subject. In essence, his view was that the ‘Zulu failed to adapt their strategy and tactics in any way which might have enabled them to deploy firearms more effectively’ than they did during the conflict. 3 Subsequent scholarship built on Guy’s insights without altering them substantially. Ian Knight argued that the Zulu failed to take advantage of firearms and that, ‘if the Zulu began the war believing that the large quantities of guns in their possession made them the equal of the British, they merely assumed that it would be sufficient to use those arms in support of their existing tactics’. 4 A more recent interpretation tells us that
by and large, the Zulu did use traditional weapons and tactics, although some British officers noted that, on occasion, Zulu forces opposed them with breech-loading rifles. It appears that while individual Zulu shot well, the Zulu as a whole did not make a concerted effort to adapt their battlefield tactics to the new weapons, except on rare occasions. 5
