Publisher's Synopsis
The Zulu warrior at the time of Rorke's Drift was not a professional solider but was a formidable foe nonetheless. The Zulus were a citizen army called up in times of war although all Zulu men were required to do military service when they reached the age of 19 until the age of 40 when they were allowed to marry and went on the Zulu reserve list. The Zulu military organisation was far from primitive with an Army or Impi made up of Regiments called Amabutho made up of men of similar age from all over the kingdom. Each regiment had its own identifying features either jewellery or a particular headdress.They were equipped as Shaka had trained them a generation before with large cowhide shields which were colour coded with younger regiments having mostly black shields and older regiments having more white on the shield. This allowed a Zulu general to identify the different units on the battlefield easily.
