INCOMING – EPIC BATTLES: ZULU!

Men of Harlech (and everybody else!), stop your dreaming – the Zulus are here, and they mean business! Epic Battles: Zulu! is the newest member of the Epic Battles family, letting you re-fight the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 on the tabletop. Let’s find out just what’s going on with these brand new pre-orders!

First and foremost, let’s talk about what Zulu! is: A brand new way to play Black Powder Epic Battles. That means it’s built on the same core ‘engine’ as the other titles in this series – the American Civil War, Waterloo, and Revolution! – using the same basic mechanics, and of course in the same Epic Battles scale. However, while our other games in the range deal with the true era of ‘horse-and-musket’ warfare, Zulu! takes place in the latter half of the Nineteenth Century, on the very cusp of modern firearms and artillery. This adds a whole new dimension to the games, particularly when the majority of the Zulu forces were equipped in a fashion much more akin to the armies of Hail Caesar! This is a period that we’ve already covered in 28mm, but the time has come for it to take its place among the massed ranks of Epic Battles.

It’s also worth noting that these sets are just the first wave of Epic Battles: Zulu! products. In due time, you’ll see more waves of new releases joining the range, but there’s plenty to be getting on with for now!

Rorke’s Drift

Of course, the most famous battle of the Anglo-Zulu war was the legendary defence of Rorke’s Drift. From 22-23 January 1879, a small British force of some 150 men held the small mission station and supply post against vastly superior Zulu numbers, estimated at between 3,000-4,000. Despite the vast numerical superiority of the Zulu force, the British defenders under Lieutenants Chard and Bromhead were able to erect makeshift defences and hold them against waves of attackers throughout the day and into the early hours of the morning. The British would deploy their Martini-Henry rifles to lethal effect, expending almost 20,000 rounds of ammunition in disciplined volleys, and fighting in hand-to-hand combat with Zulu warriors to hold their perimeter.

As the Zulu attacks continued, the British were forced to shrink their perimeter, and had been forced back into the centre of the station. With nowhere left to go, and ammunition running out, it seemed certain the Zulus would overrun them. However, the Zulu warriors were exhausted and hungry, having been on the march for almost a week, and the constant barrage of rifle fire had inflicted significant casualties. Under cover of darkness, the Zulu forces broke off their attack and withdrew, briefly reappearing around dawn before quitting the field. Against all the odds, the British garrison had won an impossible victory, which almost immediately became part of the great Imperial legend. 17 defenders had fallen, and virtually all the survivors were wounded, and eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded. On the Zulu side, casualties are harder to determine, but 351 dead were reported left on the battlefield.

On the face of it, Rorke’s Drift is an odd choice for an Epic Battles set. The nature of the fighting doesn’t really lend itself to serried ranks of redcoats in long firing lines, and the Zulu regiments, while organised and well-drilled, were not drawn up shoulder to shoulder. In addition, the number of troops involved (particularly on the British side) is far lower than we would usually represent in Epic Battles. However, this lower number of troops, coupled with the iconic structures of the mission station and the personalities involved, actually makes Rorke’s Drift a great choice for a starter set!

In the box you get a huge amount of terrain, allowing you to recreate Rorke’s Drift on the tabletop. This serves as the perfect backdrop for the battle itself, with a mixture of MDF, resin, and punchboard card pieces bringing the legendary fight to life. Of course, you’ll need miniatures, and we’ve got you covered there! In the box you’ll find a veritable host of Zulus – 40 bases of Married and 40 of Unmarried warriors, enough for ten large regiments of each, as well as the British defenders (32 bases), and the Natal Native Contingent, who historically left Rorke’s Drift shortly before the battle (16 bases) to allow you to fight a ‘what-if’ scenario where they stayed behind.

It wouldn’t be Rorke’s Drift without the personalities, either. Exclusive to this set are thirteen Warlord Resin figures representing some of the most notable. Naturally, we’ve done our best to stay true to history, while also allowing some of the posing and depictions to be guided by the iconic 1964 film!

We did have a bit of a problem to solve with Rorke’s Drift. The classic Epic Battles ranked-up regiments don’t really give the right appearance for this fight! Although the Zulu regiments work fine, we needed to find a way to get the British troops manning their barricades properly. In the end, the solution was simple – we’ve included ‘single line’ MDF bases, allowing you to form up your redcoats in one line (thin, red) per base!

Finally, as befits a starter set, Rorke’s Drift includes all the rules you need to play. The full A5 rulebook takes the Black Powder Epic Battles ruleset and makes the necessary period-specific modifications to make sure your games feel just right, while the quick-start How To Play booklet lets you get your toys on the table right away. Finally, casualty markers, d6, and a paper battlemat complete the set – it really is everything you need to get started with the period!

Isandlwana

As much as Rorke’s Drift was feted by the British press, it was really just a sideshow skirmish to a much larger battle – one that ended in humiliating defeat for the Empire. Just as Rorke’s Drift has become a byword for the dogged resilience and fighting spirit of the redcoats, Isandlwana stands as a monument to Imperial overconfidence and the battlefield prowess of the Zulu army.

This battle is a fascinating one, and it (along with Rorke’s Drift) will get a proper ‘deep dive’ in a future article, but in short it saw the British force invading Zululand under the command of Lord Chelmsford stumble across a vastly numerically superior Zulu force. Grossly underestimating his foe, Chelmsford ordered his forces to split, with a portion remining to defend an unfortified camp at Isandlwana while the bulk moved forwards to locate and attack the enemy. However, the Zulus, under Ntshingwayo kaMahole, were able to quickly respond to the arrival of the British, and counterattacked in force.

Assuming their traditional ‘Horns of the Buffalo’ battle formation, the Zulu forces descended upon the outnumbered British. Despite sustaining heavy casualties, they steadily worked around to encircle the British troops, forcing them back towards their camp. When the British began to run out of ammunition, the collapse was inevitable. Zulu warriors, superior in both number and individual hand-to-hand fighting skill, overran the British line and sacked the camp, swiftly turning the battle into a massacre. The vaunted British Army, for so long believed to be utterly superior to ‘native’ forces, armed with modern rifles, and supported by artillery and rocketry, had been crushed by a force of men armed primarily with spears and clubs. Of some 1,800 British troops and African allies on the field, fewer than 500 would escape with their lives. Towards the end of the battle, a force of Zulu troops peeled off, and made their attack on the nearby Rorke’s Drift…

The Zulu victory at Isandlwana can be held up as an example of how overconfidence can bring disaster, and how an army fighting on its own terrain and making use of proven tactics and numerical advantage can overcome even the most severe technological mismatch. Naturally, that makes it a perfect candidate to re-fight on the tabletop!

As Isandlwana was far larger in scale than Rorke’s Drift, it enabled us to create a much more ‘traditional’ Epic Battles battleset. This box is absolutely packed with miniatures, allowing you to create a truly epic (if you’ll pardon the pun) spectacle on your table. The Zulu forces are represented by a whopping 80 bases each of Married and Unmarried Zulu, for a full 40 regiments total – twice the number included in Rorke’s Drift! The British, meanwhile, are similarly reinforced, with 24 bases each of British Regulars and their allied Natal Native Contingent infantry, supported by mounted and dismounted Natal Native Contingent and Natal Mounted Police cavalrymen and backed up by the modern firepower of a Hales Rocket Battery and two RML 7-pounder guns. All this combines for a truly massive battle!

While scenery isn’t the main focus of this set, we’ve ensured that your battlefield doesn’t go undecorated. The A0 paper battlemat gives you ground to fight over, while resin Zulu huts and British tents and wagons ensure your troops have positions to defend. Finally, the same full rulebook and quick-play guide as found in Rorke’s Drift are included, meaning that Isandlwana makes just as good of a starting point for the period.

This is just the beginning for Epic Battles: Zulu! Over the pre-order period, we’ll be looking in-depth at the sprues that make up the range, as well as the rules and the other engagements of the Anglo-Zulu War you can fight with these models. Two diametrically opposed but incredibly potent forces are drawing up for battle, and only one thing is certain: it’s going to be a long day in the sun!