THE NATAL FIELD FORCE
PRESENTATIONS
The presentations are of famous Battles fought in Zululand and Natal during the Voortrekker Zulu Conflict, the Anglo Zulu and the Anglo Boer Wars and include:
VOORTREKKER ZULU CONFLICT
"Escape from British Rule" -
The story of the Boer migration from the Cape into Natal and their conflict
with the Zulu Nation
culminating in the Battle of BLOOD
RIVER
This is a long talk taking a full 2 hours even for the condensed version.
ANGLO ZULU WAR
"13 days in January 1879" -
The
Battle of ISANDLWANA
The story of the first 13 days of the British invasion of Zululand.
On the 22nd January the Zulu Army attacked and destroyed the base camp of
the Central Column at Isandlwana,
forcing the British to retreat back to Natal.
The
Battle of RORKE'S DRIFT - "What really happened at Rorke's
Drift"
On the night of 22nd /23rd January 1879, 135
men mainly from B Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment stoically defended
themselves for 12 hours against an attack by some 4000 Zulus. Earning 11 Victoria
Crosses in the process.
These are the two iconic battles of the Anglo Zulu War.
Due to time these are individual talks of a little short of 2 hours each and include a brief introduction to the Anglo Zulu War
Other presentations include:
"THE MASSACRE ON THE NTOMBE"
A military supply convoy accompanied by a company of the Staffordshire Volunteers
is wiped out on the
banks of the eNtombe River in the early hours of 12th March 1879
"THE BLOODY INCIDENT ON DEVIL'S PASS"
The Battle of Hlobane – 28th March 1879
A strong force of British and Colonial troops raiding the aBaqulusi stronghold
on Hlobane Mountain found themselves
trapped on the mountain by the Zulu Army with only one route to escape –
Devil’s Pass.
“WHO WAS THE PRINCE IMPERIAL? AND
WHY DID HIS DEATH CAUSE BRITAIN SO MUCH EMBARRASSMENT?”
1st June 1879
This presentation seeks to explain the fascinating story of who the Prince
Imperial really was,
and how he came to be with the British Army in Zululand when he was killed
TRANSVAAL WAR OF INDEPENDENCE 1880-81
LANG'S
(LAING'S) NEK
SCHUINSHOOGTE (INGOGO DRIFT)
MAJUBA
This presentation briefly covers the background to the
War (also known as The First Boer War) and then covers 3 main
actions in Natal,
being the Battles of Laing’s Nek, Schuinshoogte and Majuba, all of which
the British lost disastrously especially Majuba
which has gone down in the annals of British Military History as one of its
most humiliating defeats.
This talk takes from 1:30 hours to over 2 hours
depending on whether you want to see the film clip of the Battle of Majuba
ANGLO BOER WAR 1899-1902
This is
a series of talks that are given individually. Each talk has a brief introduction
giving the progress of the War in Natal up until the action in question so
that you can choose to run them as a series over a period of time, or simply
choose one particular event at random.
TALANA HILL
The first major battle of the war when the Boers occupied the hills dominating
the British garrison in the little town of Dundee.
ELANDSLAAGTE
21st October 1899
The Boers occupied the railway station and hills overlooking the road and
rail link to Dundee until British troops came out from Ladysmith and drove
them out in one of the most controversial battles of the war
SIEGE OF
LADYSMITH
"BLOODY MONDAY – LADYSMITH BESIEGED"
30TH October 1899
In the early hours of Monday 30th October the Ladysmith Garrison mounted a
massive attack against the advancing Transvaal Boers.
It failed dismally, forcing the British back on an even smaller perimeter
and Boers encircled the town.
"That acre of massacre…"
THE
BATTLE OF SPION KOP (SPOIENKOP)
23rd & 24th January 1899
The bloodiest and most futile battle fought by the British to try and break
through the Boer defensive line on the Tugela River.
General Buller’s second attempt ends in another disaster.
THE ARMOURED TRAIN INCIDENT
15 November 1899
The story of the Capture of Winston Churchill and his subsequent escape from prison in Pretoria.
This presentation can take from 1hr 30 to 2 hrs depending
on whether you watch the film clip on the incident.
Presentations are made at a venue of
your choice and take the form of a speaker supported by an animated power
point presentation with maps showing the movements of the forces involved
along with photographs of the actual sites.
Let us show you what took place, how the forces approached the battle, about
the heroes and the blunders.
Talks/presentation take from between
one hour to an hour and half depending on the Battle.
For more details contact
redcoat1@gmail.com or call 075 555 81375
The presenter can provide a Proxima Projector and screen if necessary
