First Boer War in the open at the Battle of Isandlwana. Shortly after the main battle, a British outpost at Rorke's Drift on the Zululand-Natal border, withstood a second Zulu attack with great losses to the Zulus with the British fighting defensively in and around the stone buildings of a small trading store which had been hastily fortified. After reinforcements arrived, the British won a series of skirmishes and eventually conquered the Zulu capital at Ulundi on 4 July 1879. This war to all intents and purposes signalled the end of the independent Zulu nation. The British consolidated their power over Natal, the
Battle honours of South Africa Battle honours of South Africa South Africa follows the British system of awarding battle honours to military units, to recognise the battles, theatres and campaigns in which they have fought with distinction. Before the unification of South Africa in 1910, units were largely left to invent their own battle honours. Exceptions were the honours for the Anglo-Zulu War (1879) and the Natal Rebellion (1906), which were authorised by the Natal colonial government in 1909 and 1908 respectively, and the honours for the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), which were authorised by the British authorities. Many of these units were embodied in the