Second Matabele War

Scouting to the south, Baden-Powell reported several Ndebele amabutho under the induna Babyan gathered in the Matopo Hills. Carrington ordered Major Tyrie Laing, formerly of the Black Watch, to take the newly arrived Belingwe Field Force to the fort at Fig Tree and begin operations against the Ndebele left under the izinduna (chieftains) Hliso and Mholi. The main body of troops-more than 1,100 including friendly natives, supported by a pair of mountain guns, three Maxims and a Hotchkiss-proceeded due south of Bulawayo.

At dawn on July 20, Laing’s column was attacked. Several Ndebele fought their way to the laager, but were killed before breaking inside. The battle lasted three hours before case shot from Laing’s 7-pounder and his machine guns drove the warriors away.

By early August, Plumer and Baden-Powell had engaged several Ndebele detachements in the Matopo Hills, and had put them to flight. On August 5, they encountered Sikombo Mguni’s ibutho holding a mountain pass near the Tuli Road. Fighting dismounted, the troopers scrambled over steep ridges and through treacherous ravines. The Ndebele tried to outflank the mountain guns, wounding the gunnery officers as they attacked. Captain Noel Llewellyn of the Bulawayo Field Force Corps, operating a Maxim gun in support, was struck in the face by a splintered stone and nearly blinded for a few seconds, but he’stuck there working his gun single-handed till the enemy were driven off,’ recalled Plumer.

Coming under fire form a series of kopjes, Plumer ordered his native troops and dismounted horsemen under Major F.E. Kershaw to attack uphill. ‘The ascent was extremely difficult,’ Plumer noted, ‘the men having to climb over immense boulders and rocks.’ Kershaw was felled by a Ndebele bullet when he was halfway up the central kopje, as were several noncommissioned officers. Once the beleaguered Matabeleland Relief Force contingent reached the summit, a swirling battle in heavy brush developed before the defenders retreated.

Plumer remained in the hills for two more days, reconnoitering the kopjes and receiving a few scattered shots from tribal snipers in the process. By then, peace feelers were being sent to the izinduna. For all practical purposes, the fighting in Matabeleland ground to a halt. Forts were still constructed in strategic locations, and Carrington ordered Baden-Powell to sweep the area to the northwest of Bulawayo for recalcitrant amabutho. By August 13, a detachment of 50 mounted infantry of the 2nd Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment, had ridden into Plumer’s Matopo encampment-the first regular British infantry to arrive on the scene.

On August 18, envoys of the izinduna Sikombo and Inyanda arrived in the colonial camp, requesting a peace meeting. Three days later, Cecil Rhodes met with Sikombo, Inyanda and nearly 40 other tribal and district chiefs. In a four-hour session, the Ndebele voiced their grievances and requested an end to the fighting. By August 28, Rhodes had arranged a meeting with Dholi, Mlosi and other izinduna in the eastern Matopos. The Ndebele were persuaded to turn in their arms so they could begin the planting season. Baden-Powell’s fast-paced sortie along the Shangani River netted several izinduna who were less anxious to surrender. The Mashonas were even less ready to lay down their arms; the last of their chiefs did not surrender until October 1897.

The Second Matabele War left Rhodesia badly scarred. Hundreds of white settlers and soldier had been killed and homes, ranches and mines burned. ‘We had lost everything-clothes, house-and all our work had been destroyed,’ noted Gladys Selous. Ndebele casualties are unknown, but are generally assumed to have been close to 2,000. Rinderpest continued to plague the land, and there was such a shortage of mules in the colony that large numbers had to be imported from Buenos Aires and Monivideo in South America. It would take generations for the countryside and its inhabitants to heal.

This article was written by Kenneth P. Czech and originally published in the March 1996 issue of Military History magazine. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Military History magazine today!