hmmm, WI somehow during the Zulu Wars into the late 1870s & early 1880s, NZ offered an expeditionary force of colonial soldiers, incl a contingent of allied Maori warriors, to fight the Zulus alongside the Empire forces ? how would these warrior cultures have fared against each other in open battle ?
Maoris vs Zulus ?
- Thread starter Melvin Loh
- Start date
Well there was only one Anglo-Zulu War. And I doubt the Maoris would have made a whole lot of difference. The most effective tactics to counter the Zulus were found to be the discipline of regular soldiers (in forming laagers and beating back Zulu attacks with firepower, and the use of mounted troops (to match the mobility of the Zulus - British commanders learned after Isandlwana to treat the Zulu as being cavalry for tactical purposes, to be countered with the equivalent of the Napoleonic Square, and beaten with actual cavalry). I don't know much about the Maori, but unless they were horse-warriors or well-disciplined riflemen, they might be more of a hindrance.
Weren't the Maoris just being civilised by the Settlers about that time? I believe some may have been offered during the Boer War as part of the NZ contingent.