r of companies with its support staff and carriers on either flank, and if the army was large communications would be by runner. In close proximity to the enemy the troop formation closed up while the support formations fell back.
The established Zulu battle formation as Shaka refined it took the form of the classic horns and chest configuration. The older and more reliable warriors were placed at the chest while the horns were composed of younger and more mobile forces that could move rapidly over what was usually broken terrain to complete the encircling manoeuvre. Once completed the opposing force would be compacted and smashed by the chest. Behind the main battle formation would wait a reserve force which was often positioned to face away from the battle to help it resist the temptation to rush in and join the battle prematurely. Commanders usually selected an elevated position from where they could observe the battle and communicate with the field commanders by runner.
Psychological tactics also played an important part in the battle. The massed, uniformed ranks of highly disciplined and motivated men would present nothing if not an intimidating spectacle, but initially shields were presented edgeways to diminish the size and impact of the force. A tense silence would be deployed, sometimes the men would squat and nonchalantly whet their blades, and then as tension built they would rise, their shield would be turned to face the enemy and the silence would be broken by the uniform stamping of feet and drumming of weapons on shields. Then, as the charged commenced, each man would hiss. The combined effect of several thousand voices issuing this sound would be terrifying beyond belief, sending a message at the last moment of confidence, virility and deadly serious intent.
In his adaptation of Zulu tactics Mzilikazi employed essentially the same formation, although the limits of his available manpower forced him to economise, and in the beginning he did not employ any reserve. He had also in the early days been forced to confront the fact that, unlike the secure position enjoyed by the Zulu, the circumstances of his fugitive people were mobile and uncertain. His battle formations therefore were leaner, and themselves more mobile and adaptive. One early departure from the strict norm of Zulu warfare was to use the cover of darkness to position his forces for rush dawn attacks that proved time and again to be very successful. It was not only the Zulu that rarely manoeuvred or attacked at night, for neither did most other groups, and this included the Griquas and Boers that suffered their only military defeats at the hands of the amaNdebele when this tactic was employed. For this purpose Mzilikazi deployed a mobile attack/reconnaissance unit along the lines of a home guard that was able to shadow a hostile force or commando for many days before choosing the optimum moment to attack and wipe it out.
Under the leadership of Mzilikazi the maxim of war was very simple. Quarter was neither expected nor given. In battles pitched against a comparable enemy, and among these were only the three battles fought against the Zulu, fighting was brutal and unforgiving, but the rites of victory were denied to either side. Not so however for the day to day business of raiding. This was the bread and butter work of the amaNdebele military, and the dictum of respect for the enemy was applied by degrees in amaNdebele warfare. For those that did not or could not mount a respectable defence contempt was displayed in terrible violence and cruelty. This was the practice that set the tone for amaNdebele conquest in the early days, and although later refined to allow for the induction of likely captives into the productive of the nation, the process of selection was cruel and exacting, and as a consequence there were few who survived that did not possess the qualities of courage, stamina and resourcefulness that alone could mark the path to prosperity in amaNdebele society. It remains, however, the enemy that defines the quality of any fighting for