The R102 route from Thukela and then the R66 to Eshowe closely follows the route which the British Coastal Column took on their invasion of Zululand and granite crosses on the side of the R66 between Gingindlovu and Eshowe mark the sites of two battles between the British and the Zulu armies.

The first battle of the Anglo- Zulu War was fought near the Nyezane River on 22 January 1879.

Fought mainly on the run, the British managed to avoid the defeat which the Central Column faced at Isandlwana on the same day. Twelve British soldiers killed in the battle were buried nearby and by noon the British resumed their advance on Eshowe, which they reached the next day.
The memorial commemorating the Battle of Nyezane is about 500m off the R66 closer to Eshowe.

The Ultimatum Tree is situated just below the N2 bridge crossing Thukela River but visitors wishing to stop are obliged to get onto the R102 and take the Harold Johnson Nature Reserve road.

From the Ultimatum Tree it is a steep climb to Fort Pearson from where there are magnificent views of the river as it flows toward the Indian Ocean. There is also an interpretation centre explaining the causes of the Anglo-Zulu conflict.

Advancement led to Eshowe where they converted the Norwegian mission station KwaMondi - which had been abandoned in anticipation of war - into a fort and depot known as Fort Eshowe but they where soon surrounded by Zulu warriors and besieged for 10 weeks.

The lesson from the Battle of Rorke's Drift, which began on the same day as the battles of Nyezane and Isandlwana, was that it was not militarily opportune for the Zulu army to storm a fortified British position and King Cetshwayo forbade his army to attempt it at Eshowe.

Instead, he hoped that a blockade of Fort Eshowe would cut off the British garrison from all supplies and communication with Natal and eventually force the starving British soldiers into evacuating where they could be attacked in the open.

Fort Eshowe Military Cemetery

More than 80 British soldiers who died while serving in the British army between 1879 and 1898, are buried in the Fort Eshowe Military Cemetery in Prince Dinuzulu Suburb, Eshowe.

A granite memorial at the entrance to the cemetery identifies 48 of these men, while 34 graves belong to unknown soldiers. The men died not only from battle wounds but also from enteric fever, dysentery, typhoid, bronchitis, pneumonia and sunstroke.

Just a little further south east from this site is Mbomboshana - the highest point in the area - where the besieged soldiers, using shaving mirrors, heliographed messages to their comrades based at Fort Pearson near the mouth of the Thukela river.

Another granite cross - closer to Gingindlovu and directly beside the R66 - marks the site of the first battle of the second invasion following the British retreat from Zululand due to its setbacks at Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift.

In April 1879 Lord Chelmsford's Relief Column marching toward Eshowe encountered a large Zulu contingent of about 10 000 warriors. After a 90-minute battle, the Zulu army experienced heavy losses and retreated, leaving the British to bury their dead and march hurriedly on to Eshowe and end the siege of British soldiers at Fort Eshowe.

The coastal advance into Zululand by the British First Division took a similar route that the R102 today follows.

Along this route, farms with names like Fort Chelmsford and Fort Napolean were the sites used by the British as strongpoints while the Left Division prepared for the final advance on King Cetshwayo's capital at Ulundi on 4 July 1879.

The last battle of the Anglo-Zulu War took place close to present-day Ulundi.

The British army took up position on the south bank of the White Mfolozi River overlooking King Cetshwayo's capital Ondini and on the morning of 4 July 1879, about 5 000 men crossed the river, formed a hollow square and began to advance across the plain where 20 000 Zulu warriors awaited them.
The battle lasted less than 45 minutes and despite the great courage and determination of the Zulu men as they faced two Gatling guns, infantry rifle fire and artillery, few got within 30 metres of the square.
Only 12 men were killed on the British side, while the Zulu were thought to have lost up to 1 500 in the battle which effectively ended the war, the rule of King Cetshwayo and the independence of the Zulu kingdom.

Those killed in the battle are buried in a garden of blood-red flowering aloes and today white stones mark the position of the British square on the Ulundi battlefield. A picturesque domed stone memorial bears the inscription:

"In memory of the brave warriors who fell here in 1879 in defence of the old Zulu order".

The formidable Zulu kingdom in the late 1870's was seen by British imperialists as a major obstacle in their bid to colonise southern Africa which was on the verge of being turned into an economic powerhouse with the discovery of diamonds in the Kimberley region.

A number of petty incidents and border infringements were considered enough justification and excuse for the British to take action against the Zulu.

Though given 30 days in which to comply with the conditions of the ultimatum, Cetshwayo had no alternative but to prepare for war and allowed the ultimatum to expire. On 11 January 1879 the British invaded Zululand.

The British plan was to use three columns assembled at strategic points on the boundary between Natal and Zululand and then to converge on Cetshwayo's capital at Ondini.

The Coastal Column was based at Fort Pearson on the Thukela River near the present N2 crossing into Zululand.

The main thrust would be the Central Column which crossed into Zululand from the Buffalo River near Rorke's Drift and the reserve column was stationed further north in the Luneberg area.

Prince Dabulamanzi (centre), the younger brother of King Cetshwayo and leader of the attack on the British at Rorke's Drift, led an army of 10 000 men at the Battle of Gingindlovu.

More than 1 200 Zulu soldiers were killed at Gingindlovu.

The tale of Victorian Britain's imperial ambitions and military might being shaken by the gallantry of a 'remarkable people' armed only with spears has always captured the imagination of the world.

It continues to be a popular theme with writers, artists and historians and the films Zulu and Zulu Dawn are still popular TV entertainment in Britain