At the beginning of the XIX century in South Africa, the famous Zulu leader Chuck, or the Beetle, united the disparate warring tribes east of the Dragon Mountains and created in 1818 the Confederation of tribes of the province of Natal, which later turned into a powerful Kingdom of the Zulus.
Chaka was a great strategist and a cruel tyrant. For ten years of continuous wars, his troops destroyed about two million enemies, but the true history of his life and struggle is known to few.
He became a warrior at the age of 23 when the leader of the tribes dtiswa Dingisvayo called up the youth of the clan of em-dlechen for military service and united them into regiments. The warriors whom Chuck led into battle fell upon the enemy with monstrous force and won in hand-to-hand combat. Chuck considered the throwing spear a child’s toy and invented a new weapon with a heavy wide blade and a short hard handle. He himself made prototypes, making them the type of short Roman swords - ikgva, a Zulu word imitating the sound with which a sword cuts through the air. The shield was also turned into a weapon. He covered the body on the left side, and the enemy was lost, not knowing where to hit, constrained by his own shield.
For speed of movement, Chuck canceled his bull leather sandals, but this innovation took root only during the fighting on stony soil, and where the thorns were, the soldiers suffered greatly.
The new reforms paid off in the very first battle, when the warriors of the етtwa clashed with a detachment of Pungashe, the leader of the Butlesi tribe. Chucky’s cousin Bakuz (the son of Chucky’s Senzangakona’s father and his last wife, Soldaba) fought on the side of the bootlesi. When Dingisvayo announced the end of the bloodshed, Bakuzu was found in piles of those killed. The Pungashe clan recognized dependence on the mtwa.
After all this, Chuck could not be overlooked. Dingisvayo could see in him more than just a warrior. Common sense told the leader that the Zulu could become an insurmountable buffer on its northern borders. So Chaka became the commander of the Isikwe regiment and from now on took part in military councils at Dingisvayo.
He divided the regiment entrusted to him into three parts and began intensified training, trying to defeat the imaginary enemy with a blow of the central group - the "chest", while the flanks tried to surround the enemy and sow panic. Chaka spent a lot of time personally teaching each warrior the melee technique - at what angle to hold the shield, how to send an assegai — a spear so that it would fly exactly at the target, and not lose balance. It was during this period that the U-Dibi — the "bees" —bearers of boys, one for three warriors, who were responsible for carrying mats for rest, pots with food, spare assassins, and some water and grain, appeared in the troops.
Everyone knew the ferocity and courage of Chucky in battle, but on the councils he was more modestly silent, and spoke in a low voice, timidly. There was already a rumor among the umtwah about his high moral qualities: all the cattle that he received as a reward for victories, Chaka handed out to the soldiers.
In 1816, the leader of the Zulu of Senzangakon died and the "throne" did not immediately, but after several fights, but still took Chuck, who very quickly gained authority in his native clan.
The burden of great concern fell on Chucky's shoulders. The army was weak. The economy was falling apart, cattle was plundered. Chuck got down to business cool. For the slightest hesitation and disobedience, death relied. This was the leader’s right, but it went beyond the clan’s traditions. Chuck often destroyed the unhappy.
In general, some Chucky biographers tend to romanticize his image, passing off the Zulu leader as a kind African father.
Chaka was a great strategist and a cruel tyrant. For ten years of continuous wars, his troops destroyed about two million enemies, but the true history of his life and struggle is known to few.
He became a warrior at the age of 23 when the leader of the tribes dtiswa Dingisvayo called up the youth of the clan of em-dlechen for military service and united them into regiments. The warriors whom Chuck led into battle fell upon the enemy with monstrous force and won in hand-to-hand combat. Chuck considered the throwing spear a child’s toy and invented a new weapon with a heavy wide blade and a short hard handle. He himself made prototypes, making them the type of short Roman swords - ikgva, a Zulu word imitating the sound with which a sword cuts through the air. The shield was also turned into a weapon. He covered the body on the left side, and the enemy was lost, not knowing where to hit, constrained by his own shield.
For speed of movement, Chuck canceled his bull leather sandals, but this innovation took root only during the fighting on stony soil, and where the thorns were, the soldiers suffered greatly.
The new reforms paid off in the very first battle, when the warriors of the етtwa clashed with a detachment of Pungashe, the leader of the Butlesi tribe. Chucky’s cousin Bakuz (the son of Chucky’s Senzangakona’s father and his last wife, Soldaba) fought on the side of the bootlesi. When Dingisvayo announced the end of the bloodshed, Bakuzu was found in piles of those killed. The Pungashe clan recognized dependence on the mtwa.
After all this, Chuck could not be overlooked. Dingisvayo could see in him more than just a warrior. Common sense told the leader that the Zulu could become an insurmountable buffer on its northern borders. So Chaka became the commander of the Isikwe regiment and from now on took part in military councils at Dingisvayo.
He divided the regiment entrusted to him into three parts and began intensified training, trying to defeat the imaginary enemy with a blow of the central group - the "chest", while the flanks tried to surround the enemy and sow panic. Chaka spent a lot of time personally teaching each warrior the melee technique - at what angle to hold the shield, how to send an assegai — a spear so that it would fly exactly at the target, and not lose balance. It was during this period that the U-Dibi — the "bees" —bearers of boys, one for three warriors, who were responsible for carrying mats for rest, pots with food, spare assassins, and some water and grain, appeared in the troops.
Everyone knew the ferocity and courage of Chucky in battle, but on the councils he was more modestly silent, and spoke in a low voice, timidly. There was already a rumor among the umtwah about his high moral qualities: all the cattle that he received as a reward for victories, Chaka handed out to the soldiers.
In 1816, the leader of the Zulu of Senzangakon died and the "throne" did not immediately, but after several fights, but still took Chuck, who very quickly gained authority in his native clan.
The burden of great concern fell on Chucky's shoulders. The army was weak. The economy was falling apart, cattle was plundered. Chuck got down to business cool. For the slightest hesitation and disobedience, death relied. This was the leader’s right, but it went beyond the clan’s traditions. Chuck often destroyed the unhappy.
In general, some Chucky biographers tend to romanticize his image, passing off the Zulu leader as a kind African father.
Show More
