In 1879, the valiant British troops led by Lord Chelmsford advanced through South Africa to “settle the Zulu question once and for all.” The Zulu king, Ketshwayo, considered the British his allies, so their invasion of Zulu territory came as a complete surprise to the Africans. Then the Zulus attacked a large British force of 1,500 men and routed it; the bloody battle cost the lives of nearly all the British soldiers.