Appointment Through his royal connections and his friendship with
Lieutenant-General Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford, Russell gained a place with the British forces assembling for the 1879
Anglo-Zulu War. Although Russell had no experience leading cavalry in action, Chelmsford placed him in command of the mounted elements of the Centre Column, the principal component of the British forces involved in the
first invasion of Zululand. Chelmsford also arranged for Russell to be appointed to the
local rank of
lieutenant-colonel. Part of Russell's command was a force of around 100 Imperial Mounted Infantry, consisting of troops with riding experience seconded from the infantry regiments of the invasion force. This unit was led by Lieutenant
Edward Browne of the
24th Regiment of Foot who was well-liked, and his subordination to Russell caused resentment among the mounted infantry. The majority of Russell's command was formed of volunteer units raised by the
Colony of Natal. These soldiers had expected to be commanded by
John Dartnell of the
Natal Mounted Police, a former British Army major and
Indian Mutiny veteran who had become a farmer in the colony. The colonial volunteers, who had no obligation to serve outside of Natal, had agreed to join Chelmsford's forces on the condition that they approved of their commander. When Russell was appointed, all the officers resigned in protest. The events were reported by newspapers in
Pietermaritzburg and caused embarrassment for Chelmsford. Chelmsford's solution was to declare Dartnell was invaluable to him as an advisor and to appoint him to a position on his staff, while Russell retained command of the units in the field. The Natal Mounted Police officers rescinded their resignations as a personal favour to Dartnell.
First invasion Russell commanded the Imperial Mounted Infantry in the first action of the war, the 12 January 1879
action at Sihayo's Kraal, encircling and defeating a small Zulu force. Three days later, while engineers improved the road to ease the progress of the column inland, Russell commanded a scouting party seeking the next camp site. He reported the plain at
Isandlwana provided good sources of water and firewood and Chelmsford approved the location. On 18 January, Russell and his entire command set off on a patrol northwards into the area between the Centre Column and Colonel
Evelyn Wood's Left Column, as a show of strength. Russell led the vanguard in the column's 20 January advance to the camp at Isandlwana. On 22 January, Chelmsford led a portion of the Centre Column on a
reconnaissance in force from Isandlwana to Mangeni Falls. Despite his official position as a staff officer, Dartnell was placed in command of the Natal mounted volunteers, reducing Russell's command to the Imperial Mounted Infantry. While the reconnaissance force was away from the camp, the remainder of the Centre Column were attacked by the Zulu and wiped out in the
Battle of Isandlwana. Around the time of the battle, Russell's squadron discovered a Zulu force on Isipezi Hill, which lay between Chelmsford's force and the camp, and withdrew without engaging. Russell then received word from Commandant
George Hamilton-Browne of the
Natal Native Contingent that he could see the camp was under attack and Russell reported this in person to Chelmsford. Chelmsford ordered Russell to ride to the camp; he found a force of around 7,000 Zulus in possession of the camp and reported back to the general that "all was as bad as it could be". '' of 8 March 1879 depicts Russell at the head of the relief force arriving at Rorke's Drift.|alt=A group of mounted men ride towards a hastily fortified homestead, one building of which is ablaze When Chelmsford's force retook the camp unopposed on the evening of 22 January, Russell and the Imperial Mounted Infantry formed part of the right flank of the advance. The group spent an uneasy night on the battlefield, sleeping fitfully among the bodies of the dead, which included eleven of Russell's mounted infantry he had left at the camp. Early the next morning, Chelmsford's force moved back into Natal to the British supply post at
Rorke's Drift. Unsure if it had been lost to a Zulu attack, Russell led the Imperial Mounted Infantry forward to investigate. Finding the post in British hands, he was with the first group to enter the position. Russell afterwards rode on to confirm the supply base at
Helpmekaar also remained in British hands. In the following weeks, Russell was stationed at Helpmekaar with responsibility for co-ordinating mounted patrols of the frontier but lost interest in the work, his confidence and that of other officers shaken by the disaster at Isandlwana. His men had also lost all their kit and wagons at Isandlwana and their
farriers were among the British dead. Russell's patrols were sporadic and ill-planned, and one of Chelmsford's staff officers, Major
Francis Clery, criticised Russell for allowing the Zulus to roam at will. Clery wrote to Alison to state "I fear, between ourselves, that Russell was a little unnerved by Isandlwana, for a few days after he went to the general recommending that the whole of the mounted infantry should be disbanded, as they appeared demoralised and wished to go to their regiments". On 7 February Chelmsford wrote to Wood "Russell appears to have lost heart and has allowed his men to get out of hand I fear".
Hlobane and Kambula After Isandlwana, Chelmsford requested reinforcements before attempting a second invasion. During the pause in operations, on 15 February 1879, Russell was sent in command of the squadron of Imperial Mounted Infantry to Wood's Left Column. Russell took almost a month to reach Wood's camp at
Kambula and was criticised for his slow progress by Chelmsford and Wood; the latter noted Russell was "in the dismals" and "his frame of mind cannot be good". When he joined the Left Column, in addition to his mounted infantry, Russell was given command of the
Edendale detachment of the
Natal Native Horse, which had survived the Battle of Isandlwana. On 14 March, Wood sent Lieutenant-Colonel
Redvers Buller, commanding a force of irregular horse, into Zululand to rescue around 1,000 dependents of Zulu chief uHamu, who had defected to the British. The following day, Russell rode out with his mounted infantry and some mules to help transport the women and children into the British camp. Although all three men were considered members of the Wolseley Ring and had served on the Ashanti campaign, Wood was wary of Russell, whose cautious approach to operations contrasted with Buller. On 27 March, Chelmsford's military secretary,
Henry Hope Crealock, wrote to Russell to inform him his local rank was being rescinded and he was to revert to his brevet rank of major. This undermined Russell's position among the officers of Wood's column and he was outraged when he received this letter on 11 April. In late March, Wood ordered Russell and Buller to
attack Hlobane, a mountain stronghold of the
AbaQulusi Zulu clan. At 4am on 28 March, Russell left camp with a party of 640, which included his mounted infantry and Natal Native Horse, but also the irregular Kaffrarian Rifles and some African auxiliary infantry. Reaching the mountain around dawn, Wood's orders were for Russell to ascend the Ntendeka Mountain to the west, and to pass onto
Hlobane by Devil's Pass. Buller's men were to ascend from east of Hlobane. On reaching Devil's Pass, Russell considered it impassable for horses and sent Lieutenant Edward Browne and a party of dismounted men to Buller to warn him of this, though Browne was unable to locate Buller. While Russell's men were seizing Zulu cattle on Ntendeka, they spotted the main Zulu army approaching from the southeast and Russell sent a message to alert Wood to this. The Zulu secured the eastern flank of Hlobane, leaving Devil's Pass as Buller's only escape route. Russell meanwhile had withdrawn to the base of Ntendeka, where he considered he could support a withdrawal by Buller along the south side of Hlobane. Russell then received a message from Wood, who thought him still on the mountain, ordering him to move to "Zunguin Nek", from where he could cover Buller's retreat. "
Nek" is a Southern African term for a ridge of land connecting two peaks. Wood intended his order to refer to the ridge connecting Ntendeka to Zungwini Mountain, but Russell, who was already very close to this location, interpeted the order as requiring him to take up position on the ridge connecting Zungwini to Kambula mountain, further to the west and of no use to Buller. Buller's unit descended Devil's Pass, covered only by Browne's small party which had remained on the Ntendeka. Buller's men were harried closely during their retreat and suffered heavy casualties before reaching Russell's force and returning to Kambula. Russell's quick withdrawal had also left behind his auxiliary infantry, 80 of whom were killed. On the following day, 29 March, the Zulu attacked the British camp in the
Battle of Kambula. With the Zulu army assembled before the British post, Russell's mounted contingent were ordered to provoke the Zulus into attacking the camp. They rode to within of the Zulu and opened fire. When the Zulu charged, some of Russell's soldiers struggled to remount and he rode to the aid of a trooper of the
Frontier Light Horse. Russell was unhorsed in the confusion and had to be rescued by Lieutenant Browne; troops of the Natal Native Horse saved the dismounted trooper. Browne received the
Victoria Cross and Russell was commended by Wood to Chelmsford, though it is likely later communications from Wood and Buller persuaded him no medal was warranted. After the Zulu were defeated in a fruitless assault on the camp, the mounted troops participated in the pursuit of the retreating force. Buller, in the thick of the pursuit, told Crealock he had to ride a mile (1.6 km) back to assume command of Russell's unit after he refused to advance, fearful of exposing his flanks. In his formal report on the battle of Hlobane, Wood criticised Russell's actions and came close to accusing him of cowardice. Buller and Browne were furious with Russell. On the day of the Battle of Kambula, Russell had apologised to Buller, saying: "you are quite right. My metier is not South African fighting". Buller told Russell he would never serve on a joint operation with him again. A week after the battle, Wood wrote to Crealock to note his lack of faith in Russell as a reconnaissance officer for failing to report on two companies of British infantry who had been threatened with attack by a large Zulu force. On 10 April, Browne handed a letter to Wood denouncing Russell for cowardice at Hlobane and stating he and his men would never serve under him again. Wood forwarded the letter to Chelmsford and recommended Russell be removed from operations and assigned to the remount depot in the rear at
Pietermaritzburg; the general concurred and issued the order. The mounted infantry served under Buller's command for the rest of the war. Russell returned to Britain on 4 October 1879. == Later career ==