his attempt to break contact with the Zulus and withdraw. The terrain at Isandlwana, consisting of tall grass and ravines, called Dongas, into which the advancing Zulus periodically disappeared, shielded the movements of the Zulu army from view of the British. It was hard to gauge exactly how many Zulus the British were facing, as the estimates of their numbers Pulleine had received from his scouts varied considerably. By the time the full extent of the Zulu threat had become apparent, it was largely too late for Pulleine to alter his dispositions significantly. The result was an overextended line, vulnerable to being outflanked by such a large enemy force. Even had Pulleine managed to effect an orderly withdrawal at this stage, there was no easily defensible position for him to retreat to, since the Isandlwana camp was not fortified, nor were the wagons laagered. Though the British were able to hold the Zulus at bay for a time, a combination of factors including dwindling ammunition supply, problems with the infantry rifle which led to jams and the over-extension of the British companies to try to prevent the Zulu battle formation's encircling 'horns' from flanking the line, led to a general collapse. The Zulus overran the camp, eradicating any survivors who tried to make a stand, and chasing stragglers as far as the Buffalo River before overtaking and killing them. Pulleine was not among the small number of Europeans to escape. The Battle of Isandlwana was the worst defeat suffered by the British army in 150 years. Death It has never been established conclusively where and when on the battlefield Pulleine died. His body was never positively identified, and there were few survivors to provide an account of his final actions. Chelmsford did not linger at Isandlwana, and so only cursory efforts to identify the remains were possible. Even if a thorough search had immediately been mounted, most of the bodies had been badly mutilated by the Zulus and by the time a concerted effort was made to identify and inter the bodies, several months had passed, making individual corpses even harder to identify. Donald Morris, in The Washing of the Spears, possibly basing his account on that which circulated amongst the 24th's officers after the battle, provides probably the fullest account of Pulleine's final moments. In his version, once it became clear the battle was lost, Pulleine ordered Melvill to