The Battle of Hlobane (28 March 1879) took place at Hlobane, near the modern town of Vryheid in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa during the Anglo-Zulu War. Background The British commander Frederic Thesiger (Lord Chelmsford) intended to invade Zululand with three columns and converge on the Zulu capital of Ulundi (Ondini). No. 1 Column (under Colonel Charles Pearson) on the coast was to begin its advance at the Lower Drift of the Tugela River. No. 3 Column (under Lord Chelmsford) in the centre was to cross Rorke's Drift and advance to the capital. No. 4 Column (under Colonel Evelyn Wood) had to advance the shortest distance, about . Wood was to move slowly to enable No. 1 Column to catch up. No. 4 Column consisted of eight infantry companies from the 13th and 90th Light Infantry, with about four 7-pounder mountain guns of the 11th Battery, 7th Brigade (11/7) RA, roughly 200 cavalry of the Frontier Light Horse (FLH), the civilian followers of Piet Uys and Wood's Irrregulars, 300 African infantry along with ox-wagon transport and impedimenta, about 2,000 infantry and 200 cavalry all told. Prelude No. 4 Column was to occupy the attention of those Zulus dwelling on the flat-topped mountains rising out of the plains of north-west Zululand. The distance of these Zulus from the capital, Ulundi, gave them a degree of independence from Cetshwayo, enabling the chiefs to withhold their warriors for local defence, rather than contributing to the main Zulu Army. Chelmsford required these Zulus to be distracted so that they would not interfere with the operations of No. 3 Column during its advance to Isandlwana and onto Ulundi. On 17 January 1879, Wood advanced his column north-eastwards and a laager (a defensive wagon circle) was established at Tinta's Kraal, south of a chain of flat-topped mountains on 20 January. These were Zunguin, Hlobane and Ityentika, connected by a nek and running for in a north-easterly direction. While the camp was being fortified, scouts investigating the mountains were attacked from Zunguin by about At dawn the next day an attack was mounted on Zunguin and the Zulus fled to Hlobane, where Wood observed about drilling that afternoon. An attack on Hlobane had begun on 24 January but after Wood learnt of the British defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana, was called off. After falling back to Tinta's Kraal, Wood decided to move his column north-westwards to Kambula hill,