The first episode in the series sets the scene and tells the fascinating story of the origins of the war and explains how Sir Henry Bartle-Frere engineered the British invasion of Zululand.

The appalling disaster at Isandlwana was received with horror in Britain and the Government did all it could to maximise the news of the momentous events at Rorke's Drift.

This episode tells the story of the bloody second and final phase of the war during which the British exacted terrible retribution on the Zulu nation and humiliated King Cetshwayo.