Fallen Kings

June 1879. The Zulu Kingdom stands defiant, and Lord Chelmsford's redcoats march for its heart.

The campaign nears its climax, and the British forces gather their strength for the final advance on Ulundi. After months of marching, building, and battle, Lieutenant William Blackwood and the Monmouthshire Fusiliers push east through the wild country of the White Mfolozi. Behind them lie the forts they have built and the comrades they have buried; ahead, the capital of the Zulu kingdom and the promise of victory hard-won.

Ordered to join Lord Chelmsford's main column in the drive toward Ulundi, Blackwood must keep his men alive through flood, fatigue, and fire. Every mile of ground is contested, by weather, exhaustion, and an enemy that watches but rarely strikes. As the British columns tighten their net, the campaign becomes a test of endurance, fought as much against the land as against the foe. From the rain-swept marches of the Mfolozi to the tense, smoke-filled drills that forge the great infantry square.

And at last, beneath the rising sun of Ulundi, the redcoats of the British Empire and the fearsome warriors of the Zulu Kingdom will meet, shield against bayonet, assegai against Martini-Henry, in a clash that will decide the fate of nations.

Fallen Kings is the third powerful chapter in Blackwood of the Empire, a sweeping saga of leadership, endurance, and honour on the empire's farthest frontier. In the long shadow of victory, one officer must face the cost of discipline, and the thin line between order and survival.