Battle of Italeni The Battle of Italeni was a battle that took place at in what is now KwaZulu Natal province , South Africa , between the Voortrekkers and the Zulus during the period of the Great Trek . Background . After the massacre of Piet Retief and his men by Dingaan on 6 February 1838 , a number of Voortrekker camps were also attacked by the Zulu impi s . These Voortrekkers appealed to other treks , particularly those of Piet Uys and Hendrik Potgieter in the Orange Free State , for help . Both treks send out commando s to help . The two groups met on the banks of the Blaukraans River , where a council of war was held . During this meeting Uys was elected as " General Field Commandant " by those present - becoming , in effect , the first elected Boer Commandant - General . Potgieter , a natural leader , objected to this and stated that he and his men were not prepared to serve under any other leader . As a compromise , it was decided that each commando would remain under its own leader , but that both parties would fight together . This arrangement would prove to have disastrous consequences . The battle . The two commandos ( 347 men ) set out , in two separate columns , on 5 and 6 April 1838 . On 9 April , near the Babanango Mountain Range , they saw a large Zulu impi and took a number of them captive ( although it has been speculated that these may have been spies sent to lead them into a trap ) . The captives told the Voortrekkers that the main Zulu army was encamped near Umgungundlovu - the capital of their king , Dingane . As a result of this information , Uys led the parties directly to the Zulu capital . About 6 , 4 kilometres from Umgungundlovu they did indeed encounter the main Zulu army - at a mountain defile guarding the approaches to the Zulu capital . On each of the two hills at the end of the defile an impi was stationed , and another one waited in the valley between them - about 8 , 000 warriors . Uys gave Potgieter a choice as to which impi he would like to attack . Potgieter chose the one in the valley , while Uys decided to attack the hill towards his right . After riding to within 36 metres of the Zulu force , Uys ordered his men to dismount and open fire . Volleys from the Voortrekkers decimated the first two lines of the impi , while the third turned and fled . The battle appeared won . On his side Potgieter made what was reported as a " half - hearted " attack on the Zulu forces , and then retired . However , sixteen members of his commando attacked the Zulus at the base of the hill on the left , riding close and firing at them . The Zulus charged this small party , who turned and fled . One man was killed on the Voortrekker side . After the survivors of the attack reached the rest of Potgieter ' s commando , they mounted and left the battlefield . The remaining Zulu impis were now free to attack Uys ' commando from the rear . Uys saw the Zulu force advancing and sent Gert Rudolph , the voortrekker leader that had replaced the ailing Gert Maritz , to Potgieter to request him to cover his rear . However , Potgieter ignored this request and continued retreating . The action of sending Gert Rudolph as a messenger to Potgieter almost certainly saved Gert Rudolph ' s life . Meanwhile , two members of Uys ' party ( the Malan brothers ) had become isolated from the rest of the commando while pursuing the fleeing Zulus and were being led into an ambush in a bushy gorge . Seeing the danger they were in , Uys wanted his whole commando to ride to their rescue . Most of the members considered this too risky , and refused . In response , Uys formed a party of fifteen volunteers ( including his son , Dirkie ) and rode to their rescue . During the subsequent fighting Uys , his son , the Malan brothers as well as five of the volunteers were killed ( for ten Voortrekker dead during the battle ) . The part of Uys ' commando that remained behind ( under the command of Field Cornet Potgieter ) , were surrounded and had to fight their way out . Due to the outcome of the battle , the Voortrekker forces involved in the fighting subsequently became known as the " Vlugkommando " ( Flight Commando ) . Aftermath . The commandos returned to their camp on 12 April . During a subsequent meeting of the Voortrekkers , Potgieter was accused of cowardice and treachery for his refusal to endanger his commando in an attempt to rescue Uys ' party . In vain , Potgieter argued that if he had attacked , he and his men would also have died at Italeni . In disgust at the cries of " traitor " , Potgieter and his followers left and returned to the Orange Free State . However , it has been speculated that , without the lessons learnt as a result of the Battle of Italeni - such as fighting from the shelter of ox - wagon s whenever possible and choosing the place of battle rather than being enticed into unfavourable terrain - the Voortrekkers would not have succeeded in finally beating the Zulus at the Battle of Blood River eight months later . Site of the battle . As no place with the name of Italeni currently exists , the exact site of the battle remains unknown and has been the subject of some controversy . However , the most likely area lies in a mountain defile guarded by two hills that is approximately 4 , 8 kilometres southwest of Umgungundlovu . It has been speculated that the Zulus named it the " Battle of Italeni " as some of the fighting took place at Itala Mountain , 24 kilometres away .