User blog comment:Battlefan237/From A to Z:Aboriginal Australian Warriors vs. Zulu Warriors/@comment-3189283-20190815091324

Let’s see shall we

Spear & Shield

This edge goes straight to the Iklwa & Ishlangu combo. The entire idea behind the Iklwa was to counter long spears just like the ones the Aboriginals by getting in close where a longer spear’s length works against it. Their shields were also designed with this strategy in mind and were made more to deflect blows away rather than block them outright which would again help with getting past longer spears. The Ishlangu in general is also just the more versatile shield being used as both a defensive option and an offensive one, hooking away enemy shields or just flat out bashing an opponent with it to knock them off balance.

Edge: Zulu Warrior

Long Range

The Woomera allows for greater throwing power as well as a greater overall throwing distance. Furthermore, as it was meant be used for hunting there would have been a greater emphasis on accuracy which is helpful in a small squad battle like this when you have specific targets to aim for. The Assegai’s use in Zulu warfare was to soften up enemy formations before going in with the Iklwa, so they probably wouldn’t be hugely accurate with them nor used to using them in smaller engagements. Edge: Aboriginal Australian Warrior

Close Range 

Both of these weapons will do heavy damage to the opposing warriors shields and in the case of the Zulu Axe can also be used to hook the shield away entirely. The Waddy has the slight reach advantage but the Zulu Axe has, well, an axe head which gives it extra options to hack and slash as well as simply bludgeon. It’s this versatility which gets it the edge over the Waddy.

Edge: Zulu Warrior

Special

The Iwisa is not a particularly great weapon because it wasn’t meant to be a weapon. You could use it to bludgeon but it does a worse job than the axe and you could throw it but it’s just a worse version of the Assegai. War Boomerangs meanwhile are a force to be reckoned with, striking with power comparable to a blunt sword and combined with Aboriginal’s accuracy with it will do significant damage at range.

Edge: Australian Aboriginal Warrior

Final Verdict

Looking at the weapons edges and we have a clear split in the type of combat each warrior is best in. The Aboriginals are better at a range with their projectile weaponry having both a further range and hitting harder than the Zulu’s Assegai. As I mentioned in the long range edge their use of these ranged weapons in hunting also suggests they’ll be better at hitting smaller, specific targets than the Zulu, who almost exclusively used the Assegai against large armies. Meanwhile the Zulu’s have the better close quarters weaponry, the Iklwa and Ishlangu perfectly counter the Aboriginal’s shield and the axe is more versatile than the Waddy club.

However, where the Zulu take a massive edge is in the X Factors. The Aboriginal Australians were not used to warfare, it happened on occasions a lot of disputes were settled ritualistically and tied into honour and rarely ended in death. The Aboriginal Australians were also not suited to prolonged warfare due to their lifestyle. The Zulu on the other hand were trained warriors through and through, conquering large swatches of southern Africa under Shaka and would’ve have been more than used to combat. This is reflected perfectly in the aforementioned weapons advantage split, the Aboriginal are better at range because there are primarily hunters, the Zulu are better in melee range because they’re primarily warriors.

Zulu Warriors: 4,500

Aboriginal Australian Warriors: 500