In 1878 the British expansion into South Africa was gathering pace and already there were signs of increasing friction between them and the mainly Dutch Boers. Another obstacle to the future development of British domination came in the form of twenty-six regiments of King Cetshwayo's Zulu Army, consisting of 50,000 fearless warriors. The British Government of the day had given the South African Commissioner, Sir Bartle Frere and Lord Chelmsford, who was Commander of British Forces in South Africa, 'carte blanche' to resolve this problem.