The Battle of Gqokli Hill was conducted in about April 1818, a part of the Mfecane, between Shaka of the Zulu nation and Zwide of the Ndwandwe, in Shaka's territory just south of present-day Ulundi ( 28° 22' 23" S 31° 21' 15.77" E). Shaka had earlier arranged for the decoy force to the south to signal him with smoke when the 4,000 Ndwandwes on the cattle raiding expedition were heading back. Just after the fourth Ndwandwe attack had been repulsed, Shaka saw the smoke signal to the south. That meant he had very little time left to destroy Nomahlanjana's main army before it was reinforced.