Rorke's Drift
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Rorke's Drift, also known as the Defence of Rorke's Drift, was a battle in the Anglo-Zulu War
. The defence of the mission station
of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenant John Chard
of the Royal Engineers
, immediately followed the British Army
's defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana
on 22 January 1879, and continued into the following day, 23 January. Just over 150 British
and colonial troops successfully defended the garrison against an intense assault by 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors
. The massive, but piecemeal, Zulu
attacks on Rorke's Drift came very close to defeating the tiny garrison but were ultimately repelled. Eleven Victoria Cross
es were awarded to the defenders, along with a number of other decorations and honours.
, was a mission station
and the former trading post
of James Rorke, an Irish trader. It was located near a drift, or ford
, on the Buffalo
(Mzinyathi) River, which at the time formed the border between the British colony of Natal
and the Zulu kingdom
. On 9 January 1879, the British No. 3 (Centre) Column, under Lord Chelmsford
, arrived and encamped at the drift. On 11 January, the date the British ultimatum to the Zulus expired, the column crossed the river and encamped on the Zulu bank. A small force consisting of B Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot (2nd/24th) under Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead
was detailed to garrison the post, which had been turned into a supply depot and hospital under the overall command of Brevet Major Henry Spalding, 104th Foot, a member of Chelmsford's staff.
On 20 January, after reconnaissance patrolling and building of a track for its wagons, Chelmsford's column marched to Isandlwana, approximately 6 miles to the east, leaving behind the small garrison. A large company of the 2nd/3rd Natal Native Contingent
(NNC) under Captain William Stevenson was ordered to remain at the post to strengthen the garrison. This company numbered between 100 and 350 men. Captain Thomas Rainforth's G Company of the 1st/24th Foot was ordered to move up from its station at Helpmekaar, 10 miles to the southeast, after its own relief arrived, to further fortify the drift. Later that evening a portion of the No. 2 Column under Brevet Colonel Anthony Durnford
, late of the Royal Engineers
, arrived at the drift and camped on the Zulu bank, where it remained through the next day.
Late on the evening of 21 January, Durnford was ordered to Isandlwana, as was a small detachment of No. 5 Field Company, Royal Engineers
, commanded by Lieutenant John Chard
, which had arrived on the 19th to repair the pontoon
s which bridged the Buffalo. Chard rode ahead of his detachment to Isandlwana on the morning of 22 January to clarify his orders, but was sent back to Rorke's Drift with only his wagon and its driver to construct defensive positions for the expected reinforcement company, passing Durnford's column en route in the opposite direction.
Sometime around noon on the 22nd, Major Spalding left the station for Helpmekaar to ascertain the whereabouts of Rainforth's G Company, which was now overdue. He left Chard in temporary command. Chard rode down to the drift itself where the engineer's camp was located. Soon thereafter, two survivors from Isandlwana – Lieutenant Gert Adendorff of the 1st/3rd NNC and a trooper from the Natal Carbineers
– arrived bearing the news of the defeat and that a part of the Zulu impi
was approaching the station.
Upon hearing this news, Chard, Bromhead, and another of the station's officers, Acting Assistant Commissary James Dalton
(of the Commissariat and Transport Department), held a quick meeting to decide the best course of action - whether to attempt a retreat to Helpmekaar or to defend their current position. Dalton pointed out that a small column, travelling in open country and burdened with carts full of hospital patients, would be easily overtaken and defeated by a numerically superior Zulu force, and so it was soon agreed that the only acceptable course was to remain and fight.
Once the British officers decided to stay, Chard and Bromhead directed their men to make preparations to defend the station. With the garrison's some 400 men working quickly, a defensive perimeter was constructed out of mealie bags. This perimeter incorporated the storehouse, the hospital, and a stout stone kraal
. The buildings were fortified, with loopholes (firing holes) knocked through the external walls and the external doors barricaded with furniture.
At about 3.30 pm, a mixed troop of about 100 Natal Native Horse
(NNH) under Lieutenant Alfred Henderson arrived at the station after having retreated in good order from Isandlwana. They volunteered to picket the far side of the Oscarberg
(Shiyane), the large hill that overlooked the station and from behind which the Zulus were expected to approach.
With the defences nearing completion and battle approaching, Chard had several hundred men available to him: Bromhead's B Company, Stevenson's large NNC company, Henderson's NNH troop, and various others (most of them hospital patients, but 'walking wounded') drawn from various British and colonial units. Adendorff also stayed, while the trooper who had ridden in with him galloped on to warn the garrison at Helpmekaar. The force was sufficient, in Chard's estimation, to fend off the Zulus. Chard posted the British soldiers around the perimeter, adding some of the more able patients, the 'casuals' and civilians, and those of the NNC who possessed firearms along the barricade. The rest of the NNC, armed only with spears, were posted outside the mealy bag and biscuit box barricade within the stone-walled cattle kraal.
The approaching Zulu force was vastly larger; the uDloko, uThulwana, inDlondo amabutho (regiments) of married men in their 30s and 40s and the inDlu-yengwe ibutho of young unmarried men mustered 3,000 to 4,000 warriors, none of them engaged during the battle at Isandlwana. This Zulu force was the 'loins' or reserve of the army at Isandlwana and is often referred to as the Undi Corps. It was directed to swing wide of the British left flank and pass west and south of Isandlwana hill itself positioning itself across the line of communication
and retreat of the British and their colonial allies in order to prevent their escape back into Natal by way of ford of the Buffalo river leading to Rorke's Drift. By the time the Undi Corps reached Rorke's Drift at 4:30 pm they had fast-marched some 20 miles (30 km) from the morning encampment they had left around 8 am, they would spend almost the next eleven and a half hours continuously storming the British fortifications at Rorke's Drift.
Most Zulu warriors were armed with an iklwa (the Zulu refinement of the assegai
thrusting spear) and a shield made of cowhide. The Zulu army drilled in the personal and tactical use and coordination of this weapons system. Some Zulus also had old muskets and antiquated rifles, though their marksmanship training was poor and the quality and supply of powder and shot dreadful as the Zulu attitude towards firearms was that: "The generality of Zulu warriors, however, would not have firearms - the arms of a coward, as they said, for they enable the poltroon to kill the brave without awaiting his attack." Even though their fire was not accurate, it was responsible for five of the seventeen British deaths at Rorke's Drift.
While the Undi Corps had been led by inkhosi kaMapitha at the Isandlwana battle, the command of the Undi Corps passed to Prince Dabulamanzi kaMpande
(half-brother of Cetshwayo kaMpande, the Zulu king) when kaMapitha was wounded mopping up British fugitives from Isandlwana. Prince Dabulamanzi was considered rash and aggressive and this characterization was borne out by his violation of King Cetshwayo's order to act only in defence of Zululand against the invading British soldiers and not carry the war over the border into enemy territory. The Rorke's Drift attack was an unplanned raid rather than any organized counter-invasion, with many of the Undi Corps Zulus breaking off to raid other African kraals and homesteads while the main body advanced on Rorke's Drift.
At about 4:00 pm, Surgeon James Reynolds
, Otto Witt
- the Swedish missionary
who ran the mission at Rorke's Drift - and army chaplain Reverend George Smith came down from the Oscarberg hillside with the news that a body of Zulus were fording the river to the southeast and were "no more than five minutes away". At this point, Witt decided to depart the station as his family lived in an isolated farmhouse about 30 km away and he wanted to be with them. Witt's native servant, Umkwelnantaba, left with him; so too did one of the hospital patients, Lieutenant Thomas Purvis of the 1st/3rd NNC.
At about 4:20 pm the battle began with Lieutenant Henderson's NNH troopers, stationed behind the Oscarberg, briefly engaging the vanguard of the main Zulu force. However, tired from the battle and retreat from Isandlwana and short of carbine ammunition, Henderson's men departed for Helpmekaar. Henderson himself reported to Lieutenant Chard that the enemy were close and that "his men would not obey his orders but were going off to Helpmekaar". Henderson then followed his departing men. Upon witnessing the withdrawal of Henderson's NNH troop, Captain Stevenson's NNC company abandoned the cattle kraal and fled, greatly reducing the strength of the defending garrison. Outraged that Stevenson and some of his colonial NCOs also fled from the barricades, a few British soldiers fired after them, killing Corporal William Anderson.
With the Zulus nearly at the station, the garrison now numbered between 154 and 156 men. Of these, only Bromhead's company could be considered a cohesive unit. Additionally, up to 39 of the men who were at the station were there as hospital patients, although only a handful of these were unable to take up arms. With fewer men, Chard realised the need to modify the defences, and gave orders for the construction of a biscuit-box wall through the middle of the post in order to make possible the abandonment of the hospital side of the station if the need arose.
At 4:30 pm, the Zulus rounded the Oscarberg and approached the south wall. Private Frederick Hitch
, posted as lookout atop the storehouse, reported a column of 4,000–6,000 Zulus approaching. The Zulu vanguard, 600 men of the iNdluyengwe, attacked the south wall which joined the hospital and the storehouse. The British opened fire at 500 yards (457.2 m). The majority of the attacking Zulu force swept around to attack the north wall, while a few took cover and were either pinned by continuing British fire or retreated to the terraces of Oscarberg. There they began a harassing fire of their own. As this occurred, another Zulu force swept onto the hospital and north west wall. Those British on the barricades – including Dalton and Bromhead – were soon engaged in fierce hand to hand fighting
. The British wall was too high for the Zulus to scale, so they resorted to crouching under the wall, trying to get hold of the defenders' rifles, slashing at British soldiers with assegai
or firing their weapons through the wall. At places, they clambered over each others' bodies to drive the British off the walls, but were driven back.
Zulu fire, both from those under the wall and around Oscarberg, caused a few casualties and five of the 17 who were killed or mortally wounded in the action were struck while at the north wall.
Chard realized that the north wall, under almost constant Zulu attack, could not be held, and at 6:00 pm Chard pulled his men back into the yard, abandoning the front two rooms of the hospital in the process. The hospital was becoming untenable; the loopholes had become a liability, as rifles poked through were grabbed at by the Zulus – but if the holes were left empty Zulu warriors stuck their own weapons through to fire into the rooms. Among the soldiers assigned to the Hospital were Corporal William Wilson Allen
and Privates Cole, Dunbar, Hitch, Horrigan, John Williams
, Joseph Williams, Alfred Henry Hook
, Robert Jones
, and William Jones
.
Privates Horrigan, John Williams and Joseph Williams and patients tried to hold a hospital entrance with carbines and fixed bayonets. Joseph Williams defended a small window, and 14 dead Zulus were found later beneath the window. As it became clear that the front of the building was being taken by the Zulus, John Williams began to hack a way of escape through the wall dividing the central room and a corner room in the back of the hospital. As he made a passable hole, the door into the central room came under furious attack from the Zulus, and he only had time to drag two bedridden patients out before the door gave way.
The corner room that John Williams had pulled the two patients to was occupied by Private Hook and another nine patients. John Williams hacked at the wall to the next room with his pick-axe, as Hook held off the Zulus. A fire fight erupted as the Zulus fired through the door and Hook returned fire - but not without an assegai striking his helmet and stunning him. Williams made the hole big enough to get into the next room, occupied only by patient Private Waters, and dragged the patients through. The last man out was Hook, who killed some Zulus who had knocked down the door before diving through the hole. John Williams once again went to work, spurred by the fact that the roof was now on fire, as Hook defended the hole and Waters continued to fire through a loophole. After fifty minutes, the hole was large enough to drag the patients through, and the men – save Privates Waters and Beckett, who hid in the wardrobe (Waters was wounded and Beckett died of assegai wounds) – were now in the last room, being defended by Privates Robert Jones and William Jones. From here, the patients clambered out through a window and then ran across the yard to the barricade.
Of the eleven patients, nine survived the trip, as did all the able-bodied men. According to James Henry Reynolds
only four defenders were killed in the hospital: one was a member of the Natal Native Contingent with a broken leg; Sgt Maxfield and Private Jenkins who were ill with fever and refused to be moved; and a Private Adams who also refused to move. A Private Cole assigned to the hospital was killed when he ran outside. Reportedly Jenkins was also killed after being seized and stabbed; another Hospital patient killed was Trooper Hunter of the Natal Mounted Police. Among the hospital patients who escaped were a Corporal Mayer of the NNC; Bombardier Lewis of the Royal Artillery and Trooper Green of the Natal Mounted Police who was wounded in the thigh by a spent bullet. A Private Conley with a broken leg was pulled to safety by Hook, although Conley's leg was broken again in the process.
The evacuation of the hospital completed the shortening of the perimeter. As night fell, the Zulu attacks grew stronger. The cattle kraal came under renewed assault and was evacuated by 10:00 pm, leaving the remaining men in a small bastion around the storehouse. Throughout the night, the Zulus kept up a constant assault against the British positions; Zulu attacks only began to slacken after midnight, and finally ended by 2:00 am, instead being replaced by a constant harassing fire from the Zulu firearms - a fire that in turn only ended at 4:00 am. By that time Chard's force had lost 14 dead. Two others were mortally wounded and 8 more - including Dalton - were seriously wounded. Virtually every man had some kind of wound. They were all exhausted, having fought for the better part of ten hours, and were running low on ammunition. Of 20,000 rounds in reserve at the mission, only 900 remained.
of Zulus suddenly appeared, and the British manned their positions again. No attack materialized, as the Zulus had been on the move for six days prior to the battle and had not eaten properly for two. In their ranks were hundreds of wounded, and they were several days march from any supplies. Soon after their appearance, the Zulus left the way they had come.
Around 8:00 am, another force appeared, and the redcoats
abandoned their breakfast to man their position again, however the force turned out to be the vanguard of Lord Chelmsford
's relief column.
Breakdown of British and colonial casualties:
In addition, one member of Stevenson's 2nd/3rd NNC, Corporal William Anderson, was killed by British fire while fleeing the station just prior to the arrival of the Zulus.
Three hundred and fifty-one Zulu bodies were counted after the battle, but it has been estimated that at least 500 wounded and captured Zulus might have been massacred as well. Having witnessed the carnage at Isandlwana, the members of Chelmsford's relief force had no mercy for the captured, wounded Zulus they came across. Nor did the station's defenders. Trooper William James Clarke of the Natal Mounted Police described in his diary that "altogether we buried 375 Zulus and some wounded were thrown into the grave. Seeing the manner in which our wounded had been mutilated after being dragged from the hospital... we were very bitter and did not spare wounded Zulus". Samuel Pitt, who served as a private in B Company during the battle, told The Western Mail in 1914 that the official enemy death toll was too low: "We reckon we had accounted for 875, but the books will tell you 400 or 500". Lieutenant Horace Smith-Dorrien
, a member of Chelmsford's staff, wrote that the day after the battle an improvised gallows was used "for hanging Zulus who were supposed to have behaved treacherously".
Eleven Victoria Cross
es were awarded to the defenders of Rorke's Drift, seven of them to soldiers of the 2nd/24th Foot – the most ever received in a single action by one regiment (although not, as commonly thought, the most won in a single action or the most won in a day: 16 were won at the Battle of Inkerman
, on 5 November 1854; 28 were won during the Second Relief of Lucknow
, 14–22 November 1857). Four Distinguished Conduct Medal
s were also awarded. This high number of awards for bravery has been interpreted as a reaction to the earlier defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana
: the extolling of the victory at Rorke's Drift drawing the public's attention away from the great defeat at Isandlwana and the fact that Lord Chelmsford and Bartle Frere had instigated the war without the approval of Her Majesty's Government. Certainly, Sir Garnet Wolseley, taking over as Commander-in-Chief from Lord Chelmsford later that year, was unimpressed with the awards made to the defenders of Rorke’s Drift, saying "it is monstrous making heroes of those who shut up in buildings at Rorke’s Drift, could not bolt, and fought like rats for their lives which they could not otherwise save". However, there is no doubting that many of the defenders of Rorke's Drift - and each of the 15 winners of the VC and the DCM - did indeed exhibit the attribute required in order to win those awards: that of conspicuous valour in the face of the enemy.
Awarded the Victoria Cross:
In 1879 there was no provision for the posthumous granting of the Victoria Cross, and so it could not be awarded to anyone who had died in performing an act of bravery. In light of this, an unofficial 'twelfth VC' may be added to those listed: Private Joseph Williams, B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot, who was killed during the fight in the hospital and for whom it was mentioned in despatches that "had he lived he would have been recommended for the Victoria Cross".
Awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal:
On 15 January 1880, a submission for a DCM was also made for Private Michael McMahon (Army Hospital Corps). The submission was cancelled on 29 January 1880 for absence without leave and theft.
The 1964 film Zulu
is a depiction of the Battle of Rorke's Drift. The film received generally very positive reviews from the critics. Some details of the film's account have, however, been criticized as historically inaccurate (see also: Zulu (film)
). For example, in the movie the regiment is called the South Wales Borderers but the unit was not in fact called that until 2 years after the battle, even though the regiment had been based at Brecon in South Wales since 1873. While most of the men of the 1/24 battalion were recruited from the industrial towns and agricultural classes of England, principally from Birmingham and adjacent southwest counties, only 10 soldiers of the 1/24 that fought in the battle were Welsh. Many of the soldiers of the junior battalion, the 2/24, were Welshmen. Of the 122 soldiers of the 24th Regiment present at the Battle of Rorke's Drift, 49 are known to have been of English nationality, 32 were Welsh, 16 were Irish, 1 was a Scot, and 3 were born overseas. The nationalities of the remaining 21 are unknown.
The battle of Rorke's Drift was given a chapter in military historian Victor Davis Hanson
's book Carnage and Culture as one of several landmark battles demonstrating the superior effectiveness of Western military practices. In 1990 the game developer Impressions Games
released a video game based on the historical battle. The battle was also featured by Mad Doc Software in its 2006 strategy game Empire Earth II
: The Art of Supremacy as one of its "turning point" battle modes.
Anglo-Zulu War
The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom.Following the imperialist scheme by which Lord Carnarvon had successfully brought about federation in Canada, it was thought that a similar plan might succeed with the various African kingdoms, tribal areas and...
. The defence of the mission station
Mission (station)
A religious mission or mission station is a location for missionary work.While primarily a Christian term, the concept of the religious "mission" is also used prominently by the Church of Scientology and their Scientology Missions International....
of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenant John Chard
John Rouse Merriott Chard
Colonel John Rouse Merriott Chard VC was a British Army officer who received the Victoria Cross for his role in the defence of Rorke's Drift in 1879....
of the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
, immediately followed the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
's defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana
Battle of Isandlwana
The Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom...
on 22 January 1879, and continued into the following day, 23 January. Just over 150 British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and colonial troops successfully defended the garrison against an intense assault by 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors
Impi
An Impi is an isiZulu word for any armed body of men. However, in English it is often used to refer to a Zulu regiment, which is called an ibutho in Zulu. Its beginnings lie far back in historic tribal warfare customs, where groups of armed men called impis battled...
. The massive, but piecemeal, Zulu
Zulu Kingdom
The Zulu Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or, rather imprecisely, Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to Pongola River in the north....
attacks on Rorke's Drift came very close to defeating the tiny garrison but were ultimately repelled. Eleven Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
es were awarded to the defenders, along with a number of other decorations and honours.
Prelude
Rorke's Drift, known as kwaJim ("Jim's Land") in the Zulu languageZulu language
Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population...
, was a mission station
Mission (station)
A religious mission or mission station is a location for missionary work.While primarily a Christian term, the concept of the religious "mission" is also used prominently by the Church of Scientology and their Scientology Missions International....
and the former trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
of James Rorke, an Irish trader. It was located near a drift, or ford
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...
, on the Buffalo
Buffalo River (KwaZulu-Natal)
The Buffalo River is the largest tributary of the Thukela River. Its source is northeast of Volksrust, close to the Mpumalanga / KwaZulu-Natal border in South Africa. It follows a southerly route into KwaZulu-Natal past Newcastle then turns southeast past Rorke's Drift, before joining the Tugela...
(Mzinyathi) River, which at the time formed the border between the British colony of Natal
Colony of Natal
The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on May 4, 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, as one of its...
and the Zulu kingdom
KwaZulu
KwaZulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government as a semi-independent homeland for the Zulu people. The capital, formerly at Nongoma, was moved in 1980 to Ulundi....
. On 9 January 1879, the British No. 3 (Centre) Column, under Lord Chelmsford
Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford
General Frederic Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford GCB, GCVO, was a British general, best known for his commanding role during the Anglo-Zulu war. The centre column of his forces was defeated at the Battle of Isandlwana, a crushing victory for the Zulus and the British army's worst ever...
, arrived and encamped at the drift. On 11 January, the date the British ultimatum to the Zulus expired, the column crossed the river and encamped on the Zulu bank. A small force consisting of B Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot (2nd/24th) under Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead
Gonville Bromhead
Major Gonville Bromhead VC was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
was detailed to garrison the post, which had been turned into a supply depot and hospital under the overall command of Brevet Major Henry Spalding, 104th Foot, a member of Chelmsford's staff.
On 20 January, after reconnaissance patrolling and building of a track for its wagons, Chelmsford's column marched to Isandlwana, approximately 6 miles to the east, leaving behind the small garrison. A large company of the 2nd/3rd Natal Native Contingent
Natal Native Contingent
The Natal Native Contingent was a large force of auxiliary soldiers in British South Africa, forming a large portion of the defence forces of the British colony of Natal, and saw action during the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War. The NNC was originally created in 1878 out of the local black population in order...
(NNC) under Captain William Stevenson was ordered to remain at the post to strengthen the garrison. This company numbered between 100 and 350 men. Captain Thomas Rainforth's G Company of the 1st/24th Foot was ordered to move up from its station at Helpmekaar, 10 miles to the southeast, after its own relief arrived, to further fortify the drift. Later that evening a portion of the No. 2 Column under Brevet Colonel Anthony Durnford
Anthony Durnford
Colonel Anthony William Durnford was a career British Army officer who served in the Anglo-Zulu War. Breveted colonel, Durnford is mainly known for his presence at the defeat of the British army by the Zulu at the Battle of Isandlwana.-Background:Durnford was born in to a military family at Manor...
, late of the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
, arrived at the drift and camped on the Zulu bank, where it remained through the next day.
Late on the evening of 21 January, Durnford was ordered to Isandlwana, as was a small detachment of No. 5 Field Company, Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
, commanded by Lieutenant John Chard
John Rouse Merriott Chard
Colonel John Rouse Merriott Chard VC was a British Army officer who received the Victoria Cross for his role in the defence of Rorke's Drift in 1879....
, which had arrived on the 19th to repair the pontoon
Pontoon bridge
A pontoon bridge or floating bridge is a bridge that floats on water and in which barge- or boat-like pontoons support the bridge deck and its dynamic loads. While pontoon bridges are usually temporary structures, some are used for long periods of time...
s which bridged the Buffalo. Chard rode ahead of his detachment to Isandlwana on the morning of 22 January to clarify his orders, but was sent back to Rorke's Drift with only his wagon and its driver to construct defensive positions for the expected reinforcement company, passing Durnford's column en route in the opposite direction.
Natal Carbineers
The Natal Carbineers Regiment is an Infantry regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Territorial Army or United States Army National Guard unit.- South Africa, 1879 :...
– arrived bearing the news of the defeat and that a part of the Zulu impi
Impi
An Impi is an isiZulu word for any armed body of men. However, in English it is often used to refer to a Zulu regiment, which is called an ibutho in Zulu. Its beginnings lie far back in historic tribal warfare customs, where groups of armed men called impis battled...
was approaching the station.
Upon hearing this news, Chard, Bromhead, and another of the station's officers, Acting Assistant Commissary James Dalton
James Langley Dalton
James Langley Dalton VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
(of the Commissariat and Transport Department), held a quick meeting to decide the best course of action - whether to attempt a retreat to Helpmekaar or to defend their current position. Dalton pointed out that a small column, travelling in open country and burdened with carts full of hospital patients, would be easily overtaken and defeated by a numerically superior Zulu force, and so it was soon agreed that the only acceptable course was to remain and fight.
Once the British officers decided to stay, Chard and Bromhead directed their men to make preparations to defend the station. With the garrison's some 400 men working quickly, a defensive perimeter was constructed out of mealie bags. This perimeter incorporated the storehouse, the hospital, and a stout stone kraal
Kraal
Kraal is an Afrikaans and Dutch word for an enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within an African settlement or village surrounded by a palisade, mud wall, or other fencing, roughly circular in form.In the Dutch language a kraal is a term derived from the Portuguese word , cognate...
. The buildings were fortified, with loopholes (firing holes) knocked through the external walls and the external doors barricaded with furniture.
At about 3.30 pm, a mixed troop of about 100 Natal Native Horse
Natal Native Contingent
The Natal Native Contingent was a large force of auxiliary soldiers in British South Africa, forming a large portion of the defence forces of the British colony of Natal, and saw action during the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War. The NNC was originally created in 1878 out of the local black population in order...
(NNH) under Lieutenant Alfred Henderson arrived at the station after having retreated in good order from Isandlwana. They volunteered to picket the far side of the Oscarberg
Oscarberg
The Oscarberg is the name given by Reverend Otto Witt to a large hill 350 yards to the southeast of the two buildings which formed the station at the 1879 Battle of Rorke's Drift...
(Shiyane), the large hill that overlooked the station and from behind which the Zulus were expected to approach.
With the defences nearing completion and battle approaching, Chard had several hundred men available to him: Bromhead's B Company, Stevenson's large NNC company, Henderson's NNH troop, and various others (most of them hospital patients, but 'walking wounded') drawn from various British and colonial units. Adendorff also stayed, while the trooper who had ridden in with him galloped on to warn the garrison at Helpmekaar. The force was sufficient, in Chard's estimation, to fend off the Zulus. Chard posted the British soldiers around the perimeter, adding some of the more able patients, the 'casuals' and civilians, and those of the NNC who possessed firearms along the barricade. The rest of the NNC, armed only with spears, were posted outside the mealy bag and biscuit box barricade within the stone-walled cattle kraal.
Line of communication
A line of communication is the route that connects an operating military unit with its supply base. Supplies and reinforcements are transported along the line of communication. Therefore, a secure and open line of communication is vital for any military force to continue to operate effectively...
and retreat of the British and their colonial allies in order to prevent their escape back into Natal by way of ford of the Buffalo river leading to Rorke's Drift. By the time the Undi Corps reached Rorke's Drift at 4:30 pm they had fast-marched some 20 miles (30 km) from the morning encampment they had left around 8 am, they would spend almost the next eleven and a half hours continuously storming the British fortifications at Rorke's Drift.
Most Zulu warriors were armed with an iklwa (the Zulu refinement of the assegai
Assegai
An assegai or assagai is a pole weapon used for throwing or hurling, usually a light spear or javelin made of wood and pointed with iron.-Iklwa:...
thrusting spear) and a shield made of cowhide. The Zulu army drilled in the personal and tactical use and coordination of this weapons system. Some Zulus also had old muskets and antiquated rifles, though their marksmanship training was poor and the quality and supply of powder and shot dreadful as the Zulu attitude towards firearms was that: "The generality of Zulu warriors, however, would not have firearms - the arms of a coward, as they said, for they enable the poltroon to kill the brave without awaiting his attack." Even though their fire was not accurate, it was responsible for five of the seventeen British deaths at Rorke's Drift.
Dabulamanzi kaMpande
Dabulamanzi kaMpande was a Zulu commander in the Anglo-Zulu War. He was a half-brother of Cetshwayo kaMpande, the Zulu king at the time....
(half-brother of Cetshwayo kaMpande, the Zulu king) when kaMapitha was wounded mopping up British fugitives from Isandlwana. Prince Dabulamanzi was considered rash and aggressive and this characterization was borne out by his violation of King Cetshwayo's order to act only in defence of Zululand against the invading British soldiers and not carry the war over the border into enemy territory. The Rorke's Drift attack was an unplanned raid rather than any organized counter-invasion, with many of the Undi Corps Zulus breaking off to raid other African kraals and homesteads while the main body advanced on Rorke's Drift.
At about 4:00 pm, Surgeon James Reynolds
James Henry Reynolds
Lieutenant-Colonel James Henry Reynolds VC , born Kingstown , County Dublin, was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Battle of Rorke's Drift, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth...
, Otto Witt
Oscarberg
The Oscarberg is the name given by Reverend Otto Witt to a large hill 350 yards to the southeast of the two buildings which formed the station at the 1879 Battle of Rorke's Drift...
- the Swedish missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
who ran the mission at Rorke's Drift - and army chaplain Reverend George Smith came down from the Oscarberg hillside with the news that a body of Zulus were fording the river to the southeast and were "no more than five minutes away". At this point, Witt decided to depart the station as his family lived in an isolated farmhouse about 30 km away and he wanted to be with them. Witt's native servant, Umkwelnantaba, left with him; so too did one of the hospital patients, Lieutenant Thomas Purvis of the 1st/3rd NNC.
The battle
With the Zulus nearly at the station, the garrison now numbered between 154 and 156 men. Of these, only Bromhead's company could be considered a cohesive unit. Additionally, up to 39 of the men who were at the station were there as hospital patients, although only a handful of these were unable to take up arms. With fewer men, Chard realised the need to modify the defences, and gave orders for the construction of a biscuit-box wall through the middle of the post in order to make possible the abandonment of the hospital side of the station if the need arose.
At 4:30 pm, the Zulus rounded the Oscarberg and approached the south wall. Private Frederick Hitch
Frederick Hitch
Frederick Hitch, VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Battle of Rorke's Drift, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:Hitch was 22 years old, and a private in...
, posted as lookout atop the storehouse, reported a column of 4,000–6,000 Zulus approaching. The Zulu vanguard, 600 men of the iNdluyengwe, attacked the south wall which joined the hospital and the storehouse. The British opened fire at 500 yards (457.2 m). The majority of the attacking Zulu force swept around to attack the north wall, while a few took cover and were either pinned by continuing British fire or retreated to the terraces of Oscarberg. There they began a harassing fire of their own. As this occurred, another Zulu force swept onto the hospital and north west wall. Those British on the barricades – including Dalton and Bromhead – were soon engaged in fierce hand to hand fighting
Hand to hand combat
Hand-to-hand combat is a lethal or nonlethal physical confrontation between two or more persons at very short range that does not involve the use of firearms or other distance weapons...
. The British wall was too high for the Zulus to scale, so they resorted to crouching under the wall, trying to get hold of the defenders' rifles, slashing at British soldiers with assegai
Assegai
An assegai or assagai is a pole weapon used for throwing or hurling, usually a light spear or javelin made of wood and pointed with iron.-Iklwa:...
or firing their weapons through the wall. At places, they clambered over each others' bodies to drive the British off the walls, but were driven back.
Zulu fire, both from those under the wall and around Oscarberg, caused a few casualties and five of the 17 who were killed or mortally wounded in the action were struck while at the north wall.
Chard realized that the north wall, under almost constant Zulu attack, could not be held, and at 6:00 pm Chard pulled his men back into the yard, abandoning the front two rooms of the hospital in the process. The hospital was becoming untenable; the loopholes had become a liability, as rifles poked through were grabbed at by the Zulus – but if the holes were left empty Zulu warriors stuck their own weapons through to fire into the rooms. Among the soldiers assigned to the Hospital were Corporal William Wilson Allen
William Wilson Allen
William Wilson Allen, VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Battle of Rorke's Drift in January 1879, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:He was about 35...
and Privates Cole, Dunbar, Hitch, Horrigan, John Williams
John Williams (VC)
John Williams VC , was a Welsh recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, Joseph Williams, Alfred Henry Hook
Alfred Henry Hook
Alfred Henry "Harry" Hook VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Battle of Rorke's Drift, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Background:Born in Churcham,...
, Robert Jones
Robert Jones (VC)
Robert Jones VC was a Welsh recipient of the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Battle of Rorke's Drift in January 1879, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.He was born at Penrhos near Clytha...
, and William Jones
William Jones (VC)
William Jones VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross for his action at the Battle of Rorke's Drift in January 1897, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.- Details :Jones was born and...
.
Privates Horrigan, John Williams and Joseph Williams and patients tried to hold a hospital entrance with carbines and fixed bayonets. Joseph Williams defended a small window, and 14 dead Zulus were found later beneath the window. As it became clear that the front of the building was being taken by the Zulus, John Williams began to hack a way of escape through the wall dividing the central room and a corner room in the back of the hospital. As he made a passable hole, the door into the central room came under furious attack from the Zulus, and he only had time to drag two bedridden patients out before the door gave way.
The corner room that John Williams had pulled the two patients to was occupied by Private Hook and another nine patients. John Williams hacked at the wall to the next room with his pick-axe, as Hook held off the Zulus. A fire fight erupted as the Zulus fired through the door and Hook returned fire - but not without an assegai striking his helmet and stunning him. Williams made the hole big enough to get into the next room, occupied only by patient Private Waters, and dragged the patients through. The last man out was Hook, who killed some Zulus who had knocked down the door before diving through the hole. John Williams once again went to work, spurred by the fact that the roof was now on fire, as Hook defended the hole and Waters continued to fire through a loophole. After fifty minutes, the hole was large enough to drag the patients through, and the men – save Privates Waters and Beckett, who hid in the wardrobe (Waters was wounded and Beckett died of assegai wounds) – were now in the last room, being defended by Privates Robert Jones and William Jones. From here, the patients clambered out through a window and then ran across the yard to the barricade.
Of the eleven patients, nine survived the trip, as did all the able-bodied men. According to James Henry Reynolds
James Henry Reynolds
Lieutenant-Colonel James Henry Reynolds VC , born Kingstown , County Dublin, was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Battle of Rorke's Drift, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth...
only four defenders were killed in the hospital: one was a member of the Natal Native Contingent with a broken leg; Sgt Maxfield and Private Jenkins who were ill with fever and refused to be moved; and a Private Adams who also refused to move. A Private Cole assigned to the hospital was killed when he ran outside. Reportedly Jenkins was also killed after being seized and stabbed; another Hospital patient killed was Trooper Hunter of the Natal Mounted Police. Among the hospital patients who escaped were a Corporal Mayer of the NNC; Bombardier Lewis of the Royal Artillery and Trooper Green of the Natal Mounted Police who was wounded in the thigh by a spent bullet. A Private Conley with a broken leg was pulled to safety by Hook, although Conley's leg was broken again in the process.
The evacuation of the hospital completed the shortening of the perimeter. As night fell, the Zulu attacks grew stronger. The cattle kraal came under renewed assault and was evacuated by 10:00 pm, leaving the remaining men in a small bastion around the storehouse. Throughout the night, the Zulus kept up a constant assault against the British positions; Zulu attacks only began to slacken after midnight, and finally ended by 2:00 am, instead being replaced by a constant harassing fire from the Zulu firearms - a fire that in turn only ended at 4:00 am. By that time Chard's force had lost 14 dead. Two others were mortally wounded and 8 more - including Dalton - were seriously wounded. Virtually every man had some kind of wound. They were all exhausted, having fought for the better part of ten hours, and were running low on ammunition. Of 20,000 rounds in reserve at the mission, only 900 remained.
Aftermath
As dawn broke, the British could see that the Zulus were gone; all that remained were the dead and severely wounded. Patrols were dispatched to scout the battlefield, recover rifles, and look for survivors, many of whom were executed when found. At roughly 7:00 am, an ImpiImpi
An Impi is an isiZulu word for any armed body of men. However, in English it is often used to refer to a Zulu regiment, which is called an ibutho in Zulu. Its beginnings lie far back in historic tribal warfare customs, where groups of armed men called impis battled...
of Zulus suddenly appeared, and the British manned their positions again. No attack materialized, as the Zulus had been on the move for six days prior to the battle and had not eaten properly for two. In their ranks were hundreds of wounded, and they were several days march from any supplies. Soon after their appearance, the Zulus left the way they had come.
Around 8:00 am, another force appeared, and the redcoats
Red coat (British army)
Red coat or Redcoat is a historical term used to refer to soldiers of the British Army because of the red uniforms formerly worn by the majority of regiments. From the late 17th century to the early 20th century, the uniform of most British soldiers, , included a madder red coat or coatee...
abandoned their breakfast to man their position again, however the force turned out to be the vanguard of Lord Chelmsford
Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford
General Frederic Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford GCB, GCVO, was a British general, best known for his commanding role during the Anglo-Zulu war. The centre column of his forces was defeated at the Battle of Isandlwana, a crushing victory for the Zulus and the British army's worst ever...
's relief column.
Breakdown of British and colonial casualties:
- 1st/24th Foot: 4 killed or mortally wounded in action; 2 wounded
- 2nd/24th Foot: 9 killed or mortally wounded in action; 9 wounded
- Commissariat and Transport Department: 1 killed in action; 1 wounded
- Natal Mounted Police: 1 killed in action; 1 wounded
- 1st/3rd NNC: 1 killed in action
- 2nd/3rd NNC: 2 wounded
In addition, one member of Stevenson's 2nd/3rd NNC, Corporal William Anderson, was killed by British fire while fleeing the station just prior to the arrival of the Zulus.
Three hundred and fifty-one Zulu bodies were counted after the battle, but it has been estimated that at least 500 wounded and captured Zulus might have been massacred as well. Having witnessed the carnage at Isandlwana, the members of Chelmsford's relief force had no mercy for the captured, wounded Zulus they came across. Nor did the station's defenders. Trooper William James Clarke of the Natal Mounted Police described in his diary that "altogether we buried 375 Zulus and some wounded were thrown into the grave. Seeing the manner in which our wounded had been mutilated after being dragged from the hospital... we were very bitter and did not spare wounded Zulus". Samuel Pitt, who served as a private in B Company during the battle, told The Western Mail in 1914 that the official enemy death toll was too low: "We reckon we had accounted for 875, but the books will tell you 400 or 500". Lieutenant Horace Smith-Dorrien
Horace Smith-Dorrien
General Sir Horace Lockwood Smith-Dorrien GCB, GCMG, DSO, ADC was a British soldier and commander of the British II Corps and Second Army of the BEF during World War I.-Early life and career:...
, a member of Chelmsford's staff, wrote that the day after the battle an improvised gallows was used "for hanging Zulus who were supposed to have behaved treacherously".
Victoria Crosses and Distinguished Conduct Medals
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
es were awarded to the defenders of Rorke's Drift, seven of them to soldiers of the 2nd/24th Foot – the most ever received in a single action by one regiment (although not, as commonly thought, the most won in a single action or the most won in a day: 16 were won at the Battle of Inkerman
Battle of Inkerman
The Battle of Inkerman was fought during the Crimean War on November 5, 1854 between the allied armies of Britain and France against the Imperial Russian Army. The battle broke the will of the Russian Army to defeat the allies in the field, and was followed by the Siege of Sevastopol...
, on 5 November 1854; 28 were won during the Second Relief of Lucknow
Siege of Lucknow
The Siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defense of the Residency within the city of Lucknow during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After two successive relief attempts had reached the city, the defenders and civilians were evacuated from the Residency, which was abandoned.Lucknow was the capital of...
, 14–22 November 1857). Four Distinguished Conduct Medal
Distinguished Conduct Medal
The Distinguished Conduct Medal was an extremely high level award for bravery. It was a second level military decoration awarded to other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to non-commissioned personnel of other Commonwealth countries.The medal was instituted in 1854, during the Crimean...
s were also awarded. This high number of awards for bravery has been interpreted as a reaction to the earlier defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana
Battle of Isandlwana
The Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom...
: the extolling of the victory at Rorke's Drift drawing the public's attention away from the great defeat at Isandlwana and the fact that Lord Chelmsford and Bartle Frere had instigated the war without the approval of Her Majesty's Government. Certainly, Sir Garnet Wolseley, taking over as Commander-in-Chief from Lord Chelmsford later that year, was unimpressed with the awards made to the defenders of Rorke’s Drift, saying "it is monstrous making heroes of those who shut up in buildings at Rorke’s Drift, could not bolt, and fought like rats for their lives which they could not otherwise save". However, there is no doubting that many of the defenders of Rorke's Drift - and each of the 15 winners of the VC and the DCM - did indeed exhibit the attribute required in order to win those awards: that of conspicuous valour in the face of the enemy.
Awarded the Victoria Cross:
- Lieutenant John Rouse Merriott ChardJohn Rouse Merriott ChardColonel John Rouse Merriott Chard VC was a British Army officer who received the Victoria Cross for his role in the defence of Rorke's Drift in 1879....
, 5th Field Coy, Royal Engineers - Lieutenant Gonville BromheadGonville BromheadMajor Gonville Bromhead VC was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot - Corporal William Wilson AllenWilliam Wilson AllenWilliam Wilson Allen, VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Battle of Rorke's Drift in January 1879, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:He was about 35...
; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot - Private Frederick HitchFrederick HitchFrederick Hitch, VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Battle of Rorke's Drift, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:Hitch was 22 years old, and a private in...
; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot - Private Alfred Henry HookAlfred Henry HookAlfred Henry "Harry" Hook VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Battle of Rorke's Drift, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Background:Born in Churcham,...
; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot - Private Robert JonesRobert Jones (VC)Robert Jones VC was a Welsh recipient of the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Battle of Rorke's Drift in January 1879, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.He was born at Penrhos near Clytha...
; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot - Private William JonesWilliam Jones (VC)William Jones VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross for his action at the Battle of Rorke's Drift in January 1897, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.- Details :Jones was born and...
; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot - Private John WilliamsJohn Williams (VC)John Williams VC , was a Welsh recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot - Surgeon James Henry ReynoldsJames Henry ReynoldsLieutenant-Colonel James Henry Reynolds VC , born Kingstown , County Dublin, was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Battle of Rorke's Drift, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth...
; Army Medical Department - Acting Assistant Commissary James Langley DaltonJames Langley DaltonJames Langley Dalton VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
; Commissariat and Transport Department - Corporal Christian Ferdinand Schiess; 2nd/3rd Natal Native Contingent
In 1879 there was no provision for the posthumous granting of the Victoria Cross, and so it could not be awarded to anyone who had died in performing an act of bravery. In light of this, an unofficial 'twelfth VC' may be added to those listed: Private Joseph Williams, B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot, who was killed during the fight in the hospital and for whom it was mentioned in despatches that "had he lived he would have been recommended for the Victoria Cross".
Awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal:
- Gunner John Cantwell; N Batt, 5th Brig Royal Horse ArtilleryRoyal Horse ArtilleryThe regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery , dating from 1793, are part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery of the British Army...
(demoted from bombardier wheeler the day before the battle) - Private John William Roy; 1st/24th Foot
- Colour Sergeant Frank Edward BourneFrank BourneLieutenant-Colonel Frank Edward Bourne OBE DCM was a decorated British soldier who participated in the defence of Rorke's Drift during the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War. He was also the last known survivor of the battle.-Early life:...
; B Coy, 2nd/24th Foot - Second Corporal Francis Attwood; Army Service Corps
On 15 January 1880, a submission for a DCM was also made for Private Michael McMahon (Army Hospital Corps). The submission was cancelled on 29 January 1880 for absence without leave and theft.
Depictions and dramatisations
The events surrounding the assault on Rorke's Drift were first dramatised by military painters, notably Elizabeth Butler and Alphonse de Neuville. Their work was vastly popular in their day among the citizens of the British empire.The 1964 film Zulu
Zulu (film)
Zulu is a 1964 historical war film depicting the Battle of Rorke's Drift between the British Army and the Zulus in January 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War....
is a depiction of the Battle of Rorke's Drift. The film received generally very positive reviews from the critics. Some details of the film's account have, however, been criticized as historically inaccurate (see also: Zulu (film)
Zulu (film)
Zulu is a 1964 historical war film depicting the Battle of Rorke's Drift between the British Army and the Zulus in January 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War....
). For example, in the movie the regiment is called the South Wales Borderers but the unit was not in fact called that until 2 years after the battle, even though the regiment had been based at Brecon in South Wales since 1873. While most of the men of the 1/24 battalion were recruited from the industrial towns and agricultural classes of England, principally from Birmingham and adjacent southwest counties, only 10 soldiers of the 1/24 that fought in the battle were Welsh. Many of the soldiers of the junior battalion, the 2/24, were Welshmen. Of the 122 soldiers of the 24th Regiment present at the Battle of Rorke's Drift, 49 are known to have been of English nationality, 32 were Welsh, 16 were Irish, 1 was a Scot, and 3 were born overseas. The nationalities of the remaining 21 are unknown.
The battle of Rorke's Drift was given a chapter in military historian Victor Davis Hanson
Victor Davis Hanson
Victor Davis Hanson is an American military historian, columnist, political essayist and former classics professor, notable as a scholar of ancient warfare. He has been a commentator on modern warfare and contemporary politics for National Review and other media outlets...
's book Carnage and Culture as one of several landmark battles demonstrating the superior effectiveness of Western military practices. In 1990 the game developer Impressions Games
Impressions Games
Impressions Games was a video game developer founded by David Lester in the UK. He sold the company to Sierra Entertainment in 1995, who was then bought out by Cendant and eventually, Vivendi Universal ....
released a video game based on the historical battle. The battle was also featured by Mad Doc Software in its 2006 strategy game Empire Earth II
Empire Earth II
Empire Earth II, also called EE2, is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Mad Doc Software and published by Vivendi Universal Games on April 26, 2005. It is a sequel to the 2001 bestselling game Empire Earth, which was developed by the now-defunct Stainless Steel Studios...
: The Art of Supremacy as one of its "turning point" battle modes.