- 288 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
Fought on the night of 22/23 January 1879 and immortalised in the film epic Zulu, Rorke's Drift represented one of the most glorious, if subsequently controversial episodes in British military history.
For twelve desperate hours, outnumbered by over 25-1, barely 140 British soldiers, based at the remote mission station of Rorke's Drift, South Africa, were locked in a ferocious life or death struggle with over 4000 seasoned warriors of the hitherto victorious Zulu Army - the most powerful indigenous African army.
Only hours earlier, in the shadow of the ominous Sphinx-like Isandlwana Crag, other elements of this same Zulu force had virtually annihilated a 1700-strong British colonial force - one of the greatest defeats of Queen Victoria's reign. In the wake of this massacre, the survival of the British Empire in South Africa rested with the tiny garrison of Rorke's Drift.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Half Title
- About the Author
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- Dedication
- Preface
- 1 Road to War: The Storm-Clouds Gather, 1877-9
- 2 Preparations for War: The Two Opposing Armies
- 3 The Isandlwana Massacre: Day of the Aasvogels
- 4 Battle Analysis: The Lessons of the Isandlwana Disaster
- 5 The Flight from Isandlwana: Prelude to Rorke’s Drift
- 6 The First Zulu Assaults
- 7 Nadir: The Hospital Fight (6p.m.-10p.m.)
- 8 The Final Ordeal (10p.m.-8a.m.)
- 9 Aftermath: Relief, Recovery and Retribution
- 10 Legacies and Lessons: The Military, Social and Political Significance of Rorke’s Drift
- Conclusion
- Postscript
- Notes
- Select Bibliography