The Probert Encyclopaedia of Warfare

BATTLE OF ROURKE'S DRIFT

The Battle of Rourke's Drift was a minor skirmish during the Zulu War which started on the 21st of January 1879 when some 3000 men of the Zulu army, having defeated an invading British encampment raided the British supply depot at Rorke's Drift where some 130 men of the 24th Regiment of Foot were stationed. The British defenders withstood the assault, no thanks to their two incompetent officers. Following the withdrawal of the Zulus, the British defenders searched the battle field and butchered 500 wounded Zulus found lying there. A telling contrast to the humanitarian and respectful treatment of the British dead by the Zulus at the Battle of Isandhlwana. Back in England Parliament, under pressure from Queen Victoria reported the skirmish as a major British victory, and awarded eleven Victoria Cross medals, most inappropriately, to the defenders based upon their backgrounds, rather than their actions at the skirmish. During the 1960's a famous, and highly fictionalised, film was made of the skirmish cementing the legend for all time.
Research Battle of Rourke's Drift