A huge tribe of 30,000 warriors who inhabited Zululand, which is in present day South Africa. The British army decided to conquer zululand, and setup small garrisons of troops to scout it. These were massacred by the
Zulu's, and so enraged, the Mighty British Empire rained its' fury on the tribesmen. For several weeks the Zulu tribes
laid low, hoping to evade detection. But some 1,200 British Troops and 300 tag-alongs (peaceful natives, soldiers wives etc.) were cut off by water and decided to camp in territory the
zulu's were watching. Overnight, the Zulu's gathered and sent 7,000 soldiers onto the camp, killing all but a handful of tag-alongs who escaped when they heard screaming. The Zulu took thier guns and marched on
Rorke's Drift, a small military hosital.
Rorke's drift was manned by 97 ready soldiers, housed 36 wounded, 14 helpful natives five officers and two lieutenants, one of which was new to the area. They recieved news of the impending Zulu attack, but the new liuetenant demanded that they stay to defend the hospital and chapel. A passing preacher intimidated the natives to throw down thier guns and leave, because of the extreme odds. With Just 141 soldiers (One of the tag-alongs rushed to help them) they took on 4,500 Zulu warriors, 1,200 of which were armed and killed 2,500
Zulus. In comparison, 15 British died on the day, and 8 later died of
battle wounds before the Zulu's saluted fellow braves and left. Rorke's Drift signalled the unparalled training of the British
amry, but also that the Zulu army, which had impressive capabilities, wouldn't even last until 1880 (Rorke's drift was 22nd-23rd January
1879). Eventually, the Zulu army had to surrender, and became the exploit of the rich. Zulu tribesmen still inhabit
South Africa's east coast and centre, but are no longer the dominating force.
The British have much to thank the
Zulu for. What was the most impossible military victory ever occured against the
zulu, and allowed the
victors to return home instilling a strong sense of
national pride.
