The garrison hurriedly built a shorter perimeter line of biscuit boxes, to accommodate the greatly reduced numbers of soldiers. They were met by a heavy fire from the garrison and, at some fifty yards from the wall, veered around the hospital to attack from the north-west.
They were driven back by the fire from the garrison and went to ground in the undergrowth, left uncleared due to the shortage of time. The main body of Zulus came up and opened a heavy fire on the British from cover around the west and north-west of the mission station. The hospital at the western end of the fortifications became the focus for the fighting. Set on fire and stormed by the Zulus, it became untenable. As many men were extracted as possible, the remaining patients perishing in the flames.
Privates John Williams, Henry Hook, William Jones, Frederick Hitch and Corporal William Allen all received the Victoria Cross for their defence of the hospital building, fighting with bayonets once their ammunition was expended, as they contested every room with the attacking warriors. The fighting now concentrated on the wall of biscuit barrels linking the mission house with the mealie wall. As night fell, the British withdrew to the centre of the station where a final bastion had been hastily assembled.
The light from the burning hospital assisted the British in their fire. The savage Zulu attacks were resisted until around midnight, when, unexpectedly, the ferocity of the assault fell away.
Firing continued until around 4am when the Zulus withdrew. By then the British held only the area around the storehouse. At 7am, a body of Zulus appeared on the hill, but no attack followed. Butler's 'Defence of Rorke's Drift' was shown at the Royal Academy of Arts in , attracting a 'great crush' of onlookers. Public fascination with the battle has continued through books, films and video games. Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who would later become a politician in South Africa, played the role of his great-grandfather, King Cetshwayo.
Zulu War s Africa Great Battles. Field Marshal Garnet Wolseley won important victories in several colonial campaigns. In , the British fought a war against the Zulu kingdom. The Zulus resisted bravely and were only defeated after a series of particularly bloody battles that have gone down in the annals of colonial warfare. But before going on display again, the iconic painting needed some TLC: tender loving conservation! This British Army infantry unit was formed in It served for years until , when it was merged into The Royal Regiment of Wales.
British forces occupied Egypt in to safeguard the Suez Canal and British financial interests. This led to further intervention in the neighbouring Sudan, where two wars against rebellious Islamic tribesmen were fought in hostile desert conditions. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Be the first to hear about our latest events, exhibitions and offers. Simply enter your email address below to start receiving our monthly email newsletter.
To find out more about how we collect, store and use your personal information, read our Privacy Policy. National Army Museum 10am - 5. Toggle navigation. View this object. Dabulamanzi kaMpande centre led the Zulus at Rorke's Drift, c The Zulus The Zulu army immediately pressed on to Rorke's Drift, where the British had established a depot and hospital. Zulu 'iklwa' short spear. Zulu 'ishilunga' oxhide shield. Fight or flight? The British garrison at Rorke's Drift consisted of only men.
They faced an army of 4, Zulu warriors. The defence begins The Zulu army arrived at Rorke's Drift at 4. At the end of the fighting, Zulus lay dead on the battlefield.
Only 17 British were killed, but almost every man in the garrison had sustained some kind of wound. Storehouse at Rorke's Drift, June When the Zulus invaded the hospital, Gonny Bromhead, me and five others took up a position on the right of the defensive line where we were exposed to the cross-fire. Corporal Bill Allen and me were wounded later but the other four blokes with us were killed.
One of them was Private Ted Nicholas who got a bullet in the head that sprayed his brains onto the ground. Bromhead and me had it all to ourselves for about an hour-and-a-half, the lieutenant using his rifle and revolver with deadly aim as he kept telling us not to waste one round. It was during this struggle that I was shot. The Zulus were pressing us hard, many of them mounting the barricade, when I saw one pointing his rifle at me.
The bullet slammed into my right shoulder and I keeled over with the pain. The Zulu would have assegaied me had Bromhead not shot him with his revolver. He helped me remove my tunic and tucked my useless right arm inside the belt around my waist.
Then he gave me his revolver and, with him helping me to load it, I managed very well. By this time it was dark and we were fighting with the aid of light from the burning hospital, which was much to our advantage, but our ammunition was running low. I was helping to serve out cartridges myself when I became thirsty and felt faint.
In fact, we were all exhausted and the ammo was being rationed. I crawled over to Cpl. Bill Allen with his good right arm and me with my left arm helped them down as best we could and they crawled or were carried behind the barricade. Bill fired at the Zulus lunging round the front of the hospital as our men behind the boxes kept a steady covering fire to keep the enclosure clear. Trooper Hunter of the Natal Mounted Police was too crippled to walk and was dragging himself across the compound towards the entrenchment on his elbows when a Zulu leapt over the back wall and plunged an assegai into his back.
Private Robert Jones was the last man out of the window, joining Allen and me in the yard dash across open ground to the barricade. The patients and newly wounded had been dragged inside the mielie-bag redoubt, where Dr Reynolds was attending to them.
These army biscuits will stop any bullet! After Dr. Reynolds attended to my wound by the light of the burning hospital I slept fitfully because the pain was excruciating. It was after midnight before the rushes of the Zulus began to subside, and long after 2 a.
They then sank down behind their own dead and kept a desultory fire at us until 4 a. When it was all over, only 80 British soldiers were still standing. They were all exhausted and their shoulders were badly bruised by the continuous pounding of recoiling rifles. Twenty thousand cartridge cases lay scattered among the paper packets in the yard, which left the defenders with only rounds at the end of the battle!
Chard sent out a few scouts at 5 a. Our own casualties were 15 killed and 12 wounded, but two of them died from their wounds later. I was one of the lucky ones and felt very thankful to God for leaving me in the land of the living. When the sun came up, Dr. Reynolds began picking 36 pieces of shattered shoulder blade from my back and told me that my fighting days were over. The impi was spotted on the Oskarberg at 7 a.
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