The 1964 motion picture “Zulu” tells the tale of the defence of Rorke’s Drift by a modest garrison of British troopers who were attacked by in excess of four thousand Zulus. The troopers held out while the struggles raged into the night of 22/23 Jan 1879. By morning, the Zulus had brought an end to the assault.
The motion picture stars Stanley Baker together with Michael Caine together with Richard Burton narrating and was a follow up to “Zulu Dawn”. That motion picture told the story of the Battle of Isandlwana which took place earlier in the day. The opening moments start off with the consequences of Isandlwana as Richard Burton narrates the telegram by Lord Chelmsford updating the government of the defeat of Isandlwana. Zulus are seen acquiring weapons from the lifeless British soldiers.
At the time of the battle, Rorke’s Drift had been a mission station looked after by Swedish missionary Otto Witt. As Lord Chelmsford guided the men over the Buffalo River and over into Zululand from Natal, a company in the 24th Regiment remained behind to watch the mission station that was being used as a clinic and a supply depot by the British. The 2 officers were Lieutenant John Chard with the Royal Engineers played by Stanley Baker along side Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead of the 24th played by Michael Caine. This was Caine’s 1st starring role.
The movie shows Chard and a few troopers making a bridge across the Buffalo River. Bromhead returns following a hunting trip and the 2 exchange words just before a scouting party arrives telling the officers of the disaster at Isandlwana. Chard is seen to assume overall command because he was commissioned one or two months sooner than Bromhead and whilst this is standard procedure, it irks Bromhead. They talk about their choices with Lieutenant Joseph Ardendorff of the Natal Native Contingent (NNC) who was among the very few survivors out of Isandlwana. Ardendorff is played by Gert Van den Bergh. The Afrikanner talks about the Zulu “Horns of the Buffalo” tactics. Bromhead is convinced they ought to leave however Chard decides to stand and fight on ground of their choosing.
The Reverand Otto Witt and his adult daughter also are at the mission station and try to get the soldiers to run away to help avert a fight. Witt swayed soldiers from the NNC to leave Rorke’s Drift. Now, Chard orders Witt and his daughter to depart the mission station in their buggy. In the mean time, protective lines of mealie sacks and wagons are now being positioned to boost the lines of defence by joining the store room and the hospital. This is accomplished under the watch of CSM Frank Bourne portrayed by Nigel Green.
As the Zulus made their way to attack the garrison, Boer horsemen arrive at Rorke’s Drift. In spite of requests from Chard, the Boers abandon the British garrison. Soon the fighting begins with lines of Zulu warriors facing up to the British defences. The Zulu warriors are mown down by targeted fire from the troops of the 24th and they in the end fall back. Next, Zulu riflemen in the hillsides start off shooting down into the mission station and the British take their very first deaths and injuries.
The Zulus continue probing with their attacks and in due course fight their way into the hospital, setting fire to the roof in the process. Private Henry Hook, who has so far been portrayed as a good for nothing layabout, just takes charge of the situation inside the infirmary as he aids with an escape of the unwell by hacking through the walls of the infirmary. The survivors get away from the burning hospital over to the final redoubt near the store house as the struggles raged through the night.
By morning, the Zulu warriors commenced a war chant ready for a last assault. The men of the 24th reacted by singing “Men of Harlech”. The last offensive see the Zulus run into a hail of British bullets as three ranks of troops fire volley upon volley down into the onrushing Zulus. With such heavy losses, the Zulus finally retreat. The British begin to regroup and CSM Bourne takes a role call. The Zulus come back on the hillsides overlooking the mission station yet instead of attacking, they sing in praise of the fellow warriors.
The picture ends with Richard Burton narrating. He reads out the names of the 11 men who were awarded the Victoria Cross for the defence of Rorke’s Drift. The men who won the Victoria Cross were:
– Corporal William Wilson Allen
– Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead
– Lieutenant John Rouse Merriot Chard
– Acting Assistant Commissary James Langley Dalton
– Private Fredrick Hitch
– Private Alfred Henry Hook
– Private Robert Jones
– Private William Jones
– Surgeon Major James Henry Reynolds
– Corporal Christian Ferdinand Schiess
– Private John Williams
Furthermore, 5 men were also awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal:
– Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne
– Private John William Roy
– Second Corporal Michael McMahon
– Second Corporal Francis Attwood
– Wheeler John Cantwell
As with just about all films based on a real situation, there are a lot of inaccuracies. Some are for artistic licence whilst others will be oversights for different factors.
The motion picture shows the 24th Regiment of Foot as a Welsh regiment. Although, it wasn’t renamed the South Wales Borderers until 1881, two years later than Rorke’s Drift. There had been a substantial number (nearly 25%) of men from Wales in B Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot but the the vast majority came from England.
The Swedish missionary Otto Witt was shown in the film that his daughter was grown-up. However, his 2 kids were both infants. Furthermore he was not the pacifist the picture indicates and had made it clear he did not oppose the British involvement with Cetshawayo.
The British weapons were the Martini-Henry which discharged a substantial .45 round. It was easily capable of inflicting considerable injury on the human body. In the picture, the injuries on shot Zulus are tiny. In one scene in the hospital, a warrior who was battling hand to hand with Private Hook was shot in the back and Hook was unscathed. At such short range, the round from the Martini-Henry would have easily passed through the Zulu warrior and killed Hook too.
Today, Rorke’s Drift is a tourist destination for those who wish to discover more about the Anglo Zulu War of 1879.
