January 22–23, 1879 · Natal Theater
January 22–23, 1879
While Isandlwana was overrun five miles away, 4,000 Zulus of the reserve attacked the mission station at Rorke's Drift. Lieutenant Chard had two hours' warning to fortify the post with mealie bags and biscuit boxes. For twelve hours through the night, 139 soldiers repulsed successive Zulu attacks. The hospital caught fire; soldiers knocked through walls room by room, extracting patients as the flames advanced. By dawn the attacks had exhausted themselves.
Commanders