Battle of Rorke's Drift

The Battle of Rorke's Drift was a January 1879 engagement in which a small British garrison defended a mission station in Natal against a much larger Zulu force.

Rorke's Drift hospital defense: The British defense of a hospital building during the Battle of Rorke's Drift. Its rooms and corridors became a separate fighting position as Zulu attackers breached the hospital walls.
Anglo-Zulu War: The 1879 war between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom in southern Africa. Rorke's Drift was an engagement in this conflict, fought the day after its most devastating British defeat.
William Jones (Victoria Cross recipient): A British soldier awarded the Victoria Cross for actions at Rorke's Drift. Jones helped defend wounded men in the hospital during the fighting.
Zulu Kingdom: A southern African monarchy founded by Shaka in the early nineteenth century. The British invasion that included Rorke's Drift ended in the kingdom's defeat and annexation.
Rorke's Drift perimeter: The improvised defensive line of mealie bags and biscuit boxes at Rorke's Drift. The garrison used this enclosure to concentrate its limited manpower against attacks from several directions.
Battle of Isandlwana: A January 1879 battle in which Zulu forces destroyed a British column at Isandlwana. News of this defeat reached Rorke's Drift and shaped the garrison's decision to hold the station.
Robert Jones (Victoria Cross recipient): A British soldier awarded the Victoria Cross for actions at Rorke's Drift. He and William Jones were cited for rescuing patients from the burning hospital.
Zulu War film: A 1964 British film dramatizing the defense of Rorke's Drift. The film cemented a popular image of the battle that differs from some historical accounts.
Martin's drift: A crossing point on the Buffalo River near Rorke's Drift in present-day South Africa. The Zulu force crossed the river nearby before advancing on the mission station.
Cetshwayo kaMpande: The king of the Zulu Kingdom during the Anglo-Zulu War. Cetshwayo led the kingdom whose forces fought the British invasion.

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