Battlefields

If you have ever watched the film "Zulu" and you were passing the area you couldn't really justify not going to see these famous sites. Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift battles are famous, but for very different reasons. The Battle of Isandlwana was fought on 22nd January 1879 and was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Eleven days after the British invaded Zululand a Zulu force of some 20,000 warriors attacked a portion of the British main column consisting of approximately 1,800 British, colonial and native troops and also approximately 350 civilians. The Zulus were equipped mainly with the traditional iron spears and cow-hide shields, but also had a number of Muskets and old rifles as opposed to the British and colonial troops who were armed with the modern breachloading rifles. Unfortunately the battle was a decisive victory for the Zulus and the British were ultimately overwhelmed loosing over 1,300 troops. The Zulu army suffered anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 killed. This battle was the worst defeat the British army had ever suffered against an indigenous enemy equipped with vastly inferior military technology. The battlefield site itself is quite isolated but does have single track road leading to a small car park where we left the car and went for a walk around the site

Before visiting the site we called into the nearby museum, where there is a souvenir shop and information centre, we also paid our entry fee here. The site itself is quite spread out and contains several memorials to both the British Empire troops and the Zulu Nation warriors. We took a couple of hours exploring the site and reading the various memorials before moving on to Rorke's Drift battlefield site which was about 30 minutes drive away.

Rorke's drift is famous for very different reasons, towards the end of the battle at Isandalwana a large contingent of Zulu warriors broke off from the main force and diverted 6 miles to attack Rorke's Drift later that day and through into the following day. They met just over 150 British and colonial troops that were defending the station. There were 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors in the attack and they came very close to overwhelming the much smaller garrison, but the Zulus were consistently repelled. The Zulus finally moved on from Rorke's Drift to regroup, re-supply and tend to their wounded, The Defence of Rorke's Drift resulted in eleven Victoria Crosses awarded to individual defenders, along with a number of other decorations and honours. It will always be considered one of the greatest defences by British Empire troops against overwhelming odds. The site is vastly different now from when the battle was fought, The hospital building was destroyed in the battle but was rebuilt and today it houses the museum. The storehouse is still there but has been remodeled into a church. There are also several other buildings on site that were not there during the battle. There are rock lines set into the ground showing where the barricades were located during the battle. There is also a small enclosed graveyard and memorials to both the British Empire Troops and the Zulu Nation warriors. We again spent a couple of hours exploring the grounds and the museum, however the museum is very dated these days and getting a little shabby, but still very informative.

Whilst we were in the area we also visited Fugitives’ Drift to see the graves of Lts. Melvill and Coghill who were killed retreating from the Battle of Isandalwana trying to save the Queen’s Colours. They were killed after they crossing the Buffalo River. Melvill and Coghill are buried on hillside above the drift on the Natal side. Their grave marker sits on a lonely, rocky place overlooking the river. We also visited the Buffalo River where they had crossed.