Battle of Rorke's Drift Battle of Rorke's Drift The Battle of Rorke's Drift, also known as the Defence of Rorke's Drift, was a battle in the Anglo-Zulu War. The defence of the mission station of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenants John Chard of the Royal Engineers and Gonville Bromhead, immediately followed the British Army's defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879, and continued into the following day. Just over 150 British and colonial troops successfully defended the garrison against an intense assault by 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors. The massive but piecemeal Zulu attacks on Rorke's Drift came very
Zulu Kingdom is today called Weenen, (Afrikaans for "to weep"). The remaining Voortrekkers elected a new leader, Andries Pretorius, and he led an attack. The Zulu forces and Dingane suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Blood River on 16 December 1838, when 15 000 Zulu impis (warriors) attacked a group of 470 Voortrekker settlers led by Pretorius. Following his defeat, Dingane burned his royal household and fled north. Mpande, the half-brother who had been spared from Dingane's purges, defected with 17,000 followers, and, together with Pretorius and the Voortrekkers, went to war with Dingane. Dingane was assassinated near the modern