This misjudgement led to thousands of deaths - and an unsavoury, high-level cover-up - as Saul David explains. On 22 January , at Rorke's Drift on the Natal border with Zululand, in South Africa, a tiny British garrison of men - many of them sick and wounded - fought for 12 hours to repel repeated attacks by up to 3, Zulu warriors.
This heroic defence was rewarded by Queen Victoria's government with no fewer than 11 Victoria Crosses, and was later immortalised by the film Zulu , directed by Cy Endfield. Few, however, remember that it was fought on the same day that the British Army suffered its most humiliating defeat at nearby Isandlwana. Because it suited those responsible for the disaster to exaggerate the importance of Rorke's Drift in the hope of reducing the impact of Isandlwana.
The true story of 22 January - the Empire's longest day - is one of unprovoked slaughter, of heroes being ignored and of the guilty being protected. And the responsibility for this lay with Queen Victoria herself. Instead, Benjamin Disraeli's government - preoccupied with the Russian threat to Constantinople and Afghanistan - made every effort to avoid a fight.
The man to whom this letter was addressed - Sir Bartle Frere - had others ideas, however. Frere had been sent out to to Cape Town with the specific task of grouping South Africa's hotch-potch of British colonies, Boer republics and independent black states into a Confederation of South Africa. But he quickly realised that the region could not be unified under British rule until the powerful Zulu kingdom - with its standing army of 40, disciplined warriors - had been suppressed.
So he exaggerated the threat posed by the Zulus to the British, and, when the home government refused to sanction war, took matters into his own hands in December by presenting the Zulu king, Cetshwayo, with an unacceptable ultimatum.
This required, among other things, the disbandment of the Zulu Army, and war was the inevitable result. Such unilateral action by an imperial pro-consul was not unusual during the Victorian period. So great were the distances involved, and so slow the methods of communication, that British governors often took it upon themselves to start wars and annex provinces. But the Zulu conflict was unique in that it was to be the last pre-emptive war launched by the British, prior to the recent campaign in Iraq.
Lord Chelmsford, c. It was commanded by the ambitious Lord Chelmsford, a favourite of the Queen, who had little respect for the fighting qualities of the Zulu.
This dangerous mixture of self-confidence and contempt for their foes infected the whole British force. But their misjudgement came to rebound on them badly. By 20 January - hampered by minor skirmishes and poor tracks - Chelmsford's column had only advanced 11 miles to the rocky lower slopes of a distinctive, sphinx-like hill called Isandlwana.
There it set up camp. But at 4am on 22 January, Chelmsford made the first of a series of blunders by taking two-thirds of his force off to pursue what he believed was the main Zulu army. He was convinced that the Zulus were gathering to the south-east, and so failed to reconnoitre adequately the broken ground to the north-east. There, lying in wait just five miles from the exposed camp at Isandlwana, were 20, Zulu warriors.
At around 8am, mounted vedettes reported large numbers of Zulus on the high ground to the left of the camp. Colonel Pulleine, in command at Isandlwana, dashed off a quick note to Chelmsford, reading: 'Report just come in that the Zulus are advancing in force from Left front of Camp.
At 11am, by which time the 1, men remaining in the camp had been swelled by reinforcements, mounted scouts stumbled upon the concealed Zulu impi. Realising they had been spotted, the Zulus rose as one and began their attack, using their traditional tactic of encirclement known as the izimpondo zankomo 'horns of the buffalo'.
An hour later, as the hard-pressed British defenders fought for their lives, a portion of Chelmsford's force at Mangeni Falls received word that the camp was in danger of being overrun.
On his own initiative a Colonel Harness gave orders for his small force of artillery and infantry to return to camp. But it had only progressed half a mile when a staff officer rode up with express orders from Chelmsford to resume its original march because the message was a false alarm. The last chance to save the camp had been thrown away. By 3pm, despite severe losses, the Zulus had captured the camp. The culmination of Chelmsford's incompetence was a blood-soaked field littered with thousands of corpses.
James Booth Private Henry Hook. Ivor Emmanuel Private Owen. Paul Daneman Sergeant Maxfield. Glynn Edwards Corporal Allen. Neil McCarthy Private Thomas. Charles De Latour Director. Charles De Latour Screenwriter. John Prebble Screenwriter. Stanley Baker Producer. Charles De Latour Producer. John Barry Original Music.
Stephen Dade Cinematographer. John Jympson Film Editor. Ernest Archer Art Director. View All Critic Reviews See Movies in Theaters. There are no approved quotes yet for this movie. Best Horror Movies. Worst Superhero Movies. Best Netflix Series and Shows. Go back.
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Zululand, South Africa, The British are fighting the Zulus and one of their columns has just been wiped out at Isandlwana. The Zulus next fix their sights on the small British outpost at Rorke's Drift.
At the outpost are one hundred fifty British troops under the command of Lieutenants Bromhead and Chard. In the next few days, these one hundred fifty troops will fight about four thousand Zulus in one of the most courageous battles in history.
Not Rated. Did you know Edit. He was the last defender of the post to die as an honorary Lieutenant Colonel, on V. Day, May 8, , age Goofs Bromhead refers to "a lesson the General, my grandfather, taught me". Sir Gonville Bromhead died in , 23 years before the Lt. Bromhead of this film was born.
However, Bromhead's father was at Waterloo, and his great-grandfather was at Quebec with Wolfe. Quotes Pvt. Crazy credits At the end of the opening credits 'and Introducing Michael Caine' is shown, this would suggest that this was his first film. In fact MC had previously had five credited film roles, numerous TV appearances and several uncredited film roles before appearing in Zulu.
Connections Edited into Wizards Soundtracks Men of Harlech uncredited Traditional Performed by soldiers. User reviews Review. Top review. How the British Ruled the World. A magnificent recreation of one of the most incredible battles in history, Zulu depicts how less than British soldiers held off an army of Zulu warriors. The battle follows a previous one, less than a day before, in which about British soldiers lost.
This film really gives new meaning to the saying 'keep a stiff upper lip' - or 'never say die. By rights, they should beat a hasty retreat before the approaching army arrives. The film never delves into the reasons, psychological or other, of why the commanding officer is determined to remain, beyond just the statement that he holds the "queen's commission.
The film seems to say, when the moment comes, no man really knows what he will do until it is upon him. Here, the soldiers find out very quickly what they're made of. Cy Endfield, the director, manages to build some heady suspense before even the awesome battle scenes. The soldiers hear a strange sound in the distance, "like a train" notes Caine.
Now we no longer need wonder what feet on soil sound like. And it's not just the suspense; the drama here is very effective. There are numerous sequences where Endfield manages to drive home a point that sticks in your mind for days - maybe years.
Who can forget that simple act of turning over a wagon? The photography is superb, capturing the vastness of the area, and should be seen in widescreen glory. I've seen this film many times as a kid and, of course, these were standard TV showings; I didn't know better, it was one of my favorite films of all time, regardless, but it's twice as glorious in proper aspect ratio. I even had the privilege of seeing this on a theater screen once about 20 years ago and I was suitably blown away, even knowing the story beforehand nowadays, a DVD on a big screen TV is your best bet.
The musical score is perfect, as well.
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