The Anglo-Zulu War and Rorke's Drift

The 1700s

• Queen Nandi: The Mother Who Saved Her Son by Claiming Beetle Pregnancy
  In the rolling hills of what is now KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, a young Zulu princess faced a death sentence in 1787. Her crime? Carrying an…

1800 to 1849

• Shaka Asked One Question. Africa Was Never the Same.
  August 1816. The dry plains of southern Africa stretched endlessly under a relentless sun.
• Shaka Zulu: The Warrior Who Revolutionized Combat With a Blade
  The morning sun cast long shadows across the dusty training ground in 1816 as young Zulu warriors gathered for combat practice. Suddenly, one of…
• When Dingane's Spies Watched Retief Sign His Own Death
  February 1838. Dust clung to the swirling breeze around uMgungundlovu.

1850 to 1899

• When Cetshwayo's Messenger Walked Into the Lion's Den, 1878
  December 1878. The sun blazed unforgivingly above the Thukela River, its waters snaking lazily through a land on the verge of conflict.
• He Held the Colours Aloft as the Zulu Spears Closed In
  The haunting landscape of Isandlwana on January 22, 1879, is forever enshrined in the annals of military history. Stand with me now amidst a sea of…
• He Stood Alone on the Wall. The Zulus Came Anyway.
  He had been written off as a troublemaker. Yet, on that fateful January night in 1879, he would become a hero.
• He Was Outnumbered 10 to 1. He Charged Anyway.
  In the flickering glow of a bright African sunset, 139 British soldiers prepared for what looked like certain doom. The air was thick with tension…
• Rorke's Drift: 150 Men Held Off 4,000 Warriors Alone
  The sun dipped below the horizon, painting the South African sky in shades of crimson and gold. As a tender hospital stood silhouetted against this…
• The Boy Soldier Who Held Rorke's Drift Alone at Seventeen
  He was seventeen years old. His enlistment papers claimed he was eighteen, but Robert Jones had concocted a minor deception to sign up — a common…
• The Day a Victoria Cross Was Earned Eleven Times in One Night
  Most people have never heard of Rorke's Drift. They should have. On the night of 22 January 1879, a small mission station turned into the scene of…
• The Day a Welsh Captain Held a Fort Against Ten Thousand
  He was no stranger to bravery, but he had never been in a battle. The determination of a Welsh schoolmaster-turned-captain transformed history at a…
• The Day a Zulu King Spared a British Column — Then Wept
  January 22, 1879. The distant hills of Isandlwana wore a blood-red cloak in the waning light of day.
• The Day the Last Survivor of Rorke's Drift Closed His Eyes
  Frank Bourne was a young sergeant who helped lead a legendary defense against thousands of Zulu warriors. Yet, decades later, his passing went almost…
• The Last Man to Die in the Zulu War, 1879
  The sun hung low and unrelenting over the rolling hills of Ulundi, casting long shadows that danced across the tall grasses, the heat shimmering like…
• The Morning After Isandlwana: What Chelmsford Found
  January 23, 1879. The scent of gunpowder and blood hung thick in the air.
• The Night a Boy Soldier Held the Line at Rorke's Drift
  The crack of rifles echoed through the dry African night as Private James watched the flickering shadows dance across the improvised barricades…
• The Prince Imperial Who Died Fighting in a British Uniform
  The sun was nearly swallowed by the ridge when the sharp cries of Zulu warriors pierced the tranquil dusk air of Zululand. Young Prince Louis…
• When a Private Soldier Paid the Price for His General's Blunder
  The sharp crack of rifles echoed like thunder across the rolling hills of Zululand. Private John Francis barely had time to register what was…
• When Cetshwayo Refused to Kneel Before the Empire, 1879
  The clash of shields resonated through the clear African air as the Zulu warriors marched. The sun dipped low on the horizon, casting elongated…
• When Cetshwayo's General Turned His Shield at Ulundi, 1879
  He had already defied an empire. The man who stared into the flames at Ulundi did so with the same resolve that had once brought him victory over one…
• When Chelmsford's Column Met the Zulu Dawn, January 1879
  He was in the heart of the British establishment. He had never seen anything like the forces gathered against him at Rorke's Drift.
• When Gonville Bromhead Held the Wall at Rorke's Drift
  Their position was hopeless. But hopeless can be just another word for courage.
• When John Chard Held Rorke's Drift With Just Over 150 Men
  January 22, 1879. Smoke rose in lazy spirals against the bright African sky.
• When Lieutenant Chard's 139 Men Held Rorke's Drift for 12 Hours
  Twilight tinged the South African landscape on January 22, 1879, casting long shadows over the British mission station known as Rorke's Drift. For…
• When Major John Rouse Merriott Chard Built a Hospital Into a Fortress
  Picture this: you're an engineer who signed up to build bridges, not fight wars. It's January 22nd, 1879, and a bloodied horseman has just galloped…
• When One Bugler Sounded the Charge at Rourke's Drift in 1879
  January 22, 1879. A crimson sun descended behind the hills of KwaZulu-Natal, casting a hellish glow over the mission station at Rorke's Drift.
• When Surgeon Reynolds Kept Fighting at Rorke's Drift, 1879
  The sun hung low in the African sky, casting a warm, orange glow over the vast, rolling landscape of Natal. Dust swirled gently in the air, stirred…
• When Two Soldiers Ate Cold Rations After Rorke's Drift, 1879
  The morning air was tinged with the bittersweet scent of gunpowder, a ghost clinging stubbornly to the battlefield. Rorke's Drift lay beneath the…

1900 to 1913

• When Wat Bhambatha Ambushed the Column at Mome Gorge, 1906
  Bhambatha kaMacinza was a Zulu chief who made a bold stand against the British Empire. Fewer know his story, and even fewer grasp its significance in…

Other stories

• When Cetshwayo's Messengers Walked Into the Lion's Den
  The rhythmic stomp of marching feet contrasted sharply with the arid earth beneath, dust pluming with each step. The messengers of King Cetshwayo…