Zulu - The Boys from Isandlwana.

On the 22nd January 1879, Witt's Missionary Station at Rorke's Drift, a remote outpost held by one-hundred and fifty British soldiers, thirty of whom were sick and wounded, held off a force of 4,000 Zulu warriors, this following the crushing defeat of a 1,300-man British column by the Zulu armies at Isandlwana.

 

Wargame Vault - The Boys from Isandlwana, Zulu War rules

The film Zulu depicted this heroic stand and was first shown on the 22nd January 1964 on the 85th anniversary of a battle that saw the award of eleven Victoria Crosses, one of the largest number awarded for a single action and the largest number, seven, awarded to one unit, the 2/24th Foot, in a single action, and is considered by many as the finest example of a masterly defensive action and heroism against overwhelming numbers.

Little wonder then that as a wargamer I never grow tired of playing this famous stand or of enjoying my pal and fellow DWG club mate Nathan's wonderful collection of terrain and figures to do it with and I think this is probably my third go at playing this action, this game in the week of the 145th anniversary of the battle, and another chance to roll out the regular film quotes, my favourite being;

'Why us Sarj?'

'Because we're ere laddy, now face your front, and mark your target.'

So with this little battle, or probably better described siege, being probably the most famous action of its type, I will not take too much time describing the scene, with massed Zulu impis surrounding the defended compound of the Rorke's Drift, hospital and missionary station.

The rules is use were our usual choice of 'The Boys from Isandlwana' by Chris Pagano, which provide a fast flowing sequence of play that recreates quite well the relentless Zulu movements in the face of withering British fire as they seemingly defy the casualties suffered in their drive to bring the redcoats into assegai range, if they can get past the Martini Henry bayonet - Colour Sergeant Bourne, over to you!

Having played this action several times commanding both sides, the key to British success is to vigorously defend the perimeter until you can't and then to give ground grudgingly, inflicting punishing casualties on the Zulus as you retreat to a smaller perimeter, with the redoubt ready to administer the final coup-de-grace for the defenders.  

For the Zulu commanders its a case of feeling out for the weak spot and rapidly reinforcing success to prevent the new defence line taking shape, or by making the defence harder by causing enough casualties during the pull back.

Of course this presupposes that the British will defend their perimeter until they can't, but in our game, our two Imperial commanders, Chard and Bromhead decided to take men off the back wall of ammunition boxes, mealie bags and the transport wagon, to focus efforts on building the redoubt.

Zulus cascade over the vacated rear barricade and enter the hospital compound. Oh dear, never mind!

As can be readily imagined the men facing their front in front of the hospital must have become decidedly nervous as they became increasingly aware of Zulu chants to their rear as seen in the pictures below

What's the noise behind Sarge?

Never mind the noise behind, face your front and mark your target!

The decision to focus efforts on the redoubt had resulted in a rapid building of said defensive work at the expense of lots of Zulus getting into the hospital compound and forcing a retreat from the front facing barricades to the hospital building and effectively dividing the compounds into two separate battles 

To add further woes to the British defence, the Zulu snipers from the rearward escarpment were proving more than usually effective, only hitting on 10 on a D10, they picked off at least six redcoats over the course of our battle, that didn't make things any easier for the garrison.

Our two British commanders were experiencing the utter sense of desperation that probably typified much of the actual defenders experience as the Zulu's kept up a relentless attack, recycling destroyed regiments and able to bring in fresh reserves sprinting across the now open ground around the perimeter to rapidly support the advances made by their compatriots.

However the Zulus weren't having it all their own way, as the redcoats kept on taking a fearsome toll on the warriors that were forced to fight their way into the compound, sector by sector and with each of the four Zulu players able to bring on a further six regiments each, it was interesting to see how many of our allotment we had used, with all my six on the table at game end.

As the relentless Zulu attack made ever encroaching gains, with desperate fighting in the hospital building as the defenders left in that sector were force to fight in the rooms and on the veranda as Zulus above set light to the thatch, the centre of Imperial resistance devolved in front of the mission station building and around the redoubt.

Eventually the British defenders in the missionary compound were forced back from the cattle kraal walls and out of the main building to find themselves compelled to form the classic double line alongside the redoubt, as the hospital garrison fought back to back amid waves of ebony warriors and it seemed that the defence had reached its end point, with Lieutenant Bromhead, a prominent casualty, killed defending the front barricade on the missionary compound.

Great fun once again and I consider my Zulu War itch well and truly scratched.

Thank you to Nathan for hosting this year's anniversary Rorke's Drift game and to my fellow combatants, Ian Mc, Mark C, Mark & Matthew, Mike B, Mark E, for helping to create all the drama behind this narrative.

Until the next time

JJ