The Defense of Rorke's Drift is a board wargame published by World Wide Wargames (3W) in 1991 that simulates the Battle of Rorke's Drift, when forces of the Zulu Kingdom besieged a small outpost of British soldiers during the Anglo-Zulu War. A second game, The Boer War, was included in the box.
Seeking to create a large British colony in South Africa that would encompass the hitherto independent Zulu Kingdom as well as the independent Boer states of the Republic of South Africa, British High Commissioner to South Africa Bartle Frere sent a provocative ultimatum to Zulu king Cetshwayo. When this was rejected, Frere sent a British task force to invade the Zulu Kingdom. The Zulu, although outgunned, showed discipline and defeated the British force at the Battle of Isandlwana. A Zulu force of 4000 then attacked 120 British soldiers at a mission station called Rorke's Drift. [1]
The Defense of Rorke's Drift is a board wargame for two players in which one player controls the Zulu attackers and the other controls the British defenders. [2]
The game components include 400 die-cut counters, and a map of the outpost showing a small hospital occupied by about 20 patients and medical staff, a store house, and the hastily-erected perimeter fortifications linking the two buildings.
Each turn involves 6 phases: [2]
There are not enough Zulu counters to represent the entire Zulu force, so discarded Zulu counters are reintroduced to the game through reinforcements.
The game provides five scenarios: [2]
The box also includes the rules for a second game, The Boer War, using separate components: a map of South Africa and 200 die-cut counters. [2] The game is a strategic-level simulation of the Second Boer War
The Defense of Rorke's Drift was designed by Peter Bertram, Eric Faust, and Lew Fisher, and was published as a boxed set by 3W in 1991. The box cover features a reproduction of the painting The Defense of Rorke's Drift by the 19th-century artist Alphonse de Neuville.
The second game included in the box, The Boer War, was designed by Eric Faust and Lew Fisher.
In Issue 79 of Fire & Movement , James C. Gordon wrote a lengthy review and concluded, "The Defense of Rorke's Drift offers value for the money. RD succeeds because of the solid research and an appropriately detailed system. As a game system and a tactical problem to be solved, this design challenges both sides." However, Gordon warned, "The full campaign is a lengthy undertaking and requires stamina from both players." [3]
Writing for Simulacrum, Luc Olivier called this "an interesting game to play ... very tactical and exotic. Everything from the rules to the map and the counters conspire to provide a feeling of the event: a farm filled with British and Colonials, some wounded, attacked by hordes of Zulus during a terrible night." Olivier noted "the rules are quite long but logical and with a lot of details like roof burning, moving the wounded, British ranked fire, all lengthily explained with a lot of examples." Despite the lengthy rules, Olivier thought that "the game plays smoothly in spite of the number of counters and the many steps of the sequence of play." Olivier liked the game but noted the lack of different scenarios, concluding, "With the time required to play and the repetitive situation, the replay value is quite limited but the experience of play is great." [2]
The Battle Rorke's Drift, also known as the Defence of Rorke's Drift, was an engagement in the Anglo-Zulu War. The successful British defence of the mission station of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenants John Chard of the Royal Engineers and Gonville Bromhead, of the 24th Regiment of Foot began once a large contingent of Zulu warriors broke off from the main force during the final hour of the British defeat at the day-long Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879, diverting 6 miles (9.7 km) to attack Rorke's Drift later that day and continuing into the following day.
The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coupled with military campaigns, might lead to a ruling white minority over a black majority, which would provide a large pool of cheap labour for the British sugar plantations and mines, encompassing the African Kingdoms, tribal areas and Boer republics into South Africa. In 1874, Sir Bartle Frere was sent to South Africa as High Commissioner for the British Empire to effect such plans. Among the obstacles were the armed independent states of the South African Republic and the Kingdom of Zululand.
Cetshwayo kaMpande was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1873 to 1884 and its Commander in Chief during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. His name has been transliterated as Cetawayo, Cetewayo, Cetywajo and Ketchwayo. Cetshwayo consistently opposed the war and sought fruitlessly to make peace with the British and was defeated and exiled following the Zulu defeat in the war. He was later allowed to return to Zululand, where he died in 1884.
The Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 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 in Southern Africa, 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 with approximately 350 civilians. The Zulus were equipped mainly with the traditional assegai iron spears and cow-hide shields, but also had a number of muskets and antiquated rifles.
Zulu Dawn is a 1979 American adventure war film about the historical Battle of Isandlwana between British and Zulu forces in 1879 in South Africa. The screenplay was by Cy Endfield, from his book, and Anthony Storey. The film was directed by Douglas Hickox. The score was composed by Elmer Bernstein.
Major Gonville Bromhead VC was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for valour in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to members of the British armed forces. He received the medal for his part in the defence of Rorke's Drift in January 1879, in which a small British garrison of 139 soldiers successfully repulsed an assault by some 4,000 Zulu warriors. Bromhead was portrayed by Michael Caine in the film Zulu, which depicted the battle.
Colonel John Rouse Merriott Chard was a British Army officer who received the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for valour "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British armed forces. He earned the decoration for his role in the defence of Rorke's Drift in January 1879 where he assumed command of the outpost and a small garrison of 139 soldiers and successfully repulsed an assault by some 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors. The battle was recreated in the film Zulu in which Chard was portrayed by Stanley Baker.
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Sihayo kaXongo was a Zulu inKosi (chief). In some contemporary British documents he is referred to as Sirhayo or Sirayo. He was an inDuna (commander) of the iNdabakawombe iButho and supported Cetshwayo in the 1856 Zulu Civil War. Under Cetshwayo, Sihayo was a chief of a key territory on the border with the British Colony of Natal and had a seat on the iBandla. Sihayo was an Anglophile who wore European clothes and maintained friendly relations with trader James Rorke who lived nearby at Rorke's Drift. By 1864, Sihayo was head of the Qungebe tribe and that year agreed a new western border of the kingdom with Boer leader Marthinus Wessel Pretorius.
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