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22.01.

1879: 4,000 Zulu Warriors Attack a Handful of Britons

1879: 4,000 Zulu Warriors Attack a Handful of Britons
Photo Credit To https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Alphonse_de_Neuville_-_The_defence_of_Rorke%27s_Drift_1879_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

The famous film “Zulu” (1964), starring Michael Cain, was based on this battle. For this famous actor it was the first leading role in his career. Just to mention, Zulu is the largest ethnic group in whole of South Africa.



On this day one of the most interesting battles in the Anglo-Zulu war occurred. Namely, a huge force of about 4,000 Zulu warriors attacked a small British garrison in South Africa. There were, in total, only approximately 140 British soldiers, which means that they were outnumbered by 29:1. Despite of that, the British managed to defend their ground and win the battle. Because of this courageous British resistance, the Battle of Rorke’s Drift remained ingrained in British memory as a heroic episode.

The famous film Zulu (1964), starring Michael Cain, was based on this battle. For this well-known actor it was the first leading role in his carrier. Just to mention, the Zulu are the largest ethnic group in whole of South Africa. There are almost 11 million of them and they mostly live in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. This territory extends between the small countries of Lesotho (where the Sotho people live) and Swaziland (populated primarily by Swazis) and all the way to the Indian Ocean coast.

Zulus remained famous in history mostly for their warrior mentality. Their king Shaka Zulu, who united them and introduced legendary military reforms, is renowned. It is interesting that the current President of South Africa – Jacob Zuma – is also a Zulu.

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