On January 22nd, 1879 the British army suffered a huge disaster and a great victory in overwhelming odds on the same day. In both the Battle of Isandhlwana and Rorke's Drift the British soldiers fought with great professionalism and courage in the most exceptional circumstances. In both cases the British soldiers’ backs were against the wall and they had no choice but to stand and fight an outnumbering Zulu Army, until the end. It was a day that the British army showed it could respond effectively in battle after suffering a disaster. At Rorke’s Drift the British still achieved a very significant victory. Both at Isandhlwana and Rorke’s Drift there were a total of fourteen Victoria Crosses awarded to soldiers who distinguished themselves in battle.

The Zulu army was a much different army compared to the British Army in South Africa. The Zulu Army was huge in size, but an army that still used the basic weaponry in battle. The Zulus had no conception of artillery or supply wagons; as a matter of fact the Zulus did not have a rifle in their arsenal of weaponry. They relied on the assegai and their cow hide shields as their main weapons in battle. The Zulu battle attire was primitive, compared to the scarlet uniform of the British Army. Their uniform was much more in accordance to the traditional tribal uniform of an African warrior. The Zulu used the same strategy at Isandhlwana and at Rorke’s Drift. They attacked the garrisons in the shape of a charging horned bull. The Zulu attack formation has two parts to it. One part of the force is left behind as a reserve unit, while the main attacking force is broken up into three parts: Right, Center, and Left in a formation which resembles a charging horned bull. The Zulus used mass numbers in their horned attacks to defeat their enemy on the battlefield. The attacks at Isandhlwana and Rorke’s Drift on January 22, 1879 were the first times that the Zulu Army had been in battle in twenty years. It also meant that the Zulu warrior would, for the first time, face modern weapons in battle.

The garrison at Isandhlwana was a disaster waiting to happen. The garrison had inadequate numbers to fend off a massive Zulu attack. Lord Chelmsford was the commander of the British troops in the region. His military philosophy on the Zulus was that they would avoid an open battle with British regular troops. The book Anglo Zulu War states that Lord Chelmsford’s belief was that he did not have to worry about a Zulu attack. From his own experience, while serving in Africa, Lord Chelmsford learned that African armies want to avoid an open field battle against regular British soldiers. His concern was that they would avoid a battle by out maneuvering his units by crossing the Mzinyathi Valley downstream of Rorke’s Drift to invade Natal. Therefore, Lord Chelmsford decided to split his forces and leave half his troops at Isandhlwana. With a smaller number of troops stationed at the garrison, many holes existed in the all around defense if a Zulu attack ever came. Rupert Furneaux records in his book that the defense line at Isandhlwana stretched 3,000 yards in total distance. There were a number of weak points in the line; one was the 1,000 yard gap between Pope and Durnford. As well, there was a gap that stretched 1,000 yards in front of the tents and wagons, and below the slope near Isandhlwana Mount. The other weak point was in the northeast corner. The job of defending the spot was given to the Natal Native Force, a force that lacked both battle experience and proper equipment to fight with. Pulleine had a better chance of defending Isandhlwana if he withdrew his troops closer together to form a half circle, with Isandhlwana Mount at their backs. Once the Zulus attacked in their horned formation, it was a matter of time before the British soldier would have been overrun. They were outnumbered twenty to one in the defense of Isandhlwana. The British soldier at Isandhlwana fought with great courage in overwhelming odds. As the ammunition ran out the British regulars had no choice but to fix bayonets and fight the Zulu in hand to hand combat. The British suffered heavy losses in the massacre. By the time the battle had ended 1,300 soldiers lost their lives and the 1st Battalion of the 24th Regiment lost all of its officers in the stand at Isandhlwana. Three soldiers were awarded the Victoria Cross for acts of bravery in battle.

The garrison at Rorke’s Drift only had a hand full of soldiers stationed at the base. The garrison was a former Swedish missionary station that had been turned into a small military garrison. There were a few buildings including a small hospital with a few rooms, along with the hospital there were the soldiers’ tents, and a chorale for the animals. Lieutenant John Chard was the senior British officer in charge of the garrison. Lieutenant Chard’s military background was not as an infantry officer, but as an officer in the Royal Artillery. The rest of the soldiers stationed at Rorke’s Drift were members of the 2nd Battalion of the 24th Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead. January 22, 1879 was the date that the famous defense of Rorke’s Drift occurred and the 24th Regiment became famous in British military history. The Defense of Rorke’s Drift was a small one, with no real military importance, but the defenders repeatedly held off Zulu attacks and counter attackers.

The victory at Rorke’s Drift can be attributed to the courage and gallantry shown by the British soldiers in overwhelming odds. "The garrison was thus reduced to 104 officers and men, who now stood facing the onslaught of the Undi Corps, composed of some of Celewayo’s finest warriors." The British soldiers defending Rorke’s Drift faced a Zulu force on the scale of 4,000 warriors. The Zulu’s attacked the garrison in the same formation as they did earlier in the attack at the garrison at Isandhlwana. The Zulus attacked in the shape of a charging horned bull.

The force that attacked Rorke's Drift was the reserve, which had not taken part at Isandhlwana. The intention in crossing over into Natal was simply, as they said and I fully believe, to get some cattle. On their way they saw the tents; and, being only three-quarters of a mile away, they made for them.

As the Zulus attacked, the British held their ground. Throughout the battle there were many examples of great deeds of valour. An example of a deed of valour was done by four privates from the 2nd Battalion of the 24th Regiment who defended the hospital from the attacking Zulus.

Of the gallant defense of the hospital, Lieutenant Chard reported: The Garrison of the hospital defended it room by room, bringing out all the sick that could be moved before they retired; Privates Williams, Hook, R. Jones and W. Jones, 24th Regiment, being the last men to leave, holding the doorway with bayonet, their ammunition being expended.

Privates John Williams, Alfred Hook, Robert Jones and William Jones were later awarded the highest honour in the British Empire, The Victoria Cross, for their valiant deeds in defending the hospital. In total eleven Victoria Crosses were handed out to the defenders of Rorke’s Drift. Lieutenants Chard and Bromhead were among the recipients.

The stand by the British garrison at Rorke’s Drift was very important for the image of the British Army both at home and in Africa. Early in the day 20,000 Zulus massacred the British garrison at Isandhlwana.

It demonstrated that the British soldiers could still hold their ground even against overwhelming odds. Although the battle was of no great strategic importance, it restored something of the prestige that had been earlier so badly tarnished earlier in the day, and it allowed the British to snatch a vestige of victory from what was, in reality, a very serious reverse. The Garrison at Rorke's Drift had consisted of a little more than 130 men, mostly of B Company, 2/24th.

Rorke’s Drift had no military importance, but it did save face for the British Army. The Battle of Rorke’s Drift was nothing compared to other famous British Battles both past and future. Yet, for such a small battle eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded for different actions at Rorke’s Drift. In this time period the Victoria Cross was more freely handed out, because it was relatively a new award. The politics around the Victoria Cross did not become relevant until the First World War.

Throughout British military history the battle of Rorke’s Drift has been the most popular and talked about in the Zulu War. The defeat of the British at Isandhlwana was not the fault of the individual soldier, but was due to the way the camp was laid out and the massive Zulu Army that lead to the defeat. The Zulu attacking force that hit at Rorke's Drift was a different and smaller force than the one that attacked the garrison at Isandhlwana. The British were still outnumbered, but the garrison was much smaller than the one at Isandhlwana, which made it much easier to defend. The British soldiers who defended the drift showed great courage in the face of overwhelming odds. To this day Rorke’s Drift is the battle that holds the highest number of Victoria Crosses to be awarded for one action. Rorke’s Drift has become a legend in its own right in British Military History. Rorke’s Drift was a perfect example of a battle which legends are created from.