The Battle of Rorkes Drift is without doubt one of the more well-known actions from the history belonging to the British Army. On 22 January 1879, just hours immediately after the Zulu victory at Isandlwana, approximately 4,000 Zulus assault the mission station at Rorkes Drift just along the Buffalo River in Natal.
With less than 140 men defending Rorkes Drift, you would be forgiven for guessing the soldiers had little prospect of survival, particularly taking into consideration what happened to their colleagues at Isandlwana. Nonetheless, together with in addition to being very courageous soldiers, the defenders of Rorkes Drift had a rifle that would give them an advantage over the Zulus. The weapon in question was the Martini Henry rifle.
The .45 calibre rifle was very effective at inflicting awful injuries and when fired at a range of under 200 yards, a round may well easily pass through a body and strike the man behind as well. The Martini Henry was a single shot, breech loading rifle and offered the British a major advantage over the Zulus who were basically armed with short stabbing spears (iklaws).
Although the Martini Henry was held responsible in part of the disaster at Isandlwana, if properly maintained, it was an excellent weapon. To single the rifle out for the defeat at Isandlwana is severe as there were many other factors that contributed towards the defeat.
At Rorkes Drift, the Martini Henry was essential for the British. As a store, there was a lot of ammo plus extra weapons plus the defensive area was a good deal more compact and so was less of a challenge to defend compared to the position at Isandlwana. Brought to the British Army in 1871, the Martini Henry could well fire up to 10 rounds a minute in the possession of a properly trained soldier. The rifle had a highly effective range of beyond 500m that resulted in providing the British could spot the Zulu warriors, they could possibly start killing them before they were close enough for hand to hand fighting.
Despite the tremendous odds at Rorkes Drift, the British only lost close to 10% of their strength while at the same time, the British buried roughly four hundred Zulus and it was viewed a comparable number would've later died of their wounds. The soldiers had beaten back the Zulu attack and were thankful to the Martini Henry rifle.
With less than 140 men defending Rorkes Drift, you would be forgiven for guessing the soldiers had little prospect of survival, particularly taking into consideration what happened to their colleagues at Isandlwana. Nonetheless, together with in addition to being very courageous soldiers, the defenders of Rorkes Drift had a rifle that would give them an advantage over the Zulus. The weapon in question was the Martini Henry rifle.
The .45 calibre rifle was very effective at inflicting awful injuries and when fired at a range of under 200 yards, a round may well easily pass through a body and strike the man behind as well. The Martini Henry was a single shot, breech loading rifle and offered the British a major advantage over the Zulus who were basically armed with short stabbing spears (iklaws).
Although the Martini Henry was held responsible in part of the disaster at Isandlwana, if properly maintained, it was an excellent weapon. To single the rifle out for the defeat at Isandlwana is severe as there were many other factors that contributed towards the defeat.
At Rorkes Drift, the Martini Henry was essential for the British. As a store, there was a lot of ammo plus extra weapons plus the defensive area was a good deal more compact and so was less of a challenge to defend compared to the position at Isandlwana. Brought to the British Army in 1871, the Martini Henry could well fire up to 10 rounds a minute in the possession of a properly trained soldier. The rifle had a highly effective range of beyond 500m that resulted in providing the British could spot the Zulu warriors, they could possibly start killing them before they were close enough for hand to hand fighting.
Despite the tremendous odds at Rorkes Drift, the British only lost close to 10% of their strength while at the same time, the British buried roughly four hundred Zulus and it was viewed a comparable number would've later died of their wounds. The soldiers had beaten back the Zulu attack and were thankful to the Martini Henry rifle.
About the Author:
The most well known action of the Anglo Zulu War of 1879 is certainly Rorkes Drift. The British defenders were able to see off the Zulus using the iconic Henry Martini rifile.
No comments:
Post a Comment