Last week saw the 140th anniversary of the Battle of Rorke’s Drift. It was a battle that saw around 150 British and colonial troops successfully defend a small British mission station against a combined Zulu army of between 3,200 and 4,000 warriors.

The battle began on the afternoon of Jan. 22, 1879, when forces under the command of Zulu royal Dabulamanzi kaMpande closed on Rorke’s Drift, located in what is now South Africa. Earlier that day, those forces had supported a larger Zulu attack in destroying a British formation of around 1,800 soldiers at nearby Isandlwana. At Rorke’s Drift, the British force centered around the 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment infantry regiment (later, South Wales Borderers) under Lt. Gonville Bromhead. The overall officer commanding (ranked by service time over Bromhead), however, was Royal Engineer Lt. John Chard.