Rorke's Drift

By: Adrian Greaves

Narrated by: Paul Herzberg

Length: 15 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

The story of the bravest battle ever fought.

On 22nd January 1879 a force of 20,000 Zulus overwhelmed and destroyed the British invading force at Isandlwana, killing and ritually disemboweling more than 1,200 troops. That afternoon, the same Zulu force turned their attention on a small outpost at Rorke's Drift.

The battle that ensued, one of the British Army's great epics, has since entered into legend. Throughout the night 85 men held off six full-scale Zulu attacks at the cost of only 27 casualties, forcing the Zulu army to withdraw. Eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded for bravery shown on that night, the largest number for any one engagement in history.

But as Adrian Greaves' new research shows, there are several things about the myth of Rorke's Drift that don't add up. While it was the scene of undoubted bravery, it was also the scene of some astonishing cases of cowardice, and there is increasing evidence to suggest that the legend of Rorke's Drift was created to divert attention from the appalling British mistakes which caused the earlier defeat at Isandlwana.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 Adrian Greaves (P)2020 Orion Publishing Group

Great story, and well researched

Loved the performance. Information was thorough and detailed- I know some reviewers complained about the parts that didn’t seem to read well, but I enjoyed it. Highly recommend.

Penetrating Glimpse into brutal war

The Zulu war was as brutal as a war gets. Unfortunately it is not as well known as the Napoleonic Wars or the American civil war. What the British soldiers endured was shocking and appalling, as was the horror on the other side of the line. The entire war was a travesty. This book provides so much detail and information about all the key players and individual battles, of which 2 are discussed here. I give the book 5 stars for in depth information, narration, and pacing. The only problem with the book is the last 3.5 hours or so. It’s basically an appendix reading. But that is a minor flaw and nothing to get upset about. That information is extremely detailed and exceptional. All in all this is an exceptional book!!

Mostly not about the actual fight

The book is 20% an account of the battle and the rest is background.

Disappointed

I was very disappointed in this book. I looked forward to this book, but the majority of the book deals with the personalities involved and the reports of the battle and not so much about the battle itself.