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DateOriginal Topic
4th June 2004The North Wall at Rorke's Drift
By Andrew Holliday
When the Zulus attacked the North Wall for the fist time, did they attack along the whole wall or just the part in front of the hospital?
DateReplies
7th June 2004Mike McCabe
Which bit of wall do you have in mind?
Direction keeping in Rorke's Drift narratives (real or fictional) is often awry. Part of the problem is that the Chard sketch of the defensive layout is drawn/printed with the longest axis parallel to the longest edge of the paper. This can create an impression that it runs East -West, even though his (not very accurate) 'North' arrow, indicates that not to be so. On modern, gridded survey maps, the long axis of the buildings is approximately NNE to SSW. So, the tip of the hospital is effectively the South wall, and the short stretch near the 'well built kraal' is the North.

MC McC
8th June 2004Andrew Holliday
I mean the part that is in front of the hospiatl verander (where the unfinished barricade was). Did the Zulus attack just that part on their second attack (their first attack was on the south wall) or along the whole wall?
13th June 2004Michael
yes Andrew they only attacked the north wall and it spilled out after they got in the hospital and hook came into action. the zulus aventurally did attack the whole wall later