The Hysterical Wargammer, Vol. 1, No. 5
For the weekly Thursday night game at Bill Molyneaux’s house on July 13, 2006, myself and fellow wargamers Bill and Pete were in the dry plains of southeastern Africa recreating the British stand on January 22-23, 1879 at Rorke’s Drift, a miraculous victory of a British command of mixed units totaling 139 men under the command of Lt. John Rouse Merriott Chard over about 4,000-5,000 Zulu warriors controlled by Prince Dabulamanzi kaMpande, King Cetshwayo's half-brother.
James Rorke, an Irish trader and hunter, built a house and storeroom on a “drift” -- rock debris deposited by natural agents; specifically : a deposit of clay, sand, gravel, and boulders transported by a glacier or by running water – overlooking the banks of the Buffalo River in what is now modern KwaZulu Natal area of South Africa. Rorke’s widow sold her husband’s land to a Swedish missionary society in 1870. At the time of the standoff, the Rev. Otto Witt occupied the house and put his chapel in the adjacent store. In mid January 1879 Lord Chelmsford, K.C.B., the Lt. Gen. commanding the British Forces in South Africa who disobeyed orders and moved into Zululand, “requisitioned” the property during his crossing at Rorke's Drift and used the house as a hospital and the chapel as a storehouse on the way to his overwhelming defeat at Isandlwana.
Yours truly served as Lt Chard while Pete served as Lt. Bromhead. Bill served as gamemaster and Prince kaMpande. Besides Chard and Bromhead, Corporal Ferdnand Christian Schiess of the Natal Native Contingent held two firing points and three hits until they died. Other British specialty figures with two hit points a piece were four color sergeants. One other item – a water buffalo. If the Brits had it within an area then, that improved their hit rate. Instead of 1-5 on a D12, it was 1-6 to hit. However, it required two figures to move it, and those two figures could not shoot for one engagement phase.
Victory Conditions: The British had to survive three Zulu attack waves of three, 30-man units of white, black and white-black shields; the Zulus needed to kill all the British within three wave movements.
The Battlefield: The perimeter of the compound was sectioned off into 10 areas. The interior was divided into seven areas, two of which were the building interiors, and one, the Great Redoubt. Zulus with muskets also held Oscarsberg Hill, overlooking the center of the British compound.
The Game Rules (Excerpt): The length of time of a Zulu attack wave varied. One Zulu unit, identified by the color of its shield (white, black or white/black), could occupy a single exterior area. Once they breached the perimeter, then Zulus from all groups could occupy an area. Movement was to an adjacent area per engagement phase. Movement was one area per turn. Movement to a diagonal area was not allowed. At the beginning of a Zulu wave, during the initiation attack, the British could fire three times as the Zulus closed on the compound. Then each wave devolved to engagement phases. British move and fire, Zulus move and fire. At this point, if Zulus were adjacent to any of the buildings, they could roll to see if the ignited the building. These attack phases then were repeated. At the point that any Zulu unit lost 50% of its contingent, at the end of an engagement phase, the Zulu would have to roll for moral. If they lost, the remaining Zulus of that particular unit had to run away. If in a moral check, the Zulus rolled a 12, then they would fight to the death in the remaining engagement phase of that wave. When all three Zulu units were routed or killed, a new wave of three, 30-man units would attack. At the end of the wave, the British commander could also roll two D6 to see how many soldiers would be patched up in the hospital or storehouse and returned to the battle lines.
The Game: Chard and Bromhead initially covered most of the fronts on the Drift’s perimeter. During the first Zulu wave, they attacked the hospital and the storehouse areas plus one of the center perimeter areas. While Bromhead’s group initially fired mediocre during the initiation approach phase, Lt. Chard, Cpl. Schiess and his Brits were H-O-T, taking out nearly a dozen Zulus . After several tense engagement phases, the Brits had lost about a dozen figures, but the Zulus lost about 45 of there number, forcing moral checks, which they failed. Unfortunately, yours truly rolled snake eyes on the two D6, and the Brits only patched up two their casualties. This did not bode well.
For the second Zulu wave Chard and Bromhead held the perimeter, but after the initiation phase, Chard ordered Bromhead to abandon the hospital. This proved to be a strategic move. Though the Zulus could take the hospital, they had no Brits to kill, and the Brits, who held the corral area in front of the hospital withdrew to the center section. Fortunately, the musket-bound Zulus were lousy shots. During the entire game they took out one figure. However, two of the Zulu units rolled twelves – they would fight to the death. Down by the storehouse Chard’s group held off the Zulus, but his men were not firing as they had done in the first wave. Fortunately, one of the Zulu units, which had penetrated into a stone krall near the storehouse lost their moral roll and fled. After some tense sparring, the Brits eliminated the remaining Zulus, who had penetrated into the perimeter’s center section before they were either eliminated or routed. During this wave, the Brits had lost nearly twenty figures. One Brit deserved a Victoria Cross, for he doggedly prevented several Zulus from forcing an exterior doorway in the storehouse. At this point Chard, Bromhead, Schiess and the color sergeants all had taken one of their multiple hits, and the total number of men fell below twenty figures. Fortunately, yours truly rolled better with the D6. Nine Brits returned to the fight.
The third and final wave started out with the Brits reoccupying the hospital corral area! Chard and Bromhead both figured that they needed to bring as many of the remaining Brits to bear on the Zulus during the three-shot initial engagement phase count. It had mixed results. Several brave Brits were sacrificed for the others to continue. The Zulus were crafty, for they used those areas behind the buildings as a protected marshaling area. Towards the end of the second wave, Chard said to Bromhead, as soon as we get to eight figures, we head for the Great Redoubt. That point came after about two engagement phases into the third wave. The Brits could no longer hold the invading Zulus on four fronts. After the Brits abandoned the store house, the Zulus torched it. Something had to give. About the third engagement phase into the third wave, only eight Brits were left in the Redoubt. Zulus swarmed into the compound. Slowly, but surely, they were whittling down the Brits. Then some British luck; one of the Zulu units was routed. At one critical point, Chard played a gamble. Due to a miscalculation by the Zulus, it would take two engagement phases until they were again in the perimeter area that held the Great Redoubt, except for one front. That Zulu unit the Brits had to eliminate four more figures until they had to take a morale check. So, Chard gambled. Bromhead, Schiess and one of the remaining six Brits jumped out of the Great Redoubt and maned the wall, preventing the Zulu from penetrating into the perimeter!. There, they were able to take out three of the four figures, before the Bromhead returned to the Great Redoubt while Schiess remained behind to take out one more Zulu for the morale check. He did it, but died in the process. Chard, Bromhead and about one or two figures were left to hold off at least twenty Zulus. It looked grim for the Brits. The Zulus again poured into the storehouse compound. However, he again made the morale roll. It was then down to two figures – Chard and Bromhead back to back in the Redoubt. Then the critical die roll – the last remaining Zulu unit did not make its morale. The British were again victorious!!!!
That was almost as close as it gets.
In the actual engagement of Rorke’s Drift, out of 139 men, Chard lost lost fifteen dead, eight seriously wounded, and virtually every man carried some kind of minor wound. They were all exhausted, having fought for the better part of ten hours, and were running low on ammunition as well. In our recreation, the Brits lost 48 out of some 50 figures – a higher percentage loss that the actual battle; but we lost Schiess. In the actual fight, he survived and was the first foriegner to receive a Victoria Cross..
As a result of the actual Rorke’s Drift actions, eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded to the British defenders, the most ever received in a single action. There names follow: Lieutenant John Rouse Merriott Chard; Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead; Surgeon Major James Henry Reynolds; Acting Assistant Commissary James Langley Dalton; Corporal William Wilson Allen; Corporal Ferdnand Christian Schiess; Private Frederick Hitch; Private Alfred Henry Hook; Private Robert Jones; Private William Jones and Private John Williams.
May the fallen, both British and Zulu rest in peace.