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Date	Original Topic
1st April 2005	What would have happened had Rorkes Drift fallen in the first Zulu wave? By Invader Ok so lets play pretend. I hope this topic hasn't been done before. It's a trend these days to do a "what would have happened if..." book (e.g., if Hitler had won, if Lord of the Rings was real etc..) So what do you guys and girls (are there any girls out there?) would have been the result had Rorkes Drift fallen in the first 30mins~1hour of the battle? Remember: Dabulmanzi was not meant to cross the Buffalo. Dabulmanzi claimed in 1884 that he would have headed into Natal looking for help from the natal natives. The Zulu impi was pretty tired and was only reserves. The Zulus would have been able to steal martinis from the Rorkes Drift fallen to help if they went for Helpmekaar or the No. 2 column at the Middle drift. I think that they would have packed up and gone home after a few firefights, lugging all that ammo to Natal for a battle would have been tough for even the zulus. It is nice to imagion Rorkes Drift as being the saviour of the entire British colony in Africa though.
Date	Replies
1st April 2005	Paul Cubbin I think they would have eaten well for a start. These Zulu boys had gone without food for nigh on three days and imagine some of the cattle, along with some mealie sacks, would have been rounded up and scoffed. Then a decent rest period, widespread looting of the rifles and ammunition followed by an uncertain encounter with Chelmsford's returning column. We know how Chelmsford's troops reacted when they encountered the unsuccessful return party - they did nothing. The question is, buoyed up by success, rested and with full bellies, would Dabulamanzi's followers have attacked? All pure conjecture of course, but to my mind the upshot would have been a premature end to the war as the Commanding Officer would have at least been severely mauled and at worst actually killed. Eventually of course, long term, I feel that conflict with the Boers would have spelled the end for the Zulu nation and possibly utter annihilation.
2nd April 2005	Derek C Aah,.. speculation, my favorite. How about they would have rested & feasted for a while, .... and then raced home to choose a wife and enjoy the celebrations as victorious warriors?
2nd April 2005	Glenn Wade Now if the Zulus has taken Rorke's Drift in the first rush, they would have probably sustained low casualties and have had less than a hour fighting. Result? They would have burnt the hospital and store, looted all the rifles and ammunition, carried out their post-battle rituals and sat down for a bite to eat and a rest. What would they have done then? Moved on to Helpmekaar? Return to link up with the main force at Isandlwana or move off, seek out, engage and possibly wipe out the remainder of No3 Column? Had they taken Rorke's Drift in the first rush then they would still have sufficient men to do all of these. Ultimately, they didn't and we all know what actually happened (With the exeption of Max Hastings) Cheers Glenn
2nd April 2005	Peter Ewart The army which remained in the vicinity of the camp at Isandlwana moved off to spend the night nearby - in more or less the same position as the previous night, I believe. Then they dispersed to their homes all over Zululand for their post-battle cleansing rituals. Presumably the force which crossed the Buffalo & attacked R/Drift would have done exactly the same, had they defeated the British force quickly. Plenty of looting, certainly, and commandeering of arms and ammunition first. And the mutilation of only 150 wouldn't have taken long. They could have been away by sixish or so. But what were their original intentions anyway? It seems they merely intended to ravage a few square miles of the land between the river and the foot of the Biggarsberg, burning isolated farms & Zulu homesteads where they could, and grabbing some cattle. Rorke's Drift - or more accurately the small force which garrisoned Rorke's Drift - got in the way and the unplanned action gradually sucked in the various bands who abandoned their raiding to assist in the attack on the post. This - and the way the battle went - was not what they had expected, but even if things had gone their way, the plan for a little raiding would have been more than fulfilled, and the warnings of Vumandaba and Zibhebhu when they declined to cross the river might well have been foremost in their minds by then. A fairly swift return across the river & presumably a rendezvous NE of Isandlwana with their equally exhausted comrades seems the obvious step. At some stage they would have come near Chelmsford's force, but (as it was still early) not before reaching Isandlwana again, assuming they would have recrossed the river at roughly the same places. And they may well have gone round the NW of the mountain & up via the spur (or to the west of it), as many of them had come that way in the afternoon - close enough to worry Chelmsford's force as he arrived & settled on the saddle. By then, perhaps, their rituals would have been foremost in ther minds. Many of them may have had no idea that any of the column had survived (how many were privvy, for example, to the knowledge that the column had been split and that they had only destroyed half the men?) One tradition has it that the retiring Zulu force which encountered Chelmsford's on the way back from R/Drift had thought they were all ghosts of the dead at Isandlwana. If the "victorious" Zulus returning from the destruction of R/Drift about 7 or 8pm had noticed a large British force alive and well on the very site which had been covered with bodies only hours ago, I think they may have been terrified (or at least mystified). Chelmsford Ntanze of Isandlwana, who died recently, subscribed to the view that the returning Zulus believed the retiring force under Chelmsford had been spirits of the battlefield dead from Isandwlana. This supposition has persisted but I'm not going into that particular oral tradition now! However, to witness the battlefield suddenly "peopled" again upon the their "triumphant" return at what would have been dusk, might have concentrated the Zulu mind somewhat. Peter
2nd April 2005	Peter Ewart The army which remained in the vicinity of the camp at Isandlwana moved off to spend the night nearby - in more or less the same position as the previous night, I believe. Then they dispersed to their homes all over Zululand for their post-battle cleansing rituals. Presumably the force which crossed the Buffalo & attacked R/Drift would have done exactly the same, had they defeated the British force quickly. Plenty of looting, certainly, and commandeering of arms and ammunition first. And the mutilation of only 150 wouldn't have taken long. They could have been away by sixish or so. But what were their original intentions anyway? It seems they merely intended to ravage a few square miles of the land between the river and the foot of the Biggarsberg, burning isolated farms & Zulu homesteads where they could, and grabbing some cattle. Rorke's Drift - or more accurately the small force which garrisoned Rorke's Drift - got in the way and the unplanned action gradually sucked in the various bands who abandoned their raiding to assist in the attack on the post. This - and the way the battle went - was not what they had expected, but even if things had gone their way, the plan for a little raiding would have been more than fulfilled, and the warnings of Vumandaba and Zibhebhu when they declined to cross the river might well have been foremost in their minds by then. A fairly swift return across the river & presumably a rendezvous NE of Isandlwana with their equally exhausted comrades seems the obvious step. At some stage they would have come near Chelmsford's force, but (as it was still early) not before reaching Isandlwana again, assuming they would have recrossed the river at roughly the same places. And they may well have gone round the NW of the mountain & up via the spur (or to the west of it), as many of them had come that way in the afternoon - close enough to worry Chelmsford's force as he arrived & settled on the saddle. By then, perhaps, their rituals would have been foremost in ther minds. Many of them may have had no idea that any of the column had survived (how many were privvy, for example, to the knowledge that the column had been split and that they had only destroyed half the men?) One tradition has it that the retiring Zulu force which encountered Chelmsford's on the way back from R/Drift had thought they were all ghosts of the dead at Isandlwana. If the "victorious" Zulus returning from the destruction of R/Drift about 7 or 8pm had noticed a large British force alive and well on the very site which had been covered with bodies only hours ago, I think they may have been terrified (or at least mystified). Chelmsford Ntanze of Isandlwana, who died recently, subscribed to the view that the returning Zulus believed the retiring force under Chelmsford had been spirits of the battlefield dead from Isandwlana. This supposition has persisted but I'm not going into that particular oral tradition now! However, to witness the battlefield suddenly "peopled" again upon the their "triumphant" return at what would have been dusk, might have concentrated the Zulu mind somewhat. Peter
2nd April 2005	Peter Ewart Sorry about the double-post. I never did like "What Ifs?" really! P.
2nd April 2005	Andrew Holliday The film Zulu probably would not have been made
3rd April 2005	Kris I would never have been born.