By Robert Morley

Two battles. One day. Similar men. Similar enemies. Similar odds. Opposite outcomes. You may not know about the Battle of Isandlwana. You probably have never heard of the Battle of Rorke’s Drift. But one of these is the story of one of the most amazing victories in history.

The Battle at Isandlwana

Isandlwana was where the British and the African Zulu warriors would face off. The British were stronger than the Zulu by every estimation: modern breech-loading rifles against spears, cannons against cowhide shields, professional training against just raw courage.

The last order the British commanding officer at Isandlwana received before the battle was to stand firm and protect the supply camp.

Hold your ground.

When the Zulu army approached, however, the commander instead ordered his troops out into the field to meet the approaching warriors.

In the field, as the battle raged, communications broke down as columns began to run out of ammunition. The Zulu attack was so fierce that regiments would not share ammunition with each other. Holes in the red-uniformed line began to appear as companies with no bullets fell back in an unordered retreat. As these soldiers withdrew, the flanks of their comrades became exposed. The retreat became a rout. The rout became a slaughter.

A few hours later, all that remained were corpses in red tunics, and white helmets perched on broken spear poles—a complete disaster. The regimental colors were almost lost; food, arms, cannon and all kinds of other equipment fell into the hands of the enemy. Out of 1,700 British soldiers, approximately 50 survived.

A few hours’ march south of this terrible scene, there was about to be another battle—at Rorke’s Drift.

The Battle at Rorke’s Drift

At the time, Rorke’s Drift was a makeshift supply depot and missionary station that was being used as a field hospital.

Lt. John Chard of the Royal Engineers was there. He had been sent to Rorke’s to build a bridge across the river. At lieutenant, he was not a high-ranking officer. In the last moments before Isandlwana was overrun, a messenger rushed out with orders for the commander at Rorke’s Drift.

The order was this: Hold your ground.

For all Chard knew, thousands of Zulus were coming toward them, hot on the heels of an absolute massacre at Isandlwana. He had 230 men, with only 204 fit for duty. The 1964 historical film depicting the Battle of Rorke’s Drift portrays second-in-command Lt. Gonville Bromhead’s disbelief that Chard, despite the overwhelming odds, was still determined to follow his orders.

“At least let me take the men up into the hills and try and ambush them,” pleaded Bromhead. “Cut them down in the passes, you see?”

Chard refused. He was determined to obey the orders he was given.

Just prior to the Zulu attack, Chard’s 100 native troops, seeing the approaching Zulus and hearing what had happened at the massacre at Isandlwana, fled. As they tried to escape, many were surrounded and cut down by the pursuing Zulus. Chard was left with only 104 fighting men. It looked as though the men would be demoralized and defeated even before the spears and knives came.

But Chard defeated sagging morale and rallied his troops, telling them to stand strong and fight like men. His officers, inspired by his example in the face of death, followed suit, stirring their men’s spirits. By the time the lookout, Pvt. Fred Hitch, reported he could see 4,000 to 6,000 Zulus, one of the soldiers called out: “Is that all? Come on, is that all?”

All day long, the troops manned hastily constructed walls protecting their little outpost as wave after wave of Zulu warriors rushed on. Hugely outnumbered, the few British defenders held on by sheer grit. It seemed that no matter how many Zulus were wounded or killed, two more stepped up to replace them.

At one point, so many Zulus had been killed that their bodies had piled up like a ramp next to the 8-foot walls. But the Zulus still kept coming.

Finally, the Zulus breached the wall. The British were about to be massacred. Chard immediately ordered Bromhead to lead a bayonet charge into the gap.

Had Bromhead stopped to ask why, or how come he had to do it, it all would have been lost. But Bromhead asked no questions. He acted—without hesitation—and with determination. Bromhead’s courageous charge drove the oncoming hordes of Zulus back out, and the British troops were able to repair the breach.

After a full day and night of fighting, the Zulus finally gave up on the little outpost at Rorke’s Drift. British reinforcements approached, and the Zulus beat a retreat. The heroes at Rorke’s Drift were saved.

They had stood their ground.

Amazingly, almost every soldier who followed Chard’s orders survived—because Chard himself had followed orders.

These heroes at Rorke’s Drift did more than just save their own lives and defeat a vast and ferocious army. Their miracle victory rallied the British nation and built support for the war.

The Victoria Cross is the highest honor in the British military. More Victoria Crosses were awarded at the Battle of Rorke’s Drift than at any other in the history of the British Empire, even during World War I and World War II.

Queen Victoria summed up the battle: “The defense of Rorke’s Drift is immortal.”

Why were the British soldiers at Rorke’s Drift so successful? They followed orders. The men at Rorke’s Drift understood government and applied it. Their superiors said, Hold your ground. They held their ground.

A Biblical Principle

Government is a biblical principle. God created laws for a reason—He gave them to show His way of life, how to succeed. If we follow the instructions written for us in the Bible—God’s orders—we too will be able to overcome any problems or enemies that we might face.

And when we are victorious—and when the history of this age is being written—maybe our actions, like the defenders of Rorke’s Drift, will be described as immortal.