During the Zulu Wars in 1879, Lt. John Chard, a man of the people, and Lt. Gonville Bromhead, a snob, were in charge of defending the isolated Natal outpost of Rorke's Drift from tribal hordes. They held out during an Alamo-like siege until they were overpowered, losing the battle but becoming heroes in the process. With the help of a Martini-Henry rifle "with some guts behind it," 150 soldiers fought off about 4,000 Zulus from a supply station. Only 1344 people have been given the Victoria Cross in the 100 years since it was made. It is given for bravery and extreme courage in the face of the enemy that goes above and beyond what is normally expected of a British soldier. On January 22 and 23, 1879, the people defending the mission station at Rorke's Drift, Natal, won eleven of these.
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During the Zulu Wars in 1879, Lt. John Chard, a man of the people, and Lt. Gonville Bromhead, a snob, were in charge of defending the isolated Natal outpost of Rorke's Drift from tribal hordes. They held out during an Alamo-like siege until they were overpowered, losing the battle but becoming heroes in the process. With the help of a Martini-Henry rifle "with some guts behind it," 150 soldiers fought off about 4,000 Zulus from a supply station. Only 1344 people have been given the Victoria Cross in the 100 years since it was made. It is given for bravery and extreme courage in the face of the enemy that goes above and beyond what is normally expected of a British soldier. On January 22 and 23, 1879, the people defending the mission station at Rorke's Drift, Natal, won eleven of these.
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