“Can you imagine the poor bastards at Rourke’s Drift facing that crowd of about 2,000 and only 100 of them? Had to be terrifying. I thought the movie did a good job of conveying that feeling of terror. “
Actually, they were both pretty brave. Standing up to 1000 + Zulus when you out numbered 10 to one calls for real bravery. And charging an entrenched military force armed with rifles with nothing but a bull hide shield and a short stabbing spear is more than I would ever try.
I wish they had more on these forgotten wars in the movies and TV - like the Boer War and the French and Indian War, etc. All we get is the INTERMINABLE, UNENDING WW2 crap. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, etc, but I have HAD it with re-runs of Hitler’s Bodyguard, the SS, etc. on TV’ history and military channels. Even WW1 would be a break!!!
Apparently, “Passchendaele,” the site of a WWI battlefield in France, was released last year in Canada. Don’t know anything else, though.
Iron Maiden also wrote this song about the same battle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heQ38pjJrss