The Anglo-Zulu War lasted only six months in 1879, but in that
relatively short time twenty-three men were awarded the Victoria Cross
for gallantry under most trying and dangerous circumstances. Zulu
warriors gave no mercy and expected none in return, yet half of the
awards were given to men who went back into the midst of fierce fighting
to rescue stranded comrades, well-aware that they risked suffering a
particularly brutal death.
Two men received posthumous awards for their efforts to save the Queen's
color of their regiment after the disastrous engagement against
overwhelming numbers of warriors at Isandlwana, and perhaps the most
famous of all awards of the Victoria Cross were the eleven gained for
the immortal defence of Rorke's Drift, the battle brought back to the
public consciousness by the motion picture _Zulu!_
The conflict has never left the public's imagination, and continues to
stir hot debate among military historians and enthusiasts.
With information compiled over four decades by James W. Bancroft, a
well-known and respected historian and author of several publications on
the subject, this book brings together more information about the men
than has ever before been collected together in one publication.