Customer Reviews

Like Wolves on the Fold: The Defence of Rorke's Drift

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After reading, and thoroughly enjoying, "How Can Man Die Better", I was prepared to rip through this book with great gusto. No disappointment. It's a fantastic read. I came to the subject with a cursory knowledge (I'd read the Osprey campaign book) and some Hollywood images. I came away with as complete & thorough an understanding as I'm likely to get. While some may disagree with the point of that Lt. Col. Snook's obvious love & respect for his regiment engenders, they couldn't disagree with his clear rendition of the facts, busting of myths, and thorough exploration of the subject from a military point of view. Lt. Col. Snook includes as much of the point of view of the Zulu as he can as well. I wish more military history was written like this. It's just a great and informative read. I hope we can look forward to more books from this author.

I have read a considerable amount about the 1879 fight at Rorke's Drift where a small British force successfully resisted the furious attack of an enormous Zulu army, and I would unhesitatingly put Mike Snook's "Like Wolves On the Fold: The Defence of Rorke's Drift" at the top of the list of books about the battle.

Snook, a longtime officer in the Royal Regiment of Wales (the successor unit to the 24th Infantry which fought at both Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift) quite obviously identifies with the British soldiers who fought there, but he also shows a great liking and respect for their Zulu foes. The result is a book that celebrates courage and honors sacrifice, no matter the color of the skin of the fighting man.

"Like Wolves On the Fold" is a companion volume to Snook's earlier "How Can Man Die Better: The Secrets of Isandlwana Revealed" about the famous Battle of Isandlwana, fought the same day only several miles away, a battle in which the Zulu army crushed a large British field force. Although it is not absolutely necessary to read "How Can Man Die Better" first, it is nonetheless a good idea, as the author returns to the subject of Isandlwana in the last third of "Like Wolves On the Fold" to render judgement on who was to blame (and who gets credit) for what happened there.

With "Wolves On the Fold", due to the small number of British troops invoved and thanks to the availability of numerous primary sources, Snook was able to construct a fast-paced, entralling narrative that often focuses upon individual soldiers during the fight. And in doing so, he corrects many erroneous myths promulgated by earlier books (and by the 1964 film "Zulu" which was exciting cinema, but not really history). His intimate familiarity with the terrain and professional military background allow Snook to speak with rare authority.

Lieutenant Colonel Mike Snook has written what appears to be the definitive book on the defense of Rorke's Drift. He corrects errors made by previous writers and provides as clear a picture of the battle as is possible more than a century after the fact. There is a wealth of information, but his prose never gets bogged down. In fact, the book reads as easily as a novel. The book includes some very useful maps that complement the text and give the reader a good sense of the progression of the battle. I highly recommend Snook's book to anyone interested in the incredible skill and courage of the defenders of Rorke's Drift.

This is a well-written and quite extensively detailed account of the defense at Rorke's Drift by a habdful of British soldiers against thousands on Zulu warriors fresh from their victory at Isandlwana. It recounts the actions taken by the leading officers, and the defenses that were quickly erected (and just in time) before the attacks began. This action was covered in the movie "Zulu", and the author does point out where book and cinema differ. He is obviously proud of the stout defense put on by the "redcoats", but he also praises the Zulus for their courage and persistence in the face of mass rifle fire. Both sides covered themselves with glory, but the British Empire eventually won the "war" that began with their devastating defeat earlier in the same day at the attacks at the Drift.

On Wednesday morning, January 22, 1879, the 1st Battalion and most of the 2nd of the British 24th Regiment of Foot was wiped about by a Zulu army at Isandlwana in South Africa. (This battle is covered in Lieutenant Colonel Mike Snook's book, HOW CAN MAN DIE BETTER.)

After Isandlwana, the victorious tribesmen swarmed on several miles to the missionary compound, comprising a residence/hospital and storehouse, at Rorke's Drift. Here, for five hours in the late afternoon and evening of January 22nd, 154 remnant troops of the 2nd/24th successfully held off a siege by some 4,500 assailants. This stalwart defense, the crowning glory in the history of the 24th (now the Royal Regiment of Wales), is the subject of LIKE WOLVES ON THE FOLD, also by Snook.

I'm no expert on such narratives, but this book seems to me to be as exemplary an account of a small unit defensive action as one can find anywhere. Based on after-action reports and participants' memoirs, it's of the sort I would have expected from Custer and his 7th Cavalry troopers, or the Alamo defenders, or the 300 Spartans of Thermopylae, had any of these heroic bands had the good fortune to survive. But at Rorke's Drift, luck had little to do with it - just gritty determination, an adequate supply of ammo, inspired leadership from Lieutenants John Chard and Gonville Bromhead, and not just a little desperation; they were surrounded.

The volume includes a commendable 33-page section of photographs and painting reproductions. There are also several excellent drawings of the Rorke's Drift compound at various stages of the battle, each showing the direction of the Zulu attacks against a defense wall hastily constructed of 200-lb mealie-bags and 100-lb cases of hardtack and tinned bully beef - a perimeter that contracted and changed shape several times during the course of the siege as Chard and Bromhead found it necessary to withdraw and regroup their men in the face of ferocious assaults. Indeed, about halfway through the ordeal, the hospital was set aflame and had to be evacuated under fire.

The narrative of the 24th's gallant stand comprises the first half the book and is the most riveting part. The remaining, more staid chapters concern themselves with the outcome of the Anglo-Zulu War, the assignment of responsibility for the Isandlwana debacle, and the post-war careers of the principle British and Zulu combatants, particularly the eleven British defenders of Rorke's Drift who were honored with the Empire's highest award for valor, the Victoria Cross - the most ever awarded in British military history for a single action.

The story told by LIKE WOLVES ON THE FOLD illustrates the British "stiff upper lip" at its stiffest. The Empire and the Queen Empress were privileged to have such men in their service.

Rorke's Drift was a heroically fought but pointless battle in a savagely waged but peripheral war, the ill-conceived invasion in 1879 of Zululand by a small British Army under Lord Chelmsford, known to history as the Anglo-Zulu War. Snook, a serving officer in the modern regiment descended from the 1st / 24th regiment that defended Rorke's Drift, provides an exhaustive and detailed monograph on the battle.

Though as a general reader I would not know if Snook made factual or interpretive errors, his study seems impressively and meticulously researched and he writes well, sometimes stirringly. Indeed, the middle third of the book, which tells the almost incredible story of how a group of 139+ British soldiers, a quarter of them sick, successfully fought off repeated attacks by approximately 3,000 - 4,500 Zulus, makes for compelling and absorbing reading. Although writing exclusively from the British viewpoint (there are no Zulu written sources, after all), he tells a little about the Zulu command structure and commanders and shows admiration for the fighting qualities of Zulu warriors. I also liked that he decries war rather than glorifies it: ultimately, this tribute to the bravery of the heroes of Rorke's Drift concludes by making the timely point that their story 'epitomise[s] the folly of waging war except as a genuine measure of last resort.' I agree.

The book has lovely color plates, and good maps of the Rorke's Drift mission itself. One other great feature of the book is its extensive appendices, which include rosters of the soldiers who fought at Rorke's Drift and some firsthand accounts, as well as Chard's report to Queen Victoria, and an analysis of the battlefield. Good stuff for the research historian.

The main reason I even knew anything, prior to reading this book, about Rorke's Drift was Stanley Baker's great 1964 movie about it, which of course contains numerous instances of artistic license (e.g., sadly there was no inspiring rendition of 'Men of Harlech,' no 'saluting of fellow braves,' etc.); indeed I was surprised to learn that the movie gets a few things quite wrong (Harry Hook was not a dissolute malingerer, but a clean-living teetotaler, for instance). In contrast to the film which depicts mass charges of Zulu impis wielding assegais and cowhide shields, Snook shows that many of the Zulus had muskets, though they didn't know how to sight them well, and jumped from cover to cover. In addition, the movie shows the British soldiers often using mass volleys of rifle fire, which Snook argues was ahistorical.

Why not 5 stars? I found it a little irritating that, despite the subtitle, much of the book focuses on the Battle of Isandlwana, the disaster that took place earlier on Jan.22 of which Rorke's Drift was the aftermath. Snook even devotes much of his post-mortem discussion to allocating blame for the Isandlwana debacle.

I also found the discussion of blame somewhat beside the point: Chelmsford was not even at Isandlwana, and the subsequent imperial government inquiry that fixed blame on him obviously needed a scapegoat for the disaster. Ultimately, Chelmsford's error was to have a mindset -- underestimating the Zulus' fighting abilities -- that was probably shared by much of the British leadership. Moreover, Chelmsford was the victor at the battle (Ulundi) that ended the war, and neither his peers nor Snook give him much credit for this achievement. Steeped as he is in the ethos of the British military establishment, Snook agrees with the verdict of the government inquiry. I think there is some room at least for disagreement.

I made the mistake of tackling this book without reading Snook's earlier volume on Isandlwana, How Can Men Die Better, and consequently found the substantial portion of this book that treats Isandlwana and its aftermath difficult to follow. I believe I would have enjoyed and understood more if I had read that volume first, so I would recommend doing that before reading this book if you are not already knowledgeable about the Battle of Isandlwana.

Overall, though, there is no denying that Snook has written an essential book for anyone who wants to understand this sanguinary episode in the history of British arms. Snook's study is probably destined to be a definitive treatment of Rorke's Drift.

Written by a serving officer of the Royal Regiment of Wales, formerly the 24th, Like Wolves On The Fold: The Defence Of Rorke's Drift is the fascinating true story of one of the most improbable victories in military history. In January of 1879, a Zulu host attacked a single company of the 24th Regiment of the British Army and a handful of recuperating hospital patients. Retreat was not an option, and the enemy outnumbered the defenders nearly thirty to one. Like Wolves On The Fold shows how sheer bloody-mindedness, as much as any other quality, turned the tables on the Zulus. Like Wolves On The Fold also surveys the remainder of the war, and examines the tragic end of the war's participants. A collection of inset photographs and artwork, most in black and white but a few in color, round out this rousing military history, which pays full respect to both sides in a bloody conflict.

How do 120 men, many of them sick and injured, and few of them infantry, manage to do what 10 times as many died trying earlier? Read the book and find out. One of the great defenses at all time. If you've seen the movie, you can see why the Welsh, and the English more vicariously, regard this action as one of the greatest moments in the history of the British army. And well they should. How would Americans feel if Crockett, Travis and Bowie not only survived the Alamo but won? There's little of the mythology of the battle in this book written by a present day Colonel of the same regiment. You won't find the Welsh and the Zulu serenading each other as you did in the movie, but as in the movie, you will find a great deal of mutual respect for the bravery and skill of both sides. And you'll learn why the names of Bromhead, Chard and Hook, among others, remain as well known in Britain today as Crockett and Bowie do here

This book should be required reading for anyone interested in the Anglo-Zulu War. Not only does Lt. Col. Snook explain in great detail the events of the defense of Rorke's Drift in great detail but he also brings to life the men who were involved in this climactic battle. This is a ground breaking book which sheds light on a little known yet amazing occurence in military history. Unlike the other historians who have written on this battle Lt. Col. Snook has researched The Battle of Rorke's Drift in depth and his work over the years shows itself on every page. 'Like Wolves on the Fold' builds upon Snook's other book 'How Can Man Die Better' and both when read one after the other form an excellent and essential history on the AZW. As a military historian I highly recommend them both.

This book proves to be a nice follow-up to Snook's previous effort, How Can Man Die Better which covers the Battle of Isandlwana. This book covers the Defense of Rorke's Defense where a single company of the 24th Regiment held off the Zulu forces many times their strength.

Rorke's Drift is one of these battles of which many books have already been written about and this one proves to be quite readable, very well researched and in a typical style of the author, you feel at times that you are in there with the troops. It doesn't say anything truly new here but it does add fresh perception to the battle and the author enjoyed on few occasions to compared the real account with the film account, Zulu, starring Stanley Baker and Michael Caine. The book also gives a great insight into the soldiers who fought with such desperation. The narrative was often "hero oriented" in telling. Zulu side was also present but limited in form. The heart and soul of this book lies in the retelling of the Rorke's Drift from the Anglo-centric point of view. Although the account of the battle proves to be bit on the short side, it was clearly written and easy to follow. Unlike one of the previous reviewers, I thought the author's prose was quite good and passage flows very nicely.

The book come well illustrated with diagrams of Rorke's Drift that reflects very nicely on the battle. There are quite a few photographs and color paintings that also proves to be quite good.

But in all honesty, if I had to choose one book on Rorke's Drift, it probably won't be this one. I would choose Adrian Greaves' Rorke's Drift book which is far more detailed, superior in-depth book on the subject. Snook's book is good and worthy of the four stars but it been done before. I think one of the main weaknesses of the book lies with the fact that Snook didn't spend that much on battle itself. There are considerable amount of material in the book that dealt with Isandlwana, rest of the Zulu Wars and so forth. Personally, I would prefer a book about Rorke's Drift to be about Rorke's Drift.

In conclusion, I would recommended this book to any reader interested in the early stages of the Zulu War even if it may not be the best book on the subject.