Zulu War: Rorke's Drift 22- 23 January 1879 - Introduction

4'6" x 3'9" table.

As a young boy I saw the film 'Zulu' when it was released in the cinema. It fired my imagination and played a major role in kickstarting my interest in wargaming. It remains my favourite war film and I promised myself that one day I will wargame the battle. The problem I had was space. How was I going to play it through using a 1:1 figure ratio?

I naturally looked at scaling it back but felt it was never going to do it adequate justice. Then came 6mm! There were still hurdles to overcome. Primarily basing and not making it too fiddly, particularly with regard to the room to room action.

Zulus were less of a problem. I remained close to my standard basing but with a 6mm frontage per figure rather than 5mm. This gave base sizes of 18mm x 18mm each with 5 figures. The British also have an 18mm frontage but with a depth of 9mm and containing 3 figures. 

The original intention was to use rules that cater for figure removal and I have a number of figures based singly to allow for that. I have since reconsidered and have decided to use Black Powder with amendments recommended in the Zulu supplement and also my own.

One of the most notable changes are to unit sizes. A standard Zulu unit consists of 20 figures on 4 bases with a 2 base frontage. The British equivalent will be 6 figures on 2 bases with the same frontage. In circumstances where smaller units come into play, particularly within buildings, I have introduced stats for British 4, 3, 2 and single figure units (the latter being Tiny, the rest versions of Small).  For the Zulus, 2 bases is a small unit, 1 base a very small unit (basically adjusted stats), and less then 1 base (4 figs or less) a Tiny unit. 

I have less than 1,400 Zulus painted and with therefore recycle units up to the estimated 4,500 present at the battle. 

Another problem surfaced, that of the Rorke's Drift model. I originally purchased that produced by Leven Miniatures but it was clear that the footprint was far too small when playing 1:1. I have therefore opted for a 10mm model by Old Glory. Bearing in mind that Baccus figures are closer to 8mm the difference in scale is not too obvious. It has the additional benefit of removeable rooves with individual rooms represented. Ideal for action within the hospital. 

Continued -