"Zulu"... Race War in the RAW!

[StephenMasten (Prison)]

Fans of the Gladiator movie starring Russel Crowe will notice when watching Zulu that the sound of the German army at the beginning of the movie is simply taken from the chanting niggers in Zulu.

[Jimbo]

Rvrnd Col.....for a good while now, i'v been trying to locate any comprehensive reference to a small, British detachment.....prblby ony "company"-size or, maybe, slightly larger that fought with the Waffen-SS in the final, desperate & climactic "Battle of Berlin" during April, 1945.....

this small group, apparently, held off and, then, destroyed, two entire Soviet tank regiments  

the Russian Marshall Zhukov was reported to have mentioned the incident(s) to the British Ambassador to East Germany at an Embassy reception/dinner some-time in the early 1960s and to have remarked that every member of the detachment, who fought to the last man and the last bullet, should have been awarded the Victoria Cross! (posthumously!)

from what i can determine, the leader of this small detachment was a certain Sturmscharführer Cornfield or, maybe, "Cornford"...... (equivalent in rank to "regimental sergeant-major")


cheers!

(Jimbo)

*note*.....called the British Free Corps....here's a "Wiki" rfrnc..... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Free_Corps ....heavily biased, of course....although, the general info' is prblby, more or less, correct, eh?!?.....the "Wiki" article contradicts it-self.....at the start it says that the BFC never numbered more than "27", yet, the "foot-notes" list almost "50" former British and Commonwealth military personnel!

** Adrian Weale's research has identified about 59 men who belonged to this unit at one time or another, some for only a few days. At no time did it reach more than 27 men in strength — smaller than a contemporary German platoon .....well, we've only got their "word" for that.....doubtless, UK ZOG wouldn't want the truth coming out....i'm "plonking" for a strength of 50 men......"27" ain't even a viable unit....wouldn't be worth the time, effort or expense of maintaining such a tiny, independent group.....**

[Rev.Cambeul]

While the history books say they were used only for ceremonial duty and propaganda purposes touring the prison camps, reports from eyewitnesses claim to have seen the BFC fighting on the Russian Front and in the Battle of Berlin. The latter as part of the Nordland Division. The numbers would have made them at least platoon size.

British and American SS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-jHuqkZzOw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_y71_XhQqA

[Rev.Cambeul]

New info for me: did you know that the proposed Emperor Napoleon IV (son of Napoleon III) was killed fighting the Zulus (prior to Roarkes Drift with the main column) for the British army?

The Zulu nation issued an apology stating that if they knew whom it was, they would not have stabbed him with a spear, driven off his personal bodyguard, then eviscerated the body to prevent his spirit rising to gain revenge.

Pontifex Cambeul.

[Rev.Cambeul]

Historical accuracy

Although writer Cy Endfield consulted a Zulu tribal historian for information from Zulu oral tradition about the attack,[3] a number of historical inaccuracies in the film have been noted:

The regiment
The 24th Regiment of Foot is described as a Welsh regiment: in fact, although it was based in Brecon in South Wales, its designation was the '24th (The 2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot'. It did not become the South Wales Borderers until 1881. Of the soldiers present, 49 were English, 32 Welsh, 16 Irish and 22 others of indeterminate nationality.

The song "Men of Harlech" features prominently as the regimental song; it did not become so until later. At the time of the battle, the regimental song was "The Warwickshire Lad". There was no "battlefield singing contest" between the British and the Zulus.

The Witts
There are several inconstencies with the historical record concerning the Swedish missionaries, the Witts. In the film, Witt is depicted as a middle-aged widower, a pacifist and drunkard, who has an adult daughter called Margareta. In reality, Otto Witt was aged 30, and had a wife, Elin, and two infant children. Witt's family were 30 kilometres (19 mi) away at the time of the battle. On the morning of the battle, Otto Witt, with the chaplain, George Smith and Surgeon-Major James Henry Reynolds had ascended Shiyane, the large hill near the station, and noticed the approach of the Zulu force across the Buffalo River. Far from being a pacifist, Witt had co-operated closely with the army and negotiated a lease to put Rorke's Drift at Lord Chelmsford's disposal. Witt made it clear that he did not oppose British intervention against Cetshwayo. He had stayed at Rorke's Drift because he wished "to take part in the defence of my own house and at the same time in the defence of an important place for the whole colony, yet my thoughts went to my wife and to my children, who were at a short distance from there, and did not know anything of what was going on". He therefore left on horseback to join his family shortly before the battle.

The men of the regiment
Lieutenants John Chard and Gonville Bromhead: Chard had received his commission in April 1868, making Bromhead the junior officer and second-in-command at the Drift even though he was an infantryman and Chard was an engineer. In the film, it is stated that Bromhead received his commission only three months after Chard when, in fact, it was a full three years after Chard.

Surgeon Reynolds: During the Battle of Rorke's Drift, Reynolds went around the barricades, distributing ammunition and tending to the wounded there, something that is not shown in the film.[12] During the closing voiceover, he is also incorrectly referred to as "Surgeon-Major, Army Hospital Corps"; Reynolds was of the Army Medical Department, and was not promoted to the rank of Surgeon-Major until after the action at Rorke's Drift.[13] The pacifism apparent in Magee's portrayal is also somewhat anachronistic and not based on the historical Surgeon Reynolds.

Private Henry Hook VC is depicted as a rogue with a penchant for alcohol; in fact he was a model soldier who later became a sergeant; he was also a teetotaller. While the film has him in the hospital "malingering, under arrest", he had actually been assigned there specifically to guard the building.[14] The filmmakers felt that the story needed an anti-hero who redeems himself in the course of events, but the film's presentation of Hook caused his daughter to walk out of the film premiere in disgust.

Conversely, Corporal William Allen is depicted as a model soldier; in fact, he had recently been demoted from sergeant for drunkenness.
Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne (1854–1945) is depicted as a big, hardened, middle-aged veteran; in fact, he was of modest stature and, aged 24, the youngest colour sergeant in the British Army.[16] He was called "The Kid" by his men.[17] Colour Sergeant Bourne would not have worn medals on his duty uniform. Moreover, Green's costume has the chevrons on the wrong arm. After the battle Bourne was offered a commission, but turned it down because he lacked the money necessary to serve as a commissioned officer; he did accept a commission in 1890. He was the last British survivor of the Battle, he died as a full Colonel.
The role of Padre George Smith ("Ammunition" Smith) is completely ignored.

Corporal Christian Ferdinand Schiess was only 22, significantly younger than the actor who portrayed him.

The detachment of cavalry from "Durnford's Horse" who ride up to the mission station were members of the Natal Native Contingent, mainly composed of black riders, (rather than the local white farmers depicted in the film), who had survived the Battle of Isandlwana and had ridden to Rorke's Drift to warn and aid the garrison there. They were present during the opening action with the Zulus, but then rode off as they had very little ammunition for their cavalry carbines. Captain Stephenson is depicted at their head; in reality he was leading the NNC infantry, who had already deserted.

The uniforms of the Natal Native Contingent are inaccurate: NNC troops were not issued with European-style clothes. The story of their desertion is true. However, as Witt had already left, he was not responsible for their departure. They left of their own accord, with Captain Stephenson and his European NCOs. These deserters were fired-at as they left and one of their NCOs, Corporal Anderson, was killed. Stephenson was later convicted of desertion at a court-martial and dismissed from the army.

The Zulus
The attack on the mission station was not ordered by King Cetshwayo, as the audience is led to believe in the film. Cetshwayo had specifically told his warriors not to invade Natal, the British Colony. The attack was led by Prince Dabulamanzi kaMpande, the King's half-brother, who pursued fleeing survivors at Isandlwana across the river and then moved on to attack Rorke's Drift. Although almost 20,000 rounds of ammunition were fired by the defenders, only about 375 dead Zulus were found at Rorke's Drift; however, scores of Zulu dead were found further afield (dying from wounds or finished off by their own side), which suggests that about 500 Zulus died and about another 500 were wounded. Zulus feared the bayonet more than the bullet, and most had died without being shot.

Ending
The ending of the film is somewhat fictitious. There was no Zulu attack at dawn on 23 January 1879, which in the film led to the singing of "Men of Harlech". There was only sparse fighting with a few remaining Zulus.

However at roughly 7:00 am, Impi suddenly appeared, and the British manned their positions again. No attack materialized, as the Zulus had been on the move for six days prior to the battle. In their ranks were hundreds of wounded, and they were several days march from any supplies.

Around 8:00 am, another force appeared, the defenders abandoned their breakfast, and manned their position again. However the force turned out to be the vanguard of Lord Chelmsford's relief column.

The Zulus did not sing a song saluting fellow warriors, and they did not depart peacefully. They scarpered at the approach of the British relief column.

[Rev.Cambeul]

*note*.....called the British Free Corps....here's a "Wiki" rfrnc..... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Free_Corps ....heavily biased, of course....although, the general info' is prblby, more or less, correct, eh?!?.....the "Wiki" article contradicts it-self.....at the start it says that the BFC never numbered more than "27", yet, the "foot-notes" list almost "50" former British and Commonwealth military personnel!

** Adrian Weale's research has identified about 59 men who belonged to this unit at one time or another, some for only a few days. At no time did it reach more than 27 men in strength — smaller than a contemporary German platoon .....well, we've only got their "word" for that.....doubtless, UK ZOG wouldn't want the truth coming out....i'm "plonking" for a strength of 50 men......"27" ain't even a viable unit....wouldn't be worth the time, effort or expense of maintaining such a tiny, independent group.....**

British Free Corps: The Brits Who Fought for Hitler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwfIkoRjMw

The British Free Corps was betrayed by a traitor who joined only to feed MI5 with information. John Brown, the quartermaster of a camp at Genshagen. As Germany collapsed, Brown's information allowed the Allies to round up the heroes who often posed as fleeing PoWs. They were prosecuted and sentenced at court martial and treason trials before many were summarily hanged. The intelligence files were quietly closed and access to the devastating information within was restricted. There was no cover-up, rather a conspiracy of indifference. For the first time on British Television, the British SS soldiers speak of their service and heroism against the oncoming Soviet onslaught.