Rorke's Drift to Mogadishu

Posted by Joseph Allen McCullough Apr 21, 2006

In 1879, Four thousand Zulu warriors attacked the isolated British garrison at Rorke's Drift. In a daylong battle, the 120 British soldiers fought off repeated attacks until the Zulus retreated. The British lost 17 men, the Zulus over 400. Although the battle had no particular significance beyond the survival of those involved, it has attained nearly legendary status in the hearts and minds of many British.

By comparison, in 1993 a force of just over 100 U.S. Army Rangers and Special Forces would find themselves in a similar situation in Somalia. Trapped in various locations in the Somalia capital of Mogadishu, the Americans were forced to fight a defensive action for the better part of day before help could arrive to extract them. In that engagement, 18 U.S. soldiers and nearly a thousand Somalis were killed. At the time, the battle was considered a disaster and the worst U.S. defeat since Vietnam.

Both the U.S. and British brought the engagements upon themselves, the U.S. by going into Mogadishu, the British by attacking Zululand. Both forces possessed vastly superior weaponry in relation to their enemy. Both forces actually achieved the aims of the battle (capturing certain prisoners for the US, defending the garrison for the British). In fact, the biggest difference between the two engagements seems to be how they are viewed publicly.

But perhaps this is changing. With the release of Black Hawk Down, first the book then the movie, American's are taking a new look at the dramatic firefight in Mogadishu. In the years after the battle most American's could only remember the sight of the naked bodies of US soldiers being dragged through the streets. Now, many are beginning to see a new picture of young men, most facing combat for the first time, overcoming their fears to stand up to a vastly numerically superior force. In the years to come, it will be interesting to see how or if public reaction towards the Mogadishu firefight changes. I don't know if it will ever take on the legendary status that Rorke's Drift has in British History, but it wouldn't surprise me.