Did "Zulu" Get It Wrong? The Mystery of Lt. Gert Adendorff

Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

Did the film "Zulu" get it wrong? The mystery of Lt. Adendorff.

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Did the film Zulu get it wrong?

In the 1964 epic, Lieutenant Gert Adendorff rides into Rorke’s Drift with dire news of the disaster at Isandlwana. He explains Zulu tactics, warns of the impending attack—and when asked if he’ll stay to fight, replies:

“Is there anywhere else to go?”
But just a year later, Donald Morris’s classic book The Washing of the Spears claimed he fled—not once, but twice. Ever since, Adendorff has been caught in a storm of controversy.

Was he a deserter who abandoned his men?
Or was he the only man to survive Isandlwana and then stand alongside Chard and Bromhead to help defend Rorke’s Drift?

In this documentary, we investigate the mystery behind Gert Adendorff. Using eyewitness accounts, official reports, and modern research, we ask why history has treated him so harshly—especially when regular British officers who fled to Helpmekaar were never questioned.

This is the forgotten story of the man who may have fought in both of the Anglo-Zulu War’s most famous battles.

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:04 Zulu
3:10 Gert Adendorff
4:36 Battle of Isandlwana
5:56 Flees the Battle
7:59 Warns Rorke's Drift
9:00 Did He Stay?
9:53 Case Against?
10:56 Case For
13:54 Other Fugitives
15:02 Court Martial
16:51 Harshly Treated
18:17 Scapegoat?
19:50 A Forgotten Hero

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My name is Chris Green and I love to share stories from British history. Not just because they are interesting but because, good or bad, they have shaped the world we live in today.

History should not be stuffy or a long list of dates or kings & queens.
So rather than lectures or Youtube animations, I tell stories that bring the past to life.

My aim is to be chat as if I were having a coffee or meal with you. Jean in Maryland, USA recently wrote: "Chris, is the history teacher I wish I had at school!"

Just for the record, I do have a history degree in Medieval & Modern history from the University of Birmingham.

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