and Assistant Commissary James Dalton had already instructed the troops to use mealie bags to construct a defensive perimeter between the storehouse and hospital. Chard consented and by 4 pm the hastily constructed perimeter was complete. Soon afterwards, the Zulu impi, which contained some 3,000–4,000 men, was sighted advancing on their position. This caused the NNC troops to panic and desert the station, reducing the number of defenders from around 350 to approximately 140 (including 30 sick and wounded). Chard immediately ordered an additional barricade of biscuit boxes to be built across the inner perimeter to provide a smaller fall-back area should the Zulus overwhelm a part of the thinly manned perimeter. The first waves of Zulu assault were repulsed by British volley fire, but the attackers pushed on relentlessly, particularly along a vulnerable section of the British perimeter by the hospital which became the centre of fierce hand-to-hand combat. With British casualties mounting, Chard ordered his troops to withdraw behind the biscuit boxes, which left the western half of the station in Zulu hands, including the hospital, which was subsequently set alight by the attackers. Once inside, Chard ordered the construction of a redoubt made from a tall pyramid of mealie bags to provide shelter to the wounded and form the last line of defence. The Zulus continued to attack in intermittent waves during the night, but they were illuminated by the burning thatch, which enabled the defenders to spot their advances. By 5 am, the exhausted Zulus had abandoned the attack, and British reinforcements arrived later that morning. Chard counted 351 dead Zulus scattered around the perimeter. The British suffered 17 killed and 10 wounded. Victoria Cross, later career and death Chard remained at Rorke's Drift for several weeks after the battle and assisted with the construction of a new stone perimeter wall. However, conditions at the camp were poor; Chard became ill with fever and was taken to Ladysmith for treatment. Once recovered he was attached to Colonel Evelyn Wood's column for the second invasion of the Zulu Kingdom. Meanwhile, Chard's report of the battle had been dispatched to England and received with enthusiasm by the British press and public. The War Office subsequently promoted Chard to captain and brevet major and awarded him and 10 other defenders of the station with Victoria Crosses, the highest decoration for valour that could be awarded to British troops. The