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Last stand is a loose military term used to describe a body of troops holding a defensive position in the face of overwhelming odds. The defensive force usually takes very heavy casualties, on occasion is completely destroyed, and is invariably ultimately defeated.
The situation can arise in one of two ways. Sometimes, perhaps because of geography or lack of supplies or support, the troops in question cannot retreat from their position without being instantly destroyed by the enemy. At other times, the troops in question are forced to follow orders and cannot consider retreat, even though the moral choice is open to them. In both cases, surrender to the enemy is an option but either the group as a whole, or their commanding officer, decides instead to "go down fighting". In some cases the soldiers may consider that surrender may also result in their deaths, and that to fight to their death is a better choice in the circumstances.
A siege will often lead to a last stand by the defenders of the besieged city. However, while sieges are generally characterised by a lengthy engagement, last stands are generally brief and decisive.
Some famous last stands
| Name | Date | Defending army | Attacking army | Ratio | Details |
| Battle of Thermopylae | 480 BC | 300 Spartans and 6,700 other Greeks | 800,000 - 2,100,000 Persians (ancient sources) 100,000-300,000 Persians (modern estimates) |
1:100 according to Xerxes I | King Leonidas and his Spartan bodyguards, accompanied by a force of allied Greek city states, hold back a Persian force under Xerxes several times its number for several days in one of the most memorable and eulogized last stands in classical antiquity. *Historical ranges vary (see Battle of Thermopylae). |
| Catiline Conspiracy | 62 BC | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Catiline and his army are annihilated at Pistoria (now Pistoia). "eave to your enemies a bloody and mournful victory." |
| Siege of Masada | 73 | 1,000 Jews | 15,000 Romans | 1:15 | Jewish zealots commit mass suicide rather than face the prospect of surrender to the Roman army at Masada |
| Battle of Badr | 624 | 313 Muslims | 1,000 Quraishis | roughly 1:3 | The Muslims of Medina defeat the Quraish of Mecca in one of the most important early battles of Islam. |
| Battle of Karbala | 680 | 73 | 30,000+ | 1:410 | Muhammad's grandson Husayn ibn Ali- (Husayn, Son of Ali) with 71 men, and a military detachment from the forces of Yazid I, the Umayyad caliph, numbering in the thousands, fought in Battle of Karbala, in which Husayn and all his men died. |
| Battle of Roncevaux Pass | 778 | Roland and his warriors fighting to the last man against the Basques | |||
| Battle of Maldon | 10 August 991 | approximately 200 Anglo-Saxons | 2000-4000 Vikings | 1:10 to 1:20 | A handful of Anglo-Saxon warriors lead by Byrhtnoth fought and were eventually overwhelmed by a force of 2,000 - 4,000 Vikings. |
| Sack of Baghdad | 1258 | 50,000 Baghdadis | 120,000 Mongol army | 1:2 to 1:3 | The defending army of Baghdad under Caliph Al-Musta'sim makes a last stand against Hulagu Khan's large invading army. The destruction of Baghdad brings an end to the Abbasid Caliphate and the Islamic Golden Age. |
| Battle of Posada | November 1330 | 10,000 | 30,000+ | 1:3 | After having agreed to an armistice, Basarab's guides lead the 30,000-strong Hungarian army into an ambush; the Hungarians are slaughtered by the 10,000-strong Wallachian army led by Basarab I himself. When the Hungarian king Charles I Robert sees his knights being killed, he gives his royal insignia to one of his captains (who is killed subsequently) and fights his way back to Hungary in disguise. |
| Defence of Meerut Fort | January 1399 | The army of Tamerlane is stopped by Ilyaas Awaan, the military commander of Meerut fort. Tamerlane's experinced army vastly outnumbered Awaan's small defending force but Awaan stopped Tamerlane for two months. It was only after the death of Awaan that Tamerlane's army was able to take the fort. Tamerlane developed great respect for Awaan and openely praised his bravery and courage. He latter mentioned Awaan in his memoirs as the opponent who gave him the fiercest resistance with an extremely small force. | |||
| First Siege of Krujë | June 1450 | 1,500 Albanians | 150,000 Ottomans | 1:100 | After leaving a protective garrison of 1,500 men under his trusted lieutenant Vrana Konti (also known as Kont Urani), Skanderbeg harassed the Ottoman camps around Krujë and attacked the supply caravans of Sultan Murad II's army. By September the Ottoman camp was in disarray as morale sank and disease ran rampant. The Ottoman army acknowledged that the castle of Krujë would not fall by strength of arms, and lifted the siege and made their way to Edirne. Soon thereafter in the winter of 1450-1451, Murad died in Edirne and was succeeded by his son Mehmed II. |
| Battle of Agincourt | 25 October 1415 | 6-9,000 English | 12-36,000 French | 2:3 to 1:6 | The English army, with no means of retreat but with technological superiority, defeated the numerically superior French army. |
| Fall of Constantinople | May 1453 | 7,000 Byzantine Greeks and some Latin allies | 80-200,000 Ottomans | 1:11 to 1:21 | Fall of the Byzantine Empire: Constantinople captured by Turks under Mehmed II. Death of Emperor Constantine XI in battle. |
| Sack of Rome | 1527 | 189 Swiss Guard | 20,000 Regular Infantry under Charles V | 1:150 | The Swiss Guard stood their ground on the steps of St Peter's Basillica against hordes of regular troops in order to allow the Pope time to escape. Only 42 Guardsmen survived, but their sacrifice saved the life of the Pope. |
| Battle of Cajamarca | November 16, 1532 | 168 Spanish Conquistadores | 80,000 soldiers of Atahuallpa's personal army | 1:476 | The Spaniards managed to defeat the Inca's warriors and capture him |
| Battle of Szigetvár | August 1566 | 2,300 Croats | 90,000 Turks | 1:39 | Capture of Szigetvár by the Ottomans: All but 7 defenders were killed or captured, while the Turks suffered up to 25,000 killed. |
| Battle of Myeongnyang | October 26 1597 | 13 Korean panokseon battleships | 333 Japanese fleet | 1:25 | During the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598), Korean admiral Yi Sun-sin held off a fleet of 333 Japanese ships with only 13 ships using cannons and hwacha. |
| Battle of Pavan Khind | 1660 | 150 Marathas under Baji Prabhu Deshpande | Bijapuri Army (15,000+) | 1:100 | Baji Prabhu Deshpande defended Pavan Khind, a small pass & huge cliffs between Kolhapur and Satara with 150 men against the Bijapur army for more than 14 hours allowing Shivaji to escape to a safer place. |
| Battle of Culloden | 16 April 1746 | 5,400 Jacobites | 9,000 British troops | roughly 1:2 | The last battle between the Jacobite forces under Prince Charles Edward Stuart (aka "Bonnie Prince Charlie") and the forces of the Hanoverian sovereign King George II, ending the Rising of the '45. |
| Defensa del Parque de Artillería de Monteleón | May 2 1808 | 37 Spanish soldiers | Hundreds of French soldiers | ? | Pedro Velarde y Santillán leads the defence of the artillery barracks in Madrid during the spontaneous popular uprising against Napoleon. Hundreds are killed as are Velarde and nearly all his troops. |
| Battle of the Alamo | March 1836 | 183-250 defenders | 1,400-1,600 Mexican assaulters | 1:6 to 1:7 | The Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution. It was the first and last stand for the Coahuila y Tejas, The Texans held out for 12 days. On the 12th day every single armed defender was killed in the battle. |
| Battle of Blood River | 16 December 1838 | 470 Voortrekkers defenders | 10-20,000 Zulu attackers | 1:21 to 1:43 | 470 Boer Voortrekkers successfully defend an impromptu laager of wagons against 10,000 Zulus. |
| Battle of Chapultepec | 13 September 1847 | Niños Héroes - Six Mexican cadets fight to the last man, after General Bravo ordered them to fall back during the Siege of Chapultepec; one of the last events of the Mexican-American War | |||
| Battle of Camarón | 30 April 1863 | 65 Legionnaires | 1600 Mexican attackers | 1:25 | The French Foreign Legion's stand at Camerone (Spanish: Camarón), Mexico. |
| Battle of Port Hudson | May 23-July 9 1863 | 4,652-6,800 CS troops | 30-40,000 US troops | 1:6 | Last Confederate bastion on the mighty Mississippi River. CSA Maj General Franklin Gardner defended against two major attacks by the Union Army of the Gulf commanded by Maj General N P Banks and heavy bombardment by Union flotilla led by Admiral David G Farragut. Longest siege in US military history. Highest casualty rate suffered by Union Army during the Civil War. Union flotilla severly damaged. Worst defeat suffered by Farragut during the war. |
| Battle of Ringgold Gap | 27 November 1863 | 10-20,000 CS troops | 30-60,000 US troops | 1:3 | The division of Confederate Major General Patrick Cleburne held the pass of Ringgold Gap in Northwest Georgia to cover the retreat of the Confederate Army of Tennessee against the entire Union Army Corps of Joseph Hooker of the Army of the Potomac, taking approximately the same number of casualties as their enemy while outnumbered 3:1. |
| Battle of Acosta Ñu | 16 August 1869 | 6,000 mostly children | 20,000+ Brazilian troops | 1:3 | During the Triple Alliance War, while retreating from Asuncion, a paraguayan army of mostly children hold back a Brazilian regiment, until being massacred. During the war up to 90% of paraguay's male population was killed. |
| Battle of the Little Bighorn | 25 June 1876 | 650 Americans | 950-1200 Lakota | roughly 1:2 | Custer's last stand at Battle of the Little Bighorn. |
| Battle of Shipka Pass | 21 August 1877 | 5000 Russian soldiers and Bulgarian Opalchentsi | 30,000 Turkish soldiers | 1:6 | 5000 Russian soldiers and Bulgarian Opalchentsi lead by General Darozhinsky repel 30,000 troops commanded by Suleiman Pasha at the Battle of Shipka Pass. |
| Battle of Shiroyama | 24 September 1877 | 300-400 samurai under Satsuma | 300,000 troops of the Imperial Japanese Army | 1:750 to 1:1000 | 300 samurai against 300,000 troops of the Imperial Japanese Army at the Battle of Shiroyama. |
| Battle of Isandlwana | 22 January 1879 | 1,400 British soldiers | 22,000 Zulu troops | 1:16 | British force of 1,400 men overwhelmed by a 22,000 strong Zulu army at the Battle of Isandlwana, leaving over 1300 British dead. |
| Rorke's Drift | 22 January 1879 | 139 British infantry | 4-5,000 Zulu warriors | 1:29 to 1:36 | 150 British soldiers, primarily of the British Army's 1st battalion of the 24th Regiment of Foot (later the South Wales Borderers), successfully defend the supply station at Rorke's Drift against 4,000 Zulu warriors. This engagement results in the largest number of Victoria Crosses ever awarded a regiment in a single battle. |
| Battle of Tomochic | 20 October 1892 | The last Battle of the Tomochic revolt, the battle of Tomochic, the 100 serrano riflemen stood against 1200 Federal troops for 7 days in the Tomochic forest and finally in the town itself | |||
| Shangani Patrol | 3 December 1893 – 4 December 1893 | 34 British South Africa Police | 3,000 Matabele warriors | 1:88 | The Shangani Patrol was a group of white Rhodesian settlers killed in battle on the Shangani River in Zimbabwe. The incident achieved a lasting, prominent place in Rhodesian colonial history as part of the mythology of white conquest. The remains of the Patrol members were eventually interred next to the bodies of Cecil Rhodes at World's View in the Matobo Hills. |
| Battle of Saragarhi | 12 September 1897 | 21 Sikhs | 10,000 Afghan and Orakazais troops | 1:476 | The Battle of Saragarhi was fought between 21 Sikhs of the 4th Battalion (then 36th Sikhs) of the Sikh Regiment of India, defending an army post, and 10,000 Afghan and Orakazais tribe. |
| Battle of San Juan Hill | July 1, 1898 | 800 Spanish | 15,000 Americans, 4,000 Cubans | 1:24 | The Americans suffered almost three times as many losses as the Spaniards had |
| Battle of El Caney | July 1, 1898 | 500 Spanish | 8,500 Americans, 1,000 Cubans | 1:19 | The Spanish army holds off the more heavily armed Americans for 12 hours while waiting in vain for reinforcements. |
| The Surround of Baler | - | 50 Spaniards | Between 300 and 2,000 filipinos grossing as the siege advanced | 1:6 to 1:40 | Fifty Spanish soldiers and four officers defended this site surrounded for one whole year not knowing that the Filipino-Spanish war was over. |
| Battle of Tirad Pass | 2 December 1899 | 60 Filipino troops | 500 American soldiers | 1:8 | The stand of 60 Filipino soldiers under General Gregorio del Pilar to cover the retreat of President Emilio Aguinaldo during the Philippine-American War. |
| Lost Battalion | 2 – 7 October 1918 | American battalion under Major Charles White Whittlesey holds out in the Argonne Forrest. | |||
| Defense of Sihang Warehouse | 26 October – 1 November 1937 | 414 Chinese | The defense conducted by 414 Chinese soldiers of the Sihang Warehouse against Japanese forces. | ||
| Battle of Westerplatte | 1 September – 7 September 1939 | 182 Polish soldiers 25 civilians | 3,500 German soldiers plus
47-70 Stuka dive bombers |
1:18 | German soldiers were engaged in action against the 205 strong Polish garrison. The exact number of German losses remains unknown or undisclosed, but are estimated to be in range of several hundred. Polish casualties were much lower - 15 killed and 53 wounded. An additional victim, Sergeant Kazimierz Rasinski, the radio telephone operator, was murdered after the capitulation after refusing to give in the radio codes to the Germans. |
| Battle of Moscow | October 1941 - January 1942 | Defense of the Soviet 316th Rifle Division under command of general Ivan Panfilov at Dubosekovo near Volokolamsk during the Battle of Moscow. | |||
| Defence of Brest Fortress | 22 June – 30 July 1941 | 3,500-4,000 Soviet soldiers | 30,000-40,000 German soldiers | roughly 1:10 | Defenders were cut off from the outside world and ran out of food, water and ammunition, but still fought and counter-attacked until the very last minute. The Germans deployed tanks, tear gas and flame throwers but could not break Soviet resistance. After the Germans had taken most of the ruined fortifications, taking heavy casualties, bloody fighting continued underground. Even after the fortress was officially taken, the few surviving defenders continued to hide in the basements and to harass the Germans for several months. One of the signs on the wall of Brest Fortress: "I'm dying, but I would not surrender. Farewell, Motherland. 20.VII.41" |
| Battle of Pasir Panjang | 13 February 1942 | 1,400 Malay, British, Indian and Australian soldiers | 13,000 Japanese troops | 1:9 | Soldiers from the Royal Malay Regiment, The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment, the British 2nd Loyals Regiment, the 44th Indian Brigade and the 22nd Australian Brigade made a futile attempt to stop the advancing Japanese towards the city centre of Singapore. In the final hours of battle, a Malay soldier, 2nd Lt. Adnan Bin Saidi, led a paltry 42-man platoon against thousands of invaders, leaving them with no survivors except one. The Japanese suffered a disproportionately high number of casualties, and they tortured 2nd Lt. Adnan before executing him. |
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| Battle of Corregidor | 5 May – 6 May 1942 | 13,000 American and Filipino soldiers | 75,000 Japanese troops | 1:6 | The 4th Marine Regiment falls under the advance of the Imperial Japanese Army's final assault at the Battle of Corregidor after due to the enemy assault and of the onset of disease such as malaria and cholera. |
| Battle of Buna-Gona | 16 November 1942 – 22 January 1943 | Japanese defence of the Papuan beachheads at the Battle of Buna-Gona. | |||
| Battle of Ramou (臘猛) | May – 14 September 1944 | 1,260 Japanese Troops | 50,000 Chinese (Nationalist) Troops | 1:40 | One Japanese regiment against five Chinese divisions in South China, near Burma. Three Japanese were ordered by Maj. Kanemitsu, the officer commanding, to retreated to the head quarter to report after their position fell and became the only survivors. There was no air cover or supply. |
| Battle of Angaur. | 20 September – 30 September 1944 | 1,400 Japanese Troops | 15,000 American Troops | 1:10 | The Japanese defense of Angaur. |
| Battle of Iwo Jima. | 19 February – 26 March 1945 | 22,000 Japanese Troops | 110,000 American Troops | 1:5 | The Japanese defense of Iwo Jima against a combined land, sea, and air assault by the United States. |
| Battle for Berlin | 16 April – 8 May 1945 | Last stand of the German army against invading Soviet and Resistance forces into Berlin | |||
| Bukit Kepong Incident | 23 February 1950 | 25 police & auxilliary police personnel | 200 Communist Terrorists | 1:8 | Bukit Kepong Incident near Muar, Malaysia. |
| Battle of Chosin Reservoir | 26 November 1950 – December 13 1950 | ||||
| Battle of the Imjin River | 22 April – 25 April 1951 | The Gloucestershire Regiment at the Battle of the Imjin River. | |||
| Battle of Dien Bien Phu | 13 March – 7 May 1954 | 10,800 French | 63,000 Vietnamese | 1:5 | Final battle of the First Indochina War between French colonial forces and Viet Minh revolutionary forces under General Vo Nguyen Giap. |
| Rezang La | 18 November 1962 | The 13th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment at Rezang La (Sino-Indian War). | |||
| Battle of Ia Drang | 14 November – 17 November, 1965 | The 1st Battalion/7th Cavalry, the 2nd Battalion/7th Cavalry, and the 1st Battalion/5th Cavalry at the Battle of Ia Drang. | |||
| Battle of Long Tan | 18 August – 19 August, 1966 | Australian Army (108) | North Vietnamese Army, Viet Cong (1500-2650) | 1:15 | The Battle of Long Tần is arguably the most famous battle fought by the Australian Army during the Vietnam War. It was fought in a rubber plantation near the village of Long Tần, about 4 km north-east of Vung Tau, South Vietnam on August 18–19, 1966. |
| Battle of Longewala | 05 December – 06 December, 1971 | 1 Indian Company (120) | 1 Pakistani Armoured Brigade (3000) | 1:20 | The Indian 'A' company of 120 odd soldiers of the 23rd Bn, Punjab Regiment, managed to hold a 2000-3000 strong assault force of the 51st Infantry Brigade of the Pakistani Army- backed by the 22nd Armoured Regiment- before the Indian Air Force flew in. |
| Battle of Khe Sanh | 21 January – 8 April, 1968 | 6000 Marines | 20000 North Vietnamese | roughly 1:3 | 6,000 U.S. forces, primarily Marines, successfully defend this base against 20,000 North Vietnamese forces. |
| 22 October 1973 | The Barak Armored Brigade defending the southern Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur War. | ||||
| Battle of Xuan Loc | April 1975 | 6000 ARVN soldiers | 40000 North Vietnamese | 1:7 | During last major battle of the Vietnam War, the Battle of Xuan Loc, the vastly outnumbered ARVN 18th Division stood and fought at Xuan Loc. |
| Battle of Vukovar | August 25 and November 18, 1991 | 2000 Croatian National Guard | 36000 Mixture of verious Serb forces | 1:18 | see Battle of Vukovar |
| Battle of Mogadishu | October 3 and 4, 1993 | 160 USSOF and UNOSOM II | 2000+ Somali National Alliance - affiliated militias | 1:13 | see Battle of Mogadishu |
| Battle of Hill 776 | 29 February – 01 March, 2000 | 85 Russian paratroopers | ~2,000 Chechen mujahideen | ~1:24 | During one of the last major battles of the Second Chechen War, a vastly outnumbered company of Russian airborne troops stood and fought against an assault by Chechen rebels on Hill 776 near Ulus-Kert in the Chechen Republic. All but one of the 85 Russians died - 400 rebels were killed. |
References
- "The Greek and Persian Wars, 499-386 BC" - Philip De Souza, p. 41
- Thomas Kelly (University of Minnesota) (2003). "Persian Propaganda - A Neglected Factor in Xerxes' Invasion of Greece and Herodotus", Iranica Antiqua 38, p. 198.
- Histories VII
- http://en.wikipedia.org/Battle_of_Agincourt#The_battle
- Edwin Pears, The Destruction of the Greek Empire and the Story of the Capture of Constantinople by the Turks
http://en.wikipedia.org/Battle_of_Saragarhi
See also
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