10 Most Epic Military Last Stands

[TheFlak36]

10. Battle of Dien Bien Phu. Indochina 1954

The French outpost was surrounded by over 40.000 Viet Minh troops. The 13.000 French soldiers held the position for 57 days before surrendering.

9. Fall of Constantinopel. Byzantium, 1453

Οutnumbered 10 to 1 by 80.000 Ottomans, the Byzantine capital fell after a 40-day siege with canon bombardement. Τhe Byzantine Empire had ceased to exist.

8. Battle of Shiroyama. Japan, 1877

Field Marshal Takamori Saigo and his force of 500 Samurai were outnumbered 60 to 1. The 30.000-strong Imperial Army destroyed the last of the Samurai.

7. Battle of Rorke's Drift. South Africa, 1879

A British garrison of 150 men repelled repeated attacks from 3.000 Zulu warriors. The intense assault lasted 12 hours but the British held on.

6. Battle of the Alamo. Texas, 1836

Some 4.000 Mexican troops layed siege to the Texans for 13 days. Few of the 200 defenders were spared when the fort fell.

5. Siege of Szigetvar. Hungary, 1566

A garrison of 2.000 men held this fortress for a month against 80.000 Ottomans. No defenders survived and 20.000 Turks were killed during the battle.

4. Battle of Camerone. Mexico, 1863

A small company of the French Foreign Legion was attacked by Mexican forces. Most of the 65 Legionaires died whilst fighting the 2.000 Mexicans. The legend of the French Foreign Legion was born.

3. The Battle of Wizna. Poland, 1939

A force of 750 Polish soldiers held the entire German 3rd Army and its 350 tanks. The 3-day delay helped postpone the fall of Warsaw.

2. Battle of 'Killer Hill'. Finland, 1940

A tiny force of 32 Finns held their position against 4.000 Soviet troops. Over 400 Soviet troops died and only 4 Finns survived the battle.

1. Battle of Thermopylae (Hotgates). Greece, 480 BC

A Greek force of 7000 Thespians led by 300 Spartans and their King Leonidas held their position for 3 days against a force of 1 million Persians (according to ancient sources). They were eventually betrayed, surrounded and defeated. Both ancient and modern writers have used the Battle of Thermopylae as an example of the power of a patriotic army defending its native soil. The performance of the defenders at the Battle of Thermopylae is also used as an example of the advantages of training, equipment, and good use of terrain as force multipliers and has become a symbol of courage against overwhelming odds.

[Bluemax]

I had an ancestor at Roark's Drift.

About the Battle of the Alamo. Roughly 10% of the defenders were Tejanos, Texans of Mexican decent. What riles me at times is how the Alamo is portrayed as a conflict between Americans trying to take over Texas and make it a slave state, whereas Santa Ana wanted to preserve it for Mexico and abolish slavery. Both Yucatan and Jallisco rose up against Santa Ana because he abolished the Mexican Constitution, and those states were 100% Mexican. Santa Ana dealt with them brutally. Santa Ana's government rendered the legislature almost completely irrelevant and installed him as a dictator. Santa Ana did oppose slavery ( as did Stephen Austin ), but he had no problems installing himself as a dictator. THAT'S why the Texans and Tejanos rose against him. Tejanos only comprised roughly 5% of the population of Texas, yet the we're DISPROPORTIONATELY represented defending the Alamo against Santa Ana. It wasn't just Mexicans vs. Texans. It was people who rose up against a dictator vs. people who supported a dictator.

[FinnishBeautyGirl]

So cool MyTake @TheFlak36 <3 thank you for mentioning that battle and my people :)

[TheFlak36]

One does not simply invade Finland :D

[FinnishBeautyGirl]

:D YAAAAS and again wtf is wrong w/ my msgs

[lkjhg69cum]

Awesome. Love this. It's great to see a student of military history on here. Great post.

[TheFlak36]

Thank you.

[peachblossomluck]

300 being my flavorite movie, this my take was certainly no disappointment ♡

[TheFlak36]

Thank you! I disliked the movie though as it is completely exaggerated and inaccurate.

[peachblossomluck]

That's how movies are because they have to sensationalize for entertainment.

[TheFlak36]

I still believe the Orc-like creatures could be spared.

[peachblossomluck]

I think that was more like a metaphor than an actual part if history. Many stories are.

[Mártainn]

Great choice.

The last stand of the Glorious Glosters during the Battle of the Imjin River (22–25 April 1951) was pretty epic too. Well, the whole battle was rather spectacular but the defense of Gloster Hill was the highlight of this engagement.

[takumii]

I am impressed by your knowledge about historic wars, And I knew that Sparta was gonna be at #1

[TheFlak36]

Thank you.

[TheSpartan]

Thermopoylae and Shiroyama are my favorites. Best fucking take ever.

[TheFlak36]

I like Killer Hill so much. The Finns were badasses in the Winter War.

[FinnishBeautyGirl]

Of course we were :D GO FINNS! Suomalaista sisua! Finland vs. Soviet Union in the freezing cold Winter War, it was -40 celsium degrees in that winter

[Joc4Position]

I knew what number one would be. Number two is impressive too.

[Mysterio421]

I think there was a movie based off of the Battle of Shiroyama. All but one Samurai was spared in the movie. They honored the last samurai.

[TheFlak36]

The Last Samurai. Not so correct historically speaking but it's a great film.

[bluenose1872]

Number 1 didn't pan out as it said in the film. There was a huge naval battle happening right beside the pass. The naval commander was the real hero of the show

[TheFlak36]

The naval battle took place afterwards.

[tenchu11]

Use commas not periods :)

[TheFlak36]

Yeah I make this mistake.

[Anpu23]

Missed the fall of bode

[Anpu23]

Sorry phone froze see en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Watling_Street for Bodecias fall

[Northeast106]

The last picture is really creepy.

[DiogoRibeiro]

Cool list! :D

[TheFlak36]

thank you!