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'''Last stand''' is a vide game online
'''Last stand''' is a loose ] term used to describe a body of ] holding a defensive position in the face of overwhelming odds. The defensive force usually takes very heavy casualties or is completely destroyed, while also inflicting high casualties on the opponent. In rare exceptions, such as ] and ], the defending force is ultimately victorious.

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 ] may also result in their deaths, and that to fight to their deaths is a better choice in the circumstances.

A ] will often lead to a last stand by the defenders of the besieged ]. However, while sieges are generally characterised by a lengthy engagement, last stands are generally brief and decisive.

== 480 BC - 1000 AD ==
{| style="border:1px solid #A3B1BF; text-align:left; background:#f5faff"
|-<!--COLUMN HEADINGS-->
| width="15%" style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Name'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Date'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Defending army'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Attacking army'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Ratio'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Details'''
|-<!--1ST HEADING-->
| colspan="6" style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.2em; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.9em; text-align:center;" |
|-<!--1ST ROW 1ST COLUMN-->
|]
|480 BC
|300 ]ns and 6,700 other ]
|60,000 to 300,000 ] army (modern estimates)<ref>Thomas Kelly (]) (2003), "Persian Propaganda - A Neglected Factor in Xerxes' Invasion of Greece and Herodotus", ''Iranica Antiqua'' '''38''', p. 198, gives 60,000 to 300,000 as a common range of modern estimates.</ref><ref>Philip De Souza, ''The Greek and Persian Wars, 499-386 BC'', p. 41, gives 150,000 to 200,000 as a modern consensus.</ref>
800,000 to 2,100,000 ] army (ancient sources)

|1:9 to 1:43
1:114 to 1:300
|King ] and his Spartan soldiers, accompanied by a force of allied Greek city states, held back a much larger Persian force under ] for three days in one of the most memorable and eulogized last stands in ].<br>*Historical ranges vary (see ]).
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|330 BC
|700<ref name=Iranica>, ].</ref> ]
|10,000 to 17,000 ]<ref name=Iranica/>
|1:25
|]es led the Persian resistance at the ], in a last stand against ] and killed a large number of Alexander's Macedonian troops. Despite Ariobarzanes' skillful tactics, Alexander defeated him and burned ] to the ground.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|326 BC
|22,000 ]
|41,000-135,000 ]ian army
|1:2 to 1:6
|]' smaller ] ] army fell against ]'s large army near the ] in ], where Alexander's army suffered up to 12,000 casualties in another ]. Alexander was impressed and spared Porus' life.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|134-133 b.c.e.
|~4,000 ]
|60,000 ]
|1:15
|The culminating and pacifying action of the long-running ] between the forces of the ] and those of the native ] population of ]. The city refused to surrender and starvation set in. Cannibalism ensued; eventually some began to commit suicide with their whole families. The remnant population finally surrendered only after setting their city on fire. Scipio took it and had its ruins levelled.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|Catiline Conspiracy
|62 BC
|Unknown
|Unknown
|Unknown
|] and his army were annihilated at Pistoria (now ]). "eave to your enemies a bloody and mournful victory."
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|73
|1,000 Jews
|15,000 Romans
|1:15
|Jewish ] committed mass suicide rather than face the prospect of surrender to the Roman army at ]
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|642
|100,000<ref>An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present By David Eggenberger, pg 305</ref>-150,000<ref>Age of Faith, Durrant</ref>
|30,000
|3:1 to 5:1
|The ] fought its final battle against the Arab conquerors. The Arabs outmaneuvered and defeated the Sassanid force, effectively ending the empire.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|680
|73
|30,000+
|1:410
|]'s grandson ]- (Husayn, Son of Ali) with 71 men fought a military detachment from the forces of ], the ] ], numbering in the thousands, in ]. Husayn and all his men died.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|778
|
|
|
|] and his warriors fought to the last man against the ].
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]
|approximately 200 Anglo-Saxons
|2,000-4,000 Vikings
|1:10 to 1:20
|A handful of Anglo-Saxon warriors led by ] fought and were eventually overwhelmed by a force of 2,000 - 4,000 ].
|}

== 1000 - 1700 ==
{| style="border:1px solid #A3B1BF; text-align:left; background:#f5faff"
|-<!--COLUMN HEADINGS-->
| width="15%" style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Name'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Date'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Defending army'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Attacking army'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Ratio'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Details'''
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|1258
|50,000 ]is
|120,000 ] army
|1:2 to 1:3
|The defending army of ] under ] made a last stand against ]'s large invading army. The destruction of Baghdad brought an end to the ] and the ].
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|November 1330
|10,000
|30,000+
|1:3
|After having agreed to an armistice, Basarab's guides led the 30,000-strong Hungarian army into an ambush; the Hungarians were slaughtered by the 10,000-strong Wallachian army led by ]. When the Hungarian king ] saw his knights being killed, he gave his royal insignia to one of his captains (who was subsequently killed) and fought his way back to Hungary in disguise.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|January 1399
|Much smaller
|Much larger
|
|The army of ] was stopped by Ilyaas Awaan, the military commander of ] Fort in northern ]. Tamerlane's experienced 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 later mentioned Awaan in his memoirs as the opponent who gave him the fiercest resistance with an extremely small force.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|June 1450
|1,500 Albanians
|150,000 Ottomans
|1:100
|After leaving a protective ] of 1,500 men under his trusted lieutenant ] (also known as ]), ] harassed the Ottoman camps around ] and attacked the supply caravans of ]'s army. By September, the Ottoman camp was in disarray, as morale sank and disease ran rampant. The Ottoman army acknowledged that the ] of Krujë would not fall by strength of arms, and lifted the siege and made their way to ].
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|May 1453
|7,000 ] and ] allies
|80,000-200,000 Ottomans<ref>''Edwin Pears,'' The Destruction of the Greek Empire and the Story of the Capture of Constantinople by the Turks</ref>
|1:11 to 1:21
|Constantinople was captured by the Turks under ] after a two-month siege. On ], ] the Turks stormed the city. Though the Byzantines and their Western allies held off the first two waves of the Turks, the third wave broke through. Emperor ], seeing that the battle was lost, begged his fellow soldiers to kill him: "the city is fallen but I yet live, isn't there a Christian here to take my head?" When his soldiers refused to, he stripped off his imperial insignia, and, sword in hand, fought to the death like a common foot soldier. His death signalled the death-knell of the ], bringing an end to the last remnant of the Roman Empire.
|-

|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|1552
|2,100 Hungarians
|150,000 - 200,000 Ottomans (around 80,000 combat troops)
|1:40 to 1:100
|Due to heavy losses in troops and morale, the Ottoman army ultimately retreated.
|-

|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|1565
|700 Knights of Malta and 5,000 Maltese soldiers (mostly irregulars)
|48,000 Ottomans (around 36,000 effective combat troops)
|1:8
|Ottomans chose to besiege Maltese islands in order to later invade Italy after conquering Malta. The Knights Hospitaller made a last stand to provide time for the Christian to kingdoms prepare for the Ottoman threat. The main mistake of the Ottomans was failure to attack the biggest Maltese forts, ] and ], instead exhausting their force taking Fort St. Elmo and Birgu. After a 115-day long siege, due to heavy losses in troops and morale, the Ottoman army ultimately retreated to the sea.
|-

|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|August 1566
|2,300 Croats and Hungarians
|90,000 Turks
|1:39
|All but seven defenders under the leadership of Croatian ban Nikola Šubić Zrinski were killed, while the Ottoman Turks suffered up to 25,000 killed.{{Fact|date=March 2007}}
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]
|13 Korean ] battleships
|333 Japanese fleet
|1:25
|During the ], Korean admiral ] held the strait from a fleet of 133 Japanese warships and at least 200 Japanese logistical support ships. Many Japanese warships were sunk or disabled during the battle and the Japanese were forced to retreat. Given the disparity in numbers, the battle is regarded as one of Admiral Yi's most remarkable victories.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|1660
|150 Marathas under ]
|Bijapuri Army (15,000+)
|1:100
|] defended Pavan Khind, a small pass and huge cliffs between ] and ], with 150 men against the Bijapur army for more than 14 hours, allowing ] to escape to a safer place.
|}

== 1700 - 1870 ==
{| style="border:1px solid #A3B1BF; text-align:left; background:#f5faff"
|-<!--COLUMN HEADINGS-->
| width="15%" style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Name'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Date'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Defending army'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Attacking army'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Ratio'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Details'''
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]
|5,400 Jacobites
|9,000 British troops
|roughly 1:2
|The last battle between the Jacobite forces commanded by Prince ] (aka "Bonnie Prince Charlie") and the forces of ] ended the Rising of the '45.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-

|-

|]
|] ]
|30,00 Mysore troops
|60,000 British troops
|roughly 1:2
|Tipu Sultan was betrayed in this war by one of his commanders, Mir Sadiq, a traitor who was bought by the British. Tippu Sultan died defending his capital on ]. The Kingdom of Mysore became a princely state of British India.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-

|]
|May 2 1808
|37 Spanish soldiers
|Hundreds of French soldiers
|?
|Pedro Velarde y Santillán led the defence of the artillery barracks in Madrid during the spontaneous popular uprising against Napoleon. Hundreds were killed, among them Velarde and nearly all of his troops.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|23 February - ] ]
|185 defenders
|1800 - 2000 Mexican troops <ref>Bryan Perrett, ''Last Stand: Famous Battles Against the Odds''. London: Arms and Armour, 1993; pp. 26-37.</ref>
|1:11
|The Battle of the Alamo during the ] was the first and last stand for the volunteers from Coahuila y Tejas. The garrison commander, South Carolinan attorney Willian Barret Travis, meant to delay Santa Ana's invasion on the north shore of the Rio Brazos, buying time for Sam Houston to build up his army. The garrison held out for 12 days. On the 13th day, every defender died in a surprise, pre-dawn attack. Overall casualties for the Mexicans numbered around 600 dead, conservatively. Over 200 Mexicans were killed outright, and another 400 or more died of their wounds in the ensuing weeks. The battle was a Pyrrhic victory for Santa Ana, who could ill-afford to lose a third of his fighting force to such a small collection of volunteers.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]
|470 Voortrekkers defenders
|10,000-20,000 Zulu attackers
|1:21 to 1:43
|470 Boer ] successfully defended an impromptu ] of wagons against 10,000 ].
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]
|
|
|
|] - Six Mexican cadets fought to the last man, after ] ordered them to fall back during the ]; one of the last events of the ]
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]
|65 Legionnaires
|800 Mexican cavalry and 1200 infantry
|1:12
|The ]'s stand at ], ]. Capt. Jean Danjou and his company of men, with pack mules carrying supplies, were caught in the open by Mexican cavalry while attempting to locate and reinforce the French relief column from Veracruz. They formed square and fought their way under attack to the hacienda of Camerone, where they continued fighting until only three were left. The survivors surrendered to the Mexicans, on the terms that they keep their weapons and receive safe conduct to their own lines. The Mexicans honored their word. The battle established the reputation of the Legion as an elite corps.<ref>Bryan Perrett, ''Last Stand: Famous Battles Against the Odds''. London: Arms and Armour, 1993; pp. 38-47.</ref>
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|May 23-July 9 1863
|4,652-6,800 CS troops
|30,000-40,000 US troops
|1:6
|Major General ] defended the last Confederate bastion on the ] against two major attacks by the ], commanded by Major General ] and a Union flotilla led by Admiral ]. It was the longest siege in US military history, with the highest casualty rate suffered by Union Army during the Civil War. The Union flotilla was severely damaged, making it the worst defeat suffered by Farragut during the war.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]
|10,000-20,000 CS troops
|30,000-60,000 US troops
|1:3
|The division of Confederate Major General ] held the pass of ] Gap in Northwest ] to cover the retreat of the ] ] against the entire ] corps of ] of the ]. Cleburne's division took approximately the same number of casualties as their enemy, while outnumbered 3:1. Just two days before, the same division had successfully held Tunnel Hill, the north end of ], against the four divisions of Major General ]'s corps on the third day of the ]. The center of the line two miles (3 km) south, under the direct command of Gen. ], collapsed under assault by the troops of ].
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]
|6,000 mostly children
|20,000+ Brazilian troops
|1:3
|During the Triple Alliance War, while retreating from Asuncion, a Paraguayan army consisting mostly of children held back a Brazilian regiment, until being massacred.
|}

== 1870 - 1930 ==
{| style="border:1px solid #A3B1BF; text-align:left; background:#f5faff"
|-<!--COLUMN HEADINGS-->
| width="15%" style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Name'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Date'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Defending army'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Attacking army'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Ratio'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Details'''
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]
|208 US Cavalry under Custer
|1800 Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapahoe
|roughly 1:9
|]'s famous "Last stand". The Federal cavalry officer and hero of Gettysburg refused an extra battalion of men from General Terry and left a battery of Gatling guns at the Steamboat ''Far West'' on the Yellowstone River, knowing he was facing superior odds. Four days later he stumbled upon a very large encampment, 3.5-5 miles long on the west side of the Little Bighorn. His Crow scouts rode off at that point. Custer then divided his forces in a three-way pincers move. The defenders beat back the initial attacks, forced Custer's supporting columns under Reno and Benteen into a defensive position, and pursued Custer and his men up onto a long, open ridge. The entire force with Custer died. Reno and Benteen's men, dug in over three miles (5 km) away, survived a three-day siege until relieved by General Terry.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]
|5000 Russian soldiers and Bulgarian ]
|30,000 Turkish soldiers
|1:6
|5000 Russian soldiers and Bulgarian ] led by General Darozhinsky repelled 30,000 troops commanded by ] at the Battle of Shipka Pass.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]
|300-400 samurai under Satsuma
|300,000 troops of the Imperial Japanese Army
|1:750 to 1:1000
|300 ] faced 300,000 troops of the ] at the Battle of Shiroyama.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]
|1,400 British soldiers
|22,000 Zulu troops
|1:16
|A British force of 1,400 men was overwhelmed by a 22,000 strong ] army at the Battle of Isandlwana and suffered over 1300 dead.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]
|139 British infantry
|4,000-5,000 Zulu warriors
|1:29 to 1:36
|150 British soldiers successfully defend the supply station at ] against 4,000 ] warriors. This engagement resulted in the largest number of ] ever awarded a regiment in a single battle.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]
|
|
|
|In the last battle of the ], 100 Serrano riflemen stood against 1200 Federal troops for seven days in the Tomochic forest and finally in the town itself.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ] &ndash; ] ]
|34 British South Africa Police
|3,000 Matabele warriors
|1:88
|The Shangani Patrol was a group of white ] settlers killed in battle on the Shangani River in ]. The incident achieved a lasting, prominent place in Rhodesian colonial history as part of the mythology of white conquest.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]
|21 ]s
|10,000 ] and ] troops
|1:476
|The ] was fought between 21 Sikhs of the 4th Battalion (then 36th Sikhs) of the ] of ], defending an army post, against 10,000 Afghans and Orakzai tribesmen.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|July 1, 1898
|800 Spanish
|15,000 Americans, 4,000 Cubans
|1:24
|The Americans suffered almost three times as many losses compared to the Spaniards.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|July 1, 1898
|500 Spanish
|8,500 Americans, 1,000 Cubans
|1:19
|The Spanish army held off the more heavily-armed Americans for 12 hours while waiting in vain for reinforcements.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|-
|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 a whole year, not knowing that the Filipino-Spanish war was over.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
| October 1899 - May 1900
|2000 UK Combatants
|8000 Boer Combatants
|1:4
|The ] was the most famous British action in the Second Boer War. It took place at the town of Mafeking (now Mafikeng) in South Africa over a period of 217 days, from October 1899 to May 1900, and turned ], who went on to found the ] movement, into a national hero. The lifting of the Siege of Mafeking was a decisive victory for the British and a crushing defeat for the Boers.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]
|60 Filipino troops
|500 American soldiers
|1:8
|The stand of 60 Filipino soldiers under General ] covered the retreat of ] ] during the ].
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|

|-

|]
|] 1915
| ]
|Coalition Armies
|
|The Gallipoli campaign took place between April and December 1915 in an effort to take the Dardanelles from the Turkish Ottoman Empire (an ally of Germany and Austria) and thus force it out of the war. Some 60,000 Australians and 18,000 New Zealanders were part of a larger British force. Some 26,000 Australians and 7,571 New Zealanders were wounded; and 7,594 Australians and 2,431 New Zealanders were killed. In numerical terms, Gallipoli was a minor campaign, but it took on considerable national and personal importance to the Australians and New Zealanders who fought there. Bouvet and Irresistible are sunk together with coalition dreams to get Istanbul.

|-
|]
|] ]
|35,000 ]n troops (1 Division)
|at least 75,000 ] and ] troops (6 Divisions)
|1:2,5-3
|The stand of the Bulgarian 9th Infantry Division on the fortified position around Doiran under General ] against superior Allied forces. The Bulgarians inflicted 59,000 casualties on the enemy while losing 494 soldiers. The Bulgarian victory saved the country from an Allied occupation.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|2 &ndash; ] ]
|
|
|
|An American battalion under Major ] held out in the Argonne Forrest.

|-
|]
|]]
|330 mostly ill-equipped ] irregulars
|] ]
|
|The result is a Russian tactical victory, but a Polish strategic victory. The Polish force, although inflicting heavy losses, was almost completely annihilated. Their stand did manage to halt the Soviet advance and prevent the Bolsheviks from seizing Lwów, effectively buying time for the Polish defense of Warsaw.
|}

== 1930 - 1945 ==
{| style="border:1px solid #A3B1BF; text-align:left; background:#f5faff"
|-<!--COLUMN HEADINGS-->
| width="15%" style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Name'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Date'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Defending army'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Attacking army'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Ratio'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Details'''
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] &ndash; ] ]
|414 Chinese
|
|
|414 Chinese soldiers defended the Sihang Warehouse against Japanese forces.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] &ndash; ] ]
|182 Polish soldiers 25 civilians
|3,500 German soldiers plus
47-70 Stuka dive bombers
|1:18
|The Polish garrison held out for a week against the German invaders. The exact number of German losses remains unknown or undisclosed, but are estimated to be in the range of several hundred. Polish casualties were much lower - 15 killed and 53 wounded.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|]]
|57 Polish militiamen
|Unknown German forces
|Unknown
|
The Polish garrison of the post office held out against the German assault, while under heavy bombardment, from 0445 to 1800 hours, refusing a call at 1500 hours to surrender. Only six defenders were killed in action; however, after surrender, all but four of them were executed as ].
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ] &ndash; ] ]
|11,000 Finnish soldiers
|45,000-50,000 Soviet soldiers
|Roughly 1:4
|The Battle of Suomussalmi was a battle in the Winter War conflict. In this one-month battle the vastly superior Soviet forces lost against the light Finnish ski troops. In this battle the ] tactic was used successfully.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|]– ], ]
|14,000 British, Indian, Australian, Czech and Polish soldiers
|35,000 Germans and Italian soldiers
|2:5
|The longest siege in British history, it proved the ] vulnerability against ]s, entrenched ] and ] fire. A total of three attempts were made to relieve the siege. Despite the numerical and armory advantage of the ], the defenders were able to hold due to the naval superiority of the ]; not only supplies, but the ] and the ] were able to replace the ] and a brigade of ]. The siege also saw a number of ] and ].
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|], ]-], ]
|449 Marines, 68 US Navy personnel and 1221 civilian construction workers
|2500 Japanese infantry, supporting air and naval forces.<ref>Perrett, Bryan. Last Stand: Famous Battles Against the Odds. London: Arms & Armour, 1993.</ref>
|1:6
|After a 16-day siege, several unsuccessful landing attempts, the loss of two destroyers and nearly 30 aircraft, and extensive damage to its landing fleet, the Japanese succeeded in getting USMC Maj. Devereux to surrender "honorably". The Japanese lost an estimated 900 dead and over 1100 wounded. 49 US Marines, 3 naval personnel, and 70 civilian workers died. Most of the American survivors either died as POWs or were murdered by the Japanese after the surrender, for bringing disgrace on his Imperial Majesty's forces. 98 Americans were kept on the island as slave labor, but were eventually machine-gunned en masse in October 1943. One survivor who escaped the massacre scratched a monument to the dead on a coral rock reading: 98 US PW 5-10-43. He was later recaptured and personally beheaded by Admiral Sakaibara.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|October 1941 - January 1942
|
|
|
|Defense of the ] 316th Rifle Division under command of General ] at ] near ] during the Battle of Moscow.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-

|Defence of ]
|] &ndash; ] ]
|3,500-4,000 Soviet soldiers
|30,000-40,000 German soldiers
|roughly 1:10
|The defenders were cut off from the outside world and ran out of food, water and ammunition, but still fought and counter-attacked to the very end.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] &ndash; ] ]
|~200 Slovenian partisans
|~2000 Wehrmacht troops with supporting artillery
|1:10
|In the first confrontation between Slovenian partisans and occupying German forces, the village of Dražgoše was razed to the ground following three days of ferocious fighting in which nine partisans and more than 100 German soldiers were killed. Following the partisan retreat, Germans rounded up the locals, executed adult males and older boys on-site, and interned the rest of the population in concentration camps.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]
|1,400 Malay, British, Indian and Australian soldiers
|13,000 Japanese troops
|1:9
|Soldiers from the ], ], 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 centre of ]. In the final hours of battle, a Malay soldier, 2nd Lieutenant ], led a 42-man platoon against thousands of invaders, leaving a sole survivor. The Japanese suffered a disproportionately high number of casualties, and tortured Adnan before executing him.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] &ndash; ] ]
|13,000 American and Filipino soldiers
|75,000 Japanese troops
|1:6
|The ] fell under the advance of the ]'s ] at the Battle of Corregidor.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ] &ndash; ] ]
|
|
|
|]ese defence of the Papuan beachheads at the Battle of Buna-Gona.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|May &ndash; ] ]
|1,260 Japanese Troops
|50,000 Chinese (Nationalist) Troops
|1:40
|One Japanese regiment fought five Chinese divisions in South China, near Burma. Three Japanese soldiers were ordered by Major Kanemitsu, the officer commanding, to report to headquarters after their position fell and became the only survivors. There was no air cover or supply.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|] &ndash;
|] 1944|
|9000 paratroopers, 1st British Airborne Division
|2 German Panzer divisions.
|
|The 1st British Airborne Division was charged with securing and holding the bridge--the final bridgehead leading into Germany--against anticipated light opposition until Field Marshall Montgomery's heavy armored divisions could arrive to relieve them. Allied aerial reconnaissance never identified the two German Panzer divisions resting in the area and Montgomery's troops never got there. Once the Paratroopers had seized the bridge, the Germans counterattacked in force, eventually forcing the bridge, and fighting it out with Britain's crack parachutists in three brutal days of house-to-house fighting while suffering heavy casualties themselves. In the end, about 1000 were evacuated, with the rest of the survivors wounded or captured. The 1st British Airborne suffered 90% casualties.
|-
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|].
|] &ndash; ] ]
|1,400 Japanese Troops
|15,000 American Troops
|1:10
|The Japanese defense of Angaur.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]-] ]
|about 12,000 US Paratroopers
|15 Divisions of Germans
|Roughly 2:25
|Under their impetuous commander, ] the vastly outnumbered, underequipped, and exhausted ] seized the town of ] early in the ] to defend this strategic crossroads from the German Advance. Completely surrounded by the Germans on ], the 101st could only be sustained by airdrops from ]s. When the German commander, ] asked the 101st's acting commander, ] to surrender, McAuliffe's famously terse reply was "Nuts!". Nonetheless, the unit held off several German Panzer divisions with hand grenades and light arms, until eventually relieved by ]'s ] on ].
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|].
|] &ndash; ] ]
|22,000 Japanese Troops
|110,000 American Troops
|1:5
|The Japanese defended Iwo Jima against a combined land, sea, and air assault by the United States.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] &ndash; ] ]
|766,750 German Soldiers
|2,500,000 Soviet soldiers
|1:3
|Last stand of the ] army against ] forces in the German capital.
|}

== 1946 - ==
{| style="border:1px solid #A3B1BF; text-align:left; background:#f5faff"
|-<!--COLUMN HEADINGS-->
| width="15%" style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Name'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Date'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Defending army'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Attacking army'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Ratio'''
| style="background: #cee0f2; padding: 0.3em; text-align:center;"|'''Details'''
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]
|25 police and auxiliary police personnel
|200 Communists
|1:8
|A police station near ], ] was besieged by Communist guerrillas.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ] &ndash; ], ]
|About 30,000 U.S. and British soldiers
|60,000 Chinese.
|Roughly 1:2
|UN forces were surrounded by China's People's Liberation Army units. USMC ] had planned for the contingency, and ordered a fighting retreat by the US' 1st Marine Division. It cut his way out, bringing out all his dead and wounded, and leaving the remnants of 4 shattered Chinese divisions in his path. In contrast, the Army's ] failed to break out.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] &ndash; ] ]
|750 British soldiers
|Approx. 70,000 Chinese soldiers
|1:94
|The last stand of the ] at Gloster Hill cost the Chinese over 10,000 dead and resulted in the 63rd Army being removed from the line. Out of 750 men of the 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, only 160 mustered for roll-call after the battle. The Glosters won between them 2 Victoria Crosses, 1 George Cross, 3 Distinguished Service Orders and 3 Military Crosses. Out of the British 29th Brigade, over 1000 men were killed or captured by the Chinese.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] &ndash; ] ]
|10,800 French
|63,000 Vietnamese
|1:5
|The final battle of the ] pitted ] forces against ] forces under General ].
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] ]
|123 Indian soldiers from ] of ]
|Approx. 7000 Chinese soldiers
|1:57
|The 13th Battalion, ] led by ] at Rezang La ('']''). Of the 123 Indian soldiers, 109 died.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|Landing Zone (LZ) X-Ray in the ]
|] &ndash; ], ]
|1000 American Soldiers
|] (Peoples' Army of Vietnam, North Vietnamese Army) (4000)
|1:4
|The 1st Battalion/], the 2nd Battalion/7th Cavalry, and the 1st Battalion/] at the Battle of Ia Drang.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] &ndash; ], ]
|Australian Army (108)
|North Vietnamese Army, Viet Cong (1,500-2,650)
|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.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] &ndash; ], ]
|1 Indian Company (120)
|1 Pakistani Armoured Brigade (3,000)
|1:20
|The Indian 'A' company of 120 odd soldiers of the 23rd Battalion, Punjab Regiment, managed to hold a 2,000-3,000 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.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] &ndash; ], ]
| 6,000 Marines, 350 tactical fighter-bombers, 60 B-52s, 30 reconnaissance aircraft, 40,000 tons of bombs
| 20,000 North Vietnamese
| roughly 1:3
| 6,000 U.S. forces, primarily Marines backed up by 350 tactical fighters and 60 B-52s, successfully defended this base against 20,000 North Vietnamese forces. Roughly 40,000 tons of bombs were dropped in around 12000 sorties.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|Last Stand of Recon Team Kansas
|] ]
|6 US Special Forces, 8 ] tribesmen
|1500 North Vietnamese
|roughly 1:107
|Recon Team Kansas lost 3 US Special Forces members and 6 Mantagnards during an ambush by NVA
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|
|] ]
|
|
|
|The ] defending the southern ] during the ].
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|April 1975
|6,000 ARVN soldiers
|40,000 North Vietnamese
|1:7
|During last major battle of the ], the ], the vastly outnumbered ] stood and fought at Xuan Loc.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] &ndash; ], ]
|39 Soviet paratroopers
|well-armed force of 200-400 Mujahideen
|roughly 1:5 - 1:10
|Battle for Hill 3234 was a defensive battle fought by the Soviet paratroopers in Afghanistan in 1988 against the much larger Afghan rebel force.Shortly after landing on Hill 3234, the 39-man unit came under attack by a coordinated and well-armed force of 200-400 Mujahideen. The first attack came at 15:30 on ] and was followed by 11 more attacks until just before dawn on ] when the Mujahideen withdrew leaving Hill 3234 in the hands of the Soviet paratroopers. Ironically, the exhausted and mostly wounded Soviets were nearly out of ammunition after the final attack and may not have been able to withstand a 13th assault.
The Soviet forces sustained 37 casualties (out of a force of 39 men), including 9 men killed and 28 injured.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] and ], ]
|2,000 ]
|36,000 Mixture of various Serb forces
|1:18
|Only one brigade of Croatian soldiers clashed with the ] army, then the fourth biggest army in Europe. JNA troops, consisting of mostly Serbian soldiers, completely enclosed the city. Most Croatian soldiers were killed (about 2,000) while the other side suffered enormous losses (about 10,000). Up to this date, there has been no official confirmation of the latter{{Fact|date=September 2007}}. The city was completely obliterated by 700,000 different projectiles (during only 3 months of the battle), and occupied until 1998.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] and 4, 1993
|160 ] and ]
|2,000+ ] - affiliated militias
|1:13
|US soldiers from the ] and the ] went into hostile territory, but two ]s were shot down and the US soldiers ended up besieged in the city with support form ]. They were contact with ] force later at night and evacuated from the city in the morning. Two Delta Force troopers, ] ] and ] ] were awarded ] for volunteering to secure the second crash site.
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|] &ndash; ], ]
|85 ]
|~2,000 Chechen ]{{Fact|date=October 2007}}
|~1:24
|During one of the last major battles of the ], 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 ]. All but one of the 85 Russians died - 400 rebels were killed.{{Fact|date=October 2007}}
|-
|colspan="6" style="border-top:1px solid #cee0f2;"|
|-
|]
|], ]
|4 ]
|~150 ]
|~Roughly 1:38
|US Navy Seals from Seal Team 10, attempted to hold off 150 Taliban insurgents. All but one of the 4 Navy Seals died, 120 Taliban insurgents died.
|}
{{listdev}}

== See also ==
* ]
* ]
* ]

== References==
{{reflist}}

]

]
]

Revision as of 00:01, 27 April 2008

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