A last stand is a military situation on which a normally-small defensive force holds a position against a more powerful opposing military force.
The defending force usually takes very heavy casualties. That can take the form of a rearguard action, holding a defensible location, or simply refusing to give up a position. A last stand is a last-resort tactic that is used if retreat or surrender is impossible or fighting is essential to the success of the cause. The defending force is most likely defeated, but it sometimes survives long enough for reinforcements to arrive that force the retreat of the attackers; it can even occasionally force the enemy away by itself.
At various times in history, last stands have ended with a defeat in the strict immediate military sense, but they have become moral victories by creating a heroic myth, which can be a great political asset to the cause for which the last stand had been fought.
Land-based last stands NameYearDefendersAttackersDescriptionOutcomeBattle of Thermopylae480 BCGreek city-statesAchaemenid EmpireA force of 7,000 allied Greek soldiers blocked the pass of Thermopylae from the invading Persian army numbering between 70,000 and 300,000 soldiers. The Greek defenders held their position for at least three days before being overrun. The battle has since become a symbol of courage against overwhelming odds.Persian victoryBattle of the Persian Gate330 BCPersian EmpireKingdom of Macedon (League of Corinth)A Persian force under Ariobarzanes held Alexander the Great and his hand-picked, 17,000-strong force back for a month behind the narrow pass reaching Persepolis before being attacked in a pincer movement. The Persians, who were unarmed at this time, fought to death.Macedonian victoryBattle of Gaixia (last stand at the Wu River)202 BCXiang Yu's Forces (Western Chu)Liu Bang's Forces (Han)After his defeat at the Battle of Gaixia, Xiang Yu was chased by Liu Bang's elite cavalry to the Wu River, where he made his last stand with the last 28 of his loyal soldiers. They killed hundreds of Han soldiers, but after being seriously wounded, Xiang committed suicide by cutting his throat.Han victorySiege of Numantia133 BCCeltiberiansRoman RepublicThe Roman consul Scipio Aemilianus with an army of 20,000 Roman legionaries plus 40,000 allies and mercenary troops, surrounded the city of Numantia during the Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. Scipio's army constructed a wall around the city, created an artificial lake between that wall and the city walls, and erected several 10 feet towers from which archers could shoot into Numantia. The Romans asked for the full surrender of the Celtiberians. The inhabitants of Numantia refused to surrender and decided to die free rather than becoming slaves. Little by little the Numantians succumbed either from starvation, Roman arrows, or mass suicide. Overall the siege lasted between 8 and 16 months (depending on the sources) and ended with the burning and complete destruction of the city.Roman victory and culmination of the Numantine War and the Celtiberian Wars.Battle of Lauro45 BCPompeiansCaesariansAfter being defeated during the Battle of Munda, Gnaeus Pompeius the Younger unsuccessfully attempted to escape the Caesarian forces that pursued him and his remaining followers. Eventually, the Pompeians were cornered and surrounded near Lauro. After one last breakout attempt that allowed some of his forces to escape, Gnaeus Pompeius (who was heavily wounded) and the remaining Pompeian defenders mostly fought to the death against the Caesarians.Caesarian victory, death of Gnaeus Pompeius the YoungerSiege of Masada74 ADJewish Sicarii RebelsRoman EmpireOne of the final events in the First Jewish–Roman War, occurring at the hilltop fortress of Masada in current-day Israel, near the Dead Sea. The lengthy siege by Roman Empire troops culminated in the Roman legion surrounding Masada and constructing a siege ramp against the western face of the plateau, moving thousands of tons of stones and beaten earth over several months. Upon reaching the fortress, the Romans discovered that all 960 rebels had committed suicide. The siege of Masada is often revered in modern Israel as "a symbol of Jewish heroism".Roman victoryBattle of Karbala680 ADHusayn of Banu Hashim and his ShiaUmayyad CaliphateThe Battle of Karbala took place on Muharram 10, in the year 61 AH of the Islamic calendar (October 10, 680 AD) in Karbala, in present-day Iraq. The battle took place between a small group of supporters and relatives of Muhammad's grandson, Husayn ibn Ali numbering 72 and a larger military detachment from the forces of Yazid I, the Umayyad caliph, numbering 30,000.Umayyad victorySiege of Mecca (692)692 ADAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr's caliphateUmayyad CaliphateIn 692 the armies of the Umayyad Caliphate besieged Mecca to put an end to the rival caliphate of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr. After six months of brutal fighting, with over 10,000 men including two of his sons having defected to the Umayyads, Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr and his remaining loyal followers made a last stand at the Kaaba, where they fought to the death.Umayyad victoryBattle of Roncevaux Pass778 ADFranksBasquesA large force of Basques ambushed Charlemagne's army. To escape, Charlemagne assigned a rearguard to delay the Basques until the Franks could retreat. The rearguard action was successful, but all of the soldiers who took part in it were killed. The battle is the subject of the Song of Roland.Basque victorySiege of Pilėnai1336Teutonic OrderAttacked by a large Teutonic force, the fortress, commanded by Duke Margiris, tried in vain to organize a defense against the larger and stronger invader. Losing hope, the defenders decided to burn their property and commit mass suicide to deprive the Order from prisoners and loot by setting the wooden castle aflame. Teutonic victoryFall of Tenochtitlan1521 New SpainThe Fall of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, was a decisive event in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. It occurred in 1521 following extensive manipulation of local factions and exploitation of pre-existing divisions by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, who was aided by the support of his indigenous allies and his interpreter and companion La Malinche.Decisive Spanish victoryStand of the Swiss Guard1527A battle that took place during the War of the League of Cognac. 189 Swiss Guards under the command of Captain Kaspar Röist were ordered by Pope Clement VII to defend Rome from the Habsburg Imperial and Spanish troops threatening to loot the city. The Guard held long enough for Clement VII to escape across the Passetto di Borgo to Castel Sant'Angelo with some survivors and refugees.Habsburg victory; escape of Pope Clement VIISiege of Diu 1538 Gujarat SultanatePortuguese forces, under the command of António de Silveira, withstood a 2-month siege in Diu. Suffering heavy casualties (with only 40 survivors in the aftermath), the Portuguese repelled several Gujarati and Ottoman assaults on the fort. This enabled Diu to remain under Portuguese control until Operation Vijay during the annexation of Goa.Portuguese victorySiege of Katsurayama1557forces of Uesugi Kenshinforces of Takeda ShingenIn March 1557, Katsurayama castle was attacked and besieged by the Takeda clan. The castle garrison, consisting of the Ochiai clan and elements of the Murakami clan, was loyal to Uesugi Kenshin and defended the fortress furiously, but was eventually overwhelmed by the Takeda army. All defending warriors fought to the death, while their families committed mass suicide and the castle was burned to the ground.Takeda victoryCapture of Fort Saint Elmo1565 Hospitaller Malta Maltese Militias As part of the Great Siege of Malta, the Ottomans besieged and assaulted Fort Saint Elmo which was isolated from the other Hospitaller strongholds of Birgu and Senglea. The fort held out from 27 May until 23 June 1565, when its defenders made a last stand and most of them were killed. The Ottomans suffered many casualties in the various assaults on the fort, including the commander Dragut who was mortally wounded and died on the day the fort fell. The time it took for the fortress to fall was much longer than the Ottomans had anticipated and it bought crucial time for the Hospitallers who were eventually able to defeat the Ottomans after the arrival of a Spanish-led relief force in September.Pyrrhic Ottoman victory Eventual Hospitaller VictorySiege of Szigetvár1566 The siege of Szigetvár was fought from 5 August to 8 September 1566 and, though it resulted in an Ottoman victory, there were heavy losses on both sides. Both commanders died during the battle — Zrinski in the final charge and Suleiman in his tent from natural causes. More than 20,000 Turks had fallen during the attacks and almost all of Zrinski's 2,300 man garrison was killed, with most of the final 600 men killed on the last day. Although the battle was an Ottoman victory, it stopped the Ottoman push to Vienna that year. Vienna was not threatened again until the Battle of Vienna in 1683.Pyrrhic Ottoman victorySiege of Gvozdansko1577The siege of Gvozdansko was an Ottoman siege of the fort of Gvozdansko in the Kingdom of Croatia in 1577–1578. The garrison lacked ammunition and suffered from hunger, thirst, and cold, while many died or were wounded in combat. All calls for surrender were rejected. Three major assaults on Gvozdansko were repelled leaving only 25–30 men still alive that held their positions on the last days of the siege. When Ottomans breached the gates of the fort, they found only corpses of soldiers that died of wounds, hunger, thirst, or were frozen to deathOttoman victoryBattle of Tenmokuzan1578Takeda Clan Forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa IeyasuAfter the capitulation of most of Shinano Province following the fall of Takato Castle on March 3, Takeda Katsuyori's forces dissolved after being denied entry to Kogakko Castle. Oda general Takika Saiwon discovered the remnants of the Takeda force at Tano, resulting in the remnants of the Takeda force executing their wives and children and fighting a last stand in order to be granted an honorable death. The Takeda force was wiped out after inflicting substantial casualties on the attacking force. Oda-Tokugawa victoryBattle of Nieuwpoort1600In the last stages of the Battle of Nieuwpoort, the Spanish regiment commanded by Alonso Maiolichino was refused surrender by the Dutch who held them accountable for previous massacres of prisoners of war. The unit consequently made its last stand and was wiped out.United Provinces victoryBattle of Nishimonai1601Onodera clanMogami clanEven though the Onodera clan that had ruled southern Akita, Japan, was completely defeated and exiled in 1600, one clan member, Onodera Shigemichi, continued to resist at his stronghold in Nishimonai and even refused to surrender when a large Mogami clan army arrived to eliminate this last remnant of Onodera resistance. Shigemichi and his loyal followers attempted to defend their castle against the Mogami, but were overwhelmed, whereupon he set fire to the fortress. According to some accounts, Shigemichi died in the flames, whereas others report that he managed to escape. Either way, Onodera Shigemichi is honored in Nishimonai until the present day.Mogami clan victoryRokugō rebellion1603Onodera clan loyalistsSatake clanAround 1,000 rōnin, still loyal to their defeated and exiled former lord Onodera Yoshimichi, decided to rebel to protest against his poor treatment by the Tokugawa shogunate. Though their uprising had no chance of success, the rōnin attacked Rokugō, Akita, where they were quickly defeated by the Satake clan. The rebellion has since been considered an exceptional display of loyalty by samurai to their master.Satake clan victoryBattle of CecoraSeptember 17, 1620Allies: Crimean Khanate Wallachia Lipka Tatars