Last stand

A last stand is a general military situation in which a body of troops holds a defensive position in the face of overwhelming odds. The defensive force usually takes very heavy casualties or is completely destroyed, as happened at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, the Battle of Karbala in 680, the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Georgian Three Hundred Aragvians in 1795, the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the Battle of Shiroyama in 1877, the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, the Battle of Pavan Khind in 1660, and Battle of Saragarhi in 1897 and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943 . In some cases, troops will make a last stand to protect their ruler or leader. Last stands loom large in history, as the heroism and sacrifice of the defenders exerts a large pull on the public's imagination. Some last stands have become a celebrated part of a fighting force's or a country's history.

A "last stand" is a last resort tactic, and is chosen because the defending force realizes or believes the benefits of fighting outweigh the benefits of retreat or surrender. This usually arises from strategic or moral considerations, leading defenders to conclude that their sacrifice is essential to the greater success of their campaign or cause, as happened at the end of the Battle of Thermopylae. The situation can arise in several ways. One situation is that retreat by the defending force would lead to immediate defeat, usually due to the surrounding geography or shortage of supplies or support, as happened to the Royalist infantry on Wadborough Hill after the Battle of Naseby.

Specifically, defeat or withdrawal by the defending force may give the attacking force a point of utmost tactical importance, making it imperative that the defending force hold its position at all costs. The historian Bryan Perrett suggests that although the majority of last stands throughout history have seen the defending force overwhelmed, on rare occasions the outnumbered defenders succeed in their desperate endeavours and live to fight another day, and he lists the Battle of Agincourt and the Battle of Rorke's Drift as such engagements, Another example could be the Battle of Myeongnyang, where 13 Joseon Navy warships (led by Korean admiral Yi Sun-sin) defeated 133 Japanese warships, as well as battles such as Siege of the International Legations, the Battle off Samar and the Raid on Godfrey Ranch.

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