Greatest Seige/Last Stand

[Officer of Engineers]

Don't scare me, my good man. You're the last one standing here.

[Skywatcher]

I would personally say Leningrad.

[Albert1981]

Bataan.

[s_qwert63]

Brest Fortress

bad english in the first one.
The defence of the Brest Fortress
Siege of Brest (1941 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Leningrad wasn't really a last stand was it? Because it was relieved in 1944.

Thermopylae always comes to mind, but it has been romanticized too much lately, including that ridiculous 300 film, with monsters and dudes with 'hand axes'.

[Blackleaf]

The Battle of Rorke's Drift in 1879 is a good example of one of the very rare occasion where the defending force WINS.



Just 139 British soldiers successfully defended their garrison against an intense assault by four to five THOUSAND Zulu warriors. Just 17 British were killed and 350 Zulus.

Compare that to The Alamo in 1836, when 260 Americans (compared to 139 British at Rorke's Drift) defended their area against just 2,400 Mexicans (compared to around twice the number of Zulus at Rorke's Drift). Nearly all the Americans were killed and just 400 Mexicans in a convincing Mexican win.


British soldiers stand down after their epic battle against the Zulus, 1879.

Another glorious last stand is that by Prince Rupert's Bluecoats during the Batte of Naseby in 1645 during the English Civil War.

[tankie]

Beat me to it B/L 11 VCs won that day , the most ever in any one battle ?

[Shiny Capstar]

For me I would say the Siege of Leningrad, (although that might be a bit influenced by me being at the memorial to that Siege in Saint Petersburg yesterday).

[GraniteForge]

For me I would say the Siege of Leningrad, (although that might be a bit influenced by me being at the memorial to that Siege in Saint Petersburg yesterday).

Mighty impressive stand, its got to be a contender if not the top.

I wonder if the monument has been changed any since it was Leningrad; I haven't been there since. Do they still call it a "Hero City"?

[cape_royds]

Carthage in the Third Punic War. That's about as final as a "last stand" can get.

Jerusalem when besieged by Titus.

Berlin in 1945.

The Huguenot rebels at La Rochelle 1627-28.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_La_Rochelle

Mantua in 1796-97 was a fascinating siege in which Napoleon never really established a full investment, but still starved it out, while the Austrians repeatedly attempted relief.

[Triple C]

Tyre, Alesia, Vienna, Stalingrad.

[Blue]

Thermopylea. Simply because they knew it was the last stand. There is just something about that last great act defiance that says something about ones character. True to the end. Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.

[timebandit]

Blackleaf......is right on the money....it really hit the fan that day

[LadyLawyer]

Was it the Nordland Division in Berlin, 300 who held off the Russian Army at the Reichstag. I'm not sure how hard the Russians tried at that point. But, the last Iron Cross went to a Frenchmen from this division, if memory serves.

[Knaur Amarsh]

Another rare "last stand" that actually resulted in total success of the defending forced would be Battle of Longewala.

Beat me to it B/L 11 VCs won that day , the most ever in any one battle ?

Hey Tankie, here's one more glorious battle you might want to read about sir - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Saragarhi , 21 IOM's were awarded, the highest award that Indian soldiers could achieve at that time.

[zraver]

Was it the Nordland Division in Berlin, 300 who held off the Russian Army at the Reichstag. I'm not sure how hard the Russians tried at that point. But, the last Iron Cross went to a Frenchmen from this division, if memory serves.

I think your mixing history here. SS Nordland did indeed fight inside Berlin. 2 of its surviving Tigers (or Tigers attached to it) did a masterful job even out of fuel. However I think the Frenchman you refer to was actually a Belgian (Degrelle) and the last award Iron crosses were IIRC given to members of the Hitler Youth shortly before Hitler's suicide.