The most Heroic last stand in History? – Battle of Thermopylae 480 BC

PART 2:

their shields interlocked in a shining porcupine  of Flesh and bronze as the Persians closed in   heavy fighting Unleashed from behind the  Infantry The Achaemenid Archers released   volley after volley of of arrows spraying the  Hellenic line with their deadly projectiles in spite of the incessant pressure of  their foe the Greeks held their line  

stoically the narrow pass negated the  numerical superiority of the attackers   in such a way that Leonidas’s men were  able to rotate between the front and the   rear always making sure the troops in the  front ranks were fresh and battle ready Persian archers loosed arrows overhead into  the advancing Spartan lines the bronze wall of   shields held firm against the onslaught right  before another wave of Persian infantry would   Clash the Greeks would quickly disengage and  draw the Persian infantry away from their main  

Force isolated and in a head-on fight the light  Persian infantry were being massacred against the   far superior and heavily armored Spartan hop  lights they was simply no match in a head-on   engagement against the vast sea of bronze armored  Warriors who fought for the very freedom of their   Homeland and livelihoods no matter how heavy  the push the Greek Phalanx held the line and the   waves of attacking Persians eventually desisted  considering the failure of this first assault King   Xerxes decided decided that he should soften up  the enemy before assailing them again therefore  

an ample force of Achaemenid archers was sent  to harass the static Defenders thousands of   arrows filled the air raining over the hoplites  who entrusted themselves to their Hefty Shields The heavy Greek shields were remarkably  effective at deterring the Persian arrows how   however a few managed to slip through and  inflict minimal casualties once Xerxes was   satisfied with the shower of projectiles he  sent forward the elite of his army a 10,000   strong core of heavy infantry nicknamed The  Immortals these men were the closest to matching  

the Greek armor and Equipment of the Hop lights  and fell on the phalanx with terrible violence under the push of the elite enemy infantry  Leonidas resorted to a deceitful strategy   to win the day he commanded his  forces to Feign a retreat luring   the first lines of Immortals to break  their for formation and give [Music] Chase then the Hellenic Hop lights regrouped  and reformed the line meeting the dispersed   Persians in a cohesive formation  Leonidas continued to rotate his  

soldiers preventing them from fatiguing  and ultimately losing their full fighting   Effectiveness the Persian Immortals however  were better trained armed and skilled than   their previous comrades and were putting up  a much tougher fight against their Greek foes ultimately the superior Greek tactics and  fighting prowess would prove to be pivotal in   this engagement the result was so devastating that  the Immortals retreated and King Xerxes called off   the attack for the day the Persians had suffered  heavy casualties whilst the Greeks in contrast  

had suffered minor casualties and were now more  confident than ever in their defensive position   having already held back multiple Persian  attacks throughout the day on the second day   King Xerxes once more commanded the assault on  the pass expecting the enemy to be too exhausted   or wounded to hold the assaulting Persian  infantry was met by the other Greek soldiers The Thebans thespians and arcadians who had all  primarily remained at the rear during the fighting   the day before this gave the Greeks a fresh  fighting force and simultaneously allowed The  

Battered Spartans time to rest and tend to their  wounded the larger Persian Force along with the   Immortals proved to be more than a match for the  other Greek factions the Greeks began losing the   fight and casualties began mounting Leonidas  Act Ed quickly and sent contingents of his   Elite Spartan hop lights to fill the gaps that had  opened up before long the king himself with all of   his Spartan troops were forced to once again fight  the Persians head-on the arrival of Leonidas and   his Spartans proved once again to be the Achilles  heel of the Persians putting their advance to a  

halt and going on the counter offensive his  Hardy soldiers cutting their way through the   Persian ranks with their iron tipped Spears  and their Razor-sharp Xiphos swords both Pro   to be greatly effective against Persian armor  with the intervention of the Spartan hoplites   and the King of Sparta himself the Phalanx was  able to resist the enemy advance and once more   the aimed forces retreated who knows how many  more days could the Greeks have held the pass if   it wasn’t for the fact that a Thessalian traitor  informed the Persian leadership of a mountainous  

trail that would allow them to outflank the  Thermopylae and appear at Leonidas’s rear   on the night of the second day of battle after  the aimed assault had been called off a force of   Persian Immortals ventured into the trail routing  the slim fan Detachment who stood guard the road   was open for the flanking maneuver on the third  day of battle right before Sunrise King Leonidas   was informed of the fleeing of the phocians and  of the inexorable enemy encirclement the standoff   at the Thermopylae was a lost battle the Spartan  King then decided that most of the army should  

Retreat to fight another day since now it was  certain that the Persian armies would venture   into Greece however the king himself alongside his  300 hippies would stay behind to cover the retreat   of the Hellenic forces the thespians and Thebans  refused to retreat as well deciding to stand next   to the Spartans to cover their retreating allies  and thus as the sun came up on the third day of   battle the bulk of the Greeks departed while a  force of 2,000 remained at the pass spearheaded   by the 300 Spartans and their proud King while the  Immortals traversed the mountain trail the tide of  

Persian infantry once more fell upon the hoplites  phalanx the Spartans Thebans and thespians that   remained fought fiercely and to their last breath  they fought until their Spears were broken then   un sheathing their swords and continuing the  battle the hoplites managed to cleave through   several waves of Achaemenid infantry but this time  the enemy numbers were too overwhelming the Greeks   fought to the last man until their very leader  King Leonidas of Sparta was stricken down a few   hundred Greek hoplites survivors retreated to an  elevated Hilltop where they had planned to make  

a final stand the Persians however wanted to put  a swift end to this otherwise major setback they   endured as opposed to lose any more of their men  they opted to unleash a continuous hail storm of   arrows into the ranks of the last remaining Greeks  ultimately killing them all where they stood the   battle was now officially over King Xerxes had won  the Battle of Thermopylae and had annihilated the   2,000 hoplite’s that had remained to hold the  pass now the road to Mainland Greece was open   however this Victory had come with a heavy cost  the AIDS had lost roughly 20,000 men which were  

inconceivable losses for the size of the Hellenic  host anyhow after the defeat at Thermopylae the   Greek Fleet at Artemisium retired and King Xerxes  plunged into Hellos however his forces would be   soundly defeated at the later battles of Salamis  and Plateau putting an end to the Persian aims   of Conquest in the archipelago on the other  hand the stoic Last Stand of King Leonidas   and his 300 Spartans is remembered as the noble  sacrifice that allowed the Greek Counterattack   and would go down in history as an example of  selflessness and bravery even till this very  

day tales and stories are retold of the heroic  events that occurred on the plains of Thermopylae