Hi everyone and welcome to another episode of Ancient Warfare Answers.

I'm Murray Dam, the assistant editor of Ancient Warfare Magazine and with me is Jasper Ortage, the editor of Ancient Warfare Magazine.

This is episode 127. We've just been reliably informed.

So...

We jumped a bit.

We've jumped a bit.

I think it's continuous numbering. We cheated, but it was easier. Sounds good,

though, 127. You know, we've been on air that long. Anyway, I've got the first question for,

yes, but we're both going to answer it because we've both got things to say. The question is,

last stands on the battlefield. Are they real, or are they a literary device? Well, Murray, it's probably one of

those things where you go, probably both. I'm sure some of them happened. But I think we should

think about it first a little bit. What is the last stand? What does it mean? Is it a, suppose, in the narrow sense, it's going to be a determined resistance that continues

until all the defenders have been killed or incapacitated at least, in which case you

think of thermopylae and the sacred band at Chironia.

But I was thinking, could we ask, talk about the Battle of the Champions

where supposedly two groups of 300 men fought each other to death

until one was left standing?

Is that the last stand or is the last

stand when there's just a general left who's maybe fled with some, some of his last compatriots,

the last comrades and they fight to death or they don't and they're actually overwhelmed

and it's just a general who dies and the rest sort of forgotten about.

What about Masada? Is that a last stand or because they they stick it out really to the end

...