Last stand

The Fall of the Alamo (1903) by Robert Jenkins Onderdonk, depicts Davy Crockett wielding his rifle as a club against Mexican troops in the Battle of the Alamo in Texas in 1836.
Leonidas at Thermopylae, by Jacques-Louis David, 1814. This painting is a juxtaposition of various historical and legendary elements from the Battle of Thermopylae in Greece in 480 BC.
Siege of Castelnuovo in July, 1539. Defense of a 4,000-man garrison in the service of Charles I of Spain, against a 50,000-strong Ottoman assault force, resulting in a last stand. Painting by Pierre Mortier.
The last stand of the survivors of Her Majesty's 44th Regiment of Foot at Gandamak in Afghanistan in 1842. The Last Stand of the 44th Regiment at Gundamuck painted by William Barnes Wollen, 1898

A last stand, or a final stand, is a military situation in which a body of troops holds a defensive position in the face of overwhelming and virtually insurmountable odds. Troops may make a last stand due to a sense of duty; because they are defending a tactically crucial point; to buy time to enable a trapped army, person, or group of people to escape; due to fear of execution if captured; or to protect their leader(s). Last stands loom large in history, as the heroism and sacrifice of the defenders exert 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, especially if the defenders accomplished their goals (or, in rare cases, defeated their attackers).

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