Famous Last Stands

<p>A byword for tenacity and courage, the famous last stand has studded history with legendary exploits that define conflict and empire.  From Thermopylae to the Alamo, from Custer’s last stand to Okinawa, they represent individual heroism and sometimes crass military miscalculation.  The result is always the same, the wiping out of a small group of die-hard defenders.</p><p>The odds might be crazy, and catastrophe might ensue, yet as the explosion at the British Army magazine near Delhi in 1857 proved, the consequences can reverberate down the years.  So, whether its FUBAR or SNAFU, or just desperate men fighting like ‘rats in a sack’ to quote a senior British Officer after Rorke’s Drift, we remember many of them.  And whether for PR purposes or to deflect attention from wider disasters, they do not diminish the bravery of those involved.</p><p>So it Goes</p><p>Tom Assheton & James Jackson</p><p> </p><p>Ref.</p><p>Thomas Babington Macaulay, Horatius, Lays of Ancient Rome</p><p> </p><p>See also:</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0CKO7rYspbkCUvdwNV4fEw" target="_blank">YouTube: BloodyViolentHistory</a></p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/bloodyviolenthistory/" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/bloodyviolenthistory/</a></p><p><a href="https://www.jamesjacksonbooks.com">https://www.jamesjacksonbooks.com</a></p><p><a href="https://www.tomtom.co.uk" target="_blank">https://www.tomtom.co.uk</a></p><p> </p><p><i>If you enjoy the podcast, would you please leave <strong>a short review </strong>on Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcast App? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really helps to spread the word</i></p><p> </p><p>See <a href="https://simplecast.com/privacy/" target="_blank">https://simplecast.com/privacy/</a> for privacy information</p><p> </p>