Examples of Last Stand

[Oversleep]

Books, films, manga, anime...Doesn't matter what.
I'm looking for examples of Last Stand - situation where one side decides to hold their ground against enemy forces (which often are bigger).

Less of You Shall Not Pass when one character does this, but post it anyway.

Often Last Stand happens when large group chases a smaller one and then the smaller one (or part of it) decides that they're tired of running.

 

__________________________________
I want to write about my characters deciding to send off one person with warning and then preparing to slow down approaching army. They will be camping for few days; I want to write about how they will feel, what they will talk about knowing that in few days they will certainly die. And then they will go and fight the army.
How will not-so-distant death influence their minds, feelings, behaviour? They will probably open to each other, but since they're close friends there is not much to share. Maybe some Unresolved Romantic Tension will be finally resolved. Or maybe not. I don't know yet. It's a hard topic and so here I am, asking for examples.

There will be at least 5 characters, but definitely less than 10.
EDIT: I also want to write the fight, it's not all about the time before it, but both waiting and fighting will be given the same plot weight. So fight is also important, if you have good examples of such fights, you can also post them.
Also any fights with supernatural character versus many (normal or supernatural, doesn't matter). Like if Vin didn't manage to stop Kelsier from attacking army alone.
I think I will write something about the setting to give you a better explanation of what I'm looking for.

Edited February 12, 2016 by Oversleep

[Pestis the Spider she/her]

Sorry for being terribly unhelpful, but have you tried the tvtropes website? I think you might fins it really useful. 

[Oversleep]

Sorry for being terribly unhelpful, but have you tried the tvtropes website? I think you might fins it really useful. 

Yeah, I did it before posting here.

You may find examples of TV Tropes Will Ruin Your Vocabulary in the first posts

[Windrunner he/him]

Have you ever read Tigana? It's a book written by Guy Gavriel Kay. The prologue of the book is written from the point of view of a man the night before a major battle in which his men have no hope of survival. It is probably one of the most beautiful scenes I've ever read. I'd give that a look.

[Delightful]

The first one that comes to mind is 300, but that's crazy Spartans and not so much normal human reactions to that situation. (If you want to read it in Herodotus though, it's the battle of Thermopylae I believe)

[Oversleep]

The first one that comes to mind is 300, but that's crazy Spartans and not so much normal human reactions to that situation. (If you want to read it in Herodotus though, it's the battle of Thermopylae I believe)

Thermopylae are... I don't know, the oldest example in the history? XD Of course I know it! I may be a nerd, but I don't live under rock or something I've seen films, but I know enough history that I wouldn't find the psychological part there.

But fighting part? It could be of some use. But not very useful.

Edited February 12, 2016 by Oversleep

[Orlion Blight he/him]

Star Wars. Those rebels are almost always ending up in some sort of Last Stand!

[Kaymyth she/her]

The series finale of Angel, tragic cliffhanger that it is.  For that matter, the series finale (as well as various season finales) of Buffy.  And the end of Serenity.  Really, Joss Whedon is just really, really fond of this trope.

[Curiosity he/him]

The Battle of Helm's Deep is probably a bit of an obvious one, but I want to point it out. Forth Eorlingas!

[Oversleep]

For the waiting-before-battle part, everything is alright.

But for the fight part, I have to make it clear that these characters can easily slaughter big numbers of ordinary humans. It's something similar to Mistborn or Shardbearer dying in fight againts overwhelming numbers. (Of course, enemies doesn't have to be ordinar humans, they also can be superpowered)

So while Battle Of Helm's Deep may be a good example of people anticipating incoming death, the battle itself doesn't fit.

Edited February 13, 2016 by Oversleep

[Curious Anamaximder he/him]

The Black Gate in LoTR.

[Plaeggs he/him]

A bit of a "You shall not pass!". There was once a Chinese general with a reputation for trickery. With only 100 men, he had to defend a town against 150,000 people. Knowing of his reputation, he opened the gates and sat on top of the walls playing a lute. The attacking commander, certain it was a trap, retreated. 

 

Note: Many details of this could be exaggerated or fabricated. Not sure if it's a true story or was in a book, but something similar probably happened once upon a time. Pretty cool story though.

[Andarist he/him]

Ok, so this will inevitably contain spoilers

 

From The Malazan Book of the Fallen

 

Mass battles:

 

The Battle of Capustan - Memories of Ice

The Battle outside Letheras - Reaper's Gale

The Battle of the Mound - The Crippled God

The Bonehunter's Last Battle - The Crippled God

 

Individual Battle:

 

Brys Beddict - Midnight Tides

Spinnock Durav - Toll the Hounds

Gruntle - Crippled God

 

 

From David Gemmell's Legend

 

The Seige of Dros Delnoch

[aeromancer he/him]

I suppose Last Stand of Dead Men qualifies...

(Skulduggery Pleasant)

[Dunkum he/him]

Ok, so this will inevitably contain spoilers

 

From The Malazan Book of the Fallen

 

Mass battles:

 

The Battle of Capustan - Memories of Ice

The Battle outside Letheras - Reaper's Gale

The Battle of the Mound - The Crippled God

The Bonehunter's Last Battle - The Crippled God

 

Individual Battle:

 

Brys Beddict - Midnight Tides

Spinnock Durav - Toll the Hounds

Gruntle - Crippled God

 

 

From David Gemmell's Legend

 

The Seige of Dros Delnoch

let me second these.  Malazan book of the fallen is littered with last stand battles.  The final book in teh series has something like 4 or 5 in its own right.

[Shrike76 he/him]

To a certain extent Ender's Game does this. The Walking Dead does it frequently (The most recent episode is a prime example). Saving Private Ryan. 13th Warrior. The Last Samurai. Lots of fictionalized historical accounts come to mind (300, The Alamo, Zulu)

If you're looking for an example of how to do it with the express purpose of making me throw a book across the room in a fit of rage, there's Stephen King's The Stand. ARGH!

[aeromancer he/him]

The two best video game example that come to mind is HALO: Reach, and FFVII Crisis Core. Both of them end the game with one man holding off an army.

 

Age of Empires Dawn of the Modern World Korea campaign has one too. Maybe chapter 5? I forgot, it's been a while.

Edited February 17, 2016 by aeromancer

[Oversleep]

trailer for AC: Revelations has Ezio fighting alone against many enemies. Great fight sequence.

[Stormgate he/him]

I believe Henry V has Apan amazing speech about a last stand. The other thing that could be taken from that speech is that Shakespeare really liked St. Crispian's Day.

[IndigoAjah he/him]

If the group waiting for their Last Stand win without outside help, or have a CHANCE of doing so, can it still count as a Last Stand?

[DSC01 he/him]

The Second Army in The Moontide Quartet has a couple of Last Stands in Ascendant's Rite.