Military victories against the odds

Last updated

Throughout history, in various wars and conflicts, there have been a number of historic victories won by a smaller force, against a larger foe. Conditions and situations for these sorts of military victories against the odds have been numerous. Some victories have been pivotal to the conflict they were part of, or provided inspiration for the other forces. In many cases, because of the heroic and remarkable nature of the victories, the events have become famous in that culture. In many cases, they have lifted morale of the forces, and been remembered many years, if not hundreds of years later, by that culture or historians.

Contents

Situational conditions

Sometimes military victories against the odds are achieved because the larger force is caught unexpectedly, where the smaller force has surprised the larger force giving it an advantage. In some cases, Cormac O'Brien noted in Outnumbered and Outgunned, that complacency is a factor since the larger force is unprepared for a serious battle/threat because of its distinct size advantage. [1] That was the case at Battle of Okehazama in which the larger force was so confident that it had started drinking in the encampment, and the smaller force attacked.

In some cases, either by luck or good management, the smaller force killed the leader, and the larger force broke following the breakdown of the chain of command. That was the case at the Battle of Galveston and the Battle of Okehazama [2] in which both leaders were killed, and the remaining forces, while still larger, stopped fighting. [3]

In some cases, the smaller force was simply better trained or had better morale. That was the case at the Battle of Lacolle Mills (1814) in which the British regulars, well trained and with good morale, charged less well-trained American troops and forced them to flee, despite being outnumbered 12 to 1, and was a noted feature of the Battle of Kapyong, [4] where a full Chinese division of 10,000-20,000 were successfully resisted by a battalion of 700 Canadians defending a hill defence and supported by long-range artillery barrages. O'Brien also notes that in some circumstances victory for the smaller side came down to the smaller force having better leadership, over a poorly managed larger force [1] for instance, the French having divided leadership at the Battle of Agincourt. [5]

In some cases, subterfuge was used. During World War II, a group of five Germans, under the command of Fritz Klingenberg, fought garrison troops and captured the entire city of Belgrade and its thousands of troops by pretending to be an entire army. [6]

Certain battles also involved the use of defences or topographical features to get an advantage. At Agincourt, the English benefited from a position where their flanks and rear were protected by woods, and the ground in front of them was muddy from rain. That drove the oncoming french horse onto prepared wooden stake defences, and meant the French could not use their advantage of numbers [7]

Famous military victories against the odds

Boudican revolt

The Boudican revolt was an assault by 230,000 Celtic Britons, although the source for this number is the Roman Scholar and Historian Lucius Cassius Dio writing around 100 years after the battle took place. [8] [9] The Boudican rebels more likely numbered between 20 and 40,000. Led by Queen Boudica of the Iceni tribe, against a Roman army of 10,000 under the command of Gaius Suetonius Paulinus. When reinforcements failed to arrive, the Roman governor moved his forces into a bottlenecked valley, forcing the uncoordinated Celts to come to him. His forces first exhausted their ranged weaponry before moving forward in a tight, shielded formation, while cavalry forces harassed the sides of the enemy formation. The Romans fought in formation with the stabbing gladius as they were trained to fight, whereas the Celts were shoehorned with very little space to use their swords in a swinging motion as they were accustomed to. Worsening the situation, the Celts had left their wagons blocking their route of escape, preventing routed forces from effectively fleeing. In total, around 80,000 Celts were ultimately killed, while the Roman army suffered only around 400 losses, with similar numbers injured, and the rebellion was firmly crushed.

Battle of Dupplin Moor

The Battle of Dupplin Moor was fought between supporters of King David II of Scotland, son of King Robert the Bruce, and English-backed invaders supporting Edward Balliol, son of King John I of Scotland, on 11 August 1332. It took place a little to the south-west of Perth, Scotland, when a Scottish force commanded by Donald, Earl of Mar and Robert Bruce, Lord of Liddesdale, estimated to have been made up of more than 15,000 and possibly as many as 40,000 men, attacked a largely English force of 1,500 commanded by Balliol and Henry Beaumont, Earl of Buchan. This was the first major battle of the Second War of Scottish Independence.

Balliol's army crossed the River Earn at night via an unguarded ford and took up a strong defensive position. In the morning, the Scots raced to attack the English, disorganising their own formations. Unable to break the line of English men-at-arms, the Scots became trapped in a valley with fresh forces arriving from the rear pressing them forward and giving them no room to manoeuvre, or even to use their weapons. English longbowmen shot into both Scottish flanks. Many Scots died of suffocation or were trampled underfoot. Eventually they broke and the English men-at-arms mounted and pursued the fugitives until nightfall. Perth fell, the remaining Scottish forces dispersed and Balliol was crowned King of Scots.

Precise figures for the English dead are available: they lost 35 men-at-arms: 2 knights and 33 squires. Several accounts stress that not a single English archer was killed. The losses among the Scots are less certain, but all accounts agree they were very heavy. Mar and Liddesdale died on the field; as did 2 other earls, 14 barons, 160 knights and many less notable men. Of the contemporary accounts which estimate the number of Scottish dead, two English chronicles give more than 15,000. Two Scottish accounts record 2,000 or 3,000 dead, while a third specifies 3,000 "nobles" and "of other men an untold number". Most accounts refer to the Scottish dead lying in great heaps, some taller than a spear's length.

Battle of Agincourt

Another battle often noted for being a victory against all odds was the Battle of Agincourt (1415), [10] [11] which saw a depleted English army, led by King Henry V and composed of 5,000 to 8,000 longbowmen, achieve victory over a superior French army of 15,000 to 30,000 cavalry and heavy infantry; the English were outnumbered, possibly by as much as five-to-one. [5] The English achieved this unexpected victory through a combination of better tactics, favorable terrain, and the missile superiority of the longbow. [12] [13] [14] Henry V personally led his troops into battle and participated in hand-to-hand combat. The English adopted a defensive stance, erecting wooden fortifications and raining down arrows on the advancing French army.

When the English archers ran out of arrows, they dropped their bows and using hatchets, swords, and the mallets they had used to drive their wooden stakes in, counterattacked the now shaken, fatigued, and wounded French men-at-arms massed in front of them. The French forces had sustained heavy losses, and were bogged down in the mud and encumbered in their heavy plate armor. [7] The counter-attack from the English was a decisive blow, and the rest of the French army, having witnessed the slaughter, fled the field of battle. Henry V's victory at Agincourt, against a numerically superior French army, crippled France and started a new period in the war during which Henry V married the French princess Catherine of Valois, and their son, the future Henry VI, was made heir to the throne of France as well as of England. The battle saw the death of between 6,000 and 9,000 French troops, with comparatively few English losses.

Siege of Eger (1552)

During the rise of the Ottoman Empire in 1552, the Ottomans extended their territory even further into Central Europe, including the Kingdom of Hungary. They had already conquered most of the Kingdom of Hungary, including its capital, Buda, [15] and attempted to conquer the castle protecting the major North-Hungarian city of Eger. The unmaintained castle lacked defenses and held a mere 2,100-2,300 defenders, some of whom were untrained, women or peasants who had fled from attacks elsewhere in the Kingdom of Hungary. [15] On the other hand, the Ottomans attacked with an army of 35,000-40,000 well-equipped men (although old data mentions 150,000-200,000 men) and several hundred artillery, outnumbering the Hungarians approximately 17 to 1. However, the Hungarians withstood the siege and repelled the assaults until the Ottomans retreated (within 39 days), due to heavy casualties, leaving the Hungarians victorious, with approximately only 500 deaths.

Battle of Hodów

In June 1694 during the Polish-Ottoman war (1683-1699), 40,000 up to even 70,000 Tatars were dispatched from the Ottoman state of Crimean Khanate, with the intention of raiding the undefended countryside of the Kingdom of Poland. [16] In response to the attack, 100 winged Polish hussars and 300 Towarzysz pancerny were sent to prevent the pillaging of the countryside. The mere total of 400 defenders were immensely outnumbered by the horde of 40,000 Ottomans (1 to 100), debatably the most uneven battle in history. The Polish fortified themselves with the remains of fences and tables abandoned by previous Ottoman assaults. [16] They repelled the attacks for 6 hours; even when they ran out of ammunition for their firearms they replaced it with Tatar arrowheads. [16] Due to the excellent defense of the Polish and the increasing casualties and losses of the Tatars (almost 2000 dead), they sent Lipkas (polish-speaking Tatars) to negotiate surrender. However, the defenders declined, resulting in the end of the 6-hour battle and the retreat of the Tatars. [16]

Battle of Lacolle Mills (1814)

The battle of Lacolle Mills (aka the second battle of Lacolle Mills), occurring on 30 March 1814 during the War of 1812, saw just 180 British 13th Regiment of Foot (later reinforced), in combat with a much larger force of 4000 US troops (who were also armed with artillery). [17] Being bombarded by artillery from the US forces, the leader of the British forces, Richard Handcock initially only had 180 British regulars entrenched in the Lacolle Mill against the overwhelming force. [18] The stout stone blockhouse resisted most of the US artillery [19] Desperate, and running low on ammunition, Handcock's 80 men fixed bayonets and charged the US artillery, but was pushed back because of the overwhelming numbers. The Americans made a number of attempts on the British positions, but to no avail. A Grenadier company and a light company force of 160 men in the area forced marched to assist the British, arriving just after the initial assaults began. After this, a small number of Canadian troops later arrived to assist the British. With the new men, Handcock again fixed bayonets and charged the artillery position, this time overwhelming them. [ citation needed ]The US troops, 4000 strong, fled the battlefield [17] against the British/Canadian forces who in the end, only numbered some 500 in total. Major General James Wilkinson, the US commander, was subsequently relieved of command. [19] The battle was a major triumph for the British troops. Major General Wilkinson resigned from the Army after the defeat [18] The US forces sufferred 254 killed to British losses of only 61 [ citation needed ]

Battle of Brownstown

In the war of 1812, 24 Native Americans attacked 200 US troops. [20] The US troops approached a forest and were fired at from the Indians hidden in it, at which point some of the US infantry fled. The leader of the US troops, Major Thomas Van Horne then ordered a withdrawal, at which point the whole US unit broke and fled in disorder. The Indians achieved the military victory against the odds, even though they were outnumbered 8 to 1. [21] [22] The Americans lost 17 people, while the Native Americans lost just 1. [23]

Battle of Gate Pa

The Battle of Gate Pā, on 29 April 1864, saw a larger better-armed group of British regulars attacking Māori warriors in New Zealand. The British commander, with 1700 men, attacked a group of 200 Māori. [24] The Māori, through subterfuge and successful ambush techniques, beat the British, resulting in 31 British being killed and 80 wounded. The Māori left the area after 25 of them had died in the engagement. [24]

Rorke's Drift

This, possibly one of the most famous unlikely victories saw just over 150 British and colonial troops successfully defend a farmhouse against an intense assault by 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors in 1879. [25] The massive but piecemeal Zulu attacks on Rorke's Drift came very close to defeating the much smaller garrison. After repeated attacks, the Zulu force was depleted and no reinforcements were sent for further assaults on the position. Eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded to the combatants, it was the largest number of Victoria cross medals awarded by the British Government at any one battle. [26] Despite being heavily outnumbered, the British lost only 17 dead to 351 Zulus. [12] [27] The event has become widely known as a battle where an underdog won against overwhelming odds [28]

Capture of Belgrade by Fritz Klingenberg

During World War II Fritz Klingenberg, leading a reconnaissance patrol into Belgrade, sneaked into the city through enemy lines with just 6 men. [29] The Yugoslav Army had thousands of men stationed in the capital, having retreated to the city from the countryside in order to make a defense against the invading German army. After a number of firefights with Yugoslav troops, Klingenberg made his way to the centre of the city. Using captured trucks, and parading captured Yugoslav troops, he presented himself to the Mayor, pretending to be a larger force. He also threatened the use of calling in the Luftwaffe and artillery strikes (though he in fact had no radio or ability to do so). [30] Belgrade had been bombed a few days earlier, and 2200 people had been killed. [31] Wary of this, the Mayor surrendered to his forces, [32] at which point Klingenberg gathered a number of German flags from the embassy and ran them up various flagpoles in the city. The Yugoslav troops gave up, believing that there had been a general surrender. Shortly, another smaller force of 15 Germans came into the city and started also pretending to be a larger group, by driving captured vehicles repeatedly around the city so as to appear to be greater in number. Sometime later, the actual German Army arrived at the outskirts of the city, expecting to have to fight their way into the city (which had a substantial troop presence), they for a while refused to believe the city had been captured by Klingenberg. Belgrade was then fully occupied by the German Army later the same month and Belgrade became the seat of the puppet Nedić regime, headed by General Milan Nedić. Klingenberg was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for the capture of the city. [14] [33]

Battle of Kapyong

The battle occurred during the Korean War and the Chinese Spring Offensive of April 1951. The Chinese forces outnumbered the UN battalions by a factor of five to one, [34] or by a factor of greater than ten to one. [35] [36] Two battalions of the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade, each of them consisting of about 700 soldiers, the Australian 3 RAR and the Canadian 2 PPCLI, supported by the artillery of the New Zealand 16th Field Regiment and 15 American Sherman tanks, withstood the assault of the full Chinese 118th and 60th Divisions, numbering about 20,000 men, in continuous fighting from 23 April to 27 April. The action was of crucial strategic significance as the Kapyong Valley was the traditional invasion route to Seoul, and potentially would enable the encirclement of US forces in Korea which were then in general retreat across the Korean front lines. The Australian 3 RAR resisted the Chinese attacks on Hill 504 during 23/24 April until threatened with being surrounded, and then retreated off the battlefield, together with the American tanks. These UN units were no longer engaged in the battle.

The Chinese then assaulted the Canadian 2 PPCLI defending Hill 677 in a last stand, who were outnumbered in the combat engagement area by at least ten to one, [35] and in the battlefield zone by about 30 to 1. With his battalion encircled, abandoned by supporting units, and without possibility of resupply of ammunition, Lt. Col. Stone issued the order "No retreat, no surrender", and resisted mass attacks of Chinese infantry throughout the night of 24/25 April. The Canadians called in artillery fire from a New Zealand unit situated about 4.5 miles distant, directly onto some of their own positions on three occasions when overrun. After fierce fire-fights and intense artillery barrages, the Chinese withdrew on 25 April with enormous casualties of about 5,000 dead and many more wounded, mostly from artillery fire. The Canadians were exhausted of ammunition and supplies, but fortunately for the 2 PPCLI the Chinese failed to launch a final assault. The Canadian casualties were 12 killed and 35 wounded. [4]

Battle of Longewala

Part of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, this battle saw 2000 to 3000 Pakistani soldiers and 40 tanks attack 120 Indian troops, with a detachment of 4 warplanes that gave them air superiority.[ citation needed ] The Indian troops used subterfuge, stringing barbwire and putting up minefield markers, in areas where there were in fact no mines. The Pakistani units were forced through inferior terrain and funneled into kill zones where the numerical advantage didn't help them. The Pakistani advance stalled, not able to advance, and then eventually retreated once more Indian troops arrived. The Pakistani forces lost 200 troops in total, compared to Indian losses of just two men, and 5 camels. James Hatter, writing in the British media at the time, compared it to the Battle of Thermopylae. [37]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Combined arms</span> Approach to warfare

Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects—for example, using infantry and armour in an urban environment in which each supports the other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Vienna</span> 1683 battle between the Christian European States and the Ottomans

The Battle of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mountain near Vienna on 12 September 1683 after the city had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. The battle was fought by the Holy Roman Empire and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, both under the command of King John III Sobieski, against the Ottomans and their vassal and tributary states. The battle marked the first time the Commonwealth and the Holy Roman Empire had cooperated militarily against the Ottomans. The defeat was a turning point for Ottoman expansion into Europe, after which they would gain no further ground. In the ensuing war that lasted until 1699, the Ottomans would cede most of Ottoman Hungary to Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyrrhic victory</span> Victory at a cost tantamount to defeat

A Pyrrhic victory is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. Such a victory negates any true sense of achievement or damages long-term progress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Kapyong</span> 1951 battle of the Korean War

The Battle of Kapyong, also known as the Battle of Jiaping, was fought during the Korean War between United Nations Command (UN) forces—primarily Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand—and the 118th and 60th Divisions of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA). The fighting occurred during the Chinese Spring Offensive and saw the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade establish blocking positions in the Kapyong Valley, on a key route south to the capital, Seoul. The two forward battalions—the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment and 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, both battalions consisting of about 700 men each—were supported by guns from the 16th Field Regiment of the Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery along with two companies of US mortars, fifteen Sherman tanks from US 72nd Heavy Tank Battalion, two companies of the US 74th Engineer Combat Battalion and 1st Battalion, Middlesex Regiment. These forces occupied positions astride the valley with hastily developed defences. As thousands of soldiers from the Republic of Korea Army (ROK) began to withdraw through the valley, the PVA infiltrated the brigade position under the cover of darkness, and assaulted the 3 RAR on Hill 504 during the evening and into the following day. Five companies of the US and UK forces attached to 27th Brigade fled the battlefield without orders, expecting an imminent PVA breakthrough at the Kapyong Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Belgrade (1456)</span> Battle during the Ottoman-Hungarian Wars

The siege of Belgrade, or siege of Nándorfehérvár was a military blockade of Belgrade that occurred 4–22 July 1456 in the aftermath of the fall of Constantinople in 1453 marking the Ottomans' attempts to expand further into Europe. Led by Sultan Mehmed II, the Ottoman forces sought to capture the strategic city of Belgrade, which was then under Hungarian control and was crucial for maintaining control over the Danube River and the Balkans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victory disease</span> Disastrous military action after victory

Victory disease occurs in military history when complacency or arrogance, brought on by a victory or a series of victories, makes an engagement end disastrously for a commander and his forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Last stand</span> Situation in which a military unit holds against overwhelming odds

A last 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 ruler or leader. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Turkish War</span> Conflicts between Ottomans and Holy League (1683–1699)

The Great Turkish War or Great Vienna War, also called in Ottoman sources as the The Disaster Years, was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Poland-Lithuania, Venice, Russia, and the Kingdom of Hungary. Intensive fighting began in 1683 and ended with the signing of the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699. The war was a defeat for the Ottoman Empire, which for the first time lost substantial territory, in Hungary and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, as well as in part of the western Balkans. The war was significant also for being the first instance of Russia joining an alliance with Western Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Shipka Pass</span> 1877–78 battle of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)

The Battle of Shipka Pass consisted of four battles that were fought between the Russian Empire, aided by Bulgarian volunteers known as opalchentsi, and the Ottoman Empire for control over the vital Shipka Pass during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). The final battle is known as the battle of Shipka-Sheynovo or simply the battle of Sheynovo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Zenta</span> 1697 battle of the Great Turkish War

The Battle of Zenta, also known as the Battle of Senta, was fought on 11 September 1697, near Zenta, Kingdom of Hungary, between Ottoman and Holy League armies during the Great Turkish War. The battle was the most decisive engagement of the war, and it saw the Ottomans suffer an overwhelming defeat by an Imperial force half as large sent by Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Lacolle Mills (1814)</span> Battle on 30 March 1814 during the War of 1812

The Battle of Lacolle Mills was fought on 30 March 1814 during the War of 1812. The small garrison of a British outpost position, aided by Canadian reinforcements, fought off a large American attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Kagul</span> 1770 battle of the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)

The Battle of Kagul or Cahul occurred on 1 August 1770 during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774. It was the decisive and most important land battle of the war and one of the largest battles of the 18th century. It was fought in Moldavia, near the village of Frumoasa, nearly a month after the Russian victory at Larga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polish–Ottoman War (1672–1676)</span>

The Polish–Ottoman War of 1672–1676 was fought by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire. It ended with the Treaty of Żurawno, by which the Commonwealth ceded control of most of its territories in Central Ukraine to the Ottomans. It was a prelude to the Great Turkish War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Wadi (1916)</span> 1916 siege

The Battle of Wadi, occurring on 13 January 1916, was an unsuccessful attempt by British forces fighting in Mesopotamia during World War I to relieve beleaguered forces under Sir Charles Townshend then under siege by the Ottoman Sixth Army at Kut-al-Amara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Kumanovo</span> 1912 battle of the First Balkan War

The Battle of Kumanovo, on 23–24 October 1912, was a major battle of the First Balkan War. It was an important Serbian victory over the Ottoman army in the Kosovo Vilayet, shortly after the outbreak of the war. After this defeat, the Ottoman army abandoned the major part of the region, suffering heavy losses in manpower and in war materiel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad</span>

The Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad occurred between 6–8 January 1916 during the Mesopotamian Campaign of the First World War. The battle took place along the banks of the Tigris River between the Anglo-Indian Tigris Corps and elements of the Ottoman Sixth Army. The engagement was the first in a series of assaults by the Tigris Corps to try to break through the Ottoman lines to relieve the besieged garrison at Kut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Belgrade (1717)</span> Part of the Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War

The siege of Belgrade was a successful attempt by Austrian troops under the command of Prince Eugene of Savoy to capture the strategically important city of Belgrade from the Ottoman Empire. It took place during the Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718), barely a year after the Austrian victory at the Battle of Petrovaradin (Peterwardein). The Imperial Army routed the Ottoman relief army under Grand Vizier Hacı Halil Pasha on 16 August. As a consequence, the Belgrade garrison, deprived of relief, surrendered to the Austrians on 21 August. The Ottoman Sultan Ahmed III sued for peace, resulting in the Treaty of Passarowitz a year later, which completed the transfer of the remainder of Hungary, the Banat and the city of Belgrade into Austrian hands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Jaffa (1917)</span> Battle in the Palestine campaign of WWI

The Battle of Jaffa was an engagement fought during the Southern Palestine Offensive of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in World War I, between the Egyptian Expeditionary Force of the British Empire on one side and the Yildirim Army Group of the Ottoman Empire and German Empire on the other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Nebi Samwil</span>

The Battle of Nebi Samwil was fought during the decisive British Empire victory at the Battle of Jerusalem between the forces of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force and the Ottoman Empire's Yildirim Army Group during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, in the First World War. The Battle of Jerusalem began two days after the end of the decisive EEF victory at the Battle of Mughar Ridge which occurred after the EEF defeated the Ottoman Army at the decisive victory at the Battle of Beersheba and Third Battle of Gaza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Riley Stone</span> Canadian military commander (1908–2005)

James Riley Stone was a Canadian soldier and military commander. He served in WWII and the Korean War and was awarded the Military Cross and the DSO with two bars. Stone was best known for leading the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in a famous last stand at the Battle of Kapyong in the Korean conflict.

References

  1. 1 2 N; P; R (2010-05-01). "Outnumbered, Outgunned: How Underdogs Prevail". NPR. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
  2. ↑ Pygas, Mark (26 October 2013). "10 Amazing Military Victories Against The Odds". Listverse General Knowledge. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  3. ↑ Johnson, Rob "Outnumbered, Outgunned, Undeterred: Twenty Battles Against All Odds" Thames & Hudson, 1 Oct. 2011
  4. 1 2 "VICTORY AGAINST ALL ODDS". www.keymilitary.com. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 2022-08-29.
  5. 1 2 "The Battle Of Agincourt - A Massive Victory For The English When All The Odds Were Against Them". warhistoryonline. 2017-12-03. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  6. ↑ Taking Belgrade by bluff. By: Heaton, Colin D., World War II, 08984204, Jan98, Vol. 12, Issue 5
  7. 1 2 N; P; R (2010-05-01). "Outnumbered, Outgunned: How Underdogs Prevail". NPR. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  8. ↑ Anne, Thériault (12 May 2021). "Queens of Infamy: Boudicca". Longreads. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  9. ↑ "Boudica". University of Chicago. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  10. ↑ Overy, R. J. (2014). A History of War in 100 Battles. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 103.
  11. ↑ Glanz, James (2009-10-24). "Historians Reassess Battle of Agincourt". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  12. 1 2 Cormac O'Brien "Outnumbered: Incredible Stories of History's Most Surprising Battlefield Upsets" Fair Winds Press 2010
  13. ↑ Bennett, Matthew "Agincourt, 1415: Triumph Against the Odds" Prager Publishing, 2005
  14. 1 2 "5 times soldiers won against the odds". We Are The Mighty. 2022-03-20. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  15. 1 2 "European Tribune - 456 years ago: The Siege of Eger".
  16. 1 2 3 4 https://tvpworld.com/60706855/battle-of-hodow-when-400-poles-repelled-40000-tatars-in-1694
  17. 1 2 Powell-Smith, Michelle (2016-09-05). "When David Beat Goliath: 10 Small Armies that Defeated Large Ones". History Collection. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  18. 1 2 Gosling, D.C.L (1969). "THE BATTLE AT LaCOLLE MILL, 1814". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. 47 (91): 170. JSTOR   44223698 – via JSTOR.
  19. 1 2 John K Mahon "The War of 1812" Di Capo 1972 p 217
  20. ↑ “A PROBLEM IN LOGISTICS.” The War of 1812 in the Old Northwest, by Alec R. Gilpin and Brian Leigh Dunnigan, Michigan State University Press, 1958, p 97
  21. ↑ “The Militia and the War in the West.” Citizen-Soldiers in the War of 1812, by C. Edward Skeen, 1st ed., University Press of Kentucky, 1999, pp.81.
  22. ↑ Taylor, T (January 5, 2012). "It's 200 years since the war and we're still here". The Vancouver Sun. ProQuest   914518037 – via Proquest.
  23. ↑ “General Hull’s Campaign.” The United States Army in the War of 1812, by Robert S. Quimby, Michigan State University Press, 1997, page 39.
  24. 1 2 Prickett, Nigel (2004). "Maori Casualties at Pukehinahina (Gate Pa), 29 April 1864"". Records of the Auckland Museum . 41: 37–52. ISSN   1174-9202. JSTOR   42905869. Wikidata   Q58623340.
  25. ↑ Perrett, Bryan (2012). Last Stand: Famous Battles Against The Odds. Cassell. pp. Capter 5.
  26. ↑ Perrett, Bryan "Last Stand: Famous Battles Against The Odds" Cassell Military Paperbacks Chapter 5.
  27. ↑ Overy, R. J. (2014). A History of War in 100 Battles. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 85.
  28. ↑ "Rorke's Drift – a tale of heroic victory and rejection". the Guardian. 2009-04-21. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  29. ↑ "Invasion of Yugoslavia: Waffen SS Captain Fritz Klingenberg and the Capture of Belgrade During World War II". HistoryNet. 2006-06-12. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  30. ↑ Sven, F. K. (April 6, 2021). "Der Erste Blitzkrieg Dauerte Elf Tage". Die Welt. ProQuest   2508755006 – via Proquest.
  31. ↑ Smith, M (July 2020). "HITLER'S TWO ARMIES". Military History. 37: 24–31. ProQuest   2451547024 – via Proquest.
  32. ↑ McNab, Chris. Hitler's Elite: The SS 1939-45. Bloomsbury. p. 145.
  33. ↑ "Against All Odds: Against All Odds #1: The Capture of Belgrade على Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts (in Arabic). Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  34. ↑ Brooke, Michael (20 April 2006). "3 RAR's Priority on Duty". Army News (1142 ed.)
  35. 1 2 Battle of Kapyong. https://valourcanada.ca/military-history-library/battle-of-kapyong/
  36. ↑ Battle of Kapyong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EthgdO1DiIE
  37. ↑ Howe, Alan (13 Mar 2022). "Ukraine invasion: Military history is dotted with stories of Davids felling Goliaths". The Australian– via Proquest Central.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.