The last stand,in which an elite unit of soldiers with little chance of victory fights to the last man, is a much glorified yet little understood theme in military history. A last stand is a time and a place where and end is made. Wheter made badly or well. fought intelligently or in ignorance, the last stand has the finality of death for those who stay the course. In military engagements there are always those who run, or are ordered to leave, or arrive too late, but the story of soldiers who fight a hopeless battle to the end continues to enflame the human spirit, and to intrigue the student of history.