last stand

plural last stands · alternative final stand

1. alsofigurativelyA military encounter, especially against (often greatly) superior odds, generally as a last resort, whether to save another army or city, or as a last act of defiance, and often resulting in the total annihilation of the weaker force.

   to make one's last stand

   1 more example

   After a forty-five-minute struggle against vastly-unequal odds, aboard the Johnston, the order is given to abandon ship. The ship goes down twenty-five minutes later, at ten minutes past ten, taking one hundred and eighty-six of her crew, including the gallant Captain Evans, with her. He will receive a posthumous Medal of Honor for his actions; in its last stand, the ship still managed to draw off considerable fire that would otherwise have likely led to the loss of more American ships.

   2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 34:35 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?, archived from the original on 03 Nov 2022