Random Historical Underdogs Who Came Out On Top (16 items)

• (#1) A Single Rifleman Fought Off Hundreds Of Japanese Soldiers And Survived

  From Redditor /u/:khoonirobo:

  Lachhiman Gurung, who singlehandedly fought off an estimated 200 Japanese soldiers during WW2. He survived.

  Here's What Happened:

  Records indicate Lachhiman Gurung, a member of the Indian Army, during WW2 held off a group of 200 Japanese soldiers attacking his position in Burma. In the early morning hours of May 13, 1945, the injured Lachhiman stood his ground for four hours. When daylight broke, the bodies of 31 Japanese soldiers were on the ground before him.

  Later awarded the Victoria Cross, Lachhiman said, "I was not brave. I saw all of my friends wounded and then I looked at my hand and I was very, very angry."
• (#2) Finland Used The Weather To Resist The Red Army In 1939

  From Redditor /u/Thermal_Afternoon:

  Just in general, the Winter War is a personal favorite. A Soviet world-class army getting their [butt] kicked by a bunch of Finns hiding in the snow is amazing.

  Here's What Happened:

  The Soviet Union entered into Finland in 1939, the result of a long-standing border feud. According to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, the Finnish border needed to be pushed back in order to create a protection area around Leningrad. The Finns were unwilling to give in to Stalin's demands, and attempts at diplomacy failed, so Stalin invaded with roughly 500,000 men. 

  The Winter War was fought on Finnish soil, which gave Finland a definite advantage. By engaging in guerilla tactics, Finland used bunkers, trenches, and strategic fortifications to resist Soviet incursions. The first offensive by the Soviets launched on November 30, 1939, with the aggressors entering Finland from numerous locations during the following days. Air strikes inflicted heavy damage and loss of life on Helsinki, but over the following months, Finland used ski troops and snipers effectively against the Soviets. 

  In the end, Finland had to make peace with the Soviets, especially after a new round of bombings in February 1940. By the end of the conflict, the Soviet Union lost more than 300,000 men, while the Finns suffered about 65,000 casualties. 
• (#3) One Korean Admiral Incapacitated The Japanese Navy With About A Dozen Ships

  From Redditor /u/ramsayes:

  Admiral Yi had many notable wins during the Imjin Invasion, wherein Toyotomi Hideyoshi entered into Korea to establish a launching point for a greater Chinese incursion as he had planned. Although the initial Japanese forces practically steamrolled through almost all of Korean territory, Admiral Yi's navy effectively cut all Japanese supply lines and rendered their military useless over time. His naval victories played a pivotal role in the conflict, but he had no experience in naval warfare before the incursion.

  Here's What Happened:

  The Imjin War refers to a series of Japanese incursions into Korea during the 1590s. Japanese leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi was able to push his forces numbering in excess of 150,000 men into Korea, capturing Seoul in 1592. The Korean navy, however, managed to hinder continued Japanese efforts. Admiral Yi and his kobukson, or turtle ships, featured covers that left them impervious to flames and incursions.

  The leader of the Korean navy, Admiral Yi Sun-shin, had a storied military career. After serving in both the army and the navy, he was dismissed from service twice due to accusations made against him by jealous rivals. He was imprisoned during the mid-1590s, something Korean officials reevaluated after suffering a major defeat at Chilchonryang in August 1597. The Korean fleet was nearly wiped out at Chilchonryang, but when Admiral Yi was put in charge of their 12 remaining ships, he refused to abandon them, instead insisting, "If we fight to the death, it is not impossible to defend against the enemy; I still have 12 warships under my command; as long as I live, the enemy will never look down on us."

  Admiral Yi took on over 300 Japanese ships at Myeongnyang with his 12 ships, out-strategizing and outmaneuvering the much larger fleet. According to some sources, Admiral Yi brought down more than 30 of the Japanese ships, damaging nearly 100 others. 
• (#4) The English Won The Battle Of Agincourt Despite Being Exhausted And Outnumbered

  From Redditor /u/MisterShine:

  Battle of Agincourt. A sick, cold, outnumbered English force of about 8,500 men was struggling to get back to Calais and across the Channel to home.

  They faced a confident French force of some 15,000.

  But, of the English force, 7,000 were longbowmen. And the rest really is history.

  Here's What Happened:

  The Battle of Agincourt on October 25, 1415, pitted a much smaller English military presence against France - on French soil. Fought during the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453), Agincourt took place on the heels of two months of heavy fighting between the two sides. After a lull... from 1396 to 1415, Henry V of England entered into Normandy with 11,000 to 12,000 troops, determined to recapture what had once been the possession of the English Crown. Henry arrived in August 1415 and, after a long siege, captured the strategic city of Harfleur. Henry then headed to Calais with his depleted forces.

  Henry and his knights, archers, and infantrymen hoped to get to Calais and sail across the English Channel to England. He and his men had not only experienced high casualties, but were low on supplies. Large numbers of English troops had also succumbed to disease, possibly dysentery.

  The English forces were met by French troops at Agincourt before they could get to Calais, however. It's estimated that 1,000 to 1,500 English knights and foot soldiers, alongside 5,000 longbowmen, took on as many as 20,000 Frenchmen at Agincourt. 

  Greatly outnumbered, sick, and low on provisions, the English proved victorious. After a delay in fighting on the morning of October 25, the English advanced first, prompting French forces (laden in heavy armor) to advance through heavy mud. English longbowmen decimated the French, with anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 casualties on the side of France.
• (#5) Twenty-One Sikh Fighters Resisted At Least 10,000 Afghans At Saragarhi In 1897

  From Redditor /u/Roviik:

  The 21 Sikh.

  I have to speak about these ultimate warriors.

  In a short description, 21 Sikh warriors who each chose to stay behind in their fort to defend against 10,000-plus incoming enemy soldiers. They used every bullet and fixed bayonets, and fought till the last breath in their lungs. There is way more to this legendary story and I beg you to look it up, Because of their actions that cost their lives, in September there is a holiday for them.

  Here's What Happened:

  On September 12, 1897, a group of 21 Sikh fighters manned the post at Saragarhi in modern-day Pakistan. Saragarhi, located between forts at Lockhart and Gulistan near the Afghanistan border, was one of several sites occupied by members of the 36th Sikhs Regiment. In the early morning hours, as the 21 Sikh fighters inside Saragarhi remained unaware of what was about to happen, Afghans surrounded the post, even digging under its walls. They set fires to block any signals coming out of Saragarhi, messages that would have brought them much-needed aid. 

  As the siege on Saragarhi continued during the day, Afghan fighters launched a full assault by mid-afternoon. The 21 Sikhs fought valiantly, defending Saragarhi until they were all killed. Newspapers later reported, "All perished. One gallant fellow defended the guard room single-handed, killing 20 of his assailants and was finally burnt at his post.” 

  Suffering hundreds of losses, the Afghan fighters then turned to Fort Gulistan, besieging it for days.
• (#6) Untrained Soldiers Kept The SS Out Of Norway For A Short Time

  From Redditor /u/dogster202:

  The Battle of Drøbak Sound.

  A coastal fort with weapons so old the country that built them no longer existed [was] manned by pensioners and recruits [who] sank a cruiser so new its crew were still finishing training.

  Here's What Happened:

  When the SS set out to take Norway in early April 1940, the Norwegian people were determined to hold them back as long as possible. At the fort of Drøbak, German warships and aircraft began bombarding on April 9, led by the Blücher. German forces knew the area was a training ground for the Norwegian military but didn't realize it was equipped with torpedoes.

  The Germans were also unaware that a group of men had recently been conscripted into service and were present at the fort. With his men, who had only about a week of training, and older military men like Commander Andraes Andersen, Colonel Birger Eriksen and the Norwegians took their stand. The Norwegian combatants held off the Blücher, severely damaging it in the process. The Blücher later sank to the bottom of Oslofjord.

  Their efforts delayed the incursion briefly, but the Luftwaffe began to drop torpedoes on their location at Kaholm the next day.
• (#7) Hannibal Didn't Give Up, And The Romans Paid The Ultimate Price

  From Redditor /u/KnowanUKnow:

  Hannibal was almost always outnumbered at least 2-1 by the Romans, yet he continued to rampage across Italy for 14 years, winning battle after battle and defeating Roman legion after legion.

  Here's What Happened:

  During the Second Punic War, Hannibal brought thousands of troops from Carthage to Europe, famously crossing the Pyrenees and the Alps with elephants as well. The Carthaginians were at a constant disadvantage, however, on foreign soil with vulnerable supply lines. Although Hannibal hoped to recruit from tribes seeking to rid themselves of Rome's dominance, he was never able to gather enough support to match the Roman military. 

  Hannibal's campaign lasted from 219 BCE to 203 BCE, during which time he defeated large numbers of Romans during entanglements at the River Trebia, Lake Trasimene, and Cannae. At Cannae in 216 BCE, there were roughly 50,000 Carthaginian infantry and cavalry fighters, while the Romans had 80,000 to 90,000 troops. According to Greek historian Polybius, as many as 70,000 Roman soldiers perished at Cannae, "a lesson to posterity that in actual war it is better to have half the number of infantry, and the superiority in cavalry, than to engage your enemy with an equality in both."
• (#8) In 1552, Hungarian Men And Women Held Of An Ottoman Siege By Hurling Whatever They Could Find

  From Redditor /u/beruon:

  Definitely the Siege of Eger (1552). The Ottoman Empire was [laying siege to] this Hungarian castle, with around [35,000 to 45,000] men, cannons... cavalry, etc. The castle had 2,000 to 2,500 defenders, so we can talk about a 15- to 20-to-1 in manpower, and one-fourth of the defenders weren't even soldiers, but local militia. Also, the defenders did not have good artillery...

  What the Hungarians did have [was] István Dobo, a skilled commander, and Gergely Bornemissza, an officer who had unnatural skill with explosives. During the siege, several of the assaults on the city were repelled by Bornemissza's grenades and explosives... The siege lasted for 39 days, and after that, the Ottomans withdrew. The defenders lost around [300 to 400] men; the Ottomans lost around [5,000 to 7,000]. In the siege, the defenders went all out; women manned the walls, pouring molten metal [and] hot water... on the ladder-climbing Ottomans... The whole siege [has] since become one of the most famous battle[s] in Hungarian history.

  Here's What Happened:

  István Dobo, Gergely Bornemissza, and the other Hungarians at Eger in 1552 displayed a significant amount of skill with strategy and firepower alike. As the Ottoman Empire pushed into Eastern Europe, roughly 80,000 troops besieged Eger, where about 2,000 Hungarians mounted their defense. Despite being outnumbered and only having a fraction of the weaponry possessed by the Ottomans, Hungarian defenders did whatever necessary to keep their opposition at bay.

  According to sources, there were roughly 90 women at Eger, individuals who fought Ottoman soldiers one-on-one if they breached the castle walls. Women defenders also threw burning materials, boiling water, and comparable deterrents during the 39-day siege. 

  Bornemissza, also called Gregor, is the protagonist of a novel called Eclipse of the Crescent Moon by Géza Gárdonyi written in 1899. As a national hero in Hungary, Bornemissza's reputation as a hero may blend historical truth and narrative license, but he is considered to have been a talented inventor. As the story goes, Bornemissza took charge of the castle at Eger after the Ottomans left but was later captured by the Turks. Bornemissza was hanged at Istanbul in 1554 after having refused to give up any secrets about Eger castle. 
• (#9) The French Were So Impressed By The Swiss Pikemen That They Hired Them

  From Redditor /u/Rovik:

  The Swiss [pikemen].

  For like 75% of the battles they ever fought were all against the odds. [The] most famous... was when [they] faced around 20,000-plus French soldiers and knights. [The] 1,600 [pikemen] lowered their pikes and full sprint charged the enemy before them. By the end... only a handful of pikemen had walked away... With that... they were hired up by France to fight as mercenaries, the finest in the known world. So skilled and fearless that rivaling nations would be in furious bidding wars.

  Not just to have them in battle, but so they also would not have to face them!

  Complete f*cking legends and worth looking into.

  Here's What Happened:

  After Swiss pikemen proved their superiority during the Burgundian-Swiss War of 1339, their military acumen received notice throughout Europe. More than a century later, Swiss troops held off Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy, defeating his forces at three key engagements in 1476 and 1477. Swiss mercenaries were soon common features on battlefields - valuable combatants in an age when permanent armies were too expensive to maintain.

  French forces defeated Swiss military forces, including pikemen, at the Battle of Marignano in 1515. The conflict between King Francis I of France and the Swiss Confederation, while successful for the French, prompted Francis to negotiate his right to hire Swiss pikemen as part of the Treaty of Fribourg in 1516. 
• (#10) The Hussites Repelled The Holy Roman Empire And The Roman Catholic Church In 1420

  From Redditor /u/Vargue:

  [At] Vitkov Hill, Jan Zizka beating the German knighthood with a hundred [militants].

  Exact numbers are unknown when it comes to the number of men Zizka had at his command. Regardless, the half-blind Zizka equipped local militants with agricultural tools and whatever could be found to hold off the exponentially larger... force as they attempted to make their way to Prague. Zizka remained on the battlelines of the Hussite Wars until his passing in 1424 CE. 

  Here's What Happened:

  Underequipped and severely outnumbered, the Hussites in Bohemia fought to resist the Holy Roman Empire during the Hussite Wars of the early 15th century. Followers of religious reformer Jan Hus, the Hussites were considered heretical and needed to be brought into the Catholic Church, not to mention a threat to the political authority of Emperor Sigismund (r. 1410-1437).

  Jan Zizka was an avid follower of Hus, taking the lead among the Taborites, or militant peasant contingents within the faith. When the Holy Roman Empire and Sigismund attempted to take Prague in 1420, Zizka and a group of as many as 9,000 Hussites - men and women alike - set up a defense at Vitkov Hill, east of the city. From 70,000 to 150,000 Holy Roman Empire fighters, depending on the source, besieged Vitkov Hill as the Hussites held onto the strategic upper ground. The Hussites used rudimentary axes and pitchforks, repelling the Germanic forces. 
• (#11) Sam Houston And The Texas Militia Changed The Course Of History In Under 20 Minutes

  From Redditor /u/:KyleKalambo:

  Bit of Texas history:

  Battle of San Jacinto, April 1836: Sam Houston led 800 Texans against a larger force of 1,500 Mexicans under General and President Santa Anna. The Texans had been... fighting and losing... and then retreating. In a surprise... the Texans charged the sleeping Mexicans, yelling, "Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!"... This would be the turning point... and give Texas its independence.

  Here's What Happened:

  In the aftermath of the Alamo, Sam Houston essentially brought the Texas Revolution to an end on April 21, 1836. Houston received word three days earlier about the location of Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and about 750 of his men. With information about where Santa Anna was camped and his next move, Houston took roughly 820 men to intercept the Mexican forces.

  By the time Houston and Santa Anna met, the latter had received reinforcements, but Houston had the element of surprise on his side. He acted first, and 18 minutes later, the Mexican army surrendered. While Mexico had over 600 casualties, Houston lost fewer than 10 men.  

  According to Houston's own account, his men did sing "'Remember the Alamo,' received the [e]nemy's fire, and advanced within point blank shot before a piece was discharged from our lines."
• (#12) A Small Group Of British Fighters Held Off Waves Of Zulu Warriors

  From Redditor /u/Dave-1066:

  The Battle of Rorke’s Drift (famously made into the classic film Zulu, starring Michael Caine)...

  The latter has to be one of the most remarkable military successes that come under the banner of "underdog." Eleven Victoria Cross medals were handed out to men who fought in that engagement - the most ever won by a single regiment in a single action. Circa 250 soldiers against 4,000 Zulu warriors who came in endless waves.

  Here's What Happened:

  One of the defining moments of the Anglo-Zulu War, the Battle of Rorke's Drift was a response to British orders to the South African Zulu tribe to disband their military. When the Zulu king, Cetshwayo, refused, British forces entered into Zululand in January 1879. Three columns of British soldiers attempted to eliminate the Zulu threat before moving into their capital at Ulundi. The center column, however, was unprepared for what they found at Rorke's Drift.

  The Zulu forces, while outgunned by the British, did have firearms, but with shields, spears, and traditional weapons, their courage and sheer numbers were more than Lieutenant-General Lord Chelmsford and his men could handle. At Rorke's Drift, Cetshwayo's brother, Dabulamanzi kaMpande, led thousands of Zulu warriors against roughly 100 British soldiers. In a fight that lasted for 12 hours, Englishmen held their ground, ultimately causing the Zulu to retreat.

  There were 11 Victoria Crosses awarded to British troops from Rorke's Drift, but the events of the day have been heavily scrutinized. There's some evidence that British officers and enlisted men slaughtered hundreds of Zulu prisoners afterward, perhaps even burying them alive. 
• (#13) About Four Dozen French Foreign Legion Fighters Refused To Surrender To Mexico  

  From Redditor /u/TauCetiu:

  Maybe the Battle of Camarón, where 60 soldiers from the French Foreign Legion held their ground against 3,000 mexican soldiers.

  They killed 190 soldiers and wounded 300, refused to surrender multiple times, and only dropped their weapons when they ran out of ammunition and were a few left, asking to be authorised to take care of their wounded comrades.

  I guess it's not really a win because most of them died; I think only three or four survived.

  The cool thing is that the commander of the squadron made his soldiers swear to fight until death rather than surrender on his wooden hand, which is now a treasured relic of the French Foreign Legion.

  Here's What Happened:

  In late April 1863, as European countries struggled with debt due to lack of payment from Mexico, France intervened. Mexico was led by Benito Juárez, while England and Spain planned to take action. Napoleon III of France saw it as his opportunity to extend French influence around the world. French and Mexican forces met at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, a decisive defeat for the former. The following year, as the French Foreign Legion set its sights on Mexico City, Captain Jean Danjou and roughly 64 men crossed paths with about 3,000 Mexican troops. 

  The standoff between the French Foreign Legion and the Mexican soldiers at Camarón was never more than a defensive action by Danjou. He refused to give up, however, successfully holding out for about eight hours. By the time the engagement came to an end, only two Frenchmen were neither dead nor wounded.  

  Danjou's wooden hand (he'd lost his in Algeria) did become a relic and is on display at the Legion Museum of Memory in France.
• (#14) American Naval Forces Triumphed Over A Japanese Fleet At The Battle Off Samar In 1944

  From Redditor /u/FarseerTaelen:

  The Battle off Samar.

  Quite possibly the most one-sided naval engagement of all time. The Americans were hilariously outgunned, yet managed to repel the Japanese battleship and cruiser force, preventing them from going after the American troop and supply ships. They sank three cruisers and heavily damaged three more at the cost of two destroyers, a destroyer escort, and two... carriers. Most important, they managed to get the Japanese battleships to turn back and withdraw to their home waters, where they would stay for the remainder of the war, aside from Yamato's suicide mission to Okinawa.

  Here's What Happened:

  In October 1944, the Japanese navy lured the Allied 3rd Fleet out of the Leyte Gulf, leaving only three carrier groups to protect convoys in the region. The Japanese efforts were a ruse, however, and once the 3rd Fleet was left exposed, Japanese battleships doubled back in an attempt to destroy the remaining Allied ships. Called the Taffy 3, the Allied fleet included three destroyers, six carriers, and four destroyer escorts with relatively small defensive or offensive firepower.

  Over 20 Japanese ships and the ships of Taffy 3 went head-to-head on October 25, with Allied Rear Admirals Felix B. Stump and Thomas L. Sprague launching aircraft and torpedo strikes. Japanese Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita inflicted significant damage on the Allies, but he lost multiple destroyers and carriers throughout the exchange. His destroyers remained intact, but after losing the strategic edge, Kurita ultimately withdrew. After the Japanese abandoned efforts to take control of the Leyte Gulf, a series of subsequent defeats signaled an overall decline of Japanese naval power. 
• (#15) Daniel Morgan Used His Tactical Expertise At The Battle Of The Cowpens During The American Revolution

  From Redditor /u/Marbodoesntforgive:

  Battle of the Cowpens is a good example. The raw numbers don't tell the whole story: 1,900 American vs. 1,100 British. Trouble with those 1,900 is that 1,200 of them were unreliable militia that frequently broke at the first side of fighting. The Americans only had around 600 experienced troops. The British force was among the best in their army, with two cannons. Up until that point, British were kicking butt all over the south. And the force [that] had been chasing the Americans was there to basically deliver the endgame killing blow.

  Fortunately for the USA, Daniel Morgan was a tactical genius. He used the terrain and varied experience of his troops to his advantage perfectly. He correctly guessed exactly what his opponents would do and used it to lure them into a trap that saw the British brigade [wiped out], with around 970 dead, wounded, or captured. This opened the door for Washington to trap Cornwallis at Yorktown. It makes for an interesting read.

  Here's What Happened:

  Most of the rebel fighters at the Battle of Cowpens were inexperienced and untrained. The fight took place on January 17, 1781, in South Carolina, with Britain's professional military underestimating their opponent entirely. Even their commander, Daniel Morgan, expressed little faith in the American fighters, telling one of his generals that the "force is inadequate to the attempt you have hinted at." Morgan continued, "Nor do I expect to have more than two-thirds of these to assist me, should I be attacked...for  it is impossible to keep them collected."

  In spite of his deficits, Morgan kept his men together, lining them up in a way that made flight very difficult. He drew the British, led by Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, out, inflicting heavy casualties in the process. Lieutenant Colonel William Washington trapped a large number of British soldiers, causing them to put down their weapons. Tarleton tried to regroup, but was forced to retreat. 
• (#16) Outnumbered And Far From Rome, Julius Caesar Proved Victorious At Alesia In 52 BCE

  From Redditor /u/GolfballDM:

  Julius Caesar at the Battle of Alesia. If you go by the contemporary estimates of the Gallic force, Caesar was outnumbered anywhere from 6-1 to 10-1. And they had to both besiege Alesia as well as fight off the relief force.

  Here's What Happened:

  Julius Caesar embarked on an extensive campaign to capture Gaul, one that lasted for most of the 50s BCE. In 52 BCE, Caesar fought the campaign that would solidify Roman dominance of much of modern Western Europe, defeating Vercingetorix (d. 46 BCE) and his united Gallic forces. As the head of the Arverni tribe, Vercingetorix had an estimated 250,000 relief troops and his 80,000 men to take on Caesar's some 60,000 soldiers. 

  Caesar and the Romans built besieged Vercingetorix and his men at Alesia, the site at which they'd taken refuge after an initial failed cavalry assault. Roman soldiers built fortifications around Alesia, intending to starve out the Gauls. Vercingetorix had only a month's worth of rations, prompting him to try to exploit a weakness identified in the Roman line. He sent one of his commanders, Vercassivellaunus, with 60,000 men, but Caesar's men withstood their advance. 

  Vercingetorix ultimately called a council of Gallic chiefs, telling them he should slay him or send him to the Romans. They surrendered Vercingetorix, ending their resistance and opening up Gaul to the Romans. 

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking