History Main / StandYourGround

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Subverted by the T'au, who will quite sensibly retreat to find a better position, which gets them labeled as cowards by the WeHaveReserves-happy Imperium (and infuriates them when the T'au how up with non-depleted forces). The Tau do have some cases of last stands, but view it as proof of the commander's incompetence if he let the situation degrade that far.

* In the ''VideoGame/TotalWar'' series, archery units have their default tactics set to "Skirmish", which has them automatically withdraw if an enemy unit gets too close to them. You can disable these orders, ordering them to "stand and fight;" this is usually most effective in urban environments where the archers would get close enough to trigger the "retreat" condition without actually getting into melee with enemy units, or if the archer units are equipped with good melee weapons and you need them to bust heads.

* The Battle of Watling Street. Queen Boudica had almost completed her [[RoaringRampageofRevenge Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] against the Roman Empire. The situation had gotten so out of control Emperor Nero was seriously considering giving up on occupying Great Britain. [[FourStarBadass Gaius Suetonius Paulinus]] assembled a force of about ~10,000, wedged it inside a gorge, and braced against a force about ~20 times larger. Two volleys of javelins routed the over-confident Briton army, allowing the Romans to give chase. With Boudica herself dying in the battle, the Roman victory completely turned the tables on the ongoing revolution and ensured southern Britain would remain an imperial province until the fall of Rome itself.
* Often more inefficient than romantic. The best way to deal with a force that is standing its ground is to [[CombatPragmatism march around them, cut of their supplies, and let them starve.]] This was exactly the tactic used by the Allies against the Japanese forces in the Pacific in WWII.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[Music/TomPetty "And I wont. back. down."]]]]

* The Stand Your Ground, Castle and similar laws in some states of the USA, which state that a person can defend themselves against an attacker and has no obligation to try to evade or retreat. SYG applies anywhere in the state, while Castle applies in the home.

-->-- '''[[Characters/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Captain Jean-Luc Picard]]''', ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact''

* ''Afrikanerhart'', the nationalist anthem by Bok van Blerk which celebrates UsefulNotes/TheSecondBoerWar, explicitly states this:

* The Battle of Watling Street. Queen Boudica had almost completed her [[RoaringRampageofRevenge Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] against the Roman Empire. The situation had gotten so out of control Emperor Nero was seriously considering giving up on occupying Great Britain. [[FourStarBadass Gaius Suetonius Paulinus]] assembled a force of about ~10,000, wedged it inside a gorge, and braced against a force about ~20 times larger. Two volleys of javelins routed the over-confident Briton army, allowing the Romans to give chase. With Boudica herself dying in the battle, the roman victory completely turned the tables on the ongoing revolution and ensured southern Britain would remain an imperial province until the fall of Rome itself.

* In ''666'', the priest and his soldiers are tasked with defending a science facility while the scientists are being extracted. [[spoiler: It turns out to be a trap and they have to hold against a demon legion or two.]]

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar "A Good Man Goes To War"]], Madame Vastra declares as the Headless Monks advance on Amy and [[spoiler: a flesh duplicate of]] her daughter Melody, "The child! '''At all costs''', protect the child!"

* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'': The Draconis Combine, which is culturally themed after ancient Japan has this mentality. A samurai who retreats without being ordered to by his superiors (which usually means the Coordinator himself) will typically be required to commit {{seppuku}} unless there are extraordinary circumstances. This means that they sometimes succeed in turning the tide unexpectedly, but also means that they often wind up dying against overwhelming odds instead of retreating to fight another day. This was especially bad for them in the Clan Invasion, as the Clans' superior omnimechs were able to pick off Combine machines at much greater ranges than the latter could retaliate due to their superior weaponry, and samurai honor demanded that they keep marching into the teeth of the invaders.

* ''Literature/BruceCovillesBookOf Nightmares'': [[Myth/KingArthur Arthur and Cai]] do so when faced with Gwynn ap Nudd and his hounds in ''Master of the Hunt'', which turns out to be the right thing to do. As Merlin explains later, if you have courage and stand your ground, even the lord of the dead can't force you into the netherworld -- you have to go of your own free will (even if that choice is brought on by being terrified out of your wits).

* Music/Sabaton have published many songs about real life battles where soldiers stood their ground, including most of the album The Last Stand.

->''"I will not sacrifice the Enterprise. We've made too many compromises already, too many retreats. They invade our space, and we fall back. They assimilate entire worlds, and we fall back. Not again. The line must be drawn '''here'''! This far -- no farther!"''

* In ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'', the "No Retreat" War Doctrine available to Militarist empires disables the Disengage mechanic. Your ships will fight to the bitter end, every gun blazing until they are all destroyed. This is good and bad: on one hand, it's good for Battleships [[MightyGlacier because they have massive firepower and unlikely to be able to flee anyway]], and it ensures your ships always fight at full capacity; on the other hand, losing a battle is catastrophic as you will have to rebuild your fleet from scratch.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40K'': Subverted by the Tau, who will quite sensibly retreat to find a better position, which gets them labeled as cowards by the WeHaveReserves-happy Imperium (and infuriates them when the Tau how up with non-depleted forces). The Tau do have some cases of last stands, but view it as proof of the commander's incompetence if he let the situation degrade that far.

* In the closing sequence of ''Film/TheColony'', [[spoiler:Viktor]] tries to invoke this, but he lacks both the leadership and combat skill to pull it off.

* In ''VideoGame/Persona4'', you're given the choice whether or not to tell the men to stand their ground against the girls in the hot springs. Regardless of choice and your courage, you are forced to fall back after the girls' barrage of [[WashtubThrow projectile washtubs]].

* The Battle of Watling Street. Queen Boudica had almost completed her [[RoaringRampageofRevenge Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] against the Roman Empire. The situation had gotten so out of control Emperor Nero was seriously considering giving up on occupying Great Britain. [[FourStarBadass Gaius Suetonius Paulinus]] assembled a force of about ~10,000, wedged it inside a gorge, and braced against a force about ~20 times larger. Two volleys of javelins routed the over-confident Briton army, allowing the romans to give chase. With Boudica herself dying in the battle, the roman victory completely turned the tables on the ongoing revolution and ensured southern Britain would remain an imperial province until the fall of Rome itself.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jon_snow_9.png]]

->''"I will not sacrifice the Enterprise. We’ve made too many compromises already, too many retreats. They invade our space, and we fall back. They assimilate entire worlds, and we fall back. Not again. The line must be drawn '''here'''! This far -- no farther!"''

!!Examples

[[folder:Fanfic]]

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jon_snow.jpg]]

A cousin to the LastStand. Related to HoldTheLine. Contrast RunOrDie, where he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day.

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