did any ancient battles involve an opponent with three hundred men or less?

Answer 1

The combined Greek forces had been attempting to block the Persians' land advance at the narrow Pass of Thermopylae, at the same time as a naval engagement at Artemisium took on the Persian fleet. The sea battle at Artemesium was inconclusive, but the land battle was to be remembered for all time. King Xerxes approached the narrow pass at Thermopylae, the gateway from northern Greece into central and southern Greece. His army consisted of over two million men from the hundred or so countries that made up the Persian Empire of Xerxes. The leader of the Greeks was Leonidas, one of the two Kings of Sparta. He had been sent there by the united Greek city-states to slow down the advance of the mighty Persian army. Leonidas arrived at Thermopylae with 300 hand picked warriors, and a force af about 5000 assorted Greeks, including 400 Thebans and 700 Thespians.When Themistocles arrived to inform Leonidas of the less than stellar results at the Battle at Atremisium, he offered escape to the Spartans, but Leonidas refused. His instructions to Themistocles was to tell the united Greeks to gather their forces while the Spartans fought a delaying action at the pass. Leonidas had a plan. The pass of Thermopylae was the only easy way into Greece. On one side of the pass were steep and dangerous ocean cliffs, and on the other side of the pass, the high cliffs of Mount Oeta. Leonidas discovered that the pass was only 50 yards wide, and if a few hundred Greeks formed into a Phalanx formation, they would be able to neutralize the much larger Persian force. It negated the Persian numerical superiority because only a few hundred Persians could attack in a frontal assault. Xerxes arrived at Thermopylae and camped.The Persian army took four days to fully arrive, and at night it was said that their campfires looked as numerous as the stars of the Milky Way. Xerxes hoped that this display of numbers would discourage the Greeks psychologically. He was wrong. On the fourth day, he sent his emissaries to the Greeks to demand surrender. His emissaries ordered the Greeks to give up their arms, to which Leonidas gave his heroically defiant answer 'Molon labe!' or 'Come and take them!'. This answer infuriated King Xerxes, who ordered an immediate attack.Onward, 20,000 Persians attacked. Leonidas rallied the Greeks and the Spartans took the first relay. As soon as the Persians closed, the Spartans turned and appeared to run away, but When the Persians were sufficiently extended in their mad headlong rush to chase the Spartans, the Greeks wheeled around and smashed into the distended Persian lines, killing thousands. Wave after wave of Persians rushed toward the front. It was at this moment that the Spartans had the advantage - with a combination of better training, armor, spears, and tactics. Soon the tired Spartans gave way to the other Greek city-states, each in turn slaughtering hundreds of Persians. For long hours that first day, Xerxes hurled his troops against the Spartans and the Greeks, all with the same result.On the second day of the battle, the furious Xerxes now was forced to send in The Persian Immortals, his own hand picked 10,000 man body-guards. These Immortals were the largest, tallest and greatest warriors in the Persian army. They attacked furiously but met with the same disaster as their Persian brothers. Again the Greeks routed them, and this time, hundreds of Immortals were chased over the sea-cliffs to drown in the Malian Gulf. Unfortunately for the Greeks, Ephialtes of Trachis revealed the existence of a mountain path that led behind Greek positions to the Persians, who under Hydarnes were able to get around the pass and the Greek forces. The 1,000 Phocians soldiers who had been stationed there to protect the Greek rear fled.When Leonidas learned of this treachery, he called a meeting with the other Greek commanders. After a council of war Leonidas ordered the Greek allies to retreat, with an exception of 700 Thespians, 400 Thebans, and his own force of 300 Spartans. The other Greeks refused to retreat, but Leonidas told them that the fight was lost, and their position; hopeless. To have so many Greeks slaughtered was pointless.The seven other Greek city-states reluctantly disengaged and retreated south to join the main body of Greeks, and the Thebans and Thespians stayed. The 700-man Thespian force retreated back to guard the Spartan rear, and the Spartans and Thebans held fast at the middle of the three stone walls at Thermopylae, and waited. Again and again the Persians attacked the Spartans, but again and again they were repulsed. It was said that the Persians lost over 50,000 men by the end of the day, but the Spartans were finally beginning to tire and lose men. Their main weapons, the 8-foot-long Spartan spears, were almost all broken, and many had been killed and wounded. It is estimated that only 100 Spartans remained in good enough condition to fight on the last day.Early on the last day of fighting, the Persians sent emissaries to again demand surrender. They were met by Spartan soldiers led by a Spartan commander named Dienekes. When they were told by the Persians that soon "our arrows will blot out the sun", Dienekes replied, "then we will fight in the shade". The Persians returned to Xerxes, and on the battle raged. The Thebans surrendered before the final assault by the Persians. When the Persian Immortals had made their way around the secret pass to the Spartan rear, they were met by the 700-man Thespian force.nlike the Spartans, the Thespians were not a professional fighting unit. Their ranks consisted of ordinary citizens nd they fought bravely to the last man, where they were eventually overwhelmed by the 10,000 Persian Immortals.Leonidas was now apprised of the situation; he was surrounded with no chance to escape. He gave his last orders to his remaining Spartans. They formed the Spartan Wedge, with King Leonidas at the point, and attacked the Persian lines hoping to reach the entourage of King Xerxes to kill him. It almost worked. Hundreds more Persians fell. The Spartans came within a few yards of Xerxes and some of their javelins actually killed a number of Xerxes' advisors. But then Leonidas was struck down. A furious fight now ensued between the remaining Spartans and the Persians for the body of Leonidas. After 5 minutes of vicious fighting, the Spartans carried the body of their fallen king back to a little hill behind the stone walls.

Soon, the 10,000 Persian Immortals appeared at the Spartan rear. The Spartans were now completely surrounded. Xerxes sent his final offer; to give up the body of King Leonidas, and the lives of the remaining Greeks will be spared. The Spartans responded by telling Xerxes that they would rather die with their king. With that being said, Xerxes ordered the remaining Spartans to be annihilated with arrows. At his signal, one million arrows momentarily blotted out the sun. The Spartans were killed to the last man. They had bought precious time for Greece and the rest of Europe.This heroic, last stand inspired the rest of Greece. Within six months the tiny Greek navy defeated the mighty Persian/Phoenician fleet at the Battle of Salamis. The 35,000-man united Greek army, this time led by 7,000 Spartans, completely wiped out the Persians at the Battle of Plataea. Xerxes and the Persians finally retreated from Europe forever. Greece and the west had been saved by the heroic sacrifice of the 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians.

Answer 2

Without a doubt. Well, it depends on how you define 'battle'. If the men of two villages fought each other to the death, but there was only 170 people involved, is that a battle or a skirrmish?
A new movie called the 300 is coming out soon and it is based on a real event. Persia was invading Greece. Things didn't go well for the Greeks. At some point, they only had 300 Spartans to defend one of the flanks. I'm sketchy on details, but it did happen. Several hundred Spartans routed an army that outnumbered them like 100 to 1. They presented their sheild wall formation, then backed themselves into a natural canyon so they could not be surrounded. I saw a documentary on the History channel about it years ago. I think the Spartans all died, but they did massive damage to the main army before it was all said and done.

Answer 3

Yes. The battle of Thermopylae(sp) where the persian army of 1 million, led by Xerxes, faced the Spartan led coalition of 300, led by King Leonidas of Sparta. The Spartans kicked persian *** until they were betrayed by one of their own. However, this gave the Greeks time to organize and ultimately defeat the persians and ended any future attempts to fight the Greeks by the persians.

Answer 4

Spartans against Persians at Thermopylae.