Thermopylae.

This is coolbert:

From the Internet web sites "Coffee or Die" and "We Are The Mighty" this article the topic of which interesting albeit hypothetical.

"IF THE BATTLE OF THERMOPYLAE WAS FOUGHT TODAY WITH 300 MARINES"

"The legendary defense of the Spartans at the 'hot gates' of Thermopylae has gone down in military history as one of the greatest last stands."

"But what if 300 Marine infantrymen, along with a couple thousand other fighters, had to repeat what Leonidas, 300 Spartans, and their Greek allies did in 480 B.C. against a modern foe?"

THAT MARINE FORCE OF SEVERAL RIFLE COMPANIES WITH GREEK ALLIES THE MARINES HAVING MANY ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AT THEIR DISPOSAL BEYOND ORGANIC WEAPONRY!!

Hypothetical combats such as this more for amusement than anything else? Courtesy our good friend Binkov see some You Tube video as are relevant.

Analysis by Binkov. One-hundred thousand [100,000] Mongols versus a battalion USA Marines. American Marines that battalion limited to organic weaponry. Who would win?

Further analysis by Binkov. A rifle platoon of USA Marines versus a Roman Legion. That rifle platoon also limited to organic weaponry. A Roman Legion the normal size of about 5,000 men. Who would win?

A modern combat unit of USA Marines defending Thermopylae using only organic weaponry without ammunition re-supply would run out of ammo and be overwhelmed by numbers alone. Climactic battle concluding with hand-hand combat, bayonet and rifle butt versus sword and spear.

I also highly recommend the entire Binkov archive as seen at You Tube. Very good.

coolbert.