Oh. I knew I remembered something about that. Thx.

If you guys read the first page, I got all the statistics and the key players in the battle in my first post.

Whered you get the 20,000 Persians Killed? Also, I think we should remind everyone that this battle was probobly reported by none of then Hurododus (Yea I cant spell that), who was known to exagerate and glorify Greek victories.

I'm a little confused. So we are talking about the same battle here right?

I think...

Herodotus. And, no, that's not where I got my information (his account is the one that places Persian forces at 1.7 million, which, I believe, is a greater number than the entire Persian population at the time.
I got the figure of 20,000 Persian KIA from an Ancient History course I took, I am currently trying to find so support for this number on the internet, which is giving me nothing but grief.

Ok, I guess you can understand my caution though, I mean were talking only 300 Spartans

Yes, but that's why it's so impressive. Still no love with the battle statistics, all accounts of the battle I've found online only have the sizes of the opposing forces, and, of course, the casualties for the Spartans, which was apparently only 296, as four Spartans were used as messengers when they became too gravely wounded to fight and so their lives were saved, although they were treated as cowards for the rest of their lives.
One account I found has the Spartans doing calesthenics in front of their positions between bouts of fighting, which further demoralized their enemy.

Just think what would of happned if Leonides position was never given away, he would of retained 7000 or so combined Thebian-Athenian task Force to face the Persians...

Wow! Didnt know you guys knew that much about Spartans...

I just have to be different...for ancient fighters, Id have to go with the Knights of Malta. They had a smaller force than the spartans, and kicked quality butt in their fortress for years.

For modern Times, Id have to say the Republic of Korea (ROK) Marines Forces stationed in Viet Nam from 1966-72.

Of course, i have noticed that no one has even acknowledged the Swiss Mountain Troops for toughness. They actually can play just as mean and hard as some of the best special forces groups in the world.