In 371BCE, Thebes dealt Sparta, the reigning hegemon of Greece, a blow it would never recover from. An innovative mix of hoplite tactics allowed Theban General Epaminondas to win a landmark strategic victory that put Thebes on the map... for about 30 years before they screwed it all up.

Sources:

Hanson, Victor Davis, "The Leuktra Mirage"

Ray Jr., Frank Eugene, "Greek and Macedonian Land Battles of the 4th Century BC," McFarland, 2012.

Xenophon, "Hellenica"

Battle (Normal)-Boxcat Games

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 license

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Mission-Boxcat Games

This week on Jaws of Defeat, we look at the Battle of Longewala from the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. This episode has it all: 20:1 odds, poor planning, and tanks trying to maneuver in sand. 

Sources: 

An Assessment of the Battle of Longewala by Thakur K. S. Ludra

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010113/windows/main4.htm

The Greatest Underdog Story Ever Told - The Battle Of Longewala, Indo-Pak War 1971 by Abhishek Saksena

https://www.indiatimes.com/culture/who-we-are/the-greatest-underdog-story-ever-told-the-battle-of-longewala-indopak-war-1971_-233975.html

Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report

https://web.archive.org/web/20120304011310/http://www.pppusa.org/Acrobat/Hamoodur%20Rahman%20Commission%20Report.pdf

Indian-Pakistan War of 1971:  A Modern War by Major R.G. Kyle, Royal Canadian Artillery

https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1984/KRG.htm

Battle (Normal)-Boxcat Games

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 license

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Mission-Boxcat Games