“Success in battle is not a function of how many show up, but who they are.” -- MCWP 6-10
Would you rather have 1,000,000 Persians or 300 Spartans?
In the long run, even 300 Spartans cannot hold off 1,000,000 Persians indefinitely, but they can hold them off long enough to make a difference and 300 Spartans can produce an impact entirely disproportionate to their number because of who they were.
Were the 300 successful? Some may say, "No." They all died and the Persians ended up getting through. But is that the measurement by which the Spartans were attempting to succeed? No. They knew they were going to die. They did not fight assuming that they would survive, they fought assuming their fighting is what would make it possible for their people behind them to survive. And by their own standard, they achieved high marks. They were successful in battle. They completed the main effort in herculean effort.
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