In the year 480 B. C., the mighty Persian Empire launched its final bid to conquer the Greeks. Under the command of King Xerxes, a huge army was assembled in Asia Minor (Turkey) and made its way across the Hellespont. Although the Greek historians put the size of the Persian army at a million men, modern estimates figure it to have numbered about one hundred thousand. Even the latter number is absolutely enormous for ancient times. No one to that date had ever mustered such a gigantic combat force.

Meanwhile to the south, The Greeks were in panic, it was at that moment that one of the Spartan Kings stepped forward. Seeing a chance to delay the Persians and hoping by his example to inspire his fellow Greeks to action, Leonidas announced that he was going forward with his small company of bodyguards to meet the Persians, and he knew of a place north of Athens where it might be possible to fight them effectively in spite of their tremendous numbers. With his little band of three hundred warriors he pledged to fight or die and he marched north to the mountain pass at Thermopylae.

Leonidas' contingent eventually swelled to about Seven thousand, but it was still a miniscule force to pit against the mighty army of Persia. The odds were at least twenty to one.

Thermopylae, so named because of some hot springs in the vicinity, was a narrow passage where the mountains came down to the sea and there was at best a couple of hundred yards between the water's edge and the rising heights. The Spartan King knew it would take only a small body of troops to block the forward movement of the enemy and a delaying action could be successfully conducted so long as the stamina of the defenders held out. The Greeks moved into the pass and quickly erected some hasty defenses.

King Xerxes could not believe his eyes when his mighty army arrived and his scouts confirmed that they were being opposed by a tiny band troops who constituted only a small fraction of their own number. Xerxes promptly gave the order to advance and brush the Greeks aside. The Persians evidently had not met Spartans on the field of battle before.

After a sharp and bloody skirmish of a couple hours' duration, the battered and mauled Persians pulled back and went into camp. The first day had gone to the Greeks.

In his headquarters that evening, the Persian King fumed and berated his officers, but he could not deny that the terrain and the fighting skill of the Spartans and their allies made it extremely difficult to take advantage of the great size of the Persian army. Taking no chances, Xerxes commanded that on the second day of battle, his very best troops were to take on the enemy; the honor of breaking through would go to the Ten Thousand Immortals, the very best soldiers that the Persians could deploy. The Immortals had earned their glory in many earlier wars by being impossible to defeat or destroy. No opponent had ever fought successfully against them! Surely they could do the job and get the Greeks out of the way!

But even the Immortals suffered a humbling defeat when the second day's battle ended. The Spartans and their allies chopped them down like wheat at Thermopylae, and still the pass remained under Greek control. All Xerxes' ranting and threats the night before had come to no avail.

It was during the evening after the second day's fighting that the Persians obtained a piece of information that would open up Thermopylae and allow them to break the deadlock. A shepherd from the hills to the west, a man named Ephialtes came into Xerxes' camp and announced that for a price he could show the Persians another way to get at Leonidas' defenses. Ephialtes told the Persians of a pass further inland, if Xerxes' troops could be gotten to that position, the Spartans would be caught with enemies behind and in front of themselves, a disastrous situation militarily. Defeat would quickly follow and the Persians' march to the Greek city-states would then be unstoppable. The Persians gladly paid Ephialtes' fee.

Leonidas was aware of the western pass and in fact had stationed about one thousand of his allies there. In reality it should have been as feasible to defend that point as it had been to hold Thermopylae. But more treachery followed Ephialtes' treasonous act. When several thousand Persians wound their way along goat trails and arrived at the western position, the defending Greeks there did not give battle. They withdrew to a safe spot and allowed the enemy to march by unmolested!

By early morning, Leonidas was informed that the enemy was moving to cut him off and that the situation would soon become utterly hopeless. The King needed to be told no more. He gathered his commanders and informed the allied generals that he was releasing them so that they might withdraw before the trap closed. He and his Spartans, on the other hand, had given their pledge to defend Thermopylae to the death and they intended to uphold their word and their honor. The allies retreated and the tiny band of Spartans stood to meet the onslaught. It came in very short order.

Surprisingly, the battle went on for hours. In spite of the overwhelming advantages now enjoyed by the Persians, their soldiers were unable to finish off the Greeks quickly. The Spartans fought with unbelievable determination and ferocity. When they're own weapons were no longer usable they picked up the swords and spears of the slain Persians and sometimes they even fought with their bare hands.

By mid morning Leonidas had perished and the few dozen of his guards that were left withdrew to a small knoll a few yards back from the shore, protecting their King's body to the last. Their movement provoked a halt in the Persian attack and the battlefield became strangely quiet.

The Persians, now surrounding the Spartans on all sides, sent forward an officer to invite their surrender. He praised the Greek soldiers for their courage and tenacity and offered mercy and honor to them if they acted sensibly and would now give up the fight. Knowing a little more about Spartan stubbornness, he also told the little band of guards that if they chose not to surrender, they would not have the chance to kill any more Persians; the royal archers were to be called in to finish the job, and, so the Greeks were warned, King Xerxes had enough bowmen that their arrows would darken the sky.

Responded the Spartans. They would not give up and they would not yield the body of their King. The Persian archers soon gathered and drew their bows. They cut down the surviving Greeks and the battle ended in a matter of minutes. The Spartans died protecting their honor and King Leonidas in what has to have been their finest hour.

A monument marks the spot today and it features a heroic statue of a Spartan warrior overlooking the battlefield.

Members of Tring Wargames Club put on the display. Miniature figures are from a range of manufacturers; Wargames Foundry, 1st Corps, Icon miniatures and Newline Design The members painted all figures and the terrain was hand painted.