APyrrhic victory (/ˈpɪrɪk/ⓘPIRR-ik) is a victory gained at such a cost to the victor that it is tantamount to defeat.[1]
The phrase references a statement attributed toPyrrhus of Epirus. After his victory against theRomans in theBattle of Asculum in 279 BC, Plutarch reports that Pyrrhus exclaimed "One more victory over the Romans and we are completely done for!"[2]
The armies separated; and, it is said, Pyrrhus replied to one that gave him joy of his victory thatone other such victory would utterly undo him. For he had lost a great part of the forces he brought with him, and almost all his particular friends and principal commanders; there were no others there to make recruits, and he found the confederates in Italy backward. On the other hand, as from a fountain continually flowing out of the city, the Roman camp was quickly and plentifully filled up with fresh men, not at all abating in courage for the loss they sustained, but even from their very anger gaining new force and resolution to go on with the war.
In both Epirote victories, the Romans suffered greater casualties, but they had a much larger pool of replacements, so the casualties had less impact on the Roman war effort than the losses had on the campaign of King Pyrrhus.
The report is often quoted as:
Ne ego si iterum eodem modo vicero, sine ullo milite Epirum revertar. If I achieve such a victory again, I shall return to Epirus without a single soldier.
This list comprises examples of battles that ended in a Pyrrhic victory. It is not intended to be complete but to illustrate the concept.
Battle of Asculum (279 BC),[5]Pyrrhus of Epirus and Italian allies against theRoman Republic: the Romans, though suffering twice as many casualties, could easily replenish their ranks. Pyrrhus lost most of his commanders and a great part of the forces he had brought to Italy, and he withdrew to Sicily.
Battle of Avarayr (451),[6][7]Vardan Mamikonian and Christian Armenian rebels against theSassanid Empire: the Persians were victorious and forced the outnumbered Armenians to retreat, but lost so many soldiers that the battle proved to be a strategic victory for Armenians, as Avarayr paved the way to theNvarsak Treaty (AD 484), which assured Armenian autonomy and religious freedom.
Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs (1444)[8] - The battle itself was a devastating defeat for the Swiss, and a significant blow to Bern, the canton which contributed the force, it was nevertheless a Swiss success in strategic terms. Because of the heavy casualties on the French side, the original plan of moving towards Zürich, where a Swiss force of 30,000 was ready, was judged unfavorably by the Dauphin. The French troops turned back, contributing to the eventual Swiss victory in theOld Zürich War.
Last stand and final charge from the fortress ofSzigetvár (painting byJohann Peter Krafft, 1825)Siege of Szigetvár (1566),[9][10]Ottoman–Habsburg wars: although the Ottomans won the siege after 33 days, it can be seen as a Pyrrhic victory because of the heavy Ottoman casualties, the death ofSultan Suleiman, and the resulting delay to the Ottoman push for Vienna that year which suspended Ottoman expansion in Europe.
Siege of Ostend (1601–1604),[11][12][13]Eighty Years' War: for three years the Spanish attempted to capture this port from Dutch and English defenders, even as the Dutch expanded their territory further east – includingcapturing the port of Sluis to replace Ostend before surrendering. The Spaniards ultimately captured the city, but the vast cost and casualties of the siege were compounded by Spain's subsequent campaign to recapture the Dutch gains, which achieved little, and by 1607 Spain was bankrupt. The resultantTwelve Years' Truce effectively made theDutch Republic an independent state.
Battle of Gangwana (1741) fought between the 1,000-strongRathore cavalry ofJodhpur and the combined armies of theMughal Empire, andJaipur numbering 100,000 with hundreds of cannons and artillery at Gangwana. Jaipur emerged victorious but with heavy losses of 12,000 killed and thousands wounded[14][15]
Battle of Bunker Hill (1775),[16][17]American Revolutionary War: after mounting three assaults on the colonial forces, the British won control of theBoston peninsula in the early stages of the war, but the engagement cost them many more casualties than the Americans had incurred (including a large number of officers) and led them to adopt more cautious methods, which helped American rebel forces; the political repercussions increased colonial support for independence.
Battle of Guilford Court House (1781),[18][19] American Revolutionary War: in this short battle, the outnumbered British force defeated an American army; the British lost a considerable number of men, and their drive to conquer the southern colonies changed course.
Battle of Chancellorsville (1863),[20]American Civil War:General Robert E. Lee split his army in the face of Joseph Hooker's larger Union force; the audacious strategy allowed the Confederate army to win the day against a numerically superior foe. However, 20% of Lee's army was injured or killed, including GeneralStonewall Jackson, and his losses were difficult to replace. Lee's weakened army went on the offensive, but less than two months later was defeated and forced to retreat after theBattle of Gettysburg.
Japanese aircraft prepare to take off fromShōkaku during theBattle of the Santa Cruz IslandsBattle of the Santa Cruz Islands (1942),[21][22][23]World War II,Solomon Islands Campaign: Japanese and Allied naval forces met during the struggle forGuadalcanal and nearby islands. After an exchange of carrier air attacks, U.S. surface ships retreated with one aircraft carrier sunk along with a destroyer and another carrier and a battleship severely damaged. The Japanese carrier forces achieved a tactical victory, as none of their ships were sunk, but the heavy loss of 100 airplanes and irreplaceable veteran aircrews was to the strategic advantage of the Allies. Japanese ground forces on Guadalcanal had also just lost theBattle for Henderson Field and were in no position to take advantage of the new situation.
Battle of Chosin Reservoir (1950),[24][25]Korean War: the Chinese army attempted to encircle and destroy the much smaller United Nations forces, but in a 17-day battle in freezing weather, the U.N. forces inflicted crippling losses on the Chinese while making a fighting withdrawal. The Chinese occupied northeast Korea but they did not recover until the spring, and the U.N. maintained a foothold in Korea.
The ruined streets ofVukovar ten days after its surrenderBattle of Vukovar (1991),[26][27]Croatian War of Independence: theYugoslav People's Army (JNA) laidsiege to the city of Vukovar, held by theCroatian National Guard and civilian volunteers. After 87 days, the ruined city fell to the JNA. Although the city was besieged from all sides, it exhausted the Yugoslav army and Serbian paramilitaries that had about twenty times more soldiers and complete armoured and artillery superiority, and they had twice as many losses. It was a turning point in the Croatian War of Independence.
The term is used as ananalogy in business, politics and sports to describe struggles that end up ruining the victor. A Pyrrhic victory in a sporting context could range from a team winning a game yet a star player gets hurt in the process, or a win costing them an opportunity at a better selection in thedraft.[28][29]
Moral reason must learn how to make coercion its ally without running the risk of a Pyrrhic victory in which the ally exploits and negates the triumph.
If minority groups hail this holding as their victory, they might consider the possible relevancy of this ancient remark: "Another such victory and I am undone".
^abPlutarch."The Life of Pyrrhus".Parallel Lives. Vol. IX (1920 ed.). Loeb Classical Library. p. 21.8. RetrievedJanuary 26, 2017.
^Hewsen, Robert H. (August 17, 2011)."AVARAYR".Encyclopædia Iranica.So spirited was the Armenian defense, however, that the Persians suffered enormous losses as well. Their victory was pyrrhic and the king, faced with troubles elsewhere, was forced, at least for the time being, to allow the Armenians to worship as they chose.
^Susan Paul Pattie (1997).Faith in History: Armenians Rebuilding Community. Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 40.ISBN1560986298.The Armenian defeat in the Battle of Avarayr in 451 proved a pyrrhic victory for the Persians. Though the Armenians lost their commander, Vartan Mamikonian, and most of their soldiers, Persian losses throughout battles in the 4th to 6th century were proportionately heavy, close to 350,000, and Armenia was allowed to remain Christian.
^Maland, David (1980).Europe at war 1600–1650. Rowman and Littlefield.ISBN9780847662135.it was in many ways a Pyrrhic victory, because Maurice in 1604 led his troops against Sluys. What began as a diversionary raid to lure Spain from Ostend developed into a properly conducted siege and since neither side would take risk of interfering with the others siege works the fall of Ostend was balanced by the fall of Sluys - which it could be argued was more useful to the United Provinces.[permanent dead link]
^Fall Of The Mughal Empire - Vol. I (4th ed.), volume 1, pp. 175-176
^"Battle of Bunker Hill".Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. December 8, 2016. RetrievedJanuary 25, 2016.Although the British eventually won the battle, it was a Pyrrhic victory that lent considerable encouragement to the revolutionary cause.
^McGrath, Nick."Battle of Guilford Courthouse".George Washington’s Mount Vernon: Digital Encyclopedia. Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. RetrievedJanuary 26, 2017.In three hours, Cornwallis's army took possession of the field, but it was a Pyrrhic victory... Cornwallis could not afford the casualties his army sustained, and withdrew to Wilmington. By doing so, Cornwallis ceded control of the countryside to the Continentals.
^Evan Andrews (1 September 2015)."5 Famous Pyrrhic Victories".History. A&E Television Networks, LLC. Retrieved17 July 2016.
^Levine, Alan J. (1995).The Pacific War: Japan Versus the Allies. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. p. 104.ISBN0-275-95102-2. RetrievedJanuary 26, 2017.This battle of the Santa Cruz Islands was clearly a Japanese victory; the sole Japanese victory in a carrier battle during the war. But it was a Pyrrhic victory, which the Japanese were in no condition to exploit. The damage to their carriers was serious, and their plane losses were very heavy. Moreover, the land-based air force at Rabaul was exhausted; many of its best pilots were dead. In late October, the Japanese air effort fell off steeply. Because of its heavy losses and inadequate pilot training program, the Japanese naval air force had already slipped into a qualitative decline from which it never recovered.
^Pike, Francis (2015). "Guadalcanal: Henderson Field and the Santa Cruz Islands (September 1942 - January 1943)".Hirohito's War: The Pacific War, 1941-1945. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. p. 509.ISBN978-1-4725-9670-3. RetrievedJanuary 26, 2017.Vice-Admiral Nagumo, who was transferred to shore duty after the battle, reported to the Combined Fleet with greater than usual insight and honesty, "This battle was a tactical win, but a shattering strategic loss for Japan. Considering the great superiority of our enemy's industrial capacity, we must win every battle overwhelmingly to win this war. This last one, although a victory, unfortunately, was not an overwhelming victory." Naval victories are usually counted in ships lost but given the destruction of the cream of the Japanese Navy's aircrews, it could even be argued that, in the case of theBattle of the Santa Cruz Islands, the Japanese came off worst. Reporting several weeks after the battle, Nimitz too correctly calibrated the result of the battle: "This battle cost us the lives of many gallant men, many planes and two ships that could ill be spared... We nevertheless turned back the Japanese again in their offensive to regainGuadalcanal and shattered their carrier air strength on the eve on the critical days of mid-November. It was indeed a pyrrhic victory."
^Toll, Ian W. (2015).The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942-1944. Pacific War Trilogy. Vol. II. W. W. Norton & Company.ISBN978-0393080643. RetrievedJanuary 26, 2017.As at Coral Sea, the contest would go into the books as a tactical victory for the Japanese but a strategic victory for the Americans... The Japanese press reported another triumph, and the rank and file cheered another fantastic victory. But the senior commanders of the navy privately acknowledged that the result had been, at best, a pyrrhic victory.
^Xu, Yan (徐焰) (1990),第一次较量：抗美援朝战争的历史回顾与反思 [First Confrontation: Reviews and Reflections on the History of War to Resist America and Aid Korea] (in Chinese), Beijing: Chinese Radio and Television Publishing House, p. 59,ISBN978-7-5043-0542-8
^Roe, Patrick C. (2000),The Dragon Strikes: China and the Korean War, June-December 1950, Novato, California: Presidio, p. 412,ISBN978-0-89141-703-3
^Central Intelligence Agency Office of Russian and European Analysis (2000).Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict, 1990–1995: Volume 1. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency. p. 99.ISBN978-0-16-066472-4.
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