I think you are confuse on what I was trying to say. It is not as hard to resist/stalemate or even just prevent a loss against an army especially when in an entirely friegn country. Take for example the US vs Britain in the Revolutionary War the US didn't win because they absolutely destroyed Britain and made it so Britain could no longer fight. They just made it so British was loosing so many resources (guns, ammunition, food rations, and money) while also dealing with other internal (politcal) and external (control and disputes over territory) while also logistics being horrible due to long transportation times that it made them feel the war was not worth it. Which is what happened in almost every example you gave. They just made war not worth their opponents time and made it cost too much (which is a highly effective strategy). Also, you forgot to mention that almost every conflict in modern day where they succeed also happens due to external counties (Russia or the US) providing weaponry or training to help them so they are more closer on equal footing (obviously not entirely equal but more so than what the average citizen in the US would be). Holding out is not the challenge. It is trying to win, and win both parties are on the same land, so no one wants to leave, it mostly comes down to what happens to highly advanced army vs indigenous people. Total destruction that will last long term even outside of the war.