05-20-2005, 04:36 PM
Quote:floofthegoof
You think it is reasonable to think the persians could field an army of 1 illion, so then why is that European countries in the Napoleonic period, for instance, could not?
I think it depends on what we mean by "army". Don't forget that this was in fact a gigantic failure. The Greeks had very little to do with the anhilation of Xerxes land army. It caved in under it's own weight. The greeks did kill Mardonius 300,000, but by then they were already weakened by hunger. Their only relief being the departure of the masses of dead weight, very few of whom actually made it home.
I think in Napoleonic times, generals had a better handle on the size of army that could actually be supported through a campaign. This is obviously not the case with Xerxes. H. mentions that they crossed the bridge at the Hellspont in 7 days under *whip*. This million men was likely a rabble of peasants herded together, with little thought of how to feed them other than 'lots of food for lots of men'. Nobody really did the math.
Rich Marinaccio
