I am think of the Spartans defending the pass with their 300. But they had another 4 or 5 thousand helping them. Not given enough credit in the Spartan wake. The Persian Army under Xerxes is said to have numbered 600,000. But some say the army may have been as much as 2 million. With those numbers, good as the Greeks might have been, the Persions should have won simply with a continued attack which would exhaust the Greeks to the point they could not hold a weapon or even stand. This is not an isolated case either Romans, Mongols and others had similar actual wins over a superior number (Spartans lost but Greeks won the naval battle and sent the Persians home, though not before burning Athens) Yes, I know the Spartans had heavier armor and defended a pass so narrow that only about 3 could pass at a time. But the Persians had great bows capable of 200 yards and could fire accurately coming or going on horseback. And an arrow capable of 200 yards fired at 50 yards is pretty certain to.
2007-10-22
12:36:37
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10 answers
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asked by
genghis1947
4
in
Military