No addendum this time, I did reread for the Nth time the description but the only new thing I noticed was that Murtagh was outfitted with plate armor and that some hundred (rather than several hundred) Kull took part.
Critique of the battle
I am not here to malicously criticise Paolini for the battle, which I feel has been overdone in the Internet. I am here to criticise the generals of the battle for their conduct. Of course they are Paolini's creation, so it might read as a critique of him.
For commenting I will rely on my memory and the books on tactics and strategy I have read. Most significantly I'll rely on my recollection of byzantine emperor Leo the Wise's book Tactics. It is a military manual written probably by him during his reign (Leo was a good scholar but a bad general, the nickname Wise is ironic) and describes how the byzantine war machine worked. It is one of the many examples why the Byzantine Empire was NOT a medieval state, since it treated war as a very serious business and had plans ready at any time to face its enemies, something that western states of the time did not.
Leo the Wise analyses how different armies of his time fight (Arab armies, Western armies, blond i.e. Slavic armies, Turkic armies) and suggests the proper tactics to defeat them. His general suggestions are that the army should be placed in two line, if possible three, and have reinforcement to plug breaches the enemy causes or to take advantage of the situation and that the main attack should come from the flank where enemies are always more vulnerable. On to the battle now:
Generally the level of the Varden/Surdan army is superior to that of the imperial army. Though Nasuada makes mistakes, her counterpart makes far greater. While it is excusable for Nassuada to array her army in a single line due to massive numerical superiority, for the imperial army this is downright criminal. A second line would have left forces ready to attack the Varden from the side or even the back, Orrin's cavalry from the flank and would have ensured victory, especially considering that the numerical superiority allowed the imperials to do so and there were no major land abnormalities in the Plains of which we are told. The battle took the form of a battle in restricted territory, like at Thermopylae or Isus, which it did not need to. Some other critique:
1 Why did Nassuada did not send her army to attack during the night? If the attack coincided with the poisons of Angela, the confusion would have been such the imperial army could have disintegrated At least the attack took place soon after the poisons took their toll
2 Why did Nassuada send her army to the enemy encampment instead of having them come to her? Perhaps it was simply impossible
3 Why didn't Orrin's cavalry attack from the back to cause double envelopment, as in the battle of Cannae or the battle of Marathon, perhaps in a wedge like Achilles did in the last battle of the Iliad where he breaches the Trojan line and traps half the Trojan Army between the Acheans and the river, mercilessly killing them. Perhaps they were too few
4 When the Surdans reach their fortifications, were they manned, by archers perhaps? We are not told
A comment I have to add is that the imperial army was definitely well trained. Considering they withstood 7 dragon attacks without fleeing, and how fearsome would be a creature that had not been seen in decades by people much simpler than those of today, it is perhaps safe to assume that Galbatorix and Shruikan trained them themselves to withstand such an attack. More commentary will come at a later day
mardi 30 janvier 2007
lundi 29 janvier 2007
Battle of the burning plains III
Conduct of the battle
Before I can analyse further the battle I need to give a summary of how the battle was conducted. Eldest has the last 5 to 6 chapters dedicated to the battle. They give us however Eragon's POV of the battle (and, in Convergence, Roran's) rather than a general description. This is anything but uncommon in real history, knowing a battle only from one POV and not even knowing what really occured. In many cases far less than all these chapters Paolini dedicates are given for a battle. Let us consider for example Herodotus' description of the battle of Marathon (from book VI, translated by G.C. Macaulay in the 18th century):
111. And when it came round to him, then the Athenians were drawn up for battle in the order which here follows:-- On the right wing the polemarch Callimachos was leader (for the custom of the Athenians then was this, that the polemarch should have the right wing); and he leading, next after him came the tribes in order as they were numbered one after another, and last were drawn up the Plataians occupying the left wing: for ever since this battle, when the Athenians offer sacrifices in the solemn assemblies which are made at the four-yearly festivals, the herald of the Athenians prays thus, "that blessings may come to the Athenians and to the Plataians both." On this occasion however, when the Athenians were being drawn up at Marathon something of this kind was done:--their army being made equal in length of front to that of the Medes, came to drawn up in the middle with a depth of but few ranks, and here their army was weakest, while each wing was strengthened with numbers. 112. And when they had been arranged in their places and the sacrifices proved favourable, then the Athenians were let go, and they set forth at a run to attack the Barbarians. Now the space between the armies was not less than eight furlongs: and the Persians seeing them advancing to the attack at a run, made preparations to receive them; and in their minds they charged the Athenians with madness which must be fatal, seeing that they were few and yet were pressing forwards at a run, having neither cavalry nor archers. Such was the thought of the Barbarians; but the Athenians when all in a body they had joined in combat with the Barbarians, fought in a memorable fashion: for they were the first of all the Hellenes about whom we know who went to attack the enemy at a run, and they were the first also who endured to face the Median garments and the men who wore them, whereas up to this time the very name of the Medes was to the Hellenes a terror to hear. 113. Now while they fought in Marathon, much time passed by; and in the centre of the army, where the Persians themselves and the Sacans were drawn up, the Barbarians were winning, --here, I say, the Barbarians had broken the ranks of their opponents and were pursuing them inland, but on both wings the Athenians and the Plataians severally were winning the victory; and being victorious they left that part of the Barbarians which had been routed to fly without molestation, and bringing together the two wings they fought with those who had broken their centre, and the Athenians were victorious. So they followed after the Persians as they fled, slaughtering them, until they came to the sea; and then they called for fire and began to take hold of the ships.
Herodotus tells us earlier the story of the Persian campaign before Marathon, the disagreements among the Athenians and then tells us of how many died and some aftermath. Compared to this Paolini's description is rather large and well detailled. A small description of the full battle, as I understood it follows:
1 At dawn the Varden/Surdan army issues out of their fortifications, where a breach had been made to allow them out, and walks quietly the distance separating the two armies (about 2 miles).
2 After 3/4 of the distance has been covered the imperial army notices them and begins forming ranks. Orrin's cavalry and the Urgals attacks from the side, pinning and immobilising the imperial army, causing it damage.
Armies are always more vulnerable to attacks from the side and even more from the back. Epameinondas won one of his biggest victories attacking at night, during a storm and from an unexpected direction, combining thus most elements that multiply the efficacity of attack.
3 The infantry (led by Nasuada and Arya) cover the last quarter of the distance running (about 800 meters) and meet the imperial army.
4 After very damaging attacks by imperial war machines forcing the infantry to retreat Nasuada asks Eragon to come to the front line along with his dragon, to bolster morale. Eragon, who in this time was using magic to effortlessly kill imperial soldiers from a distance, comes forward. Using magic he destroys the war machines and attacks, along with his battle group, killing those opposing him. He thus allows the Varden/Surdan infantry to retreat in order but cannot breach the imperial formation.
5. On his 7th attack, with the infantry retreated to the fortification (we are never told if they remained manned) and with Eragon having lost 2 of his 4 Urgal companions and 3 of the 7 dwarf companions Hrothgar arrives with his dwarven army and also attacks from the side. The battle is balanced and then the imperial army retreats towards its original starting position, maintaining formation.
6. Roran arrives on the Dragon Wing carrying the villagers of Carvahal. The Dragon Wing serves as a base of archer attacks against the imperial army.
7. Murtagh and the Twins arrive to bolster the ranks of the imperial army. Murtagh quickly kills Hrothgar (Orik takes command of the dwarves) but is neutralised for the battle by Eragon. They duel beyond the river but Murtagh, though victorious, leaves the battlefield riding his dragon (since he is a reluctant servant of Galbatorix). In the mean time Roran kills the Twins.
8. Having lost the Twins, their rider having flown away, attacked from three sides, the officer corps being exterminated by Angels's poisons and little willing to serve Galbatorix the imperial army disintegrates. Large numbers surrender to the Varden/Surdans, some even join them but most escape beyond the river, more a mass of men than a fighting force. The Varden/Surdan/dwarf army lacks the means to chase and slaughter them and allows them to escape.
Before I can analyse further the battle I need to give a summary of how the battle was conducted. Eldest has the last 5 to 6 chapters dedicated to the battle. They give us however Eragon's POV of the battle (and, in Convergence, Roran's) rather than a general description. This is anything but uncommon in real history, knowing a battle only from one POV and not even knowing what really occured. In many cases far less than all these chapters Paolini dedicates are given for a battle. Let us consider for example Herodotus' description of the battle of Marathon (from book VI, translated by G.C. Macaulay in the 18th century):
111. And when it came round to him, then the Athenians were drawn up for battle in the order which here follows:-- On the right wing the polemarch Callimachos was leader (for the custom of the Athenians then was this, that the polemarch should have the right wing); and he leading, next after him came the tribes in order as they were numbered one after another, and last were drawn up the Plataians occupying the left wing: for ever since this battle, when the Athenians offer sacrifices in the solemn assemblies which are made at the four-yearly festivals, the herald of the Athenians prays thus, "that blessings may come to the Athenians and to the Plataians both." On this occasion however, when the Athenians were being drawn up at Marathon something of this kind was done:--their army being made equal in length of front to that of the Medes, came to drawn up in the middle with a depth of but few ranks, and here their army was weakest, while each wing was strengthened with numbers. 112. And when they had been arranged in their places and the sacrifices proved favourable, then the Athenians were let go, and they set forth at a run to attack the Barbarians. Now the space between the armies was not less than eight furlongs: and the Persians seeing them advancing to the attack at a run, made preparations to receive them; and in their minds they charged the Athenians with madness which must be fatal, seeing that they were few and yet were pressing forwards at a run, having neither cavalry nor archers. Such was the thought of the Barbarians; but the Athenians when all in a body they had joined in combat with the Barbarians, fought in a memorable fashion: for they were the first of all the Hellenes about whom we know who went to attack the enemy at a run, and they were the first also who endured to face the Median garments and the men who wore them, whereas up to this time the very name of the Medes was to the Hellenes a terror to hear. 113. Now while they fought in Marathon, much time passed by; and in the centre of the army, where the Persians themselves and the Sacans were drawn up, the Barbarians were winning, --here, I say, the Barbarians had broken the ranks of their opponents and were pursuing them inland, but on both wings the Athenians and the Plataians severally were winning the victory; and being victorious they left that part of the Barbarians which had been routed to fly without molestation, and bringing together the two wings they fought with those who had broken their centre, and the Athenians were victorious. So they followed after the Persians as they fled, slaughtering them, until they came to the sea; and then they called for fire and began to take hold of the ships.
Herodotus tells us earlier the story of the Persian campaign before Marathon, the disagreements among the Athenians and then tells us of how many died and some aftermath. Compared to this Paolini's description is rather large and well detailled. A small description of the full battle, as I understood it follows:
1 At dawn the Varden/Surdan army issues out of their fortifications, where a breach had been made to allow them out, and walks quietly the distance separating the two armies (about 2 miles).
2 After 3/4 of the distance has been covered the imperial army notices them and begins forming ranks. Orrin's cavalry and the Urgals attacks from the side, pinning and immobilising the imperial army, causing it damage.
Armies are always more vulnerable to attacks from the side and even more from the back. Epameinondas won one of his biggest victories attacking at night, during a storm and from an unexpected direction, combining thus most elements that multiply the efficacity of attack.
3 The infantry (led by Nasuada and Arya) cover the last quarter of the distance running (about 800 meters) and meet the imperial army.
4 After very damaging attacks by imperial war machines forcing the infantry to retreat Nasuada asks Eragon to come to the front line along with his dragon, to bolster morale. Eragon, who in this time was using magic to effortlessly kill imperial soldiers from a distance, comes forward. Using magic he destroys the war machines and attacks, along with his battle group, killing those opposing him. He thus allows the Varden/Surdan infantry to retreat in order but cannot breach the imperial formation.
5. On his 7th attack, with the infantry retreated to the fortification (we are never told if they remained manned) and with Eragon having lost 2 of his 4 Urgal companions and 3 of the 7 dwarf companions Hrothgar arrives with his dwarven army and also attacks from the side. The battle is balanced and then the imperial army retreats towards its original starting position, maintaining formation.
6. Roran arrives on the Dragon Wing carrying the villagers of Carvahal. The Dragon Wing serves as a base of archer attacks against the imperial army.
7. Murtagh and the Twins arrive to bolster the ranks of the imperial army. Murtagh quickly kills Hrothgar (Orik takes command of the dwarves) but is neutralised for the battle by Eragon. They duel beyond the river but Murtagh, though victorious, leaves the battlefield riding his dragon (since he is a reluctant servant of Galbatorix). In the mean time Roran kills the Twins.
8. Having lost the Twins, their rider having flown away, attacked from three sides, the officer corps being exterminated by Angels's poisons and little willing to serve Galbatorix the imperial army disintegrates. Large numbers surrender to the Varden/Surdans, some even join them but most escape beyond the river, more a mass of men than a fighting force. The Varden/Surdan/dwarf army lacks the means to chase and slaughter them and allows them to escape.
jeudi 25 janvier 2007
Addendum II
I read again yesterday for the 7th or so time the description of the battle and noticed two things. First of all Fredric, weapon master of the Varden has an ox-hide armor. Thus leather armors are present among the armies of the inheritance trilogy. Furthermore dwarves are armed mostly with axes and hammers. The last part I should have noticed earlier, this is a characteristic of Tolkien's dwarves (and Viking warriors) and has become since a characteristic of fantasy dwarves.
This of course is a blog. Thoughts are written but at times they are not very well thought out. I intend in the future to create a website of a similar theme where I will post out finished and finalised versions of these thoughts.
This of course is a blog. Thoughts are written but at times they are not very well thought out. I intend in the future to create a website of a similar theme where I will post out finished and finalised versions of these thoughts.
mercredi 24 janvier 2007
Battle of the burning plains II
Composition of opposing forces
After having discussed the size of the opposing forces it is time we discuss their armaments. We are led to believe that the people fighting in the Inheritance trilogy are generally swordsmen defended by shields and chain mail armor, if available. While there are a few pikemen and a few archers generally Paolini has made his heroes fight in a pseudo-medieval way, as is raher common in fantasy literature.
The main offensive weapon seems to be the one hand sword. Swords needing two hands to hold are not mentioned. A few pikemen are mentioned near the front line, and Eragon has to defend himself by arcane means from showers of arrows but these seem to be the exceptions. This applies to both humans and dwarves. Only the elves are mentioned to be mainly armed with pikes (and indeed are shown so earlier, when Eragon enters Du Wuldenvarden) but they do not take part in this battle except for Arya, who mainly fights with her sword.
As for defensive weapons all soldiers seem to be armed with rather small shields. The large round shield of the hoplites of antiquity are absent and their tactics are not applied. Chain mail armor all the way to the feet is part of the standard armament of the dwarves, but we are led to believe that this is not so for human armies, whether the Varden or Surda. Plate armor, whether the bronze armor of archaic hoplites or hardened leather of classical and hellenisitc hoplites or the iron armor of the late middle ages and the renessaince are not mentioned except as Saphira's armor. The armor or the weapons of Orrin's cavalry or the Urghals are not mentioned, but we are led to believe that they too armed with swords.
Generally since both armies are rather symmetrical in armament and composition (except for the cavalry and the Urghals) one cannot really hope to use an inherent difference in the tactic of each formation to gain advantage. The ancient Greeks repeateldy defeated numerically superior Achemenid Persian armies because the much more heavily armed and superiorly disciplined hoplite would run to the enemy formation (to avoid arrows) and then breach it, causing it to disintegrate into a chaos of fleeing men who would enjoy numerical superiority but have little will to fight. Though Nassuada has the ace of the cavalry, the Kull and Eragon the infantry battle is bound to become a bloody series of individual jousts between swordsmen unless she uses some brilliant tactical move (that she does not).
After having discussed the size of the opposing forces it is time we discuss their armaments. We are led to believe that the people fighting in the Inheritance trilogy are generally swordsmen defended by shields and chain mail armor, if available. While there are a few pikemen and a few archers generally Paolini has made his heroes fight in a pseudo-medieval way, as is raher common in fantasy literature.
The main offensive weapon seems to be the one hand sword. Swords needing two hands to hold are not mentioned. A few pikemen are mentioned near the front line, and Eragon has to defend himself by arcane means from showers of arrows but these seem to be the exceptions. This applies to both humans and dwarves. Only the elves are mentioned to be mainly armed with pikes (and indeed are shown so earlier, when Eragon enters Du Wuldenvarden) but they do not take part in this battle except for Arya, who mainly fights with her sword.
As for defensive weapons all soldiers seem to be armed with rather small shields. The large round shield of the hoplites of antiquity are absent and their tactics are not applied. Chain mail armor all the way to the feet is part of the standard armament of the dwarves, but we are led to believe that this is not so for human armies, whether the Varden or Surda. Plate armor, whether the bronze armor of archaic hoplites or hardened leather of classical and hellenisitc hoplites or the iron armor of the late middle ages and the renessaince are not mentioned except as Saphira's armor. The armor or the weapons of Orrin's cavalry or the Urghals are not mentioned, but we are led to believe that they too armed with swords.
Generally since both armies are rather symmetrical in armament and composition (except for the cavalry and the Urghals) one cannot really hope to use an inherent difference in the tactic of each formation to gain advantage. The ancient Greeks repeateldy defeated numerically superior Achemenid Persian armies because the much more heavily armed and superiorly disciplined hoplite would run to the enemy formation (to avoid arrows) and then breach it, causing it to disintegrate into a chaos of fleeing men who would enjoy numerical superiority but have little will to fight. Though Nassuada has the ace of the cavalry, the Kull and Eragon the infantry battle is bound to become a bloody series of individual jousts between swordsmen unless she uses some brilliant tactical move (that she does not).
mardi 23 janvier 2007
Addendum
First of all I would like to apologise that, due to the blog form, part II will appear on top of part one. I do not know how to do it otherwise. On to more practical stuff:
I reread yesterday the relevant part of Eragon and it is Orik, not Ajihad that tells Eragon that the Varden in Farthen Dur number about 4,000 people and from Eragon's comment we are led to believe that this includes non-combattants. So the number of the Varden are not 5,000 at the most that I calculated yesterday, but probably even less.
What yesterday I did not calculate is the maximum possible numbers for the forces opposing Galbatorix. For this we are rather constrained by the need to maintain realistic drama. 5 to 1 is a very dramatic ratio but that can be surmounted if the weakest force is supperior in tactics. 3 to 1 is the standard attack ratio in military manuals in order to insure sucsess in an offensive operation in level fighting conditions. A lesser ratio than that simply does not have enough drama, especially if the Empire was to attack a fortified position. Thus I assume that the Surda/Varden army cannot be larger than one third of the imperial force, or 33,000 soldiers. But lets just round that to 30,000 because too much precision hurts in these cases. As a conclusion I assume that the forces opposing the Imperial army numbered:
Several hundred Kull (this is the only number given in the whole book)
Several hundred of Orrin's cavalry (they cannot be luch smaller or much larger than the force the accompany)
3,000 to 4,000 Varden
15,000 to 25,000 Surdan infantry
A few tens of thousands of Dwarves
These of course are my numbers. If anyone has a better guess I would like to hear them
I reread yesterday the relevant part of Eragon and it is Orik, not Ajihad that tells Eragon that the Varden in Farthen Dur number about 4,000 people and from Eragon's comment we are led to believe that this includes non-combattants. So the number of the Varden are not 5,000 at the most that I calculated yesterday, but probably even less.
What yesterday I did not calculate is the maximum possible numbers for the forces opposing Galbatorix. For this we are rather constrained by the need to maintain realistic drama. 5 to 1 is a very dramatic ratio but that can be surmounted if the weakest force is supperior in tactics. 3 to 1 is the standard attack ratio in military manuals in order to insure sucsess in an offensive operation in level fighting conditions. A lesser ratio than that simply does not have enough drama, especially if the Empire was to attack a fortified position. Thus I assume that the Surda/Varden army cannot be larger than one third of the imperial force, or 33,000 soldiers. But lets just round that to 30,000 because too much precision hurts in these cases. As a conclusion I assume that the forces opposing the Imperial army numbered:
Several hundred Kull (this is the only number given in the whole book)
Several hundred of Orrin's cavalry (they cannot be luch smaller or much larger than the force the accompany)
3,000 to 4,000 Varden
15,000 to 25,000 Surdan infantry
A few tens of thousands of Dwarves
These of course are my numbers. If anyone has a better guess I would like to hear them
lundi 22 janvier 2007
The battle of the Burning Plains I
Topography of the battlefield
The battlefield is relatively well described: The plains are generally flat. The river crosses on the East, but this simply denies use of this direction in battle. There are fires burning below the plain dating to the first battle of the burning plains though, with the exception of the scene where Galbatorix's messenger gets burned, this does not seem to affect the battle. Of course as an agricultural engineer I cannot but ask how can this fire be possible. Peat bogs are saturated in water and, with the river nearby, the water table must be too high to allow combustion, let alone for over 20 years. This phenomenon serves only one dramatic purpose: deny Eragon the ability to draw power from his surroundings. The forces of Surda and the Varden have constructed earthen defences around their original position which they abandon initially but return to them under the strength of the imperial army's attack
Size of the opposing forces
The size of the force sent by the Empire is well known; 100.000 men. We are not told if this is just the battle soldiers or if it includes the supporting forces. In antiquity armies required at least one support troop for every battle troop, whether that was the helot carrying the supplies of the Spartan, the engineer of the siege machinery supporting the battle or the auxilliary carrying the legionnaire's arms. In the modern era, this ratio has grown in favor of the support troop: every American battle soldier in Iraq requires 5 or 6 people supporting him. We are told that there are siege machinery near the tale of the imperial army and those manning them or carrying them are definitely NOT battle troops. Whether the 100,000 number that Nasuada estimates are opposing her include support troops remains unknown.
Far less is known about the size of the army opposing the Empire. We are only told before the Battle under Farthen Dur by Ajihad that the Varden number 4,000 people. They suffer significant losses in the aformentioned battle but then receive ''a veritable flood of volunteers'' and we can were also able to somewhat replace their losses by troops that were already in Surda before Farthen Dur. Other than that we only learn that the army opposing the empire is "far larger" than those under Farthen Dur, whose number we are also not told.
Let us consider the size of the Varden for a while. We learn at the summary of Eragon at the beginning of Eldest that since the formation of the Varden 20 years have passed. If the Varden received a steady state of volunteers and did not suffer any losses before Farthen Dur (unlikely) they have received 200 people per year. This is our baseline. More likely though they did suffer losses in battle or from natural causes so they probably received more than that. Let us assume it was normally 50% more, that is 300 people per year as a baseline. A 'veritable flood' means several times the baseline. For arguement's sake I assume 1000 people per year. Let us also assume that the losses at Furthen Dur were covered fully by those Varden who were already in Surda or by hereditary succsession (i.e. the son of the one who died in Farthen Dur but did not participate in the battle due to lack of weapons took his father's arms and fights in his place). Since between the two battles passes one year (Eragon was inside Du Weldenvarden during the Dagshelgr Invocation in spring, after Farthen Dur and it is spring when he travels to the Burning plain) the Varden number maximum 5,000 people.
Surdan troops most probably outnumber the Varden, otherwise Orrin would not need to pick affirm military leadership of the Nassuada over the entire troop, it would be rightfully hers. How many are there? Let us assume that the Varden and the dwarves numbered 12,000 under Farthen dur (how I came up with the number I will explain when I analyse that battle). Then if the are twice as many facing Galbatorix than in Farthen Dur the whole army is 24,000 men strong, 5000 of which are Varden thus Surda sent 19,000. At modern draft rates (5% of the population) this implies a total population of almost 400,000 for the kingdom. We have nothing to support or dispel these numbers. For arguements sake though let us take 19,000 as a possibility. Far more than Farthen Dur could mean 20,000 troops as the total number, giving a ratio of 5 to 1 between Galbatorix's troops and those opposing him. This was the ratio between the Athenians and the Persians in the Battle of Marathon. Victory is possible, without Eragon's intervention, if Nasuada is a good general, the Surdans are superior in terms of quality and the other army lacks quality, is overconfident and makes mistakes. Not all of these conditions are met, as we will see later on the analysis.
How many troops accompany Hrothgar? If there were 8,000 dwarves at Farthen Dur and the Dwarves have 5 cities like it, and the entire dwarven nation marches (as Eragon overconfidently tells) then 20,000 dwarves might be accompanying him. But this is only a guess. Next time I will analyse armaments and tactics of the two armies.
The battlefield is relatively well described: The plains are generally flat. The river crosses on the East, but this simply denies use of this direction in battle. There are fires burning below the plain dating to the first battle of the burning plains though, with the exception of the scene where Galbatorix's messenger gets burned, this does not seem to affect the battle. Of course as an agricultural engineer I cannot but ask how can this fire be possible. Peat bogs are saturated in water and, with the river nearby, the water table must be too high to allow combustion, let alone for over 20 years. This phenomenon serves only one dramatic purpose: deny Eragon the ability to draw power from his surroundings. The forces of Surda and the Varden have constructed earthen defences around their original position which they abandon initially but return to them under the strength of the imperial army's attack
Size of the opposing forces
The size of the force sent by the Empire is well known; 100.000 men. We are not told if this is just the battle soldiers or if it includes the supporting forces. In antiquity armies required at least one support troop for every battle troop, whether that was the helot carrying the supplies of the Spartan, the engineer of the siege machinery supporting the battle or the auxilliary carrying the legionnaire's arms. In the modern era, this ratio has grown in favor of the support troop: every American battle soldier in Iraq requires 5 or 6 people supporting him. We are told that there are siege machinery near the tale of the imperial army and those manning them or carrying them are definitely NOT battle troops. Whether the 100,000 number that Nasuada estimates are opposing her include support troops remains unknown.
Far less is known about the size of the army opposing the Empire. We are only told before the Battle under Farthen Dur by Ajihad that the Varden number 4,000 people. They suffer significant losses in the aformentioned battle but then receive ''a veritable flood of volunteers'' and we can were also able to somewhat replace their losses by troops that were already in Surda before Farthen Dur. Other than that we only learn that the army opposing the empire is "far larger" than those under Farthen Dur, whose number we are also not told.
Let us consider the size of the Varden for a while. We learn at the summary of Eragon at the beginning of Eldest that since the formation of the Varden 20 years have passed. If the Varden received a steady state of volunteers and did not suffer any losses before Farthen Dur (unlikely) they have received 200 people per year. This is our baseline. More likely though they did suffer losses in battle or from natural causes so they probably received more than that. Let us assume it was normally 50% more, that is 300 people per year as a baseline. A 'veritable flood' means several times the baseline. For arguement's sake I assume 1000 people per year. Let us also assume that the losses at Furthen Dur were covered fully by those Varden who were already in Surda or by hereditary succsession (i.e. the son of the one who died in Farthen Dur but did not participate in the battle due to lack of weapons took his father's arms and fights in his place). Since between the two battles passes one year (Eragon was inside Du Weldenvarden during the Dagshelgr Invocation in spring, after Farthen Dur and it is spring when he travels to the Burning plain) the Varden number maximum 5,000 people.
Surdan troops most probably outnumber the Varden, otherwise Orrin would not need to pick affirm military leadership of the Nassuada over the entire troop, it would be rightfully hers. How many are there? Let us assume that the Varden and the dwarves numbered 12,000 under Farthen dur (how I came up with the number I will explain when I analyse that battle). Then if the are twice as many facing Galbatorix than in Farthen Dur the whole army is 24,000 men strong, 5000 of which are Varden thus Surda sent 19,000. At modern draft rates (5% of the population) this implies a total population of almost 400,000 for the kingdom. We have nothing to support or dispel these numbers. For arguements sake though let us take 19,000 as a possibility. Far more than Farthen Dur could mean 20,000 troops as the total number, giving a ratio of 5 to 1 between Galbatorix's troops and those opposing him. This was the ratio between the Athenians and the Persians in the Battle of Marathon. Victory is possible, without Eragon's intervention, if Nasuada is a good general, the Surdans are superior in terms of quality and the other army lacks quality, is overconfident and makes mistakes. Not all of these conditions are met, as we will see later on the analysis.
How many troops accompany Hrothgar? If there were 8,000 dwarves at Farthen Dur and the Dwarves have 5 cities like it, and the entire dwarven nation marches (as Eragon overconfidently tells) then 20,000 dwarves might be accompanying him. But this is only a guess. Next time I will analyse armaments and tactics of the two armies.
vendredi 19 janvier 2007
Hello World
In this blog I have just created I will post my comments about the military tactics and strategy in the Inheritance trilogy. I start not from a point of nit-picking the books to death. Although it is generally agreed that the books have very little originality this does not make them less enjoyable. They are well written, something that cannot be said about many stuff available in print nowadays. Let us not forget that the works of Homer are also considered to be of low originality, they were simply so well written that everything before them on the subject was forgotten. In this blog I will try to analyze the battles that take place in Eragon and Eldest using the same nitpicking reserved for real battles and those that describe them, for example the Battle of Marathon and Herodotus.
You might wonder who I am. As some might have guessed by now I am Greek. I am from Piraeus and currently study in Montpellier, France. I am by profession an agricultural engineer, with an interest in military history (and history in general). I am not so much a fantasy fan as much as a sci-fi fan, of the kind written by Jules Verne (that is the magic of new technology) rather than the social analysis kind so popular in Anglo-Saxon sci-fi. I came across Eragon last year in a local bookstore and decided to read since I had TOO much free time in my hand. I enjoyed so much (and its sequel) that I decided to add my own contributions to the books, such as they may be in this form. Next week I will begin with an analysis of the (second) Battle of the Burning Plains, the climatic end of Eldest. Be warned, this is a spoiler blog, if you have not read the books turn away now. Thanks
You might wonder who I am. As some might have guessed by now I am Greek. I am from Piraeus and currently study in Montpellier, France. I am by profession an agricultural engineer, with an interest in military history (and history in general). I am not so much a fantasy fan as much as a sci-fi fan, of the kind written by Jules Verne (that is the magic of new technology) rather than the social analysis kind so popular in Anglo-Saxon sci-fi. I came across Eragon last year in a local bookstore and decided to read since I had TOO much free time in my hand. I enjoyed so much (and its sequel) that I decided to add my own contributions to the books, such as they may be in this form. Next week I will begin with an analysis of the (second) Battle of the Burning Plains, the climatic end of Eldest. Be warned, this is a spoiler blog, if you have not read the books turn away now. Thanks
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