The White Council

Re: Estimation of Population in Gondor and Minas Tirith

Tolkien and Inklings Discussion

: One must also keep in mind that the Roman army was also the most efficent fighting force of that era as well as a politicol tool. These factors lent a great deal to the army size throughout. To compare that to Gondor/MT would be an error. Afterall Gondor/MT at the best of times was in a state of skirmish with Minas Morgul (in the third age) and one would think that this would possibly lead to a disproportionate army size. Also (as Tolkien illustrated in RotK) they seemed to rely heavily on irregulers and local militia (where Rome relied on heavily trained legions). Just some things one should take into account when trying to determine the populations IMHO.

I can't really add anything to this discussion, but I have a few general statements that I'll try to pose as questions. On the one hand we're told that Gondor, though less than it was at its height, is still a formadible power in the south. Enough so that Sauron was still hoping to attack at a later date, but felt he had to attack sooner for fear that the Ring would be employed(?)

And yet some of the estimates seem too low for a "formidable" power. And what strategy did Gondor have? Merely defensive? And how long had they (or Denethor) suspected that Mordor would mass an assault? Spying surley must have gone both ways, though it appears the only intelligence gathered was by way palantir. Did his sense of hopelessness keep Denethor from acting to beef up the professional army? It seems to me, and I'm no tactician, that if I had a known foe bordering me, I'd be relying on a more professional army rather than irregulars or amateurs. And even the amateurs should have received annual (or more) professional training. Boromir was an exceptional warrior, but if a Gondorian soldier could do even half or a quarter of the damage that Boromir did in his final battle, Sauron would have to field an army five to ten times as great to insure victory wouldn't he? And who were the majority of soldiers in Saurons army? Orcs? A good profesional army, well led, even though outnumbered, should have been able to defeat a very large number of orcs, who seemed to be canon fodder whose only tactical purpose was to wear down the opposition. At any rate, some of the estimates of army size seem too small for a kingdom that otherwise sounds so grand.