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MrBrutok t1_j7ewfzz wrote

Reply to comment by ThoDanII in Was it a good Idea for vercingetorix to take refuge with his army in Alesia in 52bc? by thereasonyousuffer

There is a neat little trick to get better numbers. Romans liked to include civilians in the number of the enemy to make their victories sound greater.

In a pre-industrial nation you can expect halve the people to be children. Half again for the women, who didn't fight at the time. Take a bit of for the elderly and you land at ~50.000 fighting men. Much more reasonable.

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thereasonyousuffer OP t1_j7exdhf wrote

But is a field army representative of the whole Gaulish population?

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MrBrutok t1_j7f5tjw wrote

Pretty much. Unlike the Romans, Gauls didn't have a standing military so the same calculation applies. When you know how many men of fighting age a population has, you know how many soldiers it could field.

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ThoDanII t1_j7fuoag wrote

Not really the problem is supply and running the farms .

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Tuga_Lissabon t1_j7ff3tx wrote

Not a relief army. There will be quite some hanger's on and camp followers, of course.

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