quote:
Originally posted by Darth Morgoth:
When outnumbered by insane amounts of enemies, the last place you want to be is in a fortress with no way to get out. If Coltain stayed in Hissar he would have been surrounded and starved to death. It is as simple as that. First of all,they would have had to slaughter every single cattle because there would be no way for them to keep the hordes of animals within the walls of the keep. The food would have lasted half as long if even that.
Staying in Hissar is not the same as 'fortifying in a keep'. Coltaine could leave the civilians under guard of some Malazan troops and fight around Hissar, beating enemies, as they come, one after another.
quote:
Originally posted by Darth Morgoth:
Secondly, tens of thousands of refugees within a keep ment to hold a normal sized garrison would have ment an enormous potential for plagues and such.
Not, if the warlocks have something to say
No army in this world seems to be troubled by this kind of problem.
quote:
Originally posted by Darth Morgoth:
Thirdly, again because of the overwhelming amount of people, they may very well not have had a large enough supply of water.
Yes, but compared to the problems encountered on the desert it's a minor one. Besides, werent't there some oases around Hissar?
quote:
Originally posted by Darth Morgoth:
Furthermore, the wickans were horse warriors. They fought from horseback. Now, think back on the battles fought by coltain during the chain of dogs. Who were the deciding factors of each victory? The Warlocks, the Sappers and the Wickan riders. Hiding in a keep would have made the wickans less usefull than a regular marine.
The most important factor though, is the mobility of the chain of dogs opposed to a fortress. Against a fortress the seven cities armies could just send men against the wall until they overan the defenders and slaughtered all. With the chain of dogs, Coltain had options, he could adapt, he could withdraw, and most importantly he could reach allies. Remember that Aren was not his original destination.
As said earlier - they didn't need to hide in there. After the two first battles Coltaine had essentially no enemies around and could wait for the next armies to appear, choosing the place to encounter them, fighting on his conditions, without the problem woth refugees. And by the time Korbolo with his full force reaches Hissar, Tavore's army in there.