Defending Minas Tirith a strategic error?

[Boromir88]

Here is a quote from "The Land of Shadow."

"I don't like the look of things at all," said Sam. "Pretty hopeless, I call it - saving that where there's such a lot of folk there must be wells or water, not to mention food. And these are Men not Orcs, or my eyes are all wrong."

Neither he nor Frodo knew anything of the great slave-worked fields away south in htis wide realm, beyond the fumes of the Mountain by the dark sad waters of Lake Nurnen; nor of the great roads that ran away east and south to tributary lands, from which the soldiers of the Tower brought long waggon-trains of goods and booty and fresh slaves...

We do also, know how the fellowship drank Miruvor up the mountain of Caradhras, and of course Frodo and Sam with the Lembas. We also, know there was probably food in Ithilien, or atleast food at Faramir's disposal. Since, he gave Frodo some dried fruits, and other various food.

We know probably the Men of Minas Tirith were well fed, they did have the buttery for them as we see Pippin go there from time to time. Those are their food sources, now Tolkien never really wrote how they "delivered" the food to the soldiers, but they were there at there disposal. I would guess for Orcs and Sauron's mens they just gathered food from areas they crossed. If all else fails time for ORC MEAT!

[Boromir88]

P.S. thanks for the correction, battle of Thermopylae.

[Tuor of Gondolin]

"If all else fails time for ORC MEAT!"
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Yep. "Looks like meat's back on the table, boys!"
(One of the few PJ added/altered lines in the movies that worked).

And if Minas Tirith was under siege they could probably get some supplies in and people out using back paths into and out of the city, rather like the besieged Union Army did at Chattanooga in 1864, before Grant took over. Confederates occupied Missionary Ridge, etc. and blocked river and most, but not all, land passages.