Sauron's Armies

Originally Posted by Tuor in Gondolin

Of course it is not unknown (gasp!) for PJ and
friends to make mistakes (see direction challenged Legolas
in Rohan), so even if PJ gave numbers for the movie
they would have to be logistically reasonable to be
believable. How would 300,000+, in addition to the
needed support personnel) be sustained with weapons, food, etc.?

It is worth noting that History proves REAL LIFE battles can take place with armies in excess of 80,000; I believe there was an army once with 250,000 soldiers - not sure but may have been Norman/Viking perhaps? No doubt others will have more examples. So it is possible to command & cater for such an army in theory, but filming it all in a movie may not be so possible, unless one uses further graphics to such an extent that the movie is overanimated.

But one thing that puzzles me is why Tolkien never stated just how big in numbers the host which the Witch-King lead to battle. He only revealed that it was one of, but not the greatest, armies ever sent by Mordor. Perhaps a sign of overconfidence by Sauron, or perhaps the Witch-King? I suspect the latter had a much more active role in organising & marshalling the armies. Not that they would have forcasted the rise of the King of the Dead!