Million-Mook March: Difference between revisions

** The trick is [[Older Than Feudalism]]. Military manuals written in Greece before the birth of Alexander the Great already feature passages detailing how to make your army look bigger than it is. Ploys include the "unending loop" as well as alternating spears to make formations seem twice as wide, marching in single file to make columns stretch endlessly, marching in hollow formations using dust clouds to hide true numbers, and dressing up women as soldiers [[Values Dissonance|("though you should never allow them to throw missiles, for a woman immediately betrays her sex when she tries to throw")]].

* Victorious Roman generals would be feted with "triumphs", enormous festivals meant to honour the conquering hero of the Republic. An enormous parade would begin at the Field of Mars, winding its way past shrines while crowds of plebeians roared "Io Triomphe!", before finally reaching the great Temple of Jupiter. The general was followed by his soldiers as well as a host of toga-clad senators and priests, families of prominent patricians, and the Vestal Virgins. Chariots bore the plundered loot of subjugated tribes and captured barbarians were yanked along in chains. The general, at the head of the procession, was followed by a slave who held a laurel wreath over his head while whispering "remember, you are mortal" into his ear. Later, during the Empire, only the Emperor was feted in this manner - whether he had led his troops in the field or not.

* The Trooping of the Colour can look suspiciously like this.

* This tactic has also been recorded in [[The Bible]] - from an initial standing army of 32,000 men, Gideon selected 300 men and used this tactic against a much larger Midianite-Amalek combined force.