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re: Could you defeat an ancient army with an M4 and cases of ammo? Added other parameters
Posted on 8/17/26 at 1:18 pm to weagle1999
Posted on 8/17/26 at 1:18 pm to weagle1999
M60 with someone there to help feed you ammo would be better.
1
Posted on 8/17/26 at 1:20 pm to lowhound
A crew served weapon with a crew changes the equation alot. Its still probably going to go poorly for the MG crew though. If they scatter and continue advancing until they surround you, youre fricked.
Posted on 8/17/26 at 1:22 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:Yea, it all comes down whether they break out of fear.
A crew served weapon with a crew changes the equation alot. It’s still probably going to go poorly for the MG crew though. If they scatter and continue advancing until they surround you, youre fricked.
If they know of the existence of firearms and aren’t going to break, you are fricked.
If it is reality, where people fear death and what they don’t understand, you can likely get them to break pretty easily.
Most ancient armies will likely start worshipping you as the god of war or death.
This post was edited on 8/17/26 at 1:24 pm
Posted on 8/17/26 at 1:25 pm to Obtuse1
Give me an M2 or even a M134 and I could make them very very unhappy.
Posted on 8/17/26 at 1:37 pm to weagle1999
One person with a machine gun has zero chance of survival against 40,000 troops even if they only had slingshots
Posted on 8/17/26 at 2:23 pm to weagle1999
I watched The Odyssey yesterday and based on the last fight scene Matt Damon could have beaten 40,000 by himself with just a bow and arrow and whatever weapons he could pick up.
Posted on 8/17/26 at 2:23 pm to wickowick
quote:
How much open ground was there back then?
Plenty.. But the battlefield layout was not discussed as part of the scenario so I'm assuming open ground...
quote:
I would think it would be a lot of cover and limited long range shots, the flip side is that a well camouflaged person could hide easily, but them against you and you are surrounded, no way.
open forest, run and gun Rambo style.. I definitely think you could take out more that way as opposed to open field and they're all rushing you as once..
Posted on 8/17/26 at 2:27 pm to weagle1999
Not a chance. The law of large numbers and all....
Posted on 8/17/26 at 2:38 pm to DarkDrifter
quote:
open forest, run and gun Rambo style.. I definitely think you could take out more that way as opposed to open field and they're all rushing you as once..
No way. You die either way, but this way you die very quickly. You cant carry 60,000 rounds, cardio becomes a factor, risk of one lucky arrow, etc.
Open field from a fox hole would be your best bet but I still dont think you have much of a chance. As was said your only hope is that they decide the god of war has descended upon them and break ranks / worship you.
Posted on 8/17/26 at 2:39 pm to weagle1999
quote:
Could you defeat an ancient army with an M4 and cases of ammo?
Alexander the Great’s army was around 40,000 strong when he went against the Persians.
You are dropped in there to defend a position with a modern M4 (selectable fire military version of the AR15) and 60 cases of ammo (60,000 rounds). Could you repulse that army’s attack?
One thing that comes to mind is gun wear / barrel erosion could stop your efforts.
Another is that you pop Alexander (or whichever ancient leader you select) from a distance the rest of the troops my break camp and run.
This would be you personally without nightvision, a support team, etc. You could possibly have the high ground.
Maybe one of the most ridiculous questions posed here.
Posted on 8/17/26 at 2:40 pm to weagle1999
These kinds of threads always appear because they allow those who know nothing about how to wage war to seem like they know how to wage war.
Posted on 8/17/26 at 2:55 pm to weagle1999
Do you have a horse? Couldn’t you just shoot all their horses so they couldn’t ever keep up with you? Then focus on archer regiments? And then work your way down? Again how far away are you? Do they know what you look like? Theoretically you could remain far enough away to not be recognizable. Yeah you have to eat and sleep, but so do they. Much harder to sleep when your buddies are dropping all around and you can’t even see the person, much less know what a gunshot was. Hysteria would set in fairly soon, especially in such a large group. Chuck Mawhinney had 216 probably kills in Vietnam as a sniper. Simo Häyhä is credited with 500 or more kills in the 39-40 winter war. Assuming you could move your arsenal with a horse and chariot or even keep a cache that you could keep coming back to, then yes I think it would be possible.
Posted on 8/17/26 at 2:57 pm to weagle1999
No.
Need more guns, more ammo, fortress, and some grenades and MAYBE.
Need more guns, more ammo, fortress, and some grenades and MAYBE.
Posted on 8/17/26 at 3:00 pm to RolltidePA
quote:
With that kind of numbers I think it would take at least a combat platoon.
Really depends on your position.
Am I protected at the rear and in an elevated location where I can stay behind a serious wall?
Or am I just in a field?
All that said, OP didn't have enough firepower or ammo to make it work. The best chance would be mow down half of them and some leaders and the rest think you're a wizard and run away.
Posted on 8/17/26 at 3:21 pm to weagle1999
40,000 is too many, but if I have a barrier like a wall or something if sure take down a lot before they get to me. But put in the open? No way. Cavalry and arrows
Posted on 8/17/26 at 3:22 pm to Champagne
quote:
These kinds of threads always appear because they allow those who know nothing about how to wage war to seem like they know how to wage war.
These threads are fun. Just idle message board chatter. Not serious stuff.
Posted on 8/17/26 at 3:35 pm to tide06
I saw something one time about some of the shielding they had along with the body "armour" . Some of thse shields would be very effective against M4s or AR 15s. Not necessarily bullet proof but could mitigate a bullet at 150 - 200 yards if used together.
Archers would probably get you if they were firing from behind the front line troops
Archers would probably get you if they were firing from behind the front line troops
Posted on 8/17/26 at 3:54 pm to weagle1999
I'm trying to think about what the equivalent to this would be in modern terms.
Imagine we are storming the beaches of Normandy and there's a lone German soldier perched 1,000 yards away on a hilltop. He begins pointing at the sky and 1 by 1, lightning bolts start striking down your frontline with surgical precision.
I have to imagine that panic ensues. Now multiply that 10X
You're talking about a technology that was not approaching fathomable in the ~340 BC time frame. When they started dropping dead from an invisible projectile they all would have suspected that they were going into battle against a deity, and more men would have died in the ensuing stampede of a retreat, from the bootheels of their fellow soldiers, than by the bullets of the modern rifle.
Imagine we are storming the beaches of Normandy and there's a lone German soldier perched 1,000 yards away on a hilltop. He begins pointing at the sky and 1 by 1, lightning bolts start striking down your frontline with surgical precision.
I have to imagine that panic ensues. Now multiply that 10X
You're talking about a technology that was not approaching fathomable in the ~340 BC time frame. When they started dropping dead from an invisible projectile they all would have suspected that they were going into battle against a deity, and more men would have died in the ensuing stampede of a retreat, from the bootheels of their fellow soldiers, than by the bullets of the modern rifle.
This post was edited on 8/17/26 at 10:32 pm
Posted on 8/17/26 at 4:20 pm to RummelTiger
quote:
Maybe one of the most ridiculous questions posed here.
Downvotes are clicks too
Posted on 8/17/26 at 4:20 pm to DarkDrifter
quote:
But the battlefield layout was not discussed as part of the scenario so I'm assuming open ground
High ground was given as a scenario
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