Timeline for Conquering a Metropolis with near-zero own casualties
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
9 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Aug 4, 2016 at 22:15 | comment | added | Brian Reischl | Problem is that the question specifies all the civilians are already gone. So it's a city that was stocked for 4m people, and now has 100k. They can last a pretty long time on the existing stores, and start urban farming for the long term. | |
| Aug 1, 2016 at 20:51 | comment | added | user3652621 | @codeMonkey, I'm assuming that attrition is (mostly) due to normal people leaving an active battlefield | |
| Aug 1, 2016 at 19:25 | comment | added | codeMonkey | @SerbanTanasa check out virtually every battlefield in Syria for modern examples of sieges and starvation. For the most part, those sieges are not complete (supplies still get in) but they are tight enough to cause mass starvation and greatly weaken the besieged forces. The (ongoing) Battle of Aleppo reduced the city's population from 2.5 Million to ~300,000. | |
| Aug 1, 2016 at 16:11 | comment | added | Paul7926 | Even if only the enemy military get to eat (and even if they eat the civilians) if they are not being re-supplied it has to run out eventually. | |
| Aug 1, 2016 at 16:10 | comment | added | user3652621 | @SteveJessop ah, the civilians get to eat? | |
| Aug 1, 2016 at 16:07 | comment | added | Paul7926 | Most cities only hold enough food to last the population a few days or weeks. If you can precision bomb all internal warehouses and cut off all supply lines then the population will start to have a hard time pretty quickly. Without incoming food or water, power to cook it, diesel to power cars/tanks it gets uncomfortable quite quickly. Also removal of medical facilities and sewage removal and waste reprocessing will make living standards drop. I didn't say it was very quick but it's not putting a single person at risk which is the main driving factor. | |
| Aug 1, 2016 at 15:52 | comment | added | Steve Jessop | @Serban: canned goods only last if you don't eat them, and 4 million people get through a lot of baked beans. Most cities don't have a whole lot of stockpiled food, call it lean logistics. | |
| Aug 1, 2016 at 15:41 | comment | added | user3652621 | Interesting. Can a city be actually thirsted and starved into submission? I've not seen many modern examples. Canned goods can last for years... | |
| Aug 1, 2016 at 14:37 | history | answered | Paul7926 | CC BY-SA 3.0 |