"First, at least a third of those four hundred thousand men are logistics troops. Four hundred thousand people need food, clothing, weapons, and arrows. It's impossible for the frontline soldiers to haul all that themselves.
"Nilfgaard's supply line stretches across the entire continent. Without a hundred thousand or so men to maintain that lifeline, the frontline forces will run out of food within three days."
The charcoal pencil moved north, drawing several circles along the border between Temeria and Aedirn.
"Second, not all of the remaining combat troops can be sent to the front. Nilfgaard's fundamental objective is occupation. How vast are Temeria and Aedirn combined? There are countless cities, military fortresses, and provincial capitals.
"A city on the scale of Vizima or Oxenfurt needs at least several thousand troops to keep it under control.
"Every occupied city, every fortress, every vital route needs troops stationed there. Simply maintaining order in the occupied territories and suppressing rebellions will siphon away at least half their forces."
"The Nilfgaardian Emperor is in Vizima, and he needs a garrison as well. So how many combat troops can truly be pushed to the Pontar River front? Sixty or seventy thousand at most."
Ron lifted his eyes from the map. "Sixty or seventy thousand men want to punch through the Pontar River defenses?"
"They can't. That's the root of the stalemate." Erwin moved his charcoal pencil to the Pontar River and drew a thick line along its banks.
"Radovid's northern-bank defenses rely on the natural barrier of the river and the two fortified cities of Oxenfurt and Novigrad. At the same time, he did not hesitate to attack an ally during King Henselt of Kaedwen's funeral.
"He annexed Kaedwen in one stroke, turning the Pontar River into an unbroken iron wall of defenses. The number