How will Battle commence?

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 38252

-- In HPforGrownups at y..., "grey_wolf_c" <greywolf1 at j...> wrote:

 >>>>Magic, as all other  forms of internal energy (like shooting 
arrows with bows or using a  sword) can get very tiring in very 
short time. If you use AK a few times, except the most poweful, 
you're going to be panting quite  heavily. <<<<

Is there  canon for this? I can't recall any instances where 
Rowling's wizards wear themselves out  doing magic. Even baby 
Voldy, so weak he can barely manage to hold a wand, can kill 
Frank Bryce with AK, and Harry does the stunning spell five times 
in a row during  practice sessions, with no mention of any 
draining effects. Nor does he suffer any aftereffects from the 
Patronus spell, though that's magic so powerful few wizards can 
manage it. He does tire when practicing patronus with Lupin, but 
that seems to be more from the effort of fighting off  the mental 
effects of the   boggart-dementor than from Patronus itself. 

I don't think a cast of thousands battle is where Rowling is going 
with the story, but the idea that Voldemort's forces couldn't be a 
credible threat to the Muggle world doesn't hold much water with 
me. I'm not even an armchair general, but I know that numbers 
aren't the only thing that matter, otherwise Quechua would be the 
language of Peru. The point is, a small cohesive force with 
superior weapons and mobility can overwhelm an empire.  The 
wizards definitely have superior mobility. As for weapons, AK 
may not be a very useful combat spell, but in every wizard Muggle 
match up we've seen, the Muggles have come off worst. Tanks 
have internal combustion engines...what would a flame freezing 
charm do to them?

I think it's assuming too much to say that the laws of 
thermodynamics mean the wizards can't stop bullets. The 
wizards can alter time, so they obviously aren't bound by our 
concept of the laws of conservation of energy and matter. 
Conceivably they could even overcome their numerical 
disadvantage by multiple time-turns (see the Heinlein story "All 
You Zombies" for details.) 

But I think they would mostly play on Muggle awe of their godlike 
powers. Suppose we saw all our leaders turned into gerbils on 
national TV? 

Pippin