How many modern US Navy SEALs restricted to their melee weapons would it take to defeat 100 Vikings on a beach?
Short answerThe answer tentatively suggests about 200 under favorable defensive conditions for the Norse fighters, because knife-armed SEALs lose the equipment advantages their training normally assumes.
NotesThis hypothetical restricts modern SEALs to melee weapons while the Norse fighters retain spears, swords and bows. It therefore removes the modern force's principal equipment and asks it to fight specialists using unfamiliar constraints. The argument also distinguishes Norse people generally from those who had gone raiding and were prepared to fight. A defensible beach position would make the attacking force's problem harder. Roughly 200 SEALs is offered as an informal estimate, not a calculated result. A contrasting full-equipment scenario emphasizes the advantage of rifles and night vision, showing how strongly the answer depends on the rules imposed.