It would appear that they’ve picked up a few people along the way. Keep in mind that the provisional IRA only had a few hundred active combatants during the troubles inNorthern Ireland. 12,000 would certainly be a force to be reckoned with.
I don’t think it would be very hard to wipe 12,000 soldiers on the march. They can’t hold ground with that few soldiers. If there was any will at all they could be dealt with