A single man or army cannot go to the OCEAN or a GREAT RIVER OR LAKE and believe they can “overcome it” or “control it all”.
A single man or army who goes to a small stream and stops it, walks away and never comes back… may have cut off the livelihood of all kinds of animals downstream where there was a POND and even small waterfall.
If you want a brain tease out of this… Which animal is stronger, or more important? The bear dying of dehydration or a fish destined to live years in the lake?