what if levée en masse by stark robb

[Matter-of-fact]

what if Robb used his authority as king to ( levée en masse )forced mass military conscription of all able-bodied, men in North and Riverland to try to match the lannisters strength and stayed  in the riverlands on the defensive?

[Kandrax]

Red wedding still happens.

[Matter-of-fact]

23 minutes ago, Kandrax said:

Red wedding still happens.

why it still happens?

[Bernie Mac]

1 hour ago, Matter-of-fact said:

what if Robb used his authority as king to ( levée en masse )forced mass military conscription of all able-bodied, men in North and Riverland to try to match the lannisters strength and stayed  in the riverlands on the defensive?

Then he'd face rebellion from his own side as he'd be dooming the North to winter and making them incredibly vulnerable to attack, both domestic and foreign, while they were away. 

He'd also have never been in a position to save Riverrun as raising such an army is going to take much longer (it is not as simple as sending out a raven) as is finding the extra provisions to feed this host and the extra equipment to arm them. 

The amount of men raised in the north already caused issues with defense and farming, raising more would only have exacerbated the situation. 

[Nowy Tends]

The "Levée en masse" didn't exist during medieval times, hence we have no reason to believe it exists in Westeros. It's a Revolutionary regim thing, it has nothing to do with "King's authority".

[Trigger Warning]

Even if they had the infrastructure to achieve that why would you bother? He wouldn't have more combat ready men with sufficient equipment than the Lannisters he'd have more mouths to feed. 

[Loose Bolt]

One thing is that Robb do not has access to professional NCO or officer cores that make massive armies possible. For instance Romans had their Principales (Roman NCO) and Centurions who made Roman legions work. So instead of working army he would have totally useless mob.

Another thing is that most people are loyal to their own lords or ladies and at least some of them would think that trying to summon so many people would be very bad idea.

[Kandrax]

11 hours ago, Matter-of-fact said:

why it still happens?

Because, mass levy wouldn't prevent fall of Winterfell and sex with Jeyne.

[Kandrax]

9 hours ago, Nowy Tends said:

Levée en masse" didn't exist during medieval times

Actually, in medieval Serbia there was concept of mass levy called Zamanitchka Voyska used in case of emergency.

[Knight Of Winter]

Ok, that would increase size of his army manifold. However:

- where would he find resources to feed such army?
- where would he find weapons to equip it?
- how would he train them on such a quick notice?
- who would be left to work the fields and harvest the food for winter?

Therefore, it's not a feasible idea by any stretch of imagination.

If you want an analogy from pre-modern times, in ancient China 8 families were expected to equip and send one warrior to serve in the army in times of war. This was a ratio that was considered doable and manageable.

[Nowy Tends]

1 hour ago, Kandrax said:

Actually, in medieval Serbia there was concept of mass levy called Zamanitchka Voyska used in case of emergency.

Yes, I guess it's the equivalent of the arrière-ban; in most european countries an EXTREME danger (like an invasion) allowed the Lords to summon every able-bodied men living on his lands.