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Top 7 military commanders in ASOIAF (including Robert's Rebellion)


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she didn't pay.

Stole it, bought it, either way, she did not create it from nothing.

It was trained, equipped and disciplined by someone else.

Her reputation isn't worth diddly-squat in Slaver's Bay anymore.

Astapor turned into a city like hell.

Her army came at a cost.

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1) Ned is número uno for a few reasons, he seems to have been the stratigist behind RR, it's him or Hoster Tully, but it seems to be Ned. He's also the tutor of three great to good young commanders, Robb, Jon & Theon. Had Theon followed what he was taught, rather than his ego, he would have ended in a much different situation, and that includes still betraying Robb. He plays a huge part in the Greyjoy Rebellion.

I like your list, but im not so sure about this part lady m. Ned led the attack at the battle of the bells, and though it was won he almost lost until Robert led a counterattack. that's the only battle that we know of were ned was in command. I think he was good, just not above Stannis. ;)

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Stole it, bought it, either way, she did not create it from nothing.

It was trained, equipped and disciplined by someone else.

Her reputation isn't worth diddly-squat in Slaver's Bay anymore.

Astapor turned into a city like hell.

Her army came at a cost.

she went from having a few dozen people wandering starving in the desert to having a formidable army in what, a year or two? and won battles along the way. what more does she have to do?

and we're not talking about morality or reputation in this discussion, it's pure military success.

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theon greyjoy??? what?

theon, really? the taking of winterfell was disastrous and hardly even difficult given there was no one defending.

The taking of Winterfell was military genius, the decision not to fortify it was a mistake by his sister/father. Theon then compounded the mistake by refusing to leave. The fact that he let his childish whims get in the way doesn't negate the fact that he accomplished something no one had ever done before. ETA: Anyone know why I'm not able to press the ENTER key to start a new paragraph? Really disconcerting.
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Pure military success isn't enough though. One can be an incredible commander and still loose if one is severely outnumbered for instance (see Stannis at Blackwater). A truly stellar commander is one able to pull off victory without obvious advantages such as in numbers or fighting capabilites of your forces, which is why I rate Tyrion as highly as I do.

Daenerys not only has superior forces in pretty much any battle she enters, her soldiers are also of a superior quality. None of these things can be attributed to her ability as a commander. I would argue that her military success has less to do with her being the commander and more to do with her being able to recruit good soldiers (by whatever means).

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I like your list, but im not so sure about this part lady m. Ned led the attack at the battle of the bells, and though it was won he almost lost until Robert led a counterattack. that's the only battle that we know of were ned was in command. I think he was good, just not above Stannis. ;)

Ned was sent by himself to take Kings Landing, which no one knew Tywin was headed toward as well. He also was sent, by himself, to lift the siege at Storms End. There no one knew that Mace Tyrell and Paxter Redwyne would just give up. Both are potentially deadly battles which could have gone badly, in both cases Ned is sent by himself. It's not his fault he doesn't get to cover himself in more glory.

I notice you didn't disagree with him being an excellent tutor of budding military minds!

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Jfc there is so much wrong with this. Lets start with fair isle.

He did not have "the whole realm" with him, you pulled that from lord knows were. He had the royal fleet and the redwynne fleet. It is true that he had a numerical advantage over the ironborn but numbers are not the most important factor. The ironborn are the best sailors in westeros, are far more used to fighting at sea, and are far more effective in naval combat then men from the mainland. Stannis sprung a cunning trap on the ironborn that allowed him to prevent them from escaping and allowed him to use all his advantages fully in the battle to maximize his chances of success. It worked flawlessly. Had Stannis not destroyed the iron fleet Robert would not have been able to transport troops to the iron islands due to risk of getting attacked by the iron fleet, and no ship is more vulnerable then one packed with men. After this Stannis subdued great wyk in Roberts name.

Then we have the battle at the wall, and according to you that shouldn't count for some reason, well im sorry but that's complete and utter bullshit. Not only did mance have bout 20k wildling warriors(and another 80k women children and old men) but he had unconventional weapons in the form of mammoths and giants. Stannis plan was simple, launch a three pronged attack of heavy cavalry and encircle the wildlings, then bring in the infantry. The plan once again worked flawlessly as mances host was smashed.

Holding Storms end shows how iron his will is, and good a leader of men he is. All it takes is one starving man to open the gates and game over. The fact that Stannis at 17 is able to keep discipline and order in Starving men speaks volumes to his ability as a leader of men.

Uh, I thought Greyjoy rebelled against the realm, so that's where I got the quote that it was the realm vs. the Iron Born. Ned helped (North), Robert had soldiers (Stormlands, King's Landing), and Stannis had two fleets to work with (which included The Reach). I'm sure Jon Arryn would have sent men from the Vale if it was needed. BUT IT WASN'T, because the Iron Born are a joke.

are far more used to fighting at sea, and are far more effective in naval combat then men from the mainland

It's acutally the Iron Born that tell us that they're the best at fighting on the sea, but that's the opinion of the Iron Born. GRRM has said that people in the text will say what they think is true, but not what is necessarily true. So I think the Iron Born say this to give themselves some self worth. In reality, they're raiders who have only fought against defenseless people along the western coast of the North. What was the last War that the Iron Born had been a part of? Where there was actual fighting against soldiers? Uh, there was none before Dumbass Greyjoy's rebellion. The Iron Born are cowards who only fight against people who can't defend themselves (until Euron's rebellion).

So, yes, Stannis took out the whole Iron Fleet, but it sounds like the Iron Fleet is just a bunch of proud pirates. Sansa could have led the Royal Fleet (not really).

Stannis greatest recent victories came by using ShadowBabies. Tyrion spanked him in the Blackwater, and he wasn't smart enough to have scouts on Tywin or the Reach.

The text made it sound as though the Wildlings didn't stand a chance against knights on horses. That's why I wasn't impressed. That whole battle took less than two pages. Either he's a genius general, or...wait for it...the competition was garbage (I'm taking the latter).

Stannis is bad ass, but not top 7 for me.

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Ned was sent by himself to take Kings Landing, which no one knew Tywin was headed toward as well. He also was sent, by himself, to lift the siege at Storms End. There no one knew that Mace Tyrell and Paxter Redwyne would just give up. Both are potentially deadly battles which could have gone badly, in both cases Ned is sent by himself. It's not his fault he doesn't get to cover himself in more glory.

Good points all, Robert did value him very much its clear, but do we know enough to put him ahead of men who have been in command more times then him?(that we know of, its possible ned led a few more battles then we know of the same goes for all the others though small skirmishes and the like)

Also im not sure ned was sent by himself, we know he was given command of the army but whether jon and hoster were with him or not is a mystery.

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Personally I think that Tarly is overrated.

I disagree about Randall Tarly, he is not overrated here is why;

Robert Baratheon won the Iron Throne against incredible odds even if the North, the Vale, the Riverlands and the Stormlands fought on his side, Robert, Jon Arryn and Hoster Tully had to deal with lords in their own domains who were loyal to the Targaryens and fought against their liege lords, only Eddard didn't have this problem IIRC, the whole bloody seven kingdoms fought in the war (not the Iron born maybe), Robert during the rebellion was the warrior himself with his war hammer (too bad he went to rot a few years after he took the Iron Throne and his marriage to Cersei), no one could defeat him, so Randall Tarly defeating Robert Baratheon in a battle speaks volumes even if that battle had no significant impact on the war and he did it without the rest of the Tyrell army.

As for Duskendale, Tarly is always either given a Vangaurd or a smaller army, he had enough numbers to match the Northmen but not overwhelming numbers (Despite Clegane trapping them), he is a hard man like Stannis and a true battle commander.

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Good points all, Robert did value him very much its clear, but do we know enough to put him ahead of men who have been in command more times then him?(that we know of, its possible ned led a few more battles then we know of the same goes for all the others though small skirmishes and the like)

Also im not sure ned was sent by himself, we know he was given command of the army but whether jon and hoster were with him or not is a mystery.

I would think Jon Arryn was probably with Robert running things after Ned went to KL and after. Hoster was probably taking care of things in the Riverlands. There s a chance that someone like the Blackfish was with him.

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5 is too few and 10 is too many. 7 Is lucky.

  1. Robert Baratheon. He smashed 3 armies in one day, smashed Rhaegar's Army at the Trident (recognizing that killing the enemy commander will do wonders for destroying your opponent's morale) and almost tore the Iron Islands into the Waves. As Jon Snow puts it, he was a very deliberate commander.

  2. Robb Stark. Defeated two big Lannister armies with brilliance and daring, and won a string of minor to decent victories against the odds. He also had decent subordinates. I think both of the Tullys were good for him. He was clearly a prodigy on the battlefield.

  3. Stannis Baratheon. The most experienced on the list at only 38 years old. Held out the Tyrells, took Dragonstone, smashed the Iron Fleet, captured Great Wyk in the Greyjoy Rebellion and defeated Mance Rayder's host that was ten times his size. Great commander on land and sea.

  4. Brynden 'Blackfish' Tully. Fought in the war of the ninepenny kings, Robert's Rebellion and TWotFK. Noted as being brilliant by everyone and commanded Robb Stark's vanguard regularly.

  5. Eddard Stark. Has won his fair share of battles in Robert's Rebellion and the Greyjoy Rebellion, and he was the commander of Robert's vanguard because he knew how to command, but also because he could be trusted.

  6. Tywin Lannister. He's in it for the long haul. He has a fearsome reputation as a commander, and though Robb Stark wiped the floor with him, Tywin has a fearsome reputation for a reason

  7. Randyll Tarly. If we are to believe what people say about him, can read the battle better than any commander in Westeros.

Honourable mentions: Edmure Tully, Jon Snow and Jon Arryn. The battles of the Fords and Castle Black respectively were military masterpieces, and doubtless Jon Arryn had a big commanding role in Robert's Rebellion.

Edit: Switched some around,changed some descriptions and added 3 honourable mentions.

I like it, which means other people wont.

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Uh, I thought Greyjoy rebelled against the realm, so that's where I got the quote that it was the realm vs. the Iron Born. Ned helped (North), Robert had soldiers (Stormlands, King's Landing), and Stannis had two fleets to work with (which included The Reach). I'm sure Jon Arryn would have sent men from the Vale if it was needed. BUT IT WASN'T, because the Iron Born are a joke.

The point is Stannis did not have the resources of the whole realm with him in that battle. He had two fleets, and that's it.

It's acutally the Iron Born that tell us that they're the best at fighting on the sea, but that's the opinion of the Iron Born. GRRM has said that people in the text will say what they think is true, but not what is necessarily true. So I think the Iron Born say this to give themselves some self worth. In reality, they're raiders who have only fought against defenseless people along the western coast of the North. What was the last War that the Iron Born had been a part of? Where there was actual fighting against soldiers? Uh, there was none before Dumbass Greyjoy's rebellion. The Iron Born are cowards who only fight against people who can't defend themselves (until Euron's rebellion).

So, yes, Stannis took out the whole Iron Fleet, but it sounds like the Iron Fleet is just a bunch of proud pirates. Sansa could have led the Royal Fleet (not really).

The irobnborn are good enough to take the riverlands from the storm kings and control "anywhere you can hear the waves" Yeah, they are the most prominent naval power in westeros. They spend their whole lives fighting on ships and sailing, as well they are full time proffesional soldiers, they don't farm, war is all they know giving them a large advantage. not to mention they wear armor on ships and the other kingdoms don't do that, so if you are going to discount Stannis' victory over the wildlings because his men were better equipped you cant do the same thing when his men are LESS well equipped, how about some consistency?

Stannis greatest recent victories came by using ShadowBabies. Tyrion spanked him in the Blackwater, and he wasn't smart enough to have scouts on Tywin or the Reach.

Yeah, he used a shadowbaby, a good commander uses all the tools at his disposal to win and save as many of his mens lives as possible. as for the bw he had scouts the MT clansmen somehow found them and killed them all, as well it was a lightning raid, scouts are not so important in such a move. He would have won if not for the tyrells and lannisters having such perfect timing and luck.

The text made it sound as though the Wildlings didn't stand a chance against knights on horses. That's why I wasn't impressed. That whole battle took less than two pages. Either he's a genius general, or...wait for it...the competition was garbage (I'm taking the latter).

Yeah, you need to reread that, one of the columns of heavy horse was destroyed by the wildlings, and it is not once implied by the text that the wildlings had no chance. In fact it is outright said that the numbers and heavy cavalry evened each other out. It was Stannis' plan that won the day.

Also this whole "the competition was garbage" is nonsense. Who cares if he had a technological advantage, as I said before a good commander plays to his strengths, and the westerosies greatest asset is heavy cavalry. I guess the romans were not really good conquerors because compared to their men the competition was garbage, no more then fur clad savages! same for Alexander the great, the persion slave soldiers were no match for his sarrisas! He was a total fool and not a great commander at all!

Stannis is bad ass,

Agreed.

but not top 7 for me.

I disagree, he has fought in more battles then most of the other men in these lists and has only ever lost once to superior numbers, surprise, and being caught between a city and attackers.

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As for Duskendale, Tarly is always either given a Vangaurd or a smaller army, he had enough numbers to match the Northmen but not overwhelming numbers (Despite Clegane trapping them), he is a hard man like Stannis and a true battle commander.

I give Tarly credit for particularly for Ashford but I wouldn't consider Duskendale that great an accomplishment for him because of that and also because a. The Northmen were walking into a trap and b. They still managed to inflict pretty heavy casualties on his men.

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