robb response to iron island invding north

[Matter-of-fact]

how should Robb have handled the iron islands invasion of the north instead of how he handle it?

[Kandrax]

I don't think he could do anything different, nor was he really doing something about invasion before his return to Riverrun.

[The Mountain That Flies]

What was wrong with how he handled it? He was thousand’s of miles away when it happened, made plans as quick as he could to get home, then was betrayed en route.

Admittedly we don’t know if his plan to re-take Moat Cailen would have been successful, but on the surface he reacted about as well as he could to the situation.

[Son of Man]

Robb lost the North and the Starks became homeless.  He can go by land though Moat Cailin or take the sea to a friendly northern port.  If he had enough ships.  

[Dorian Martell's son]

6 hours ago, Matter-of-fact said:

how should Robb have handled the iron islands invasion of the north instead of how he handle it?

He had a good plan, it was just derailed before it could have been put into action 

[Canon Claude]

Honestly, Robb wouldn’t have had to do that much. Euron killing Balon means that all the important Ironborn go home anyway. The crannogmen meanwhile deal with the remainder at Moat Cailin. They were all dying of disease even without a conventional siege. Robb could have just waited until the forces of House Reed poisoned everyone and then entered the fortress when everyone had died.

[Lady Jowana]

I dont’t think there was any better way to handle the invasion that would give a better outcome. The only mistake he did in that situation was sending Theon to negotiate with his father.

[Ylath's Snout]

3 hours ago, Lady Jowana said:

I dont’t think there was any better way to handle the invasion that would give a better outcome. The only mistake he did in that situation was sending Theon to negotiate with his father.

Yeah, regardless of anything Theon did later sending a hostage, without any escort of any kind, to negotiate with the peeple you took him from makes little to no sense.

[Adam Yozza]

2 hours ago, Ylath's Snout said:

Yeah, regardless of anything Theon did later sending a hostage, without any escort of any kind, to negotiate with the peeple you took him from makes little to no sense.

The impression I got was that Balon was going to attack anyway. IMO the only thing that Theon affects is whether or not Winterfell itself falls

[John Suburbs]

9 hours ago, Lady Jowana said:

I dont’t think there was any better way to handle the invasion that would give a better outcome. The only mistake he did in that situation was sending Theon to negotiate with his father.

True, and the most puzzling part about this is why none of his bannermen, particularly the Mallisters, saw the folly of this move and counseled Robb against it.

3 hours ago, Adam Yozza said:

The impression I got was that Balon was going to attack anyway. IMO the only thing that Theon affects is whether or not Winterfell itself falls

I don't think so. There are longships at Pyke by the time Theon gets there, but Balon has had advanced word of his coming, so he likely called his banners as soon as he knew of Theon's release. Plus, with armies on the march in the greenlands, it's probably just wise to get your defenses ready in case, unlikely as it may be, someone tries for the Iron Isles.

But I don't think Balon would have outright attacked the north if Theon had been kept close to Robb.

[Nowy Tends]

15 minutes ago, John Suburbs said:

True, and the most puzzling part about this is why none of his bannermen, particularly the Mallisters, saw the folly of this move and counseled Robb against it.

Agreed but Robb doesn't give the impression of being eager for advices from his bannermen, and his new status of “King” doesn't help…

[John Suburbs]

4 minutes ago, Nowy Tends said:

Agreed but Robb doesn't give the impression of being eager for advices from his bannermen, and his new status of “King” doesn't help…

Perhaps, but this one would have been a no-brainer: the only thing keeping Balon Greyjoy in line all these years was the fact that the Starks held his only son and heir. That means with Theon gone, Euron is next in line for the Seastone Chair, and there is no love lost between Balon and Euron. Sending Theon to Pyke removed the only leverage they had against Balon. I'm sure even Robb would have seen the sense in that.

[Adam Yozza]

1 hour ago, John Suburbs said:

True, and the most puzzling part about this is why none of his bannermen, particularly the Mallisters, saw the folly of this move and counseled Robb against it.

I don't think so. There are longships at Pyke by the time Theon gets there, but Balon has had advanced word of his coming, so he likely called his banners as soon as he knew of Theon's release. Plus, with armies on the march in the greenlands, it's probably just wise to get your defenses ready in case, unlikely as it may be, someone tries for the Iron Isles.

But I don't think Balon would have outright attacked the north if Theon had been kept close to Robb.

I disagree. To me it comes across that he's very much already written Theon off as a lost cause. His hopes for a worthy heir are on Asha. I think he was planning to make a move while the realm was divided whether Theon remained a hostage or not.

[Kandrax]

4 hours ago, John Suburbs said:

Mallisters

I never understand why he didn't go to North from Seagard. Not enough ships, maybe?

[UnFit Finlay]

13 hours ago, Ylath's Snout said:

Yeah, regardless of anything Theon did later sending a hostage, without any escort of any kind, to negotiate with the peeple you took him from makes little to no sense.

Meh. I'd say releasing a hostage as a gesture of good faith is pretty sensible when negotiating an alliance. Otherwise it becomes blackmail. A reasonable person would've taken it as such but Robb was clearly a bit ignorant about the Iron Born.

The other probable factor is that it absolved Robb of the responsibility of killing Theon if Balon acted up. Could he have done it?

2 hours ago, Kandrax said:

I never understand why he didn't go to North from Seagard. Not enough ships, maybe?

Wrong coast I'd say. Sailing from there would risk a confrontation with the Iron Born at sea, which is something they desperately wanted to avoid.

[Nittanian]

18 hours ago, Kandrax said:

I never understand why he didn't go to North from Seagard. Not enough ships, maybe?

Yep.

Quote

Her son turned to Lord Jason Mallister. "You have a fleet at Seagard?"

"A fleet, Your Grace? Half a dozen longships and two war galleys. Enough to defend my own shores against raiders, but I could not hope to meet the Iron Fleet in battle." (ASOS Catelyn V)

 

[Corvo the Crow]

Send envoys beyond the wall, recruit willing wildlings with promise of land unleash them on the scum of the sea.Settle surviving wildlings on the coastline. Decorate weirwoods near the coast with entrails and spikes with heads. Keep a token of common ironborn alive and allow them to return home with headless bodies of the nobility, especially Greyjoys. Spare Asha and other women though, pass them around any surviving common men from the ironmen raids and send them home with swollen bellies; Balon needs an heir.

[Blackfish Tully]

On 4/29/2018 at 0:50 PM, John Suburbs said:

Perhaps, but this one would have been a no-brainer: the only thing keeping Balon Greyjoy in line all these years was the fact that the Starks held his only son and heir. T

that's not exactingly true . The main thing that kept Balon Greyjoy in line was the fact that the Iron Throne had defeated his fleet , crushed his armies and took his castle and had him on his knees . As long as Robert was alive and in control of Westeroes Balon Greyjoy wasn't doing anything.  

[John Suburbs]

On ‎4‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 1:29 PM, Adam Yozza said:

I disagree. To me it comes across that he's very much already written Theon off as a lost cause. His hopes for a worthy heir are on Asha. I think he was planning to make a move while the realm was divided whether Theon remained a hostage or not.

Maybe, but I would think that he would wait until he could see for himself what kind of man Theon had become before making that call. Appointing a woman as his heir is bound to cause political strife on the islands, particularly with the Drowned Men, so I would imagine he wouldn't take that step unless he had to.

But regardless of what Balon was actually planning, Robb's bannermen should have considered Theon to be their only hedge against another ironmen invasion and should have counseled Robb to keep him close.

21 hours ago, Kandrax said:

I never understand why he didn't go to North from Seagard. Not enough ships, maybe?

Who? Robb or Theon? I believe Theon picked up the Myraham in Seaguard. He recalls arguing over the meaning of the comet with the Mallisters on the way to Seaguard.

If it's Robb, then I don't see how sailing from Seaguard could have helped him. Even if he does slip by the ironmen who now control the sea in that area, the best he could do is land somewhere on the western shore and then march overland across the Barrowlands or through the Wolfswood to reach Winterfell. The better plan was what he decided: seek the aid of the crannogmen to take MC from the north and then march straight up the kingsroad.

And as @Nittanian showed, not enough ships to challenge the ironborn.

[TheThreeEyedCow]

I don't think Robb could of done things differently. The mistakes had already been made.