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Expansion Across the Narrow Sea


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War is extremely expensive. War across an ocean is even more expensive. War against a large, competent adversary even more expensive still. Occupying a conquest? Hella expensive. For what? More headaches and to make people thing your dick is that much longer?

The Free Cities may squabble like children, but if anything could rally them to a common cause, it would probably be keeping Dragonlords from returning. A Westerosi force could sweep any given free city (except maybe Bravos or Volantis), but not all of them. 

Dragons are like modern bombers or tanks. My dad was a tank commander for years, and he says something they teach is tanks are phenomenal on offense, but they don't do well at holding territory without infantry support. Sure you can sweep in and torch everything with dragonfire, but unless your willing to commit tens of thousands of troops on the land to hold the gains, it's just burning for burning's sake. Of course, that's expensive. Plus the feudal system complicates any sort of combined efforts. 

So in short, they didn't because it would be so much work and expenditure for too little payoff. 

Should they have strong-armed the Free Cities into abandoning slavery with the threat of dragonfire and Westerosi knights? Now there's an idea - especially if they teamed up with anti-slavery bastion Bravos. 

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If Rhaenyra survived the Dance and she won the war, I'm sure she would have wanted revenge against at least one of the three Triarchy possibly Myr, who killed her Jace. And I think Myr is conquerable. Its not an island City State, possibly, drawing much of its power on a rural environs, so a siege is desirable. It's going to be expensive yeah, but if you pull the free-the -slave card it's doable. Conqeuring Myr will more than recompensate the expenses of the invasion as Myr is one of the most advanced Free City. The location alone as having a foothold in Essos with it's land routes to luxury goods is very tempting to many Westerosi nobles. Just make sure to confine it to the disputed lands as Volantis, Braavos or even the Dothraki, can make the invasion very problematic. 

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On 3/5/2019 at 7:10 PM, Moiraine Sedai said:

No reason for them to do this.  Westeros is big enough to occupy their attention. 

There is a country in this world (not the most developed one) which seems huge enough to occupy 100% of its rulers' attention. Still it has been quite expansive over last centuries. So I guess it does not have to be the reason. I think it's rather because of fact, that the iron throne is politically dependant on lords/houses. In effect the crown is relatively poor, as the most powerful (and the richest) lords are in fact exempt from taxes. On the other hand - I wonder what's so great about knights. Everyone from Essos, who talks about it the books, confirms that knights are superior. It does not hold water imo. Disciplined infantry with pole arms should put heavy cavalary to rest.

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5 hours ago, broken one said:

I wonder what's so great about knights. Everyone from Essos, who talks about it the books, confirms that knights are superior. It does not hold water imo. Disciplined infantry with pole arms should put heavy cavalary to rest.

The problem is that well trained and leaded pike or spear men are rare. Or almost certainly only some elite free companies or standing armies (if they exist) had them. I assume that most mercenaries belong to companies or city watches that cannot stop cavalry charge without breaking. 

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6 minutes ago, Loose Bolt said:

The problem is that well trained and leaded pike or spear men are rare. Or almost certainly only some elite free companies or standing armies (if they exist) had them. I assume that most mercenaries belong to companies or city watches that cannot stop cavalry charge without breaking. 

You are right, thats the reason - lack of motivation. Land troops of the free cities consist mostly of mercenaries or/and slaves. 

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On 3/8/2019 at 3:12 PM, Myrish Lace said:

Exiled, twice beaten Blackfyres are such a terror to Bloodraven he's ready to leave half the continent to the mercies of Ironborn rather than to slip his eye even for a second from a potential invading army from Essos. When Blackfyres finally manage to muster anything even remotely resembling a sizable army under Maelys, Egg completely loses his shit - and it's quite obvious why.

 

This is completely different than losing to Essos forces. The Blackfyres had supporters in Westeros. Bloodraven wasn't afraid of their forces per se, rather than their potential of rallying lords in Westeros itself and start another Redgrass Fields.

 

As to the Ironborns, there were never a big threat. Much like how Tywin let the Ironborn ran wild during the war of the 5 kings, Bloodraven didn't initially bother with it because he knew they can be put out anytime he wanted to. And so he did, during the lull between Blackfyre actions.

 

We are about to see for real how Westeros fare in war against the Essos when (if) Dance gets released.

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