Most difficult Kingdoms to invade?

[Batman]

I suppose this is an extension of the best natural defenses thread, but you also have to take into account others things. Castles, opposing armies as well as seasons, terrain, weather and supply.

In short, from first to last, which kingdom would consider most difficult to invade and then fight a war with?

[Usrnmhsnomning]

Dorne.

[RenlyIsNotRight]

1. The North (one word: Crannogmen)
   
2. Dorne
   
3. ...probably the Vale
   
4. Basically everywhere else
   

[barnaby]

There was already an extensive thread a couple months ago related to this topic, essentially it came down to two groups of people arguing between the north and dorne. It was essentially agreed that the north was impossible to invade by anyone in the winter, though not so bad in the summer; whereas dorne is just extremely difficult all of the time. So it depends on what variables you want to use but if weather is a factor then it is the north, otherwise Dorne wins.

[King of Winters]

1. The North- Moat Cailin

2. Dorne- The Dornish Marches

3. The Vale- Mountains again as with Dorne

4. Stormlands

5. Westerlands

6. The Reach

7. Riverlands

[Iron]

The North, probably.

[Fire Eater]

The North, the only kingdom that avoided conquest by the Andals, and Dorne, the only kingdom to avoid conquest by the Targaryens.

[Barty]

North and Dorne followed by the Vale.

[WinterKing]

North and Dorne.

[KOM]

1. The North- Moat Cailin

2. Dorne- The Dornish Marches

3. The Vale- Mountains again as with Dorne

4. Stormlands

5. Westerlands

6. The Reach

7. Riverlands

That. But the difference between 3 & 4 is huge. (And imo, Dorne above the North, b/c heat, logistics, Daeron.)

But just bring a dragon, fly over their defenses, and make 'em kneel.

[mrunderhill]

It depends on the circumstances. In winter the North is the hardest, but with a strong fleet or dragosn the North is easier to invade than Dorne.

[TNine]

1.) The North. Too big, too cold, too full of Northmen. And you'd have to break Moat Cailin, and get through the marshes.

2.) Dorne. Too mountainous, too cold, too full of Dornishmen. You could take the castles, but guerilla warfare would be brutal, and it's hard to keep the castles.

3.) The Vale. Gotta break your armies on the Bloody Gate.

4.) The Iron Islands. The navy is their strong point, you need insurmountable odds.

5.) Literally everywhere else.

6.) The Riverlands. There's pretty much nowhere defensible in the entire region.

[Winterz]

Dorne isn't necessarily hard to invade. It is however very hard to keep a grip on. The landscape is favorable to militia warfare and so is its people. Dorne is likely the most difficult place to occupy but not to invade. Their settlements aren't even that fortified.

Most difficult to invade is certainly the North and the Vale. The North may also have some relations to Dorne about being very difficult to occupy but invading it would still be a challenge. It presents good natural defenses and well fortified settlements but most all, its people is very aggressive towards outsiders who intend to harm them. They would fight and resist well.

The Vale mostly because of its natural landscape and fortifications. Most of its castles are nearly impregnable and resources in the Vale are enough to supply several armies or even simple garrisons for long times when under siege. The invaders would face very long sieges in every corner and that would eventually waste them.

[The Snowman]

1.) The North. Too big, too cold, too full of Northmen. And you'd have to break Moat Cailin, and get through the marshes.

2.) Dorne. Too mountainous, too cold, too full of Dornishmen. You could take the castles, but guerilla warfare would be brutal, and it's hard to keep the castles.

3.) The Vale. Gotta break your armies on the Bloody Gate.

4.) The Iron Islands. The navy is their strong point, you need insurmountable odds.

5.) Literally everywhere else.

6.) The Riverlands. There's pretty much nowhere defensible in the entire region.

I agree with you on the top 3 but I think the riverlands is underestimated in that Riverrun is a beast of a stronghold, the Twins are very defensible and Seaguard is a fortress for a reason. However everything below the Red Fork is very vulnerable

[TheGreyKraken]

1.) The North- Its impossible to invade during winter and extremely big. Your forces are more likely to get completely decimated rather than those of the enemies.

2.) Dorne- Known to have prevented Targaryen invasions in the past due to the extremely hot climate and guerrilla tactics used by Dornishmen.

3.) The Vale- Some regions are very mountainous and this can be a great advantage when fighting an invasion.

[TNine]

I agree with you on the top 3 but I think the riverlands is underestimated in that Riverrun is a beast of a stronghold, the Twins are very defensible and Seaguard is a fortress for a reason. However everything below the Red Fork is very vulnerable

Yeah even as i posted i was thinking about Riverrun's ridiculous defenses via damming the river. But while the castles may be strong defenses, the actual kingdom isn't. It would be easy to invade anywhere in the Riverlands that isn't a castle.

As opposed to Dorne, where you gotta trek through the mountains, or the Vale, where you gotta get through the Bloody Gate, or the North with Moat Cailin. Also, the North and Dorne excel at guerilla warfare, which naturally favors the local forces.

[Nictarion]

The Vale and Dorne.

[Djinn]

To invade means to break the initial resistance. I would pick the Vale.It's northern border is a mountainous shore with difficult terrain and sparsely populated. It's western border is the mostly impassable Mountains of the Moon+Bloody Gate, watched by Strongsong and Redfort, the seats of two of the Vale strongest houses. It's southern border is again mostly a mountainous shore with the exeception of the surroundings of Wickenden, seat of house Waxley. It's eastern border is a long shore where the most accessible points are the fortified seats of some of the most powerful houses of the Vale, Runestone, Gulltown, Longbow Hall, Heart's Home, Old Anchor, Sunkenwood, Coldwater. But passing that, the most valuable piece of ground in the Vale, the Valley of Arryn, is guarded by the above mentioned Longbow Hall east, Bloody Gate+Gates of the Moon west, Heart's Home north and Ironoaks south, and everything else is high mountain terrain. Add to this a strong martial culture(regular fighting with hilltribes), a well organized command structure(Arryn on top), good food supply(valley of Arryn), fairly short distances to deploy your troops, and the Vale is a very strong nut to crack.

Now, is the issue is which region is more difficult to hold against insurrection, then Dorne and North take the cake.

[Sapphire]

I'll give it to the North as they're the only kingdom to repel the Andal invasion. Dorne is brutal too, but even they were conquered by the Andals.

[TheCrannogDweller]

...the Vale is a very strong nut to crack.

Two words: andal invasion.

My opinion:

1. The North - Moat Cailin, The Wall, vast territory, First men culture (loyal bannermen, all faithful to the Starks, with the one exception), weather - snows even in the summer. Also, it has never been invaded.

2. Dorne - the Red Mountains, hot weather, very difficult terrain, guerilla warfare. Almost impossible to hold by an invading army.

3. The Vale - Mountains of the Moon, Bloody Gate, relatively large population and awesome fortresses.

4. The Westerlands - bordered by hills and mountains with fortresses controlling the main approaches to the region.

5. The Iron Islands - only accessible by sea, tough fortresses, naval might.

6. The Stormlands - the Dornish marshes are an effective natural defense against the Reach and Dorne, but the region is wide open from the north.

7. The Reach - nothing notable about its defenses.

8. The Riverlands - horrible location, almost impossible to defend against an invasion, even though it has some good fortresses.