Who Could Stop Khal Drogo's Invasion of Westeros? | Game of Thrones

[@TheFandomeClips]

Which region would you like us to take a more in depth look at first? Put your votes on this comment and we'll go with whichever scores highest! Thanks guys! Liam

[@vodeankandosii3982]

NORF.

[@joshthomasmoorenew]

The North or the Vale i think would be good places to start.

[@timothykurdt7645]

The Riverlands under the Blackfish!

[@angeredgnome]

*gasp* how could you forget about the iron islands!!!!!!!

[@metalhead6662]

The Reach! Just how strong is Tarly's back?

[@debater452]

Iconicly enough the Iron Islands are in the possition to defend themselves as the Dothraki literally have zero exprience or skill in Naval combat. Also their Islands are so worthless that they Dothraki might just starve there

[@pacocheung1864]

Could this actually be the Greyjoy's true endgame? Just sit pretty and outlive them all.......

[@LordBloodraven]

Balon: "Sail me closer, I want to hit him with my sword."

[@TheFandomeClips]

They definitely have the best shot of the bunch of keeping the Khal from even touching ground, even if they don't prevent Drogo from making it ashore the damage they'd inflict with their navy would make Drogo almost a non threat to their islands. Thanks for watching as always mate! Liam

[@debater452]

@@LordBloodraven They would still win the Dothraki know shit about Naval combat

[@enigmaoriginal2665]

One second after looking at the pile of crappy rocks they'd say they can keep it. Just like the other 6 kingoms have for hundreds of years.

[@stranger9847]

Dothraki when they realise invading the frozen north while shirtless was a bad idea🥶

[@unathisilo4941]

Didn't they strip the westermen of their leather after slaughtering them in season 7?

[@timothyvenske6519]

@@unathisilo4941 nah that’s too far removed from canon

[@extrage3061]

@@unathisilo4941 Thats not canon, shit that D&D came up with.

[@gundoneshe2002]

Mongols managed in russia

[@really-Now]

​@@unathisilo4941GRRM helps Cmon with factions for the great houses and the westerlands & stormlands have units that would hold up. If Drogo tried to invade westeros before the war, then he would've failed as stannis 210 warships got the advantage.

[@ct-117]

Another advantage the North has is that they have probably the only people who can out-savagery the Dothraki. I am of course referring to the Boltons, who consider it a slow day if they haven't violated somebody's human rights at least three times by breakfast

[@warlordofbritannia]

“A Bolton breakfast without at least three crimes against humanity is considered a dull affair”

[@TheFandomeClips]

😂 that's very true not to mention Greatjon on the front lines with that big ugly greatsword of his, guy can probably take out a charging horse with that thing 😂 Bolton's? Now that's just being cruel lol Thanks for watching as always CT my friend! Liam

[@williamjusino3640]

Unless they land in the North I can't see a khalasar even making it through the Neck. Possibly some of the worst terrain they could face.

[@ct-117]

@@williamjusino3640 true. Howland can just re-enact the Battle of Bannockburn on them and that's that. Horses don't like swamps

[@jasonvazquez8652]

Speaking of the North, the Dothraki better not sail to the island of Skagos, lest they run into cannibals.....

[@benoliver3266]

13:10: “which is 10,000 less than Drogo’s khalasar” The Mannis: “FEWER”

[@shifterverse]

I swear down if I didn't have to leave our comment pinned for the vote this would have taken it by miles 😂😂😂 thanks for watching Ben! Liam

[@WilsonianGarveyite]

wUt?

[@LewisR34]

First thing that popped into my mind 😂 love it

[@batlokoasekhamane4813]

👌🏾

[@parkeydee]

This comment is Azor Ahai reborn

[@damonwade6591]

The Dothraki invading a united north under Ned Stark is perhaps the biggest mismatch of all time. Ned probably doesn't even need to raise much of an army depending on the time of year lol

[@gb828]

@@damonwade6591 season 7-8 writing would solo

[@collincaperton6718]

​@gb828 season 7-8 jon would just say "we don't have time for any of this"

[@runtergerutscht4401]

​@@collincaperton6718that's assuming he doesn't accidentally start saying "you're muh queen" out of nowhere, to no one in particular.

[@SquashGuy02134]

Like doing a ground invasion of Russia in December

[@collincaperton6718]

@runtergerutscht4401 no he would just start saying "I don't want it"

[@lunafencoven]

Realistically, Khal Drogo's invasion would be pretty easy to stop. Not only was the Horde outnumbered 5 to 1, but their units had little to no armor and only consisted of mounted troops. A line of archers would have a field day with them.

[@yourlocalfurrylandsknechtowo]

Archers alone would not bode well. They may not fire as slow as muskets but you can only shoot as much and miss as much before they reach your line with superior speed. Rather, get a decent enough line of spears and pikes. Perhaps do an infantry square and order them to maintain formation regardless, and you would single handedly win the war against the dothraki

[@nourismail8207]

@@yourlocalfurrylandsknechtowo spears and pikes, archers in the back/station on walls and nice formation of heavily plated knights should be a decent enough way to break the horde’s attack. The problem is, what if the Khalasar breaks apart after that and you get dozens of tiny, highly mobile and aggressive raiding gangs running wild all over Westeros ? Whoever’s in charge will spend the following couple decades trying to clean that up, and much like the mountain clans in the veil, I doubt the Dothraki will ever be completely wiped out.

[@subratadhar7698]

@@nourismail8207 without cohesion, they will be cut down in months. Dothraki is a very poor imitation of the Mongol horde. A group like Dothraki in the real world would not be a thing. In real life , any Westorosi army of 20000 or more can smash 40k - 50k Dothraki in the open field. RR Martin has a very poor understanding of ancient battles.

[@AkselGAL]

@@subratadhar7698 finally someone with a good historical military understanding. Thanks! The Dothraki are a military joke.

[@3esln]

My problem with the whole 'the people will turn un us' thing is, that while people hate being killed, burned and pillaged they hate the ones doing it even more. It is a thing we can constantly see in every big war in history.

[@emillildballe4543]

I think the point with it is that if the king hides behind his walls than the smallfolk will become extremely independent from their lieges which probably result in more chaos

[@won1853]

Yep. When the Mongols invaded Korea, the Korean court literally abandoned the smallfolk and fled to an island where it stayed for 40 years. People still hated the Mongols more.

[@calebbarnhouse496]

​@@won1853sure, but the difference here is that the mongols would be offering peace if you just put the previous's kings child as ruler

[@KarolusTemplareV]

@@emillildballe4543 IRL what happens is that the disruptor, aka, the invader, is the one getting the brunt of the smallfolk or anyone out there suffering for their arrival, not whoever is the traditional lords of the area. I don't know why the sense of belonging to a "tribe" is so misjudged when real life has tens of thousands of examples of this happening every damn time.

[@emillildballe4543]

@@KarolusTemplareV yes I'm more talking about the aftermath because the entire point of the nobility is their promise of protection if the people see them hiding than their won't have power for long

[@faroukshaaban1140]

The North would introduce Khal Drogo to the greatest phrase ever invented: Fuck around and Find out.

[@gamalielvacasolis3484]

Khal Drogo’s balls would freeze before reaching Winterfell.

[@jesushernanpizarrogonzalez7297]

The coldest day the Dothraki have ever experienced in Essos is probably warmer than an average summer Tuesday in the North.

[@benjamingarrett9960]

As if it doesn't snow in Essos

[@travismcnasty51]

A rare instance where the Boltons would be useful. The Dothraki would see their flayed brothers and probably retreat a bit faster

[@davidlewis5312]

though the first time they find a face carved into a tree in the wolf woods they might get a little skittish (the Dothraki don't go into the haunted woods of Ibquite). Not because they haven't seen it, but because they have.

[@imperialisticvonhabsburg3149]

No matter the political situation, the second Stannis learns of an external exsistencial threat to the kingdoms he would ditch everything end BTFO the invading army before they ever touch the land. He knows it is his duty, and that by doing his duty he WILL win the throne.

[@JohnYoo39]

@@imperialisticvonhabsburg3149 100% He knows the people will back him.

[@BGivka]

He is the only one to reply to the Night's Watch request for help. He came right over.

[@AtheAetheling]

The thing about the Reach is, whilst it might favour the Dothraki way of war, they field the finest heavy cavalry in Westeros, so if they did manage to catch Drogo in open battle they'd completely destroy them. The show sadly made the reach more of a joke, but in the books they have the most plate armoured knights. And in real life, one of the main aspects of stopping the Mongols was the further west they went, the more heavily armoured knights they encountered.

[@houlinfan4140]

Heavily cavalry really isn’t a hard counter to the mongols, pretty much all the armies mongols went up against had heavy cataphracts or knights except the song because the mongols aren’t stupid idiot who charges light cavalry straight into pikes and knights.

[@GeneralGrievousCIS]

This, exactly! Reach cavalry is too heavy to catch the Dothraki if they run, but let's be real... the Dothraki won't run. They will see the armoured riders as dishonorable and weak, and thus engage them like morons. Cavalry clash between the best outfitted knights on the continent and a bunch of guys barechested or in leather does not end well for the latter. This goes double if the Dothraki are dumb enough to be baited into engaging the aforementioned Knights long enough for the vast horde of Reach infantry to catch up and flank with their pikes (something I'm highly confident Tarly would try to make happen).

[@ronanchristiana.belleza9270]

@@GeneralGrievousCIS Besides Tarly who is the other Reach that are competent commander?

[@Grenadier311]

The Hungarians, after being ravaged by the Mongols, decided that they needed more heavy cavalry. They procured more and routed the Mongols when they returned.

[@charles8769]

@@Grenadier311 I don’t think it was the knights per se that routed the second mongol coming as much as the fact that the mongols got heavily nerfed. Had they still been at full strength they would’ve rolled them the second time too. The internal mongol politics and weather is what saved Europe the first time.

[@AtheAetheling]

Their reputation is most of what makes them fearsome, but in reality Westeros would cut them open. The show played them up too much (and as usual made armour useless) but even in the big battle they showed they made sure to show Drogon burning holes in the ordered Lannister and Tarly ranks for the Dothraki to ride through. That battle was all on Drogon.

[@aecides3203]

Oh yeah, if Drogon hadn't broken that line right before they hit, the first wave would've literally crumpled on a spear wall. They probably would've broken through through sheer weight of numbers in the end, but it's Drogon turning the ordered line into a chaotic re-order/retreat that lets the Dothraki shine because, at that point, they're essentially just chasing people down a lot of the time and that's their primary strength. What I found really weird was how the Dothraki were played up so much by the show but the Unsullied, supposed to be literally the most elite fighters in the world, take on the role of redshirts. And it's not even like they just needed someone to fill the redshirt role and had no other options - Dani has mercenaries, half of whom could well just be "some dude with a club willing to fight for money" and would fill the requirement perfectly.

[@luciotargino5187]

@@AtheAetheling Realistically (considering the ASOIAF world as real), the dothraki invasion would certainly be a threat to the kingdoms political stability (specialy if for some reason the lords fail to respond quickly). But as a purely military adventure, this would be a disaster...

[@Mark-uh3un]

An army that consists entirely of light cavalry doesn’t stand a chance against a balanced army of heavy armored infantry, knights and archers. I can see the Dothraki doing a lot of damage to the countryside as they’d be able to avoid the slower Westerosi armies, but eventually they will lose.

[@dubvuchyea502]

Ya I never understood why anyone in Westeros would fear them

[@natedogg890]

History proves this wrong, the Mongols were 100% light cavalry and laid waste to everyone, whether heavy cavalry, stone fortresses or European men at arms. The only things that stopped them were typhoons to the East and jungles to the South, neither of which Westeros has

[@florianhenkel111]

​@@natedogg890They were not. The mongol army was a mix of light and heavy cavalry. A force with only light unorganised light cavalry will get annihilated by any one with a real army.

[@solastro5595]

​@natedogg890 No they are not, the mongols had decent armour and weapons.

[@Mark-uh3un]

@@natedogg890 the Mongols were absolutely not 100% light cavalry, that is a myth. They had foot soldiers, archers and siege weapons just like any medieval army. Additionally the mongols didn’t have to cross a sea in order to invade China, Persia and Russia thus making land route logistics possible, something the Dothraki wouldn’t have. The mongols also had a much bigger army than many of their enemies during the initial conquest by Genghis, something Dothraki couldn’t have.

[@chriseash6497]

Something else to remember about the North is that the Castles in the North were designed to hold as much of the local population as possible during the Winter. Scorched Earth, deep food stores and walls to hide most of the population behind. Even if the Dothraki are capable of engaging in Assault Siege craft, it still consume a large number of troops.

[@meep722]

@@chriseash6497 the north bypasses the can't hole up in castles lest they're smallfolk turn on them cuz they can hole up in castles with all their smallfolk as they do every winter

[@ahmad03188]

​@@meep722 Yep drogo would have a very hard time finding recourse as y

[@inquisitorsteele8397]

@@chriseash6497 They could always do the same thing the Hungarian did in second invasion. Forced the Mongols to siege then make their as miserable as besieger constantly being raid by Hungarian from other castles which forced them to split up to besieged other castles which same thing happens again and again until Mongols just couldn't take it any more and decided to peace out.

[@jamesbell1707]

The Iron Fleet, Lancaster, and Royal Fleets would sink the fleet before it landed.

[@Aaron_Guest]

If Dothraki invaded Westeros, they would've been stopped pretty easily. Before the War of Five King's started, they'd pretty much only have Dorne with them as an ally. It'd start with them marching up through the Bone Way into the Reach and Stormlands and possibly winning some small lords over to their sides, where they win a few small battles against them as they were unprepared making their strength lesser, however after a relatively short while, Stormlander/Reachmen/Crownlander/Westermen/Riverlander/Northern forces combine and completely destroy either all or most of the dothraki and dornish before an invasion of Dorne happens and the Martels are essentially wiped out.

[@TheFandomeClips]

That's why we had to isolate the kingdoms and turn off alliances, when we do the final video where it's Drogo and Danys turn to try and win we'll consider the alliances both sides could make to make it interesting. Thanks for watching I certainly won't use some of your well made points in later videos ;) Liam

[@LukasEhrlich]

I agree. Considering the terrain of Westeros, some places are not that suited for mass cavalry charge, and if the Westerosi had a competent commander, he could force a pitched battle in terrain which favours more infantry based armies.

[@timurjack8773]

Dothraki are problem since they have like 40.000, without cavalry forces, foot soldiers can't match Dothraki directly on the field since almost every Dothraki fighting with horse, Starks had 2.000 cavalry and 18.000 foot soldiers, even if 3 great houses combine their cavalry forces it might not be enough for Dothraki so they need to lure Dothraki to a place where they won't be able move freely on the field, a stacked place would do it, and then they should strike, thats the only way they could beat them.

[@gabrielcanejo187]

​@@TheFandomeClipsI already said in another comment how good i think Drogo's chances are (Not) in general but going more case by case, for some cases wether he split his forces across at least 2 or 3 Kingdoms instead of attacking 1 with his entire force would change things it mostly wouldn't for the first 2 examples except make it More Costly to defeat them: THE NORTH: One of If not The Worst Place for them to attack, The Whole Climate and Terrain will essensially be the Ultimate Counter to the Dothraki in general and god help then if they do it anywhere close to Winter never mind during it, either way their Cavaly Advantage will be much reduced, with the Northman being THE Experts at fighting on Ice, Snow and Deep Forests, especially Tundra with the Dothakri being the opposite of that. When it comes to not just infantry but Northman vs Dothraki in general while with other Houses, Especially the Reach, the Dothraki can say they are not only much Stronger, Brutal and Arguably just Better and More Skilled Warriors in general, Northeners can match their Strenght and Savagery while i at least would bet on them outskilling them at the very least by a little, while still having more or less the same advantages the rest of Westeros have over them, being FAR, i mean Ridiculously Far Better Equipped, Trained and Diciplined, Khal Drogo unlike pretty much all other Dothraki May (we never actually saw but given who he is and what's said about him, let's give him the benift of the doubt) be to actually THINK about a battle instead of Mindless Charging at the Enemy until either They or You are dead but That's one Hell of a Low bar, Which brings me to Strategy/Tatics and Leaders and all i will say is that if This Happens while Robb or even more Ned (If Only because the North was in a much better state while he was alive and he is Far more Experienced, you wouldn't see him sending Theon to his father and a few other things) The Dothakri lose 10/10, 0% Chance of them winning even IF no other Kingdom helps the North, if it's after that it depends on when exactly but Vast Majority of Time they lose, Their Saving Grace is their number but all that would mean almosy every time is that they would do a lot more damage to the North before losing and depening on the situation not THAT much and that's against Only The North. VALE: location wise it's Problaby even worse then the North, it's the 2 coldest Kingdom and There's All Those Mountains and Castles/Forts Build on Them, The Cavaly Factor is almost fully negated most of the time there or it's a Thermopoly situation with either cav, infantry or both and either way The Vale are the Experts on that, Especially if there's ice and Snow Involved and while the Dothakri are the Superior Riders to any House of Westeros, the Vale are Maybe behind only the Reachman when it comes to skill on a horse which if nothing else reduces at least a little the gap there is in that area normally without going into the Valeman knowing how to use horses on Their Land (Mountains, Ice, Snow) Better then Dothraki, if they can Somehow by a Miracle get to the actual you Know Vale of Vale they will be Nearly unstoppable in that part of the Kingdom at Least for some time but i don't need to go into the likehood of that happening and even If that Happens it's FAR from a automatic W Con for the Dothraki, Never mind how close to winter it might be at that point and what that would do to them and all of that is Again without A single other Kingdom coming to help though to be Fair Lyssa (If she's alive) and Sweet Robin and How Much Damage they would do to Vale during that is definitly a factor but i think that When Facing such a Threat Royce and pretty much all the Other Lords will simply put him in time out as Soon as he starts to help the Dothakri too much. The other 2 Kingdoms with Lower but still better chances then the others of fending them off by themselves are the Westerlands and Dorne, with the ones that would do the Worst if facing them alone being The Crownlands, Reach, Riverlands and Stormlands but even in those cases the Dothraki wouldn't be age to take or Siege even their Average Castles/Forts never mind anything above that however waiting them out until winter aproaches or comes while Everyone else not inside of them dies is Not a Win as Robert Said (The Iron Islands are kind of a weird in between i wouldn't even go near but basically should pretty much be impossible for the Dothraki to land there even with another navy helping them unless it's a Giant Westerosi Navy commanded by someone like Stannis or the next best thing but if they land They fucked perhaps worse then Anyone else in Westeros) but i wonder how long decide this place is Shit and it's not worth staying there.

[@flavius5722]

​@@timurjack8773These are show only numbers , so in the books ,dotraki will be outnumbered in cavalry also

[@jeremy1860]

I have to wonder if the threat of the Dothraki is one of those things that's based entirely on reputation. That they have this all-encompassing fear factor around them that leads people all over the world to think of them as some invincible force, but the reality is that they can absolutely be beaten like anybody else? 🤔

[@michaelmorton6566]

They did not have the tools to defeat the 7 kingdoms if the kingdoms were united and even not united they still dont have the tools everything that the seven kingdoms has are the very tools that were developed to stop the mongols

[@warlordofbritannia]

The Free Cities also prefer to pay them off rather than fight, which further leaves their reputation unchallenged.

[@TheFandomeClips]

This is the issue Jeremy my friend. They really are a Fantasy Army, you have to take their reputation as a feat since in all reality, they'd be mincemeat to a typical Westerosi army. Thanks for watching as always pal! Liam

[@jeremy1860]

@@TheFandomeClips Makes me wonder how many other famed military forces in that world have the same issue? The Unsullied maybe? 🤔

[@guyhathansaintil5218]

@jeremy1860 well unless it's season 6 in which case they're gods

[@_somerandomguyontheinternet_]

“Please don’t sic Gregor on me-I’d hate for you to have to find a new henchman.” Your confidence is impressive. 😂

[@kingjonstarkgeryan8573]

@@_somerandomguyontheinternet_ Well assuming he is an American, he will just go to show why one of our national savings is "God created man, but Colonel Colt made them equal".

[@TheFandomeClips]

I am black of hair and quite well built (some have even said I'm stronger than a man my size ought to be) and in my experience with HEMA I've often found affinity with the warhammer............Cersei didn't get all of Roberts Bastards 😂 and people wonder why I have a soft spot for Fath...... I mean the Bobster 😂 who do you think is going to be the number 1 pick in our final ever who can beat the mountain video? Ser Liam of house Fandome!!! Thanks for watching buddy! Liam

[@TheFandomeClips]

​@@kingjonstarkgeryan8573not American my friend 1000% home grown British. I would have thought my pompous uppity accent would be a dead giveaway 😂 I wish I could introduce that 8ft asshole to smith and western. For now though I'll have to make do with introducing him to a sturdy Warhammer 😂 Thanks for watching! Liam

[@sergoldenhandthejust1495]

We'd just get Ser Robert Strong alot earlier

[@jeremywitkowski7860]

That being said, from worst to best (I agree with the video on most of them) 1. Crownlands - agree with all your points 2. The Reach - open terrain and not known for their combat other than Tarly 3. The Riverlands - they could use the rivers but they weren’t known for being effective at taking of this 4. The Westerlands - terrain which favors the Calvary but they have hills and mountains to retreat to and Tywin is smart enough to use his advantages and make sacrifices to get the job done 5. The Stormlands - agreed with the terrain and commander advantage making it hard for the Dothraki 6. The Vale - agreed the terrain gives a HUGE advantage 7. The North - hold the neck or hold until winter and the North wins 8. Dorne - Agreed they have the best chance. Good luck with the deserts and ambushes while feeding an army and their horses 9. Iron Islands - agreed the navy would just stop them from landing

[@TheFandomeClips]

I think there's definitely some arguments for the westerlands placing higher, Tywin certainly is the one commander who won't lose sleep over making massive sacrifices of manpower that's for sure 😂 Thanks for watching and your insight Jeremy! Liam

[@houlinfan4140]

Even if they attack the crown lands Jeffery would be to scared to face them in the field so he will just coward behind kingslanding’s wall. The dorthraki don’t have any siege equipment and they can’t Starve out the city due to kings landing being a port, they could only pillage the country side.

[@SerfinBird]

Actually winter might not be too bad for the Dothraki. They already live in harsh lands and survive off animals they carry with them. Very likely the grass sea is more like the steppes in real life than not and -40 F is hot unheard of in the Eurasian steppe. Assuming they carry the whole khalasar to the north with all or it's animals chances are they'd likely handle the winter better than the northerners assuming they arrive before the final harvest.

[@jeremywitkowski7860]

@@houlinfan4140 fair point! Could they import enough food by water to feed the population long term? Not sure. I tried to follow the rules set up of no hiding in your castle lol

[@jeremywitkowski7860]

@@SerfinBird the grass sea has grass though to feed the horses which wouldn’t be the case in the northern winters.

[@coltonthefish5613]

If the four major navies in Westeros could stop the horselords before they landed and any stragglers could be taken out by Sir twenty of house goodman

[@TheFandomeClips]

Sir 20 is far too OP to be used in scenarios like this, it's the same reason we had to discount Mace the Ace. Thanks for watching Colton! Liam

[@joshthomasmoorenew]

14:51 I think another point one the Vales side is that the Knights of the Vale are shown in the show to be heavy cavalry, with spears and lances, so even if the two armies were to meet in battle the better armed and more heavily protected Knights will just cleave through the Hordes like the British Heavy cavalry Brigade did to the Russian Cossacks (which were mainly a light cavalry force) at Balaclava just before the Light Brigades famous charge. And while in normal situations a light cavalry force should be able to retreat and out manouver a heavy cavalry force the Dothraki are very aggressive and known to just charge at people like we saw when they fought the Unsullied so its not unlikely that Drogo's horsemen to just charge.

[@timurjack8773]

Cavalries have advantage over Dothraki 1 v 1 for sure but they don't have enough cavalry vs 40.000 Dothraki. Starks had 2.000 cavalry and 18.000 foot soldiers, I assume Arryns would have more cavalries like 4.000 but its still not enough, they need to lure Dothraki to disadvantegous position and catch them offguard, someone like Rob Stark could possibly do that.

[@joshthomasmoorenew]

@@timurjack8773 That is a fair point on numbers, i'm not aware of a canon size of the Vale army outside of a semi-canon size of 25,000 and while i don't think they would all be Knights of the Vale as they have archers, we aren't aware as far as i know of the ratio of Knights to non-Knights in the Vale Army. Though i think them being the Vale's version of the Winged Hussars, isn't unreasonable given their fame in Westeros, which would make them a sizeable chunk of the Vales army. However i would push back here a little, see i'm only aware of two times we see the Knights of the Vale in action, in both books and on screen, that being the two show battles at Winterfell against the Boltons and White Walkers and they don't really tell us much about the composition of the army. In the First battle they seem to be all mounted cavalry and in the second they are all on foot, this does imply they can maybe fight as either depending on the situation like real world historical knights could do, making them a heavy infantry and cavalry force, so they might be able to go for a full cavalry force if they want which would up their cavalry size. It would also make sense given their lands, they could fight on foot in the passes and then mount up to break and scatter a weakened foe, or they could do the heavy cavalry charge and if that fails they can pull back to a pass and fight on foot, or they could go for a mix of both infantry and cavalry. Also the Dothraki aren't weilding lightsabers their Arakh's are short slashing weapons that don't cut through armour well if at all and their design makes them bad for thrusts, the knights have spears, shields and longswords from what we've seen and the Knights would be attacking people in thin fabric at best so in a big cavalry vs cavalry fight the knights don't need to fight 1v1 their armour and better weapons would even the odds. Now thats not to say the Dothraki couldn't just overwhelm the Knights if its like 5,000 kights to 40,000 riders but i doubt the Knights would fight in that situation also the Knights would still be taking a heavy toll on the Dothraki even in that situation. Personally i think the Knights might actually make up 1/3 to about 1/2 the Vale army given their reputation, so assuming the 25,000 is correct that would make the Knights about 8,000 to 12,500 strong. And with those numbers with more support from archers and better equipment (esspecially for a cavalry vs cavalry fight) and in terrain that means the Dothraki can't out flank the Vales forces i think they could pull off a heavy cavalry charge against Drogo and his hordes.

[@deviousalemanni4235]

​@@timurjack8773the starks have 6000. The arryns had about the same. The reach has like 20000. Their army is already about 100000 big. The stormlands have 8000. Eitherway the terrain in most of westeros alone defeats them. Eine is untouable hills and valleys surrounded by mountains and so are the westerlands. The riverlands are crisscrossed by massive river that can only be crossed by bridge fortresses or ferry. Dorne is desert, mountains and northafrican coastline. So in short a horror show for horses. The reach is on the other Coast and you need to cross the riverlands, but it is the only good terrain for horse nomads out of all the kingdoms. The north is so much colder than the dothraki sea neither horses nor riders good fight or move well. Added to that are all the massive fortresses.

[@davidlewis5312]

I am not sure I agree, the best bet for the vale is to pull back behind their choke points and hold them. Rotate troops on and out and let drago charge a position in crevice only wide enough for a half dozen to stand shoulder to shoulder

[@joshthomasmoorenew]

@@davidlewis5312 Oh i never said it was the best option, that certianly the choke points plan, i was just saying that even if Drago did manage to get an open feild battle or a battle thats more even at least then the Vale armies still not done and can win that fight. And personally i think they can win that fight handlely, but thats a personal opinion on that point.

[@lukaslambs5780]

Their lack of armor realistically would mean they get destroyed by any respectable Westerosi army. But if we overlook that I pretty much agree with your list except for I think Randle Tarly controlling the largest army on the continent would find a way to crush the Dothraki. Yes they’re mobile and hard to pin down, yes they’re amazing warriors, but that doesn’t matter if you’re outnumbered 2:1 and you don’t know the land. They’d eventually get surrounded and crushed. The North and Dorne I think would be awful matchups for the Horse Bois, especially the North because it’s such unfamiliar terrain for them!

[@Tespri]

Bows were common counters to light horse troops and it worked very well. Making things worse... 0 armor and no shield or bow. It's just pure madness. No armor while using composite bow would make logical sense in some level. But going to melee would just mean entire army would be slaughtered before they even reach the first pike line.

[@AkselGAL]

all you need to defeat the Dothraki is chain mail, pikes and chain mail armored archers. Position yourself in a terrain in which the army cannot be outflanked. Even "schiltrons" with archers inside would be sufficient. Dothraki are a joke.

[@ScootsMcDootson]

The other part to consider for the Iron Islands, is that they are islands, as in more than one. Assuming they aren't sent to the bottom of the Sunset Sea before making landfall, The Dothraki would either have to split up their forces and achieve multiple simultaneous landings, giving up their biggest advantage of numbers and allowing the Ironborn forces to defeat them piecemeal. Or they land all of their forces one one island, allowing the Greyjoys to park their fleet off the coast of that one island and just starve the Dothraki out. Hiding in your castles is a viable strategy if the Dothraki can't move from castle to castle due to their separation by miles of frigid waters. I doubt even Balon can fuck that up, that is even assuming he takes command and doesn't delegate the defence of the kingdom to Yara. I wouldn't even put it past the Greyjoys offering to ferry the Dothraki over to continental Westeros. It would both get rid of the foreign army from their lands, and give them a lovely opportunity for some raiding of their own. I doubt any lord paramount will prioritise some pirates over the ravaging sea of horsemen.

[@-_-5470]

Agreed. Victarion, Asha (and probably nearly every other Ironborn captain) should easily be competent enough to outmaneuver a bunch of Dothraki in their own home

[@treecat125]

Any kingdom with a powerful Navy could easily defeat rhe Dothraki. The Reach has the Redwyne fleet, Stannis has his own fleet, and the Iron Islanders also have a fleet. The Dothraki have no idea how to fight on the sea. The best they can do is hire sailors.

[@benlyon4739]

I think the Dothraki's reputation is borne out of the fact that they're used to going up against peasants who live in small farming communities, and the descriptions of the few lucky enough and fast enough to get away telling anyone who will listen about these terrifying on horseback tearing through their village, carrying off their women and children to be slaves and running over anyone who trys to fight back from horseback.

[@juniornisthal2216]

Uh no, they attack the free cities as well. To the point that they get tributes sent to them.

[@jbearstudios7215]

Please, an in depth dive into the strengths and weaknesses of each kingdom against a horse would be awesome

[@jacklu1611]

Both strength and weakness of the Lannisters against a horse: their ancestor Tyrek Lannister is ahorse

[@TheFandomeClips]

Long as this video gets enough interest that's the plan Jbear! Thanks for watching! Liam

[@jasonvazquez8652]

Who could stop Khal Drgo's invasion of Westeros? I think Ned's quote says it best, "And if by chance he does, we'll throw him back into the sea."

[@MartinGreywolf]

Funny thing is, Hungary and Poland in the 13th century had to deal with the Cuman nomads who were predominantly light cavalry with only a few chieftains using heavy armor (for lack of money, not for cultural idiocy reasons), and therefore many of their leaders promptly went "Huh, some new nomads called Tartars or Mongols or whatever, we know how to deal with those". They were then very rudely surprised when the Mongols rocked up with massive numbers, excellent organization and tactics, unified leadership, cavalry so heavy it could charge into high medieval knightly charge and make it an even fight and actual rocket launchers. In what was a punitive/preliminary scouting expedition. Speaking of Mongol invasion, you know what parts of Hungary weren't horrifically pillaged? The ones that had stone castles and cities, because those castles and cities let the smallfolk in to be protected from the invaders. Because that's what the castles are bloody well *for*, because you need those people alive so that you can tax their cabbages! (Also rivers, Mongols tried to fight their way across the Danube and failed until winter froze it over)

[@kiwwat4139]

I think the Westerlands are not quite as screwed as they are made out to be. The terrain has some defensible strong points, for one, their most major city is not going to fall either, with the Dothraki being not too skilled at sieges. And Tywin knows how to keep an army in line and disciplined. Not as well as Tarly or Stannis, but the battle at the Green Fork against the North's foot under Bolton showed that he has a decent understanding of the battlefield. If he decides to meet Drogo in battle, the Khal would more likely than not accept it, especially if Tywin makes a stand to protect Lannisport or another larger settlement. He can anchor himself in the rugged terrain and present a strong wall of spears and pikes and shields with archers behind. That should do the trick against the Dothraki. Alternatively, he has been shown to field a large horsed host, which, if held together by skilled commanders like Marbrand, may be able to draw in the Dothraki to where Tywin has placed his foot. He is one to make use of feigned retreats and strategically allowing parts of his battle to collapse to bait commanders less experienced in his kind of warfare.

[@noone-jc1ob]

Respectfully, I think you did Tywin kinda dirty in this one. 😂 He’s easily the cleverest of all the aforementioned generals and would probably not use the exact same tactics against the Dothraki that he used against Robb. I think it’s far more likely he would attempt to use some form intrigue or a night attack and use their lack of discipline against them, rather than facing them head on in a pitched battle. Great video though!

[@hzuiel]

The dothraki as depicted are like the mongols without horse archers, siege weapons, foot soldiers, logistics...just pure mounted maneuvering, i don't think they would really do well honestly, they'd not be equipped or prepared for sea travel or fighting in the cold north, horses take a lot of grass to feed and the southern kingdoms have a lot of numbers, and metal armor even on their lowliest peasant soldiers. The dothraki would most likely ransack the countryside until getting cornered in some pitched battles they would lose and become scattered and the smaller bands would be picked off until westeros was rid of them. The dothraki of the show raid from their homelands and then return to them to prepare for the next raiding season. There would be no returning to rest and prepare for the next campaign if they're across the sea on a big island.

[@focusofthefuture8689]

"King Dickheadess Inbredess" is the greatest nickname for Joffrey I've ever heard, thank you for that.

[@PoisonPrince119]

One thing about the Vale which is overlooked. The region is surprisingly fertile and grows a significant amount of food but this region exists beyond the mountains in the Vale itself which is effectively a wide fertile valley which is surrounded by mountains which is why in the lore the Andals choose to land there first as opposed to further south. This considers a direct amphibious landing in the Vale likely hitting gull town which makes the mountains and hill tribes a more limited issue because the Vale army has to enter this wide valley and fight on open ground

[@BlackDiamond2718]

That is if you can get in.

[@Angelo-nd4lg]

Man on total war getting around in the vale is a b**** can't imagine landing at gull Town means a lot when every place is also isolated by rivers and ocean

[@samanmz8902]

"Fine, I'll elaborate" this was the best part of this video

[@cdcdrr]

One point I would count against the North is that if the Dothraki are sailing in from overseas, then you can't actually stop them at the Neck, and if they circumvent that they have free range of the entire kingdom. The northerners have no chance trying to chase after the khalassar once the pillaging begins and the villages are all spread across a vast amount of land. The North's banners can't risk fighting seperately, and it becomes a guessing game where the horde is, where it's going, and if the defenders will reach that spot in time to fight the Dothraki. But even though I would rank them below the Vale, that icy cold weather still puts a timer on how long the horde can last up there. I think that if they don't optimize their plundering, they'll run out of food, firewood and spare horses before the army even catches them. General Winter has even less mercy than your average Bolton.

[@onefadedgunner3281]

I always thought that both the Dothraki and Unsullied were poor fighting forces for a large-scale conflict. The Dothraki's lack of armor and standard infantry units is problem by itself, but we saw them struggle at Golden Road before Drogon blasted a hole in the shield wall. And the Unsullied overall are just an overrated force. They aren't shown to have any ranged weapons like bows or crossbows. So, they'll be slaughtered against any castle that is properly defended. They are also only shown to be using long spears which will be problematic in close quarters fighting.

[@liamvosefski2795]

The biggest issue for the dothraki would be getting to westeros in the first place. Assuming they could hire the ships to take them, many would die along the way. They aren't meant for sea travel. The ones who survived the journey would probably be sick and weak and need days to recuperate

[@redtexan7053]

Khal Drogo: *fails to conquer The North* Napoleon & Hitler: "First time?"

[@cjmartinez8318]

@@redtexan7053 Fr not to mention about their logistics too being frozen from the winter

[@guilhermerocha7088]

Something that I think should be taken into account are Tyrion's shock and awe tactics. The dorthrakis' game plan is essentially charge in at full speed and overwhelm their opponents. Which is good, if you have the terrain on your side and the fiercest army (which the dorthraki would have in the West). However, a god ex machina trick like Tyrion's wildfire would theoretically be effective against an undisciplined and unarmored opponent, right? In the commanders video, it was mentioned that Tywin's greatest strengths were force (in wealth) and political savy (i.e. backstabbing), neither of which would do anything against the Dorthraki. However, if Tywin got his head out of his ass and let Tyrion get some imput, they might be able to do some damage.

[@eddiekalista3222]

What if Euron is in control of the Iron Islands and the fleet? He’s a master at nautical warfare, he likely already has knowledge and understanding of the Dothraki from his travel, and the Ironborn are solid fighters in general. Even if Drogo hits the beach, he’s facing an army that drowns themselves as a right of passage and believes they’re immortal. “What is dead may never die” is an incredible mindset to take into battle. Part of the strength of the Dothraki is breaking the resolve and morale of an opposing force. I don’t think the ironborn are gonna be phased, even in the face of an incredibly savage force

[@alcibiades---7]

The Dothraki are based on steppe tribes which power is based on light cavalry and extremely well trained men, so they might just fail to take any castle and found it extremely difficult against well fortified towns and cities. Anyways they could force a battle by sacking and ravaging the land. In that case a lot depends on the terrain, the very advantage of the Dothraki is their ability to outmarch any opponent, so they have an advantage in choosing the terrain unless you manage to halt them in a river crossing or in a mountain pass. In a terrain favourable to them the ones who could win would be commanders that would not fall for a faint retreat and are able to inspire their troops to withstand everything, so probably Stannis, Randyll, Robb, Eddard and Robert. If the terrain is favourable to them most would be able to crush the Dothraki with a knight charge.

[@TheFandomeClips]

Some amazing points there Zuliusudra! Noted for future vids! Thanks for watching! Liam

[@11bluekitkats]

This has got to be one of the most interesting ideas you’ve tackled yet. Awesome video. Can’t wait for the more detailed version of each kingdom. Dorne I think would be the most interesting to me along with the westerlands.

[@BattleDrunk]

It is pretty clear that Westeros united would crush the 40k Dothraki. I mean they would not even land the Greyjoy fleet would wipe them out at sea before they got to the land and if they did they would have the entire united forces of the seven kingdoms to deal with. They would all die with no way home. End of the Targaryen dynasty other than John Snow

[@liamclarkson2902]

yup and I don't think you would even need a united Westeros. One kingdom alone will do a huge amount of of damage and another kingdom could come in to clean things up

[@BattleDrunk]

@@liamclarkson2902 Easily mate

[@andredornelles8014]

Short answer: anyone with armor (and breastplace stretchers for Rob, obviously)

[@Robinsong8008]

I'd love to see a full series of videos on this topic :). 1 thing I'd like to note is that the dothraki have the advantage (and disadvantage) of being a mobile horde with no real home base. It would be very difficult for the seven kingdoms to actually catch them with there slower armies and they don't have many ways to force them into a confrontation. I can see an intelligently lead dothraki army picking away at the great armies of westeros while bleeding the countryside dry. (That's if they don't yolo themselves into a horde of undead for no reason!!) Post video: great summary. My picks for best anti dothraki kingdoms are iron islands in third, while papa grey joy is a bellend, their intercept potential is no joke and the fact that the dothraki would need to make multiple amphibious assaults with no chance of catching them by surprise means I gotta give the iron born a good chance. I'd switch north and dorne, I just rate the cold higher than the sands vs dothraki.

[@TheFandomeClips]

One thing to note, and I may have to read up on this: Was the entire horde mobile or just the warriors? I viewed them as travelling warriors but the wife & kids may not have been horse riders, but did accompany them on travels. -Thom

[@Robinsong8008]

@TheFandomeClips an excellent point. To my knowledge, the non combatants are still quite fast (due to the constant nomadic lifestyle vs westeros where standing armies are rare and there own non combat personel are unpractised) and a khalisar moves faster than a regular army but I'd encourage a fact check on that as I don't currently have access to the books

[@ahmedshaharyarejaz9886]

Dothraki vs Dorne: Dies in Desert from lack of Food and Fodder for horses. Out played politically by Martells, stuck in Boneway. Dothraki v Iron Islands: No Navy, no chance = Defeat Dothraki v Vale: Maybe siezes some ports, no siege experience so stuck besieging mountain castles, losing guerilla war to Vale men and hill tribes. No heavy armor so loses melee on foot, which is what most sieges are. Dothraki v North: stopped in the Neck, stuck in the Swamp, even if got up North; stuck in sieges, huge Northern distances make subjugation difficult, winter starves unacclimatised horses, freezes and dies. Dothraki v Crownlands: Decent chance, but stuck in sieges, guerilla war in Kingswood. Dothraki vs Stormlands: difficulty landing due to bad weather, soggy soil and weather causes disease, stuck in sieges, gets whittled dowm by armoured charges and forest based guerilla warfare. Dothraki vs Riverlands: Good Chance, difficulties due to river crossings, river navies, forest wars, no siege experience vs moats Dothraki v Westerlands: Very Good chance due to similiar climate ti home, dry and flat region. Stuck in sieges, have no navy to stop Lannister logistics along coast Dothraki v The Reach: Very Good chance, but stuck in many sieges. Cant take the shield islands and will get stuck in Dornish marches.

[@connorgolden4]

For the crown lands you forgot the need to take the islands and their castles, and the northern part of the realm which is just bogs and hills etc and only the Targaryens ever really conquered with ease and mostly due to diplomacy at that. The Riverlands is not a good chance given everything you described. The Dothraki have no advantages here and will be broken by heavy casualties in the few places they can cross rivers since you know they’ll be contested crossings each time. The westerlands you’ve got completely wrong. It’s not like home. It’s fully of mountains and hills and choke points. And lead by an intelligent and fearsome lord who leads a well armed and well lead army. And in the reach it’s the only realm they will have favorable terrain but the reach does have a strong tradition of knighthood, amble commanders, a huge army, and they use the most plate armor. How do you think an army of guys going into battle bare chested will do when they meet guys governed head to toe in armor and likely armor their horses too? Jorah even pointed out how the Dothraki have no answer for plate armor. The reach men will have shield walls with big shields and lots of armor, followed up by charges of heavy armored knights who will ride through the Dothraki like a scythe through wheat.

[@alphagamer9505]

The Westerlands has Many Mountains,its not all flat and The Reach excells in Heavy Cavarly ,they would destory the Dothraki

[@jthecaffeinatedcrow6456]

I'm curious as to how you think Khal Drogo's invasion would go in the Neck. The swamps and it's hazards are one thing, but it may also be the only area where withdrawing into the castle wouldn't necessarily be frowned upon, since Greywater Watch moves

[@robland3253]

14:01 Stan is would not even need to fight, ship breaker bay may kill off Drogon just as it did stannis’s dad

[@zombiedalekweck2243]

If we do consider alliances The Dothraki and Dornish would compliment each other REALLY nicely. The Dornish can give the Dothraki some fierce infantry to support their fierce cavalry. Honestly, it would be a really dangerous force that could probably be able to win against even a Reach-Lannister alliance. This is also if we consider the fact that Dothraki might have had time to grow their forces a bit more with more Tar Loyalists or extra tribes under Droggo.

[@debater452]

The North is basicly a super large Finland so good luck

[@alexanderkazantzis8019]

Honestly the iron islands would probably feel some kind of kinship with the Dothraki and then raid Westeros together to the horror of the rest of the realm.

[@eemelikorteniemi3966]

Maybe that is why the Fandome chose Balon as the commander for the Iron islands. He is the only commander stubborn enough actually fight the Dothraki instead of joining them in pillaging

[@deviousalemanni4235]

Two things that kind of get forgotten, because of the show: Dothrakis in the books use armor and faint and retreat tactics. It is actually how they win most of their battles. The dothraki haven't fought or won an all out war in centuries. Eventhough they all style themselves as great conquerer they only manage raid and raze undefended cities or attack caravans. Most of the city states just pay them off because its cheaper then defending the frontier. If they clash with the free cities they almost always lose, with the only exceptions being during the century of blood, which was 300 years ago. The show kind of misrepresents their fighting prowess. The mercenary companies and soldiers of the free cities are almost certainly the best and most experienced fighters in the world we know about. They fight constant savage and brutal wars, use better technology then the westerosi, don't really have a codex of honor and if there is no war between the cities they defend the provinceses against the dothraki. After them come the now very experienced westerosi professional soldiers, which have fought 3 massive wars in the last 16 years. The dothraki are lower then either of them, they haven't fought a war in centuries, use old tactics and light armor and their leadership crumbles quickly

[@20somthingdrifter11]

Glad to see that I am not the only person who thinks the Dothraki would get slaughtered! They wear no armor, only have Caverly, and they more or less spend their days raiding people already weaker than them. To me, their greatest weapon is their legend. Now, let's see how they compared to the armored knights of the vale. Yes, the knights alone would get killed eventually, but they would be coming in with an entire combined army of armored infantry with spears, archers, and light cavalry; add in the fact that this would likely bring all the kingdoms together, and even if the Iron Brone sit it out, then the Red Wine and Valerians commanding the various navies of Westeros likely slaughter the Dothraki at sea and the one who make it ashore get slaughtered when they face an actual army instead of some border villages that they usually raid. The only reason the Dothraki won against the royal host is Drogon. Also, remember those Bolton Spearmen with tower shields from the Battle of the Bastards... now imagine a whole army of them standing against a Dothraki charge... horse kebabs for weeks!

[@wernermarais8493]

welll done. Nearly dropped my tea at that it of Bariston soloing them

[@nataliagonzalez1698]

Its easy, the Dothraki have no armor and are all cavalry. Defeat them in the sea before they ever reach land or if they do simply overwhelm them with your armored warriors. In S1 Ser Jorah shows a Dothraki warrior that they have no real answer to plate.

[@vibechecker3168]

Im late, but I think the Dothraki horde would run into the same problems as the mongols did in Europe. They will struggle against the heavily fortified landscape. Every lord has a fortress, and they will have to go and get each one. The climate will also be an issue. The Dothraki having to cross the narrow sea, which is something the mongols never had to contend with (except for Japan). Also I think the people of Westeros will band together against the Dothraki they might have not against just the Targaryens. The Dothraki are a bunch of savages and a horde of them arriving on the continent isn’t going to inspire faith in the people.

[@josephkosteniuk4302]

Ooh I really like the alternate storyline idea. There are enough theory and lore channels out there, I’d love to see more alternate storyline content like this

[@AliDixon95]

Both the Dothraki and the Unsullied are actually portrayed in the shows as soldiers I would have no issue absolutely shitting on as King

[@Cyanduck485]

Here’s my take The kingdoms the Dothraki have a chance with are Crownlands Iron islands Only because of navies The rest just wipe the floor The north stormlands and Dorne have their awful weather The reach Riverlands and Westerlands have better numbers Equipment commanders Can rely on drafting more men via the hate people would gain for the horsemen And you can’t sneak around with 40,000 men Plus even a few day Siege could buy the time for the main armies to arrive Overall the vale is my ideal pick as they have everything the others do Also l LOVE the animated maps

[@hiddenechoes]

Love this! Can't wait for in depth on each of them, the North and the river lands would be my favourite to hear more of.

[@Etherealsighting]

The Iron Islands also benefit from general terrain that probably completely negates mounted units much less light cavalry tactics. If the Dothraki do somehow make landfall they'd automatically find themselves in siege warfare with little room to maneuver the Khalassar and against a viking/spartan enemy that makes good use of armor and ranged weapons...

[@Corpasmoment]

total war player here, an armies consisted of just light cav is insanely easy to beat. Just like the ww2 germans, the blitzkrieg where every troops is mobile and fast moving, can be easilly be countered by heavy units, so spearmen/armored man at arms, knights can easilly beat them out, sure we might not be able to chase them out, but so do they cant do anything to us. You can evacuate all the villager on open area and choose your defensive line along your choosen city, and the usage of scorched earth will leave 400k~(800k if the horses also have to be feed) people starving esp if we could locate their supply line and strike them out

[@davidlewis5312]

Honestly I think the iron isles is the top spot. Could they take it? Maybe Would they spend the next ten years recovering their strength? Definitely. Are a ton horselords getting sent to the Drowned one? Certainly Remember its not one ambhibious invasion, its multiple.

[@The0nlyMasterba1ter]

An army that can’t beat trenches is no army

[@benjamin2187]

Absolutely do the extended versions, I already can't wait to see them 😊

[@amadhatter3280]

Another thing to consider is the Dothraki weaponary, their Arakh (Khopesh) & bows suck against medium (or higher) armoured foes (Jorah Mormont mentions this that their Arakh can't penetrate armour, its a slashing weapon not a piercing weapon design to stab in between the gaps in armour). If we're giving everyone time to prepare (the Lords of Seven Kingdoms actually do known their coming in the show) I'd imagine the more vulnerable would stock up on strong Armour asap to prepare. IMO the most likely landing spot would be The Reach, the 4 closest regions to land would be Dorne, The Vale , The Stormlands & The Crownlands, 3 of these regions are straight off the table & I highly doubt Jorah would suggest going straight for King's Landing & invite themselves to be pinched by the surrounding regions armies. The Westerlands is out of the question as it's too close to The Greyjoy's & The Lannister's fleet is there as well so Jorah would know if they came into contact with them at sea its game over. So The Reach is the only spot they could land at, try to recruit the Dornish by appealing to their desire for revenge on Tywin & try to gather other allies like in order to win because (like the vid said) even if they win one region they can't take all seven kingdoms by themselves (unless were going by Season 8 rules where the Dothraki have cloning technology & can replace any fallen warrior for a clone of him within 24 hours 😂😪😪).

[@Fire_Summoner]

The Vale's use of heavy cavalry would be instrumental in defeating the horde. Adapting to heavy cavalry is how north Europe beat the Mongolian invasion. It would inflict heavy losses while taking minimal. This would also help Tywin as he has heavy cavalry as well.

[@majorkalashinikov1277]

If Khal Drogo invaded in 298 AC and none of the events of the books happend (Roberts assassination, the WoT5K, etc), Robert Baratheon could call his banners up to ~375,000 soldiers, plus the combined might of the Royal Fleet, Redwyne Fleet, local ships and most importantly the Iron Fleet, which is 500 strong alone. If the unseasoned sailors the Dothraki are even managed to bypass this might of a Westerosi fleet, they'd either have to land in the risky Shipbreaker's bay, the rugged and mountainous Vale, the scorching desert of Dorne or the frigid North, all of which are logistical nightmares for any faction whose main force consists of horsemen, the other option is attack Blackwater bay, which if they would take Dragonstone, Driftmark and Claw Isle, would then have to take on the single largest City on Westeros. which we saw how that ended with Stannis

[@alvarocorreacesarsantos]

*Dude, Bobby B. was a great commander! He win several battles, 3 in The same day. My money is on him.*

[@sardonically-inclined7645]

Iron Islands top the list with a capable commander. Inhospitable, cold, wet, stony and any mobility for the horselords is limited given it is in fact cluster of islands.

[@lokimydude2725]

I liked subscribed and typed this comment just to say i love the videos you guys make and would 100% watch a more in depth video for each region on this, keep up the awesome work :D

[@randomstuff6355]

Honestly, im not sure if the 40k number we are given is with or without women, children, elderly and slaves, so supply might even be a bigger issue for Drogo. On an unrelated note, if something like the magazine-equipped bow Joerg Sprave invented existed in Westeros, it would be interesting to see if someone could pull off pike and shot-style tactics against the Dothraki, which would with utmost certainty annihilate them

[@TheAnon03]

It's entirely possible for the Dothraki to be unbeatable in open fields if they were to actually fight to their strengths. The main one being they can just leave, go raid something else. It's hard to defeat an enemy in battle when that enemy can just choose to not fight your main force.

[@jthecaffeinatedcrow6456]

10:24 So the commander best suited to cause the Dothraki to cut off their braids is bald. Nice

[@Catullus_J_5]

A deep dive into tactical sineros like this would be a dream come true.

[@robbiewira5344]

omfg bro when you fucking went to the color changer and voice changer for the "because hes the fuxking mannis" i literally laughed until i cried 😂😂😂😂

[@markalvarez7623]

Amazing video, earned a subscriber and loved the content and general reasoning in this vid.

[@ChrisJohnson-vb9hr]

I think the scary part of the Dothraki is if they don't fight at all and just ride around burning and looting every unwalled settlement in Westeros.

[@unc54]

Yeah, that was what Bobby B pointed out. Sure you can hole up in your castle but they start attacking the people and at some point you're compelled to come out and face them in open battle.

[@Tespri]

@@unc54 People evacuate to the castles when raids happen. That's literally one of the reasons why castles were made. They were to protect the population while buying time for main army to arrive. In case of Westeros... Those castles could hold for years. Dohraki would just starve out before getting a single castle down.

[@AaronBaker-g8g]

Please an in depth analysis series would be lovely

[@robertcooper4935]

Isn't the answer always Stannis the Mannis?

[@The_Malcontented]

@1:48 I mean all of those assumptions you've said you're using make more sense than Season 8 so you're ok so far!

[@rob2540]

Ramsey Snow could easily win with 20 good men😂

[@vodeankandosii3982]

Twenty Goodmen is locked in the Dreadfort.

[@jgivens637]

Love this. Channel! Keep them coming , even when I disagree it’s awesome to hear your arguments and talk with some deep ASOIAF fans

[@michaelpaullang4401]

Would drogo just come with his army or would he come with dragons and unsullied behind him ? That makes a big difference ? Also would people turn to DT side if she technically the person supposed to be on throne the more she shows her power ?

[@IMXLegedaryBard]

How do you think Westeros, prior to the battle of five kings, would fair against the armies of mordor?(using the ones in the third movie) Edit* For fun, lets throw in the armies of Isengard as well

[@msmith1890]

Does Sauron have the Ring? Does Rhun and Harad's armies count as well?

[@IMXLegedaryBard]

@msmith1890 its been a long time since I've read the books, so im only going based off what we see in the third film. And no, I'll say Sauron does not have the ring and will play more as a general in this hypothetical. I wanted to see how Mordors army itself can fair against a united Westeros

[@msmith1890]

@@IMXLegedaryBard Is Mordor and Westros connected via land or by sea? Also will the Others be a factor in the conflict?

[@MyPisceanNature]

Robb Stark isn't an overly aggressive military commander. He's smart enough to adapt his strategy based on the opponent. Ned would still be the better choice for commander in chief because of experience. But Ned is the one who taught Robb. And you can be sure if Robb isn't Ned's right hand in the war, he's definitely in the command tent helping plan the battle strategy. Robb's mistake in the War of the 5 Kings was trusting his mother to negotiate with Walder Frey.

[@debater452]

Will the horse god Tyrek Lannister join them

[@vodeankandosii3982]

He was last seen ahorse.

[@debater452]

​@@vodeankandosii3982The stalion last seen ahorse

[@warlordofbritannia]

He hadn’t evolved yet, he was still in his teenage squire base form.

[@NinaEKikuchi]

My dad is Comanche which imo is the better comparison to the dothraki than the Mongols, and my ancestors were able to fight back the Spanish and the Americans for a very long time, even when the Spanish were wearing conquistador armour and everything. Don't underestimate plains peoples just because the people they're fighting have "superior armour and weaponry"

[@LasagnaQueen]

Damn, Drogo would be cooked

[@eunomiac]

Nice! Your list matched mine almost perfectly --- I would have put the Riverlands ahead of the Stormlands, and I'd have put the Iron Islands at #2 right behind Dorne (they're _islands,_ and the Dothraki are _afraid_ of _water_ --- they wouldn't risk being denied landfall only once, but with virtually every offensive). Glad to see you agree with the unstoppable might of Dorne --- the show did Dorne so dirty, it's so much more interesting in the books!

[@jf_kein_k8590]

About the Vale, there is Gulltown where the Dothraki army could try to land at. And on the Iron Islands, the "best" commander might be Balons book-only brother Victarion, even if he is dumb as a rock, he is a fierce navy commander.

[@KnightwhotillrecentlysaidNI]

Victarion is smart in naval warfare, not politics or philosophy. The thing is Iron Islands will have best chance of defeating Drogo's horde. Say whatever you want about Ironborn being overglorified pirates, but they have some of the best militias in the westeros, not to mention barren hills give advantage to ranged, or jumping from island to island on islands is a terrible if you are a horselord

[@giantWario]

I hate how many people say the Dothraki are based on the Mongols. The Mongols would slaughter the Dothraki like they were nothing. The Mongols had amazing tactics and strategy, they wore armor, they had the best bows in the world at the time and could use them on horseback and they had siege weapons so castles wouldn't stop them. Despite being called a ''Horde'' the Mongols were outnumbered in nearly every battle they ever fought and still won more often than not. The Dothraki have nothing but numbers and mindless cavalry charges going for them.

[@countdooku2237]

Considering the Vale: Droge would probably Land at Gulltown, therefore bypassing the Tribesman of the Hill for the beginning of his Campaing

[@janingvetjaland3451]

So I agree on most point, but I wish you would point out that The Vale got the bloody gate and the North got the Neck, both great points to counter numbers

[@LordBloodraven]

The only leader who could have saved KL would have been Bobby B. He already knew facing the Dothraki on an open field would lead to defeat. He also knew that hiding in castles and cities would lead to a slow death. Only Bobby B would have even entertained the idea of abandoning KL to hold up in the Kingswood. With an army of roughly 10,000 (or fewer), Bobby B would be outnumbered, but make up for it with this winning tactic: Taunt Khal Drogo. The Dothraki leading a reckless charge into the Kingswood is how Bobby B would bait them into his trap. Wooden caltrops hidden along the trails, pit traps dug in the underbrush, and caches of Wildfire to burn down the entire Kingswood once the Dothraki charge was fully committed are the only hope the Crownlands have of surviving a Dothraki invasion. It's an insanely high risk-high reward scenario, but if anyone could have pulled it off, it would have been Robert 'Dragonsbane' Baratheon.

[@kingjonstarkgeryan8573]

That's not even his nickname and he is a complete and utter drunk with barely any higher cognitive functions left by his death.

[@craigmcdonnell7310]

I really think you're undervaluing the chances of each kingdom with any kind of navy from sinking Drogo before he lands. Especially Lannisport and the west, Drogos warriors are not trained in naval warfare and are actually terrified of the salt sea meaning getting them to stand on deck and fight a pitched sea-battle a MASSIVE task for Khal Drogo.

[@darwonka]

Heres the deal: The Dothraki would chase the lords into their holdfasts. Leaving the smallfolk freegame for the horde to kill and enslave as the Dothraki see fit. Any remaing smallfolk would have second thoughts about their Lord's rule, thus destroying the entire feudal system.

[@Aaron_Guest]

Right up until other lords showed up and wiped out the Dothraki.

[@darwonka]

@@Aaron_Guest Showed up from where? They'd have to fight the Dothraki. It's silly to think that a race of waring man bred for battle wouldn't adapt to the fighting style of Westerosi. The Dothraki can literally surf on top of their horses and shoot projectiles.

[@Aaron_Guest]

@darwonka Showed up from literally every otger part of the kingdom. Also, the Dothraki don't adapt. They are standard in warfare.

[@connorgolden4]

@@darwonkathe Dothraki are ridiculous as a concept because they never adapt, they don’t have sophisticated technology, and don’t even use armor. I love Martin but he designed them poorly. The Dothraki have never adapted or advanced unlike the mongols they’re partially inspired by. The mongols and Turks and huns and every other steppe people known for great success, all adapted and became like those they conquered in some ways. That’s how genghis and his commanders and successors became so damn powerful! They adapted. They conscripted engineers and built siege weapons and made use of local soldiers too. The Dothraki would invade, and then find themselves not able to fight as they wish most of the time given Westeros’s many rivers and hills and forests and harsh environments at times. They’d be besieging a thousand castles, which literally have the ability to apparently store food for fucking years due to the winters they face at times, deal with ambaushes, and need to worry about feeding their army given they’re probably killing or driving away many peasants and that’s if the lords haven’t gone scorched earth ahead of time as many people often do. They’ll be bogged down, whittled down, and the finally crushed once they’re in a poor state of health and numbers.

[@potatolord2196]

I think the Blackfish night gove Randal a run for his money in terms of best suited commanders. When it comes to horse archers and light calvery, the two ways they were most often beaten historically was with disciplined heavy infantry, see the Romans and Gepids, or by trapping them and using heavy calvery to crush them, see Otto the Great. The Blackfish being ad level headed as he is, he can both keep an army from presuing or retreating, and knows to never interpret the enemy when they're making a mistake, unlike a certain Edmire

[@Daniel-oq6fv]

Agreed "fine I'll elaborate" bro we all agree, no need. But continue, please 😂

[@nichtimchor]

6:05 S tier writing! 🔥

[@aidanford4285]

The scene of Jorah vs one of the Khals blood riders describes it best. In an open field with a numbers advantage, they’re a force. Once you start to even the numbers and add in technological advancements, their use drastically decreases. Jorah is a knight (mainly due to his bloodline, while he did perform well at a tourney, he would’ve never had the opportunity to train to that level nor compete without his heritage), that is armoured in sub-par plate armour, really a mismatch with a few plate pieces protecting his vitals with some chainmail. The blood rider he fought was one of the best warriors of the biggest clan of Dothraki ever. This must mean he was one of the best warriors to exist in their culture. He did literally nothing to Jorah but have his silly Egyptian sword get caught in the armour and then have his face sliced in half. Technology beats skill, and when skilled people have better technology, it’s a fucking bloodbath. The Dothraki have a fun time for a while, then they get cornered from multiple sides by anti-cavalry troops and get fucking decimated like it’s the long night 2: electric boogaloo.