Difference between revisions of "Battle of the Kingsroad"

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|conflict = [[Dance of the Dragons]]  
 
|conflict = [[Dance of the Dragons]]  
 
|date = {{Date|131}}
 
|date = {{Date|131}}
|place =  
+
|place = [[Kingsroad]] north of [[King's Landing]]
|result = [[the blacks|black]] victory
+
|result = [[Blacks|Black]] victory
 
| colour_scheme =  
 
| colour_scheme =  
| combatant1 = [[The greens]]
+
| combatant1 = [[File:House Targaryen (Aegon II).svg|30px]] [[Greens]]
| combatant2 = [[The blacks]]
+
*[[File:House Baratheon.svg|20px]] [[House Baratheon]]
| commander1 = Lord [[Borros Baratheon]]+
+
*[[File:House Darklyn.svg|20px]] [[House Darklyn]]
| commander2 = Lord [[Kermit Tully]]<br>Lord [[Benjicot Blackwood]]<br>Lady [[Alysanne Blackwood]]<br>Lord [[House Darry|Darry]]+<br>Lord [[House Mallister|Mallister]]+
+
*[[File:House Hayford.svg|20px]] [[House Hayford]]
| strength1 = 40,000  
+
*[[File:House Rosby.svg|20px]] [[House Rosby]]
| strength2 = less then 4,000 [[Riverlands|rivermen]]
+
*[[File:House Stokeworth.svg|20px]] [[House Stokeworth]]
| casualties1 = Lord [[Borros Baratheon]]+
+
| combatant2 = [[File:House Targaryen (Rhaenyra).svg|30px]] [[Blacks]]
| casualties2 = Lord [[House Darry|Darry]]+<br>Lord [[House Mallister|Mallister]]+
+
*[[File:House Tully.svg|20px]] [[House Tully]]
 +
*[[File:House Blackwood.svg|20px]] [[House Blackwood]]
 +
*[[File:House Frey.svg|20px]] [[House Frey]]
 +
*[[File:House Vance (Wayfarer's Rest).svg|20px]] [[House Vance of Wayfarer's Rest|House Vance]]
 +
*[[File:House Bracken.svg|20px]] [[House Bracken]]
 +
*[[File:House Darry.svg|20px]] [[House Darry]]
 +
*[[File:House Mallister.svg|20px]] [[House Mallister]]
 +
*[[File:House Darklyn.svg|20px]] [[House Darklyn]] <small>(soldiers switched side)</small>
 +
| commander1 = [[File:House Baratheon.svg|20px]] Lord [[Borros Baratheon]]
 +
| commander2 = [[File:House Tully.svg|20px]] Lord [[Kermit Tully]]<br>[[File:House Blackwood.svg|20px]] Lord [[Benjicot Blackwood]]<br>[[File:House Blackwood.svg|20px]] Lady [[Alysanne Blackwood]]<br>[[File:House Frey.svg|20px]] Lady [[Sabitha Frey]]<br>[[File:House Vance (Wayfarer's Rest).svg|20px]] Lord [[Hugo Vance (lord)|Hugo Vance]]<br>[[File:House Bracken.svg|20px]] Lord [[Humfrey Bracken]]<br>[[File:House Darry.svg|20px]] Lord [[Roland Darry]]<br>[[File:House Mallister.svg|20px]] Lord [[Jorah Mallister]]
 +
| strength1 = 600 stormlander knights<br>4,000 stormlander men-at-arms<br>additional forces from crownlands Houses that bent the knee{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II}}
 +
| strength2 = smaller than the Baratheon host{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}}
 +
| casualties1 = Lord [[Borros Baratheon]]
 +
| casualties2 = Lord [[Roland Darry]]<br>Lord [[Jorah Mallister]]
 
}}
 
}}
The '''Battle of the Kingsroad''' or called '''the Muddy Mess''' was the penultimate battle of the [[Dance of the Dragons]]. It took place between [[the greens]] and [[the blacks]] on the [[Kingsroad]] not far from [[King's Landing]].{{ref|twoiaf}}
+
The '''Battle of the Kingsroad''', called '''the Muddy Mess''' by those who fought in it, was the last battle of the [[Dance of the Dragons]]. It took place between the [[greens]] and the [[blacks]] on the [[kingsroad]] not far from [[King's Landing]].{{ref|twoiaf|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon II}}
  
 
==Prelude==
 
==Prelude==
With news of reinforcements coming south from [[the North]] and [[the Vale]], the remaining Riverlords under the [[House Tully|Tullys]] and [[House Blackwood|Blackwoods]] decided to make a last desperate gamble on march south down the [[Kingsroad]] towards [[King's Landing]]. They made their advance around the fourth moon of the year {{date|131}}.
+
Despite the death of Queen  [[Rhaenyra Targaryen]], there were still those who fought against King [[Aegon II Targaryen|Aegon the Elder]].{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon II}} Lord [[Borros Baratheon]], who had been reluctant to face the dragons in the war personally, had seized [[King's Landing]] during the [[Moon of the Three Kings]], and restored the city to Aegon's rule. He had gathered an army of near six thousand men to [[Storm's End]] earlier in the war.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant}}
  
The Riverlord army was led by young Lord [[Kermit Tully]], the twelve year old [[Benjicot Blackwood]], and Ben's aunt [[Alysanne Blackwood|"Black Aly" Blackwood]]. Together these young but battle-tested lords were known as "the Lads". The Riverlord army of the Lads numbered less than 4,000 by this point, so when [[Borros Baratheon]] learned of their approach he scoffed, since he had a fresh army of Stormlanders in the city who outnumbered the Lads around ten to one. Borros therefore did not wait for a siege by such a small force but charged up the Kingsroad to ride over these few remaining supporters of a dead queen.
+
Lord [[Elmo Tully]] had gathered near six thousand men to [[Riverrun]], including Lord [[Benjicot Blackwood]] and his aunt [[Alysanne Blackwood|Black Aly]], Lady [[Sabitha Frey]], Lord [[Hugo Vance (lord)|Hugo Vance]], Lord [[Jorah Mallister]], Lord [[Roland Darry]], and Lord [[Humfrey Bracken]]. Command passed to his son, [[Kermit Tully]], after Elmo died during the march.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II}}
  
Borros had and called himself cunning for keeping the armies of the Stormlands out of the heavy fighting in the war, "preserving" them and keeping them fresh. He laughed when the [[House Lannister|Lannister]] armies were slaughtered at the [[Battle by the Lakeshore|Fishfeed]], for his own army was unbloodied. He laughed when the armies of the Rivermen were burned by [[Vhagar]] and cut to pieces at [[First Battle of Tumbleton]] - the [[House Hightower|Hightowers]] were the ones who did all of the fighting and dying, and now Borros had the large and fully intact armies of the Stormlands to grind down the few Rivermen who remained.
+
With a host of rivermen marching towards the city, Borros decided to march with his strength against all that remained of Rhaenyra's forces{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon II}}{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Stormlands: House Baratheon}} in the last days of the war.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Riverlands: House Tully}} Borros was joined by levies from [[Duskendale]], [[Hayford]], [[Rosby]], and [[Stokeworth]] - Houses that had originally sworn to Rhaenyra but bent the knee after Aegon II defeated them and took political hostages. Borros was also supplemented with two thousand poorly armed levies scraped up from the alleys of [[Flea Bottom]].{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II}}
 +
 
 +
The Baratheon army was larger and unbloodied, but conversely it was less experienced: Borros had cynically delayed his forces from taking any meaningful action against Rhaenyra's field armies in the entire war up to that point. The army of the rivermen may have been smaller, but it was more battle-hardened, some of them survivors of every major battle in the riverlands since the beginning of the war (particularly, the Blackwoods had fought in the Battle of the Burning Mill, the massive Battle by the Lakeshore, and Second Tumbleton).
  
 
==Battle==
 
==Battle==
What Borros thought was cunning calculation now turned out to be folly. The Stormlanders were indeed fresh and unbloodied, but this was another way of saying that his "green" army was truly green. None of his forces had taken part in the prior battles of the war, so they had gained no vital combat experience. The Rivermen army of the Lads was only a tenth their number, true enough - but they were all extremely battle-hardened veterans. They had fought through almost every major land battle of the Dance: the Fishfeed, the [[Butcher's Ball]], First and [[Second Battle of Tumbleton]]. Borros had dismissed the young lords as merely "Lads", but any who had fought through the Fishfeed and at Tumbleton had gained years' worth of combat experience in a few days of heavy fighting - far more than Borros and the Stormlanders did while they feasted in their halls at home. The combat experience of the remaining black army evened the odds against the vastly larger but inexperienced Stormlander army.
+
The two forces met on the kingsroad two days away from [[King's Landing]], where the road passed between a forest and a hill. The ground was muddy after several days of rain. Unafraid of the "boys and women" leading the rivermen, the confident Lord [[Borros Baratheon]] led the charge at dusk.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II}}
  
But Borros gave no thought to such concerns, and underestimated his opponents, boldly charging forward without heed. When Borros met the Lads in battle on the Kingsroad a stone's throw away from King's Landing, he charged right into a trap, sending his cavalry charging into a section of the road that the rains had turned into muck. The resulting Battle of the Kingsroad would later become popularly known as the "Muddy Mess", as the Stormlander army became mired and fell out of formation, as [[the blacks]] fell into them in a hard fought battle in the rain. [[Benjicot Blackwood|Bloody Ben]] broke the flank of the Stormlanders, while [[Alysanne Blackwood|Black Aly]] led the archers who picked off many of their immobilized knights. Borros was defiant to the last, killing a dozen knights as well as [[House Darry|Lord Darry]] and [[House Mallister|Lord Mallister]]. Finally he faced off against the young Lord [[Kermit Tully]] in single combat. Their duel proved on a personal level what had already played out for their armies: despite Borros's bluster, Kermit's heavy combat experience gave him the edge, and he personally slew Borros, ending the battle. The Stormlander army was shattered, with few survivors.
+
Positioned on the hill, [[Alysanne Blackwood]]'s longbowmen broke Borros's cavalry charge, and the disorganized riders who managed to reach the rivermen's shield wall were slowed by the mud. The Baratheon infantry nearly broke through the shields, but they were then attacked in the flank from the forest by [[Benjicot Blackwood]]. The soldiers from [[Hayford]], [[Rosby]], and [[Stokeworth]] refused to join the fight, and the rabble from [[Flea Bottom]] fled the field. The knights from [[Duskendale]] switched sides outright, by attacking the stormlanders in the rear.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II}}
 +
 
 +
Although he was able to kill numerous men during the battle, including Lords [[Roland Darry]] and [[Jorah Mallister]], Borros had been wounded several times before he faced Lord [[Kermit Tully]]. The [[Lord of Riverrun]] killed the [[Lord of Storm's End]] with his morningstar after Borros refused to surrender.{{Ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II}}
  
 
==Aftermath==
 
==Aftermath==
The victorious black army of the Lads was now a day's march outside of King's Landing, with no significant green forces remaining to stop them. New black armies were also advancing, with Cregan Stark passing south of the Neck, and other armies from the Vale as well. Aegon II had lost the war. [[Corlys Velaryon]], now Master of Ships on Aegon II's small council, advised him that the only remaining option was to surrender and take the black. Aegon II petulantly refused, and gave orders to have his nephew's ear cut off and sent to the Lads as a warning - if his bloodline died, so would Rhaenyra's. He climbed back into his litter to be carried to his chamber from the small council, and was given a cup of wine along the way to ease his pain. When his escort arrived at his private chamber and lifted the litter's curtains, Aegon II was dead, with blood on his lips. No one knows exactly who poisoned Aegon II - some say it was Coryls Velaryon, others that it was Larys Clubfoot, and still others that all of Aegon II's advisors had agreed to poison him, as the most sensible remaining option.
+
The [[Lads]]—[[Kermit Tully]], his brother [[Oscar Tully|Oscar]], and [[Benjicot Blackwood|Bloody Ben Blackwood]]—advanced on [[King's Landing]], as they were only a stone's throw removed from the city. New armies supporting Prince [[Aegon III Targaryen|Aegon the Younger]] were also advancing, as Lord [[Cregan Stark]] was marching down the kingsroad with his own host, leaving the tidings severe for King Aegon II.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon II}} Aegon the Elder had lost the war, which was plain for those advising him, but not to the king himself.
  
==References and Notes==
+
Lord [[Corlys Velaryon]], now serving on King Aegon II's [[small council]], advised him that the only remaining option was to surrender and [[Night's Watch|take the black]]. King Aegon refused, and gave orders to have the ear of his nephew Aegon the Younger cut off as a warning. King Aegon was carried back to his chambers in his litter, but when the litter arrived and the curtains were lifted, the king was found dead, with blood on his lips, having been [[poison]]ed.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon II}} The [[Hour of the Wolf]] followed once Cregan reached the capital.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Targaryen Kings: Aegon III}}
 +
 
 +
==Quotes==
 +
{{quote|'''Kermit''': Yield, ser, the day is ours.<br>'''Borros''': I'd sooner dance in hell than wear your chains.{{ref|FAB|The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II}}|[[Kermit Tully]] and [[Borros Baratheon]]}}
 +
 
 +
==References==
 
{{References}}
 
{{References}}
  
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[[Category:House Baratheon battles|Kingsroad]]
 
[[Category:House Baratheon battles|Kingsroad]]
 
[[Category:House Blackwood battles|Kingsroad]]
 
[[Category:House Blackwood battles|Kingsroad]]
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[[Category:House Bracken battles|Kingsroad]]
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[[Category:House Darklyn battles|Kingsroad]]
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[[Category:House Darry battles|Kingsroad]]
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[[Category:House Frey battles|Kingsroad]]
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[[Category:House Hayford battles|Kingsroad]]
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[[Category:House Mallister battles|Kingsroad]]
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[[Category:House Rosby battles|Kingsroad]]
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[[Category:House Stokeworth battles|Kingsroad]]
 
[[Category:House Tully battles|Kingsroad]]
 
[[Category:House Tully battles|Kingsroad]]
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[[Category:House Vance of Wayfarer's Rest battles|Kingsroad]]
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[[es:Batalla del Camino Real]]
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[[fr:Bataille de la route Royale]]

Latest revision as of 18:36, 14 August 2022

Battle of the Kingsroad
Conflict Dance of the Dragons
Date 131 AC
Place Kingsroad north of King's Landing
Result Black victory
Combatants
Aegon II Targaryen.svg Greens Rhaenyra Targaryen.svg Blacks
Commanders
House Baratheon.svg Lord Borros Baratheon House Tully.svg Lord Kermit Tully
House Blackwood.svg Lord Benjicot Blackwood
House Blackwood.svg Lady Alysanne Blackwood
House Frey.svg Lady Sabitha Frey
House Vance of Wayfarer's Rest.svg Lord Hugo Vance
House Bracken.svg Lord Humfrey Bracken
House Darry.svg Lord Roland Darry
House Mallister.svg Lord Jorah Mallister
Strength
600 stormlander knights
4,000 stormlander men-at-arms
additional forces from crownlands Houses that bent the knee[1]
smaller than the Baratheon host[2]
Casualties
Lord Borros Baratheon Lord Roland Darry
Lord Jorah Mallister

The Battle of the Kingsroad, called the Muddy Mess by those who fought in it, was the last battle of the Dance of the Dragons. It took place between the greens and the blacks on the kingsroad not far from King's Landing.[3]

Prelude

Despite the death of Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, there were still those who fought against King Aegon the Elder.[3] Lord Borros Baratheon, who had been reluctant to face the dragons in the war personally, had seized King's Landing during the Moon of the Three Kings, and restored the city to Aegon's rule. He had gathered an army of near six thousand men to Storm's End earlier in the war.[2]

Lord Elmo Tully had gathered near six thousand men to Riverrun, including Lord Benjicot Blackwood and his aunt Black Aly, Lady Sabitha Frey, Lord Hugo Vance, Lord Jorah Mallister, Lord Roland Darry, and Lord Humfrey Bracken. Command passed to his son, Kermit Tully, after Elmo died during the march.[1]

With a host of rivermen marching towards the city, Borros decided to march with his strength against all that remained of Rhaenyra's forces[3][4] in the last days of the war.[5] Borros was joined by levies from Duskendale, Hayford, Rosby, and Stokeworth - Houses that had originally sworn to Rhaenyra but bent the knee after Aegon II defeated them and took political hostages. Borros was also supplemented with two thousand poorly armed levies scraped up from the alleys of Flea Bottom.[1]

The Baratheon army was larger and unbloodied, but conversely it was less experienced: Borros had cynically delayed his forces from taking any meaningful action against Rhaenyra's field armies in the entire war up to that point. The army of the rivermen may have been smaller, but it was more battle-hardened, some of them survivors of every major battle in the riverlands since the beginning of the war (particularly, the Blackwoods had fought in the Battle of the Burning Mill, the massive Battle by the Lakeshore, and Second Tumbleton).

Battle

The two forces met on the kingsroad two days away from King's Landing, where the road passed between a forest and a hill. The ground was muddy after several days of rain. Unafraid of the "boys and women" leading the rivermen, the confident Lord Borros Baratheon led the charge at dusk.[1]

Positioned on the hill, Alysanne Blackwood's longbowmen broke Borros's cavalry charge, and the disorganized riders who managed to reach the rivermen's shield wall were slowed by the mud. The Baratheon infantry nearly broke through the shields, but they were then attacked in the flank from the forest by Benjicot Blackwood. The soldiers from Hayford, Rosby, and Stokeworth refused to join the fight, and the rabble from Flea Bottom fled the field. The knights from Duskendale switched sides outright, by attacking the stormlanders in the rear.[1]

Although he was able to kill numerous men during the battle, including Lords Roland Darry and Jorah Mallister, Borros had been wounded several times before he faced Lord Kermit Tully. The Lord of Riverrun killed the Lord of Storm's End with his morningstar after Borros refused to surrender.[1]

Aftermath

The LadsKermit Tully, his brother Oscar, and Bloody Ben Blackwood—advanced on King's Landing, as they were only a stone's throw removed from the city. New armies supporting Prince Aegon the Younger were also advancing, as Lord Cregan Stark was marching down the kingsroad with his own host, leaving the tidings severe for King Aegon II.[3] Aegon the Elder had lost the war, which was plain for those advising him, but not to the king himself.

Lord Corlys Velaryon, now serving on King Aegon II's small council, advised him that the only remaining option was to surrender and take the black. King Aegon refused, and gave orders to have the ear of his nephew Aegon the Younger cut off as a warning. King Aegon was carried back to his chambers in his litter, but when the litter arrived and the curtains were lifted, the king was found dead, with blood on his lips, having been poisoned.[3] The Hour of the Wolf followed once Cregan reached the capital.[6]

Quotes

Kermit: Yield, ser, the day is ours.
Borros: I'd sooner dance in hell than wear your chains.[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - Rhaenyra Triumphant.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aegon II.
  4. The World of Ice & Fire, The Stormlands: House Baratheon.
  5. The World of Ice & Fire, The Riverlands: House Tully.
  6. The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aegon III.