In addition, a dragon is incredibly difficult to lock down and slay. A dragon is a highly mobile combination of field artillery, shock troop, combat engineer, and siege engine. A sharp-eyed dragonrider can execute reconnaissance missions in almost complete safety far beyond the speed of a classical outrider, and castle walls offer no protection against an enemy that can fly. Their wings, too, offer significant military advantages. Few things can disrupt formations and spook horses better than a well-placed fire, and dragons have the ability to start fires almost instantaneously at any point on the field they desire during a battle, saving a commander the tricky logistics of organizing fire attacks. Dragons can burn crops to starve an enemy, set fire to camps, cut off paths of retreat or advance to corral enemies on the field, or simply burn men alive where they stand. A dragon’s breath offers significant tactical advantages and possesses a great deal of flexibility in its application. The military advantages of dragons cannot be overstated. Aegon had a force multiplier that none other could match: three powerful, trained dragons, and his tactics mandated the use of these fire-breathing creatures early and often. In military science, these myriad features are called ‘force multipliers,’ named for their ability for a force to act and achieve objectives that a much larger force would be required to do so without the aforementioned advantage. Morale, geographic features, deception, and countless other factors can affect the outcome of a battle. However, raw numbers are far from the only metric used to measure armies. Any one of the kings of the Seven Kingdoms could field an army at least five times its size, and even lesser lords could boast armies of equal number. Conquering a massive continent is a difficult military exercise even with superior numbers and technology, but Aegon’s initial host numbered three thousand at its highest estimates. A military doctrine is a guide to standardizing military action, and forms the basis for how an armed force conducts itself. To understand Aegon’s conquest, it’s necessary to understand his overall strategic outline, which for this piece is dubbed the Aegon Doctrine. “Though he dealt harshly with rebels and traitors, he was open-handed with former foes who bent the knee.” – The World of Ice and Fire, The Conquest The Aegon Doctrine – Air Superiority And Title Confirmation The Hoare kings could boast that they controlled the largest swath of territory in Westeros, but a new invader was rising in the east, and would conquer almost the entire kingdom, in fire and blood. The Hoare kings of the Iron Islands would do the same three centuries after the Stormlander conquest, invading the territory with the help of Riverlander infighting, defeating the overeager Arrec Durrandon (who marched ahead of his baggage train, a disaster that spelled doom for many generals both in A Song of Ice and Fire’s world and our own), and placing himself as King of the Riverlands, subjecting the Riverlanders to thralldom for three generations. Arlan III Durrandon, the Storm King of that time, extended his reach to the Riverlands, though every generation a Riverlander would attempt to overthrow him. Holding such territory under a single authority would be almost impossible without a way to project the authority needed, though this did not stop kings from trying. There are three major ethnic groups, three dominant religions, at least eight distinct regions each with their own cultures and subcultures littering a continent roughly the size of South America. In a continent marked with wars from Dorne to the Wall, the notion that one man could control all of Westeros was nothing short of a fantasy. Few men changed Westerosi history as much as the dragonlord with the dramatic vision: one continent, one realm, one king. One realm, for one king to rule alone.” – A Storm of Swords, Davos IVĪegon Targaryen. Rivers and bays they painted, hills and mountains, castles and cities and market towns, lakes and swamps and forests… but no borders. “ Aegon saw that three hundred years ago when he stood where we are standing.
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