The Battle of Winterfell: 4 Ways Jon Snow and Daenerys Could Have Won

Kyle Mizokami

Game of Thrones,

One of the world's best defense writers has some ideas. 

Note: spoilers follow.

Last night’s episode of Game of Thrones was the battle fans of the show have been waiting eight seasons for. The entire episode consisted of a single battle, the Battle of Winterfell, between the human inhabitants of Westeros and the invading Army of the Dead. Overwhelmed and exhausted, the humans were driven to the brink of annihilation before the army of the dead was stopped—permanently—in its tracks.

But what if the alliance of humans, including Dothraki horse cavalry, Unsullied spearmen and medieval, sword-wielding Northmen had done things a different way? Could they have won a military victory against the Night King and his wights without the sudden, unexpected turn at the end of the battle? Here are four things the humans could have done to win the battle—and the war in the first half hour.

1. Defend somewhere else.

Winterfell was not a great place to make a stand. The endless cold would have sapped the strength of human defenders--particularly the lightly clothed Unsullied. The humans’ two remaining dragons disliked the cold and this could have impacted their performance in battle. Visibility, even before the Night King created his artificial blizzard, was already poor.

There was also another problem: the fortress of Winterfell did not really contribute in any meaningful way to the battle. It provided neither a base of fire—direct or indirect—to contribute to the battle nor did it complement advantages conferred by local terrain. It appeared to have been largely defended for sentimental reasons.

Instead of defending at a castle, the humans could have instead chosen a valley, river crossing, or other terrain feature. A valley would narrow the defender’s frontage and secure his flanks, preventing the Army of the Dead from overwhelming him on a broad front. A valley that can only accommodate 200 defenders shoulder to shoulder could only accommodate 200 attackers shoulder to shoulder, partially nullifying the attacker’s superiority in numbers.