The roman ability to replenish their losses was the main reason they won against Hannibal, probably a greater general than any of Rome or Rome's enemy. But Hannibal had only one army, against the 3 complete armies that Rome mustered. Once Roeme lost it's entire army, and got sacked. 5 years later they got up it and crushed their enemy. Fighting as one cohesive unit with discipline and tacticcs focusing on holding and slowly advancing was a great factor in battlefield, but a charging heavy cavalry of the middle ages would crush them.

To Fausterion, it's obvious it would take a lot of money and time to create a semi profissional division, but Harry is definitely the one that can do it. Being the Heir to the richest family in Westeros. And it's already mentioned that Lannisport troops are very well trained, so it wouldn't be a strecht to create a semi-professional army there. Hiring Unsullied to study and use their style would be a smart ideia.

 

What a basic training course for willing civilian men? It would help in forming a militia for dire times. "Want to protect your families? Want to protect Casterly Rock/Lannisport? See the Commander of the City Watch for details on basic Militia training for commoners seeking to guard our glorious city. Compliments of Prince Harry Baratheon, the First of His Name, Heir to Casterly Rock."

 

I don't think a lack of tactical or strategic expertise is what's holding back westeros, it's the fact that every little lord is liable to overrule superiors orders for whatever benefit. For example take the Karstarks, the men under him fought for Robb because their leader said so. Robb never had control over these men. The same with the Boltons. This is evident throughout the history of Westeros. It would as if generals in the modern armies had to negotiate with every colonel for his men.

 

Well, that's how feudal armies work. The leader doesn't pay for the armies of his vassals, and thus his vassals always have the option of telling him to go fuck himself. That's why mercenaries were so popular during this period. They offered kings and nobles professional armies for less cost than maintaining their own.

 

And as a bonus they wouldn't annoy the nobles by overruling their power and recruiting their men forcibly.

 

He doesn't need much, maybe a small standing army of archers since they take years to train.

Would put him in a good position, don't know how the other houses would react to him building anything war related tho.

They might think he's trying to gain the throne from his brother.

 

GRRM says this is what the Iron Throne actually looks like:



Pretty badass.

 

I really don't like the idea of Harry having that big of a military, social and structural change due to his keen knowledge on whatever subject you guys have read up on. I kinda doubt that Harry studied ancient Roman society or medieval military tactics and how to introduce standing armies and organized governments into medieval societies, even if he lived to be 200.

Yes, Harry is special, firstly because he is a wizard and secondly, and more importantly, because he is an exceptional individual due to his moral compass, ethics and willingness to protect people. He also is one of the few who doesn't like the situation being as it is and, thanks to his magicial abilities, will do some amazing things.

Am certain that Harry will introduce changes into the Westeros society once he has the power to do so, but a) I don't believe he will copy something from our history due to his spotty knowledge and b) this is still Westeros so, it will backfire and kill someone we like anyway.

That said, if someone here were to write a story where Iskander from Fate Zero was reborn into this world and he was about to conquer Westeros with his understanding of military tactics and whatnot, or Caesar, Hannibal, Attila, Genghis Khan or Yavuz Sultan Selim or whoever, would read the shit out of that.

 

Heh, Fate's Iskander in Westeros. Oh the many friends he will make.

 

Harry doesn't need specific know-how to make a meaningful change; general knowledge will do just fine. That being said, the fic will probably span only a handful of years which makes sweeping changes almost impossible.

Lannisters have plenty of mines, yes? Introducing steam engine powered water pumps would do wonders for their production. Low-pressure steam engines are very simple to build and their level of metallurgy more than suffices. If Harry manages to convince Tywin, they could have pumps operational within a year.

 

I like Game of Thrones because it's in the medieval era, introducing all this technology while logical, wouldn't make me like the story more tbh.

 

@steam engine:

I suggest simple experiment: find paper, pencil and try to design steam engine. I tried and I was unable to recreate something that would certainly work. And note that Harry was for almost his entire life isolated from non-magical world.

It is not so easy.

 

Good point. There are a lot of secondary inventions that had to be developed before anything as complex as a steam engine could come about.

 

The same guy that painted that has several great ilustrations for ASoIaF. Those are not necessarily done to picture how ASoIaF does looks like. Instead those are often painted as it should look.

Love this one.
http://marcsimonetti.devianta******/art/Tyrion-in-King-s-landing-136633397

Previous version of throne.
http://marcsimonetti.devianta******/art/The-Iron-Throne-GRR-Martin-326909846

Those are also great.
http://marcsimonetti.devianta******/art/Looking-for-Stark-children-137205689
http://marcsimonetti.devianta******/art/A-new-face-from-a-SOIAF-2013-calendar-310988196
http://marcsimonetti.devianta******/art/Greyjoy-s-castle-ASOIAF-143061616
http://marcsimonetti.devianta******/art/Stronghold-on-the-wall-140249085

 

Wrong thread bro.

 

Yeah, wheel and iron. They have both already. Certainly, creating a proper high-pressure steam engine would be impossible, but low-pressure steam engines are far easier to build.

Of course, there's always the Savery pump which has no moving parts except for the valves. It merely sucks and I doubt Harry has ever even heard of it.

Anyway, the steam engine is not the most important invention Harry could introduce. I merely mentioned it because it would be a quick way of getting huge amounts of money without stepping on anyone's toes.

Atomic theory would revolutionize chemistry, and classical mechanics will do the same for physics. Introducing germ theory and telling people to wash their hands and boil drinking water will save countless lives.

Harry could conceivably kick-start the age of enlightenment.

 

So how is the next part going right now?

 

With the talk of Tarbeck Hall and Castamere being in ruins or rebuilt and granted to another lord makes me think that Harry might grant one to Tyrion.
It doesn't make sense to let the land lay fallow.

 

I'm sure all those things would positively effect the people of Westeros. But they are really small things in a big world. What would undoubtedly make a huge difference would be a university, in the Western tradition. One that admits on the basis of merit. Where both learning and inquiry go hand in hand.

Oldtown isn't really a university, I'm sure things get researched there but it's a closed admissions system.

Universal primary education would make a big difference as well.


Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; teach him how to fish, he feeds himself everyday.

 

frankly, I'd start with something as simple as merely hiring maesters to teach everyone how to read. That alone would revolutionize the westerlands. Building paved roads and bringing running water would also be a big deal.