If Mance Rayder had to attack Castle Black to use the tunnel to get through the Wall and get out of the north, how did Stannis get his army across the Wall into the north without anyone knowing? If there was another way over the Wall wouldn't the wildings go that way too?
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Same question on Movies&TV – magnattic Apr 14 '15 at 16:49
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He didn't go over the wall. He sailed. Stannis has a fleet of ships. He boarded them all and disembarked North of the wall with his army. Shown with red is the shortest route Stannis could have taken. (n.b. the image gets the point across, but is missing the stop Stannis made in Braavos, just off this map to the East of the Vale of Arryn)
His Hand is a former pirate and a very good friend with Salladhor Saan who gives more ships to Stannis in exchange for riches. Stannis also gets lot of money from the Iron Bank and with that money is able to buy more ships to replace the ones he lost prior to going North of the wall.
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Hold on... if Stannis could do that, why don't the wildlings just sail south of the wall?? – Daft Apr 14 '15 at 11:38
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2Some do. That's how Osha got into Winterfell, for example. But they don't have the ships to do it en-masse, and are less likely to sneak an army past than a few at a time. Plus, Mance is as interested in making a point as he is actually getting past The Wall. – KutuluMike Apr 14 '15 at 11:45
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2Because they'd need to build ships, and they'd be probably noticed in this long process. + do they know sailing? + do they know building boats? + are they organized enough to manage such a big team project (that's the point: wildlings do not knee, but it also means they're less organized, as shown by the very structured attack of Stannis, led by a master of leadership). – Evariste Apr 14 '15 at 11:45
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2@Daft because they didn't have the proper tools to build so many ships that could also transport giants an animals. They would first have to build a shipyard and docks. They probably even lacked the knowledge and proficiency to build a ship to sail the rough sea in the north. – Thomas Apr 14 '15 at 12:04
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@DAft as others have allready said... wildlings dont even know how to write, so having the knowhow to build the infrastructure and support system necesary to build the abount of ships they would need... it would take years and years. They dont have that time. The Winter is coming. Wildings do try swimming around the wall, they also try getting across. Some suceed, some dont. – Cherubel Apr 14 '15 at 12:21
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@Cherubel The wildlings probably can't write, but many of Mances men, him hincluded were crows before. So there are probably a handfull who can read and write. Maybe one was even a former sailor, but that wouldn't be enough to build ships. – Thomas Apr 14 '15 at 12:30
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2Don't forget that Stannis did stop at Eastwatch by the sea and got the help of the Night's Watch there for his attack. He used them to scout and to find the ranger's trails that allowed his army to "sneak up" on the wildling camp. – Telestia Apr 14 '15 at 13:18
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@Thomas Beeing a brother of the Night Watch doesnt mean you can read and write. Many, many members are peasants and convicted criminals. Only a very few are nobles, and even among the nobles knowing how to write is mostly taught to firstborn as they have to be able to rule. Rest are illiterate. You do have a point that some amongst the wilding army could have knowladge how to sail. That doesnt mean that they know how to build ships. I have a drivers licence, I however dont have a clue of how or why a car works or where I should start if I was to try making/fixing one. ,-) – Cherubel Apr 14 '15 at 13:45
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6Small nitpick. His hand, Lord Davos, is a former smuggler not a pirate, – System Down Apr 14 '15 at 16:52
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Also, he stopped by Braavos first, which is more northerly. He didn't sail all the way from Drsgonstone to the North right away – Azor Ahai -him- Jun 08 '16 at 06:21
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@Evariste As well as lacking skills, the wildlings are lacking materials to build ships. It doesn't just need wood. They seem to have some metal, but where will they get pitch, or ropes, or canvas? – Mike Scott Sep 01 '17 at 07:02
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@SystemDown An even smaller nitpick to your small nitpick: It's common for those who associate with pirates to be considered pirates themselves. But you are right :) – Flater Sep 01 '17 at 09:58
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So... he crossed the narrow sea. Went the bank. Came back with a ton of money. Raised a huge army/cavalry from Dragonstone somehow. Put them them all on a bunch of ships. Sailed them up to the North beyond the wall (I guess Melisandre told him to). Landed on the east coast (where there's no port). Then somehow painstakingly rowed hundreds of horses to shore. Then rode 150 miles to be north of Castle Black. Hmm. – Django Reinhardt Jun 27 '19 at 23:07
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@DjangoReinhardt here is a shocker for you.
Horses can swim! I know... wierd right!!!
But as answered by Sconibulus Stannis landed at Eastwatch-by-the-sea
– Cherubel Jul 22 '19 at 06:32 -
@Cherubel I can't tell if you're joking or not. Horses can't swim hundreds of miles, so I'll assume you're joking. – Django Reinhardt Jul 22 '19 at 16:56
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Stannis landed his ships at Eastwatch-by-the-sea, and took a significant portion of the garrison north of the wall from there to hit Mance's army in the flank.
The reason that Mance didn't go to Eastwatch is the logistical difficulty of moving that many men an extra couple hundred miles. They felt they could go through the wall, with fewer casualties than another few days of White Walker raids, and so they tried to.
After the peace agreement, the Mammoths and Giants are sent to go around the wall at Eastwatch because they can't go through the wall at Castle Black easily.
Sconibulus
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Giants can, we saw one inside the tunnels in the show. I also vaguely remember the onearmed smith fighting to the death with a giant in the books. Sadly the smith didnt make it to the tv show. – Cherubel Apr 21 '15 at 08:53