Why did The Unsullied travel by sea?

Why did The Unsullied travel by sea? - White Boat on Sea

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Looking at the above map, The Unsullied took the red route which seems much longer than the green route. I read that it was too long (?) to go by land. But at the same time, Jaime attacked Highgarden by land (with foot soldiers) in a route that is almost as long.

As for Casterly Rock's breach, it only needed one ship (as we see in the episode) to open their gates.



Best Answer

Travelling by sea has advantages. Its significantly faster than walking and your army arrives more rested and able to fight than one that has walked. I'm not saying that this journey would be faster than walking, given the distance is much longer, but it might not be as much different as the map would indicate.

It's also the case that King's Landing is the capital city of the Seven Kingdoms. There is a fairly direct route between it and Highgarden. Dragonstone is on an island and has indirect routes to Casterly Rock - particularly if you are avoiding going via King's Landing.

Daenerys is also the 'foreign invader', and may not want to stoke more resentment than necessary or invite any ambushes by marching an army via Harrenhal and Riverrun.




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Why did The Unsullied travel by sea? - A Woman on a Beach at Sunset
Why did The Unsullied travel by sea? - Person Jumping on Seashore during Golden Hour
Why did The Unsullied travel by sea? - Boys Playing on Seashore





The UNSULLIED Explained (GAME of THRONES)




More answers regarding why did The Unsullied travel by sea?

Answer 2

  1. Traveling through friendly lands is considerably faster than travelling through hostile lands. When traveling through friendly lands you can travel light, rest at a friendly keep, and pick up provisions at your destination. When traveling through hostile lands you have to carry your provisions with you, build a fortified camp every night, need to scout, and always maintain battle readiness.

  2. Ships travel much faster than armies walk. Not only are ships 2-4 times faster than a land army while moving, they can also move up to 24 hours a day, if conditions allow (e.g. full moon for good visibility).

  3. Traveling by foot doesn't go in a straight line. There are natural and man made obstacles that take time to move through or around. For example, the straight line in the picture in the question moves through a rather large lake, and crosses a river. It also avoids any large roads - roads are necessary to move at full speed.

Answer 3

They had to attack without being seen. They're immigrants and part of the Lannister persuasion to get the remaining lords of Westoros to join her fight was to show them that immigrants would be coming to pillage their lands. Tyrion knows this, and he knows that marching them thru the land increases the chances of being seen. Tyrion wants to discredit Cersie's claim of immigrant warriors, so he has them sail the seas, but it cost them dearly.

Answer 4

At the end of the episode Jaime pointed out that without their ships they will have to march back to Dragonstone and can be picked off along the way. I'd say they took ships as a safer mode of travel.

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