#asoiaf isnt actually logistically sound

[ae3qe27u]

You know what I love in worldbuilding? Logistics. I'm going to talk about them a bit and ask a lot of "get the brain thinking" questions.

Most of these things don't have to be explained or laid out in stories, but they're useful to think about. Mention them in passing! Know that these considerations exist.

I started thinking about this recently after reading a webtoon called The Falcon Princess. In it, we see a military campaign be affected by logistics and supply chains. The Rohaneim army is at risk of running low on food, and a major accomplishment is retaking a section of river to establish a supply corridor with another section of the kingdom.

By establishing the supply corridor, the Rohaneim army has fresh meat, better food, better morale, more information about the rest of the kingdom, and is in a better position to strike back at the enemy forces. They are no longer on the run - they now have the morale and supplies to advance further and drive the enemy further back.

It's incredibly well done (the logistics are explained but not drawn-out, and even through the translation, I found it clear to understand) and highlights something missing from most fantasy fiction: logistics. An army marches on its stomach, and people eat a lot of food. Horses need food. Large armies can't storm across the land without having a strong and consistent supply of medicine, maintenance, and meals. Local villages can be pillaged, yes, but doing so is not sustainable. It also vastly increases the risk of having no food come winter; if your army eats the grain stores and harvests of the locals, those same people will go hungry and die in the winter. That isn't sustainable.

Knowledge of the local terrain and weather patterns is also incredibly important. In one part of The Falcon Princess, a predictable annual storm catches the opposing forces off-guard, flooding their camp and weakening their position. Think of how the Russian tanks aren't able to handle the muddy ground of northern Ukraine, or how Hadrian's elephants weren't suited to traversing the Roman mountains. In parts of West Africa, salt used to be worth its weight in gold. In dry areas without fresh food, salt is essential to keep the body's electrolytes balanced.

If I want to invade a desert and don't bring enough salt, I've just dug my own grave. If I'm invading a river valley and don't know when the floods will come, I'm already setting my troops up to drown. If I want to invade a forest and try to bring in a phalanx, you may as well chop our heads off.

Knowing and predicting the terrain and its behavior is incredibly important in knowing how to prepare and direct your troops. Should we pack mosquito nets? Do we need to dig trenches to direct rainwater away from the site? Is this location going to flood? Will our horses have access to clean drinking water, or will they have to bring their own? How will we resupply? Does a nearby mountain pass close with snow during parts of the year, and if so, what alternative route will we use?

Even beyond war, logistics are important to how to construct our worlds, fantasy and non-fantasy alike. What foods are native to this region and how does that affect what they eat? What fabrics do people wear to combat the weather? What sort of home works for their climate, and how do they get the materials for those? Are there rare trade goods that are highly prized, but that are cheap somewhere else?

From traveling judges to mail-order catalogs to wars that ended before the last battle, there are all sorts of details that get glossed over in fantasy worldbuilding. I think they're worth mentioning and examining.

https://mythicscribes.com/writing-techniques/warfare-logistics/