When the King beyond the wall attacked the wall why did he only send around a 1000 men if he had a 100,000?
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1To test the defences, no point wasting your whole force if there are 50k men guarding the wall.– DickieBoyApr 20, 2016 at 10:16
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1Where is it stated that he took only 1000?– MöozApr 26, 2016 at 8:55
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Relevant: Why did Stannis Baratheon emerge victorious against the Wildlings– AegonOct 13, 2016 at 19:07
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2 Answers
The King beyond the wall had a large number of followers, but they were wildlings, not soldiers. Sending a horde of badly armed unarmoured "civilian" wildlings at a well defended gate would have blocked it with dead in no time.
A much better strategy is to pick your best fighters (and giants) and let them open the gate and clear the defenders. Then bring through the masses.
Remember, Mance was likely expecting the raid on Castle Black from south of the wall to be successful. The giants / mammoths were likely a distraction, or backup plan at worse.
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Probably true, but could you add some information from the show to support this? Perhaps from transcripts, or just description?– AdamantOct 13, 2016 at 19:04