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There were supposedly 100,000 or more in Mance's army. After season 7, it seems like there are a lot less than that left...

What happened to everyone (they couldn't all have died at Hardhome and the Battle of the Bastards), and about how many are left?

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    Not all of them would have gone to Hardhome, not all at Hardhome were saved, not all would have gone to the BoB, a lot were killed at BoB. I believe some just went out into the "north" and left Jon alone. Also we're never shown many at once so who's to say there aren't still loads left?
    – TheLethalCarrot
    Commented Sep 5, 2017 at 15:25
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    If I recall correctly, that 100k was before they reached The Wall. That means that they died to: the Night's Watch, Stannis' army when he came to save the Night's Watch, the wights at Hardhome, and Ramsay's army at the Battle of the Bastards. I also think that many of them settled in "The Gift" (the area south of the Wall). Commented Sep 5, 2017 at 15:41

2 Answers 2

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There have been quite a few incidents since Mance assembled his army...

  • The attack on the wall - This was broken by Stannis Baratheon. Many Wildlings were killed. Mance's capture led to the general disbanding of his army.
  • Hardhome - A large portion of the wildlings that remained north of the wall were killed and assimilated into the army of the dead.
  • Battle of the Bastards, again a large number of wildings are killed in the fighting.

However, I think you are forgetting one thing...the Wildlings call themselves, "The Free Folk". They have a choice. They follow Tormund by choice. They do not have to go man the wall. Jon granted them safe passage south of the wall and allowed them to settle in The Gift. Those that eventually fought in the Battle of the Bastards and those who went back north to man the castles on the wall are doing so by choice.

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  • Have you got a quote for Jon saying they could settle in the Gift. I know not all the wildlings followed Jon after him letting them through but I can't remember him stating where they could settle.
    – TheLethalCarrot
    Commented Sep 5, 2017 at 15:48
  • 5
    Doesn't matter found it: Look, well, there is good farmland in the Gift. Land that no one uses now. A dozen abandoned villages. S05 E05.
    – TheLethalCarrot
    Commented Sep 5, 2017 at 15:52
  • Also worth noting that a couple died north of the Wall in the capture the wight party. And again in the finale when Eastwatch is destroyed.
    – TheLethalCarrot
    Commented Sep 5, 2017 at 16:03
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TL;DR: We don't know but less than the full 100,000 are left.

Some wildlings were killed when the Nights Watch ranged north of the wall and some were killed when the wildlings attacked Castle Black.

Not all of the wildlings came to Hardhome in the first place.

That's it, come on.
How many are with us?
I'm not good at counting.
We're leaving too many behind.
The free folk are stubborn.
You know how long it took Mance to band them together? And he knew them better than I ever will.
They're running out of food and there's nothing to hunt.
They'll come around.
Game of Thrones, S05 E08, "Hardhome"

It's reasonable to assume more came but not all of them. Out of those that came not all made it either, as we get the iconic Night King raising the dead scene.

When the wildlings are let through the gates they then go straight through the gates and free into the north:

It's safe to assume that at least some of these never returned to help Jon in his next battles. As Jon himself states that the wildlings can occupy the Gift:

Look, well, there is good farmland in the Gift. Land that no one uses now. A dozen abandoned villages.
Game of Thrones, S05 E05, "Kill the Boy"

At the Battle of the Bastards a lot of wildlings are again killed. As you can see from this picture of the Vale saving the day.

The Vale save the day

Also in the full scene you see body piles forming, obviously not all are wildlings but a lot of them are.

We also know that not all of the wildlings are shown on screen at any one time so it's hard to guess at those left. As far as I know we are also never given numbers.

A handful also died in Season 7 Episode 6, "Beyond the Wall", when the merry men set off to capture a wight.

We know there are still some wildlings left as they are stationed at Eastwatch in Season 7. Though in the finale some died here as well.

So in conclusion we don't know but less than the full amount of Mance's army.

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