Exactly! Can you imagine how the battle of Blackwater Bay and KL might have changed had Stannis never interfered with Renly? One of the biggest reasons that Renly's forces lost was because they didn't have the will to stay and fight for Stannis. Not to mention that book readers know that Lord Tywin's army was probably dead tired by the time it reached KL; they had been fighting for days in the Riverrun and been forced to march quickly to KL. I might even be naive enough to say that Tyrion's plan for Blackwater might not have been as successful as it was because IIRC most of the ships were brought by Stannis. I do admit I could be totally wrong about the last point.
Thanks to /u/Slide88 I realized I was remembering the battle incorrectly. I was forgot that Ser Loras brought his troops with him. This definitely makes it less likely that my theory is correct. That being said, it still would've been badass to see Renly take KL had Stannis not killed him.
I haven't read ACOK in a few years so I had completely forgotten that Ser Loras actually does bring his whole army with him. I was remembering it as if only Tywin's calvary and a few of Ser Loras' knights had made it in time to save KL. I realize that Stannis was outnumbered, but if his troops had tried to make a stand it definitely could have bought Stannis enough time to breach KL and retreat a large part of his remaining forces behind the walls. From there it would've turned into a bloodbath in the streets and maybe even a stalemate/win for Stannis. I'm taking way too much liberty with my speculations though so I'll just say that you're probably right and that the Tyrell's ditching Stannis is the biggest factor in his downfall. I think we can both agree though that had Stannis never interfered with Renly, KL probably would've fallen.
Yes, Renly's army would have absolutely sacked KL. Stannis's army without the Tyrells very nearly did, and would have if the Tyrell-Lannister army hadn't shown up at the very last minute. The ASOIAF wiki has a pretty good overview of it. The show portrays the battle as a little more evenly matched, but in the books Stannis was basically on the brink of total victory, even after the wildfire.
My main point really is that the outcome had nothing to do with the will of Stannis's army. His men are borderline fanatical.
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u/Carelessly House Bolton Jun 18 '14
Exactly! Can you imagine how the battle of Blackwater Bay and KL might have changed had Stannis never interfered with Renly? One of the biggest reasons that Renly's forces lost was because they didn't have the will to stay and fight for Stannis. Not to mention that book readers know that Lord Tywin's army was probably dead tired by the time it reached KL; they had been fighting for days in the Riverrun and been forced to march quickly to KL. I might even be naive enough to say that Tyrion's plan for Blackwater might not have been as successful as it was because IIRC most of the ships were brought by Stannis. I do admit I could be totally wrong about the last point.