Armament

The inhabitants of Westeros and Essos have been using weapons made of iron and steel for at least the past six thousand years.

Weapons
When the First Men migrated to Westeros twelve thousand years ago, they introduced weapons made of bronze (copper/tin alloy) to the continent. The copper mines of Slaver's Bay were used to produce bronze weapons for the legions of the ancient Ghiscari Empire in Essos. The superior iron weapons of the Andals were a decisive factor in the success of the Andal invasion of Westeros six thousand years ago, sweeping aside the First Men who were equipped with weapons and armor made of weaker bronze. The old Valyrian Freehold used iron weapons during its conquest of the Ghiscari Empire five thousand years ago. Thus the "Iron Age" of the known world began at least six thousand years ago. In time, the First Men in the North of Westeros who had managed to repulse the Andals from their lands adopted many of their customs, such as their language, writing system, and knowledge of forging iron weapons.

In the present day, bronze weapons and armor are a relic, not seen on the battlefield, though some of the more sophisticated wildlings living Beyond the Wall in Westeros forge their own bronze weapons, much as their First Men ancestors did. While the wildlings lack the ability to forge iron weapons on their own, they frequently trade with smugglers for iron weapons (in exchange for furs, etc.), so iron weapons can be encountered in the possession of the Free Folk.

Other materials used for making more exotic weapons include:


 * Valyrian steel - an extremely high-quality steel forged in the old Valyrian Freehold, rumored to be forged with the aid of magical spells. After the fall of Valyria, knowledge of how to forge new Valyrian steel was lost. Current Valyrian steel weapons are priceless, and new Valyrian steel weapons can only be made by melting down preexisting ones. Even the knowledge of how to reforge preexisting Valyrian steel is extremely limited: the famously skilled blacksmiths of Qohor are capable of reforging Valyrian steel, albeit with extreme difficulty.
 * Dragonglass - a sharp black volcanic rock, also known as "obsidian". Far too brittle to make swords with, but incredibly sharp, the Children of the Forest once wielded dragonglass daggers and bows with quite effective arrowheads made out of dragonglass. Their most prominent trait is that White Walkers can be killed using dragonglass blades.

Swords
The most common form of swords are ‘'longswords’’, blades meant to be wield with one hand while the other hand holds a shield. Longswords are often what is meant when referring simply to “swords”. ‘'Greatswords’’ (also known as broadswords) are much larger than longswords, so large that they can only be wielded using both hands, preventing usage of a shield. ‘'Bastard swords’’ (also known as a "Hand-and-a-half sword") are of an intermediate size, larger than longswords but short enough that they can still be wielded with one hand, though it is preferable to use two hands (they are called “bastard” swords because they don’t quite fit into the other categories of longsword or greatsword).

Greatswords: Bastard swords: Longswords:
 * Ice
 * Longclaw
 * Lion's Tooth
 * Hearteater
 * ​Widow's Wail
 * ​Oathkeeper

There are also various kinds of bladed weapons which are smaller than a longsword, such as shortswords and the even smaller daggers. There is no specific definition for when a large dagger becomes a small sword; in general, a dagger is a sidearm and not intended as a primary weapon.

Other bladed weapons
Other kinds of bladed weapon, differing from classic Westerosi knights' swords include:


 * Braavosi rapier - Arya Stark's custom-forged sword Needle was made in the style of a Braavosi rapier, a popular weapon design from the Free Cities. The blade is thin and light, meant for quick thrusting attacks.
 * Arakh - the curved half-sword, half-scythe of the Dothraki mounted hordes.
 * White Walker ice blade - the enigmatic White Walkers appear to wield swords and spears made of ice.

Various kinds of warhammers and axes may also be encountered on the battlefield. Robert Baratheon favored wielding a warhammer, and during the Battle of the Trident killed Prince Rhaegar Targaryen with a mighty swing from his hammer which crushed in Rhaegar’s chest. Axes appear to be the preferred weapon of ironborn raiders.

Ranged weapons: bows and crossbows
Various bows and crossbows are employed in various armies.

Siege weapons
Catapults are commonly used by many armies in Westeros.

The ironborn often cannot fit siege weapons onto their ships, so they often simply avoid attacking more strongly defended castles.

Armor
Soldiers have their own recognizable armor which is used to signify their forces. Northern armies often wear chainmail and leather suits of armor with some steel or iron work, as compared with the expensive plate armor of the well-equipped Southern troops. The culturally distinct ironborn, known for their lack of fear of drowning, tend to wear heavier armor than sailors from the mainland.

Armies in the Seven Kingdoms
The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros not possess a large standing military force, as do some of the Free Cities. Instead, each lord permanently maintains only a relatively small retinue of well-trained and well-equipped personal knights and warriors. In wartime they function on the principle of feudal levies, with each lord raising his own armies from the commoners who live on his lands. Sometimes they can provide these levies with reasonably standardized and good quality armor and weapons - though sometimes, they are little more than peasants wielding sharpened farming tools, clubs and staves, or a board with a nail in it. These are usually supported by archers, or even crossbowmen.

In wartime, mounted knights form the backbone of major armies in most of Westeros. A single knight is an elite professional soldier, with extensive combat training, and equipped with the finest weapons and heavy armor. A single knight, even dismounted, is worth a dozen poorly armed and untrained common footsoldiers conscripted as feudal levies. Knights are very useful for carving through and running down enemy infantry, though they are also the best weapon against the enemy army's own mounted knights.

Each lord raises a military force from his vassals on behalf of his or her own superior lord. These "bannermen" march under the war banners of their overlord, combining their strength with his own. For example, House Stark draws soldiers from the lands immediately around Winterfell, but then adds to these knights and footsoldiers from the lands of House Umber, who in turn have their own minor bannermen. This hierarchy extends up to the king on the Iron Throne. The regions of Westeros vary considerably in population and wealth, dramatically affecting the number and quality of the soldiers that can be raised.

The king on the Iron Throne does appoint four "Wardens" who are meant to command and coordinate regional armies when in times of crisis, when bannermen and levies are called up. The regional lords in that quarter of the realm are expected to put their armies at the overall command of the Warden in their quarter of the realm. The Warden of the North guards against wildling attacks from beyond the Wall, the Warden of the East guards against attack from across the Narrow Sea, and so on.

Some regions, most notably the Iron Islands and Dorne, also specialize in different forms of fighting and combat than the norm, which stems from the Andals' chivalric and knightly tradition. The North basically fights using the same style and tactics as southern Westeros, but because the Faith of the Seven is little practiced there they do not have knights. They do have Northern heavy cavalry, who function just as knights do on the battlefield, and they are considered knights in all but name.

The Iron Islands, being an archipelago, have warfare heavily based on naval forces, making no significant use of cavalry in combat. Their fighting style is based on raiding and ambush, however, lighting raids then retreating back to the sea before larger forces can show up. The ironborn usually prefer to hit coastal targets or those on navigable rivers. Away from the water they are not very mobile without cavalry, nor do they usually bring heavy siege equipment with them, so they can't make a concerted effort to take heavily defended targets (Balon Greyjoy dismissed out of hand the possibility of actually assaulting Winterfell, even though Theon later took it by surprise with two dozen men using climbing gear because he knew the layout of the castle).

Dorne is too hot to sustain large armies of men in heavy plate armor. Instead the Dornishmen favor smaller groups of lightly armored fighters who are correspondingly faster and more agile. They rely more on hit and run attacks and harassing invaders, using mounted archers, supported by spearmen on foot. Still, they have been known to march in major wars and conventional battles, such as the large contingent of Dornishmen at the Battle of the Trident.

The City Watch of King's Landing, known as the "Gold Cloaks", could be said to be a "standing military" of a sort - but they are meant to be a police force, not soldiers. They are not trained for combat and would not normally experience it. This was seen during the Battle of the Blackwater, when Stannis Baratheon's forces were attacking the city: when the tide of battle began to turn against them and Joffrey made a cowardly retreat, many of the Gold Cloaks also panicked and fled the walls.

Armies beyond the Wall
The Night's Watch that guards the Wall at the northern border of the Seven Kingdoms is a standing military order, who have taken vows to hold no lands or titles, father no children, and defend the Wall from whatever threats lay beyond. They are sworn to strict political neutrality, however, and take no part in the frequent wars of the Seven Kingdoms. What few forces the Watch sends out beyond the Wall are small scouting parties, not armies on the march. With their numbers dwindling over the centuries, the Watch has been left to focus on defending the Wall itself. The Wall is the greatest defensive structure ever built, so even the few hundred men the Night's Watch still has left can use it to hold off thousands of attackers. The Night's Watch has some horses for patrols but no real cavalry.

Large armies are rarely encountered among the wildlings living Beyond the Wall, only localized tribes. They lack the ability to forge their own metal weapons, so besides what iron weapons they can scavenge or buy from smugglers, they mostly rely on weapons made of wood, stone, and bone. Occasionally, however, the wildling clans are all united by an over-chief known as the King-Beyond-the-Wall, such as Mance Rayder. A King-Beyond-the-Wall can convince the wildlings to march together in something which actually resembles an army, but they use no complex formations and are more of an undisciplined horde.

Armies in Essos
The Free Cities in Essos are more urbanized and mercantile than Westeros, so they rely more on paying coin to hire professional sellsword companies to fight their wars for them.

The cities of Slaver's Bay function similarly, though they also train large numbers of slave-soldiers, particularly the famous Unsullied warrior-eunuchs, who are trained to rigidly obey all orders without question.

The Dothraki mounted nomads rely on rapid attacks by unarmored light cavalry, who double as mounted archers. Large Dothraki tribes are known as khalasar, each of which is ruled by a Khal. Khalasars are subdivided into khas, each of which is commanded by a captain known as a ko (plural, kos). The Dothraki have historically shown great tactical skill in dividing up their kos and directing them to make feints and attack enemy forces in pincer movements.

Navies

 * See main article "Ships"

The Seven Kingdoms also employ a large number of naval forces. The three main fleets are:
 * The Royal Fleet  - stationed in the east at King's Landing and Dragonstone) island)
 * The Redwyne Fleet - stationed at the Arbor in the southwest
 * The Iron Fleet - located in the Iron Islands to the west

Most lords on the coasts keep a major galleon or three to ward off pirates and smugglers, along with several smaller coastal boats. Some of the more powerful Noble houses do maintain their own small fleets. The Hightowers and Tyrells are careful to keep their own defensive fleets to ward against the threat of the nearby ironborn - the Shield Islands at the mouth of the Mander River are garrisoned by the Tyrells to defend against the ironborn sailing up it to attack Highgarden. Similarly, the Lannisters maintain a large defensive fleet in the Westerlands - but they rarely move it away from Lannisport, because they are located closest to the Iron Islands and are wary of a quick attack.

The North and Dorne have hardly any strength at sea. Dorne has a very rugged coast with few natural harbors, and there is not enough wood in that desert region to construct a fleet with. In contrast, the North has massive coastlines on both the eastern and western sides of the continent. These coasts are far too vast for any fleet to effectively patrol, and the North as a whole is not wealthy enough to afford one, so its lords usually have to react to invaders from the ocean by repulsing them on land. The North is, however, home to the small port city White Harbor, ruled by House Manderly, and what strength the North has at sea can be found there.

The Free Cities located on the coasts all maintain very large fleets, both warships and their merchant marines. Norvos and Qohor are located inland so they do not have ocean-going vessels, though they do have military strength on the network of the Rhoyne River. Slaver's Bay and Qarth similarly maintain large numbers of ships for both trade and warfare.

The Dothraki possess no strength at sea at all - even though the northern side of the Dothraki Sea has a very long coastline, their powerbase has always been on the large flat plains of the interior. The Dothraki infamously fear any water that a horse will not drink (saltwater), and are extremely reluctant to even travel in boats. The Dothraki use ships so rarely that their language doesn't even have a true word for "boat": the term they use when they rarely do need to describe them is literally "wooden horses", as like a horse they are a means of transport.

The Summer Islands, located directly south from the Narrow Sea between Westeros and Essos, also have a very large trading fleet, whose vessels are more than capable of defending themselves against pirates.