Battle of Ashford

"We tried to take Ashford Castle in the Reach, but the Tyrells beat us back."

- Robert Baratheon

The Battle of Ashford was a battle during Robert's Rebellion.

The Battle
Ashford was an indecisive battle, in which Robert Baratheon was defeated by the army of House Tyrell. However, Robert's army was able to retreat in good order, before the main force of the Tyrell army could arrive to crush him.

Aftermath
The defeat forced Robert's army to flee north, to link up with the rebel armies from the North and the Vale. This left the Stormlands open to be invaded by the loyalist armies of the Reach and left Storm's End free for the Tyrells to besiege. The Tyrells could have chased after Robert, but Mace assumed that Tywin Lannister would stay loyal and flank Robert's army as it passed the Westerlands. Meanwhile, if the Tyrells could successfully take Robert's home castle of Storm's End, it would be a crushing blow to rebel morale, which would lead to Robert's supporters abandoning him.

Afterward, Robert retreated north through the Riverlands, hiding in Stoney Sept, leading to the Battle of the Bells.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, even though it was Randyll Tarly who commanded the Tyrell forces, in subsequent years Mace Tyrell always tried to take credit for the victory. In the Complete Guide to Westeros Margaery Tyrell says it was her father Mace Tyrell's victory, with no mention of Tarly - which is unsurprising, given that this is the version her own father likes to tell. The Tyrells are quite proud of the fact that they inflicted the only defeat Robert suffered in the entire war. Moreover, Mace (and the other Tyrells) like to remember it as a crushing and decisive route of Robert's army, when really the battle was at best indecisive, and Robert's army was not routed but withdrew in good order to the north. Tarly's forces were just the vanguard of the main Tyrell force commanded by Mace, and Robert withdrew before even having to face Mace and his main army (thus while Tarly certainly performed quite well, the choice to withdraw was actually Robert's, because he knew he couldn't hold the position once Tyrell reinforcements arrived).