Battle of Winterfell (War of the Five Kings)

The Battle of Winterfell is a battle late in the War of the Five Kings.

Prelude
As part of Stannis Baratheon's continued attempt to seize the Iron Throne of Westeros, he attempts to rally the North to his side by capturing Winterfell, the former castle of House Stark and the current seat of House Bolton, the Lannister-backed Wardens of the North.

However, the arrival of a large snowstorm delays Stannis's march. This event, coupled with the desertion of the Stormcrows, a sellsword company from across the Narrow Sea, and Ramsay Bolton's nocturnal attack, which destroys his siege engines and destroyed much of their supplies, make Stannis follow Melisandre's request to sacrifice his only daughter and heir, Princess Shireen Baratheon, to the Lord of Light in a desperate attempt to end the snowstorm and thaw the deep snow blocking the path to Winterfell.

However, resorting to such action and the continued hardships of the march break the morale of Stannis's army. Thus, a large portion of the army, among them the rest of sellswords, deserts with all the horses.



With his Queen, Selyse Baratheon, having committed suicide, and Melisandre fled after realizing she had led her king to disaster, Stannis decides to press on to Winterfell on foot.

Battle
After arriving within sight of the castle's walls, Stannis indents to lay siege at sunrise, but he has already been spotted and the Bolton cavalry charges against them, surrounding them to the left and right.

Staying true to his warrior-like nature, Stannis fearlessly marches the remainder of his men towards their almost certain defeat at the hands of the superior Bolton army.



Stannis's army soon breaks and his annihilated. Those who attempt to fight in the relative safety of the Wolfswood, where horses are not as effective, are also exterminated. Two Bolton men-at-arms attempt to kill Stannis and manage to wound him but are ultimately no match for the experienced warrior.

Aftermath
Having dispatched the two would-be killers, Stannis falls against a tree, his leg injured. He's found by Brienne of Tarth, who abandoned her hideout at the Winter town after being informed of Stannis's impeding attack. After revealing her identity and her former status as a Kingsguard to Renly Baratheon, Stannis admits having murdered his brother with magic. Having accepted his fate and after telling Brienne to do her duty, King Stannis Baratheon, the lawful heir of Robert Baratheon, is killed.

Ramsay Bolton eliminates whatever survivors his finds.



Meanwhile, with the castle in chaos over the battle, Sansa Stark manages to escape her ancestral home with the aid of Theon Greyjoy.

With the death of Stannis, the bloodline of House Baratheon is extinct and the Tommen Baratheon's claim to the Iron Throne unchallenged(with the exception of the Greyjoys,) while Bolton supremacy over the North is, for now, secure.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the Battle of Winterfell, called the Battle of Ice by GRRM and the fandom, still has to take place. Stannis doesn't march with just his army, as he has also secured the support of the northern mountain clans as well as that of Houses Glover, Mormont, half of the forces of House Umber and survivors of Houses Hornwood, Cerwyn, and Tallhart from the failed attempt to liberate Winterfell. Meanwhile, House Bolton enjoys the support of Houses Frey, Ryswell, Dustin, Locke, Cerwyn, Hornwood, and Stout, as well as the nominal support of Houses Manderly, and the other half of Umber forces. The forces of House Karstark are also present in Stannis's camp as well, but they are actually in league with House Bolton.

When enemies approach Winterfell and begin sounding horns, Roose Bolton believes Stannis has arrived and sends Frey and Manderly forces to attack, but this turns out to be a ruse from the Umber forces opposing Bolton.

In a letter to Jon Snow, Ramsay Bolton, who believes Theon and his wife have fled to Castle Black, boasts of having eliminated Stannis's forces and demands the Lord Commander to hand over his bride, and his "Reek", as well as Stannis's queen and daughter.