Template:Battle
- "Ser Alton's pen is full, Your Grace...the prisoners from the Yellow Fork."
- ―Rickard Karstark to Robb Stark
The Battle of the Yellow Fork is a minor engagement in the War of the Five Kings. The army of House Stark in the Westerlands moves west from Oxcross to attack a force of House Lannister conscripts at the Yellow Fork.
History
Prelude
After winning a trio of victories in the Riverlands and a decisive victory at the Battle of Oxcross, the army of House Stark, under the command of King Robb I, Lord Roose Bolton, and Lord Rickard Karstark press further into the Westerlands.[1] The victory at Oxcross has left the region lightly defended.[2]
Battle
King Robb Stark's forces assault the Lannister forces at the Yellow Fork and win another victory, taking many more prisoners.[3]
Aftermath
The Starks make camp following their victory.
Lord Rickard Karstark reports taking so many Lannister prisoners that the Stark cells are overflowing. Talisa Maegyr continues to treat Robb's wounded along with those of his enemies following the battle. Robb then visits the Crag to negotiate the surrender of House Westerling.[3]
The volume of prisoners leads to Jaime Lannister being housed with another man for the first time since his capture. This affords him the opportunity to make an escape attempt, murdering his cellmate Alton Lannister and killing Torrhen Karstark. He is recaptured shortly afterwards.[3]
In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels there is no battle of this name. The location "Yellow Fork" is not mentioned in the books.
After the Battle of Oxcross opened up the northern Westerlands to Robb Stark's army, his forces easily captured Ashemark. For some reason, the TV series doesn't refer to a minor engagement at the "Battle of Ashemark", instead referring to a "Battle of the Yellow Fork" taking place around the same point. It seems that they changed the name to avoid confusion with Ashford, which is a castle in the Reach. It's possible that the "Yellow Fork" is meant to be the tributary of the Tumblestone, which is itself a tributary of the Trident River system, with its three main forks also named after colors: Red, Blue, and Green.
See also
References
Template:WarOfTheFiveKings