Well, have we considered the possibility, that Jon and Daenerys... are simply idiots? And so are the majority of other main characters. That would explain a lot. They have no idea what they are doing, but they're charismatic, attractive, and able to bend people to their will, so few question their ill judgement, especially when it comes to military strategy and politics. They're dumb and/or crazy, but just luck out all the time.
The whole plan for the battle was questionable, to say the least. Even if we go along with the hare-brained idea, of using Bran as bait for the Nightking - did he have to sit outside, in the cold, guarded by only a few men? The Nightking - who allegedly always knows where Bran is, because of the mark on his arm - could have swooped down on him and lit him up with blue dragon-flame, before anyone could do anything. If Bran was indoors, he'd be easier to guard, because the undead would be funneled through doors and such, there would be more opportunities for traps and hidden assassins, and at least the Nightking would have to get off his dragon. And why were they so sure, that the Nightking would come for Bran himself, anyway? Seems like a few ice zombies, or another White Walker could have done the job just as well.
Another "odd" decision was placing the trebuchets in front of the infantry, instead of at the back - perhaps behind the walls. That meant, that as soon as the enemy reached the defense lines, all the heavy ranged weapons were gone. Consequently, they were only used for a moment.
And why would you send thousands (tens of thousands?) of Dothraki to their deaths, but leave the walls unmanned until the enemy is at the gates?
Lighting the trench seemed unnecessarily fiddly as well - why not use a flaming arrow, a long fuse, or dragon-fire? And while the enemy was stopped/slowed down by the fire, it might have been nice to still have those trebuchets, or at least archers on the walls, ready to fire into the mass of zombies...
Yes, I'm pretty sure my "lucky morons" theory checks out.
The whole plan for the battle was questionable, to say the least. Even if we go along with the hare-brained idea, of using Bran as bait for the Nightking - did he have to sit outside, in the cold, guarded by only a few men? The Nightking - who allegedly always knows where Bran is, because of the mark on his arm - could have swooped down on him and lit him up with blue dragon-flame, before anyone could do anything. If Bran was indoors, he'd be easier to guard, because the undead would be funneled through doors and such, there would be more opportunities for traps and hidden assassins, and at least the Nightking would have to get off his dragon. And why were they so sure, that the Nightking would come for Bran himself, anyway? Seems like a few ice zombies, or another White Walker could have done the job just as well.
Another "odd" decision was placing the trebuchets in front of the infantry, instead of at the back - perhaps behind the walls. That meant, that as soon as the enemy reached the defense lines, all the heavy ranged weapons were gone. Consequently, they were only used for a moment.
And why would you send thousands (tens of thousands?) of Dothraki to their deaths, but leave the walls unmanned until the enemy is at the gates?
Lighting the trench seemed unnecessarily fiddly as well - why not use a flaming arrow, a long fuse, or dragon-fire? And while the enemy was stopped/slowed down by the fire, it might have been nice to still have those trebuchets, or at least archers on the walls, ready to fire into the mass of zombies...
Yes, I'm pretty sure my "lucky morons" theory checks out.
"The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one." - George Bernard Shaw