War of the Ring
Encyclopedia
In the fictional high fantasy
-world of J. R. R. Tolkien
, the War of the Ring was fought between Sauron
and the free peoples of Middle-earth
for control of the One Ring
and dominion over the continent. The War of the Ring took place at the end of the Third Age
. Together with the Quest of Mount Doom, it is one of the overarching events of The Lord of the Rings
. Gandalf
led the free peoples of Middle-earth to victory over the Dark Lord.
The war was initiated by Sauron, who had gained strength since the end of the Second Age
and sought the One Ring
he had forged and into which he had invested much of his power, and that he had lost in the climactic battle at the end of the prior age. During the War of the Ring, many thousands of Men
of Rohan
and Gondor
were killed. The overall number of combatants in the war is estimated to be over a million—tens of thousands from the side of the Free Peoples and hundreds of thousands from the armies and navies of those loyal to the Enemy. The war also heralded the decline of the Elves'
power in Middle-earth, the rise of Men in the West, the restoration of the King of Gondor and Arnor and the start of the Fourth Age
.
Battles were fought in Gondor, Rohan, Lothlórien, Mirkwood
, at the Lonely Mountain
and at Dale. These were primarily waged against Sauron's forces, but Saruman
, a third contender, also had armies, who fought battles at the Fords of Isen
and Helm's Deep
.
The war ended after the Battle of Bywater and, shortly afterwards, the deaths of Saruman and Gríma Wormtongue. Towards the end of the War of the Ring, Elessar
was crowned King of Gondor, and forgave the Men who had fought under Sauron, heralding a great renewal of cooperation and communication between Men, Elves, and Dwarves
.
was to defeat the strongest of the nations that opposed him, Gondor, and to do so he would need to take the capital city and greatest fortress of Gondor, Minas Tirith
. To this end, the war effort of Mordor was focused in the south in and around Gondor, in a strategy of divide and conquer
. To keep Gondor's ally Rohan, on its northern border, from sending aid, Sauron promoted the rise of Saruman at Isengard to the west of Rohan. Thus all of Rohan's forces would be focused in the west trying to stem the tide of the Isengard attack, and none would be sent to Minas Tirith's defence. Meanwhile, Sauron sent the Mordor-allied Corsairs of Umbar
to attack Gondor's populous southern coastal fiefs, which as a result sent only a fraction of their forces to defend Minas Tirith in northern Gondor, while the rest stayed on the coasts preparing for the Corsair assault. However, Sauron's divide and conquer strategy was ultimately foiled and a united front of Gondor and Rohan's forces faced Mordor.
's troops crossed the Fords of Isen. Théodred
, the son of the King Théoden
, had mustered his forces on the fords in order to launch a surprise attack against the enemy. On 23 February T.A.
3019 he attacked the vanguard of the orcs marching out of Isengard. Reinforcements were quickly sent from Isengard however, and Théodred ordered a retreat. His forces retreated to an island in the fords, but they were soon surrounded and he was killed. Grimbold
managed to hold the island, but would not have succeeded if Elfhelm
had not come with reinforcements from Helm's Deep
. Thus the first battle of the Fords of Isen ended in defeat for the Rohirrim.
Now that the Marshal of the West-mark was dead, Erkenbrand
took command of the Westfold. He placed Grimbold and Elfhelm at the Fords. However, they were unable to withstand the force of Isengard, and were surrounded. Though they successfully broke through the enemy's lines, they ended up scattered around the Westfold, giving Saruman clear passage into Rohan.
Meanwhile, Gandalf drove Gríma Wormtongue out of Edoras and went to gather Erkenbrand's scattered forces, advising King Théoden to move to the stronghold of Helm's Deep. The king and his forces arrived undisturbed, but soon the fortress was besieged by Saruman's troops. All through the night of March 3rd-4th a combined force of Orcs and Wild Men from Dunland besieged Helm's Deep, and despite the efforts of the Rohirrim (aided by Aragorn
, Legolas
and Gimli
) hope appeared lost. Believing Rohan was lost, Théoden decided to mount a final, suicidal charge against Saruman's forces. Unexpectedly, however, Gandalf arrived in the nick of time with Erkenbrand and the scattered Rohirrim, along with a forest of Huorn
s who had been sent to the battle by the Ent
leader Treebeard
. The orcs were trapped and utterly annihilated. The wild Men taken captive, however, were freed after swearing an oath of loyalty to Rohan and clearing the battlefield of the dead. (The mercy of this act amazed the captives, who had been told by Saruman that the men of Rohan were cruel and burned their captives alive.)
Days before, at an Entmoot in Fangorn Forest, the Ents, furious over the destruction Saruman had wrought upon the forest, had begun marching on Isengard, intending to destroy it. Their sheer strength allowed the Ents to defeat Saruman by March 3. Treebeard then took control of Isengard. At Gandalf's request he sent a large herd of Huorns to the Battle of Hornburg, to aid the Rohirrim.
, captain of Gondor and son of Denethor
, Steward of Gondor, had divided his forces to many fronts. The two most important of these were in the island citadel of Cair Andros and the ruined city of Osgiliath. In a strict sense, the War of the Ring began with the Great Signal from Minas Morgul and the answering signal from Mount Doom
, and thus the attack on Osgiliath was the first battle of the war proper. Sauron's two armies obliterated the fortresses, and Faramir was forced to retreat to the causeway forts, the last defence against the Morgul
forces. Soon these too were destroyed, and only Minas Tirith remained. The siege soon began, as the Nazgûl
hovered above and spread terror and confusion, and siege towers tried to take the walls but were all destroyed. Finally, the Gate of Minas Tirith, which had never before been breached, was broken by a mighty ram, and the Lord of the Nazgûl
entered, the first and only enemy to do so. All seemed lost – until six thousand Rohirrim, under King Théoden's command, came and somewhat relieved the Gondorian defenders, but at the cost of many lives, including Théoden's. However, he was avenged with the death of the Witch-king at the hands of Éowyn
(aided by Meriadoc Brandybuck). Still, the battle was in doubt until Aragorn arrived with a large force out of South Gondor. The joint force of Gondor and Rohan then successfully defeated their enemies.
The Battle of the Morannon was the final major battle against Sauron in the War of the Ring, fought at the Black Gate of Mordor
. The Army of the West, roughly 6,000 strong, led by Aragorn
marched on the gate and faced a vastly larger force as a diversionary feint to distract Sauron's attention from Frodo
and Sam
, who were carrying the One Ring
through Mordor. It was hoped that Sauron would think Aragorn
had the Ring and was now trying to use it to overthrow Mordor. Despite the seemingly impossible odds the Army of the West was eventually victorious, when the Ring was destroyed, and Sauron's forces fled or surrendered in dismay.
(attacking Rivendell
), and wheel around to take Rohan and Gondor from the rear. However, Dol Guldur had to deal with the threat of the Woodland Realm of Thranduil, and thus split their forces between the attack on Lothlórien and the one on the Woodland Realm. Sauron wanted to use his barbarian Easterling allies in a joint attack with the Orcs from Dol Guldur on the Woodland Realm, and then have this victorious army link up with the other ones attacking Lothlórien and defeat it. However, unfortunately for Sauron a strong Dwarf nation now existed at the Lonely Mountain thanks to the efforts of Gandalf, as well as the Dwarves of the Iron Hills
and allied Men of Dale. Mordor's Easterling allies were tied up fighting the Dwarves of Erebor and Men of Dale, and never linked up with the Mordor forces assaulting the Woodland Realm, which in turn could not link up with those attacking Lothlórien, and the line held.
Bridging the gap between the northern and southern theatres of the war was the line of the River Anduin between Lothlórien and Gondor, running along the Rohan border. Orc armies peeling off from the assault on Lothlórien tried to enter Rohan via this route, while almost its entire army had left to fight at Minas Tirith, but the Ents of Fangorn forest counterattacked and drove the Orcs back in a panic, and most if not all drowned while attempting to flee by crossing the river.
fell as he was defending Brand's body. Many Men and Dwarves made their escape to Erebor however, and were able to withstand the siege of the mountain fastness. When news spread about the victory in the South, the Easterlings
scattered and the sons of Brand and Dáin led their army out of Erebor.
. It was attacked two further times, on the 15 and the 22. When the Dark Lord had fallen, Celeborn
led his army out of Lórien, and crossed the Anduin
. Dol Guldur was captured and destroyed by Galadriel
.
Thranduil
of Mirkwood
was also attacked from Dol Guldur, but in this, the Battle under the Trees, the Elven folk won a hard victory. After the destruction of Dol Guldur, Celeborn met Thranduil on 6 April, and as the shadow had passed, they divided Mirkwood and renamed it Eryn Lasgalen.
s under the lead of Meriadoc Brandybuck
and Peregrin Took
(Merry and Pippin) in the Battle of Bywater on 3 November. The Hobbits headed to Hobbiton where Frodo
ordered Saruman and Wormtongue to leave the Shire. Wormtongue however killed Saruman, before he himself was killed by the Hobbits and their arrows. With the death of the wizard Saruman, the War of the Ring finally ended.
, under King Elessar Telcontar. The Steward of Gondor was dead, but he was succeeded by his son Faramir
, who kept the office and was given the title Prince of Ithilien.
In Rohan the heir apparent
, Théodred
, was killed, and, during the Battle of Pelennor Fields, King Théoden
died as well. He was succeeded by his nephew Éomer
. In the Glittering Caves at the Hornburg, a Dwarven colony was established, and Isengard was given to the Ents to be renamed the Treegarth of Orthanc.
In Dale, both King Brand and King Dáin II Ironfoot
were killed, and were succeeded by their sons Bard and Thorin III Stonehelm. They sent their emissaries to the crowning of Elessar, and were in alliance with Gondor until their Kingdoms ended.
For the Elves, the final decline had begun. The bearers of the Three Rings
left Middle-earth, and Lórien was eventually abandoned. The Elves of Lothlórien who did not depart over the Sea moved east to the southern third of Mirkwood, below the Narrows, which they named East Lórien. In Eryn Lasgalen however, Thranduil's rule continued, and they had peace. There was also an Elven colony in Ithilien
. Many of the Elves of Rivendell departed over the Sea, and by Aragorn's death 120 years later, it was entirely deserted.
In the Shire life continued as it had prior to the war. It was declared a free land under the Sceptre of Annúminas, and Men were forbidden to enter it. The Westmarch was added to the Shire by King Elessar in 1452 S.R.
Once the Fourth Age began the Elves stopped having an active influence on the affairs of Middle-earth, having started fading away ever since the Third. The Orcs never became a serious threat again, reduced to small bands of mountain brigands they were never more than a nuisance. The Nazgûl perished with the unmaking of the One Ring and the subsequent loss of the powers of the Nine, while their master Sauron was rendered impotent and unable to threaten Middle-earth again. However, the forces of Rhûn and Harad continued to war with the free peoples of Middle-earth until their eventual decline and defeat.
There are several games that are patterned after the war: the Games Workshop
2005 Summer Online Campaign, for The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game
; a board game developed by Nexus Editrice
and published in the US by Fantasy Flight Games
called War of the Ring (board game)
; a board and counter wargame called War of the Rings published by SPI in 1977; The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring
, a real-time strategy
computer game published by Sierra Entertainment
in 2003; and the Battle for Middle-earth series of real-time strategy games published by Electronic Arts
in 2004 and 2006.
The War of the Ring is the title of the eighth volume of The History of Middle-earth
.
The War of the Ring was the working title of "Book 5" of 'The Lord of the Rings' (the first half of the eventual third volume). J. R. R. Tolkien wanted to use this as the overall title for the third volume of The Lord of the Rings, feeling that the title "The Return of the King" gave away too much of the plot.
High fantasy
High fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds. High fantasy was brought to fruition through the work of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s...
-world of J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
, the War of the Ring was fought between Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
and the free peoples of Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
for control of the One Ring
One Ring
The One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
and dominion over the continent. The War of the Ring took place at the end of the Third Age
Third Age
The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
. Together with the Quest of Mount Doom, it is one of the overarching events of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
. Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
led the free peoples of Middle-earth to victory over the Dark Lord.
The war was initiated by Sauron, who had gained strength since the end of the Second Age
Second Age
The Second Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. Tolkien intended for the history of Middle-earth to be considered fictionally as a precursor to the history of the real Earth....
and sought the One Ring
One Ring
The One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
he had forged and into which he had invested much of his power, and that he had lost in the climactic battle at the end of the prior age. During the War of the Ring, many thousands of Men
Man (Middle-earth)
The race of Men in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth books, such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, refers to humanity and does not denote gender...
of Rohan
Rohan
Rohan is a realm in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy era of Middle-earth. It is a grassland which lies north of its ally Gondor and north-west of Mordor, the realm of Sauron, their enemy . It is inhabited by the Rohirrim, a people of herdsmen and farmers who are well-known for their horses and cavalry....
and Gondor
Gondor
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Third Age. The third volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, is concerned with the events in Gondor during the War of the Ring and with...
were killed. The overall number of combatants in the war is estimated to be over a million—tens of thousands from the side of the Free Peoples and hundreds of thousands from the armies and navies of those loyal to the Enemy. The war also heralded the decline of the Elves'
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
power in Middle-earth, the rise of Men in the West, the restoration of the King of Gondor and Arnor and the start of the Fourth Age
Fourth Age
In the fictional world of middle earth "'the fourth age'" and the ages that preceded it, are time periods from J. R. R. Tolkien's universe of Middle-earth, described in his fantasy writings...
.
Battles were fought in Gondor, Rohan, Lothlórien, Mirkwood
Mirkwood
Mirkwood is a name used for two distinct fictional forests in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. In the First Age, the highlands of Dorthonion north of Beleriand were known as Mirkwood after falling under Morgoth's control. During the Third Age, the large forest in Rhovanion, east of the Anduin in ...
, at the Lonely Mountain
Lonely Mountain
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, the Lonely Mountain is a mountain in the northeast of Rhovanion. It is also the source of the Celduin river.- Origins of the Kingdom Under the Mountain :...
and at Dale. These were primarily waged against Sauron's forces, but Saruman
Saruman
Saruman the White is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, the main antagonist of the tale, but later on aims at gaining...
, a third contender, also had armies, who fought battles at the Fords of Isen
Fords of Isen
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Fords of Isen were fords in the river Isen, guarded by the Rohirrim. As the only crossing of the Isen into Rohan, they were of enormous strategic importance....
and Helm's Deep
Helm's Deep
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings, Helm's Deep was a large valley in the north-western Ered Nimrais .The valley was described as being blocked over its entire width by the natural series of hills called Helm's Dike and behind that lay the fortress of Aglarond or the Hornburg, at the...
.
The war ended after the Battle of Bywater and, shortly afterwards, the deaths of Saruman and Gríma Wormtongue. Towards the end of the War of the Ring, Elessar
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
was crowned King of Gondor, and forgave the Men who had fought under Sauron, heralding a great renewal of cooperation and communication between Men, Elves, and Dwarves
Dwarf (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting the world of Arda, a fictional prehistoric Earth which includes the continent Middle-earth....
.
Southern Theatre
The objective of Sauron's grand strategyGrand strategy
Grand strategy comprises the "purposeful employment of all instruments of power available to a security community". Military historian B. H. Liddell Hart says about grand strategy:...
was to defeat the strongest of the nations that opposed him, Gondor, and to do so he would need to take the capital city and greatest fortress of Gondor, Minas Tirith
Minas Tirith
Minas Tirith , originally named Minas Anor, is a fictional city and castle in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. It became the heavily fortified capital of Gondor in the second half of the Third Age...
. To this end, the war effort of Mordor was focused in the south in and around Gondor, in a strategy of divide and conquer
Divide and conquer
Divide and conquer may refer to:* Divide and rule, in politics, sociology and economics, a strategy to gain or maintain power...
. To keep Gondor's ally Rohan, on its northern border, from sending aid, Sauron promoted the rise of Saruman at Isengard to the west of Rohan. Thus all of Rohan's forces would be focused in the west trying to stem the tide of the Isengard attack, and none would be sent to Minas Tirith's defence. Meanwhile, Sauron sent the Mordor-allied Corsairs of Umbar
Corsairs of Umbar
The Corsairs of Umbar were a fleet of Men of Umbar in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, allied to Sauron in his war against Gondor.-Literature:...
to attack Gondor's populous southern coastal fiefs, which as a result sent only a fraction of their forces to defend Minas Tirith in northern Gondor, while the rest stayed on the coasts preparing for the Corsair assault. However, Sauron's divide and conquer strategy was ultimately foiled and a united front of Gondor and Rohan's forces faced Mordor.
Rohan
Although there had never really been peace, the War of the Ring started in Rohan when SarumanSaruman
Saruman the White is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, the main antagonist of the tale, but later on aims at gaining...
's troops crossed the Fords of Isen. Théodred
Théodred
Théodred is a fictional character in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. He is the only son and heir of King Théoden of Rohan.His mother, Elfhild, died in childbirth. Théodred grew up together with his cousin Éomer...
, the son of the King Théoden
Théoden
Théoden is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings. He appears as a major supporting character in The Two Towers and The Return of the King.-Appearances:...
, had mustered his forces on the fords in order to launch a surprise attack against the enemy. On 23 February T.A.
Third Age
The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
3019 he attacked the vanguard of the orcs marching out of Isengard. Reinforcements were quickly sent from Isengard however, and Théodred ordered a retreat. His forces retreated to an island in the fords, but they were soon surrounded and he was killed. Grimbold
Grimbold
Grimbold of Grimslade is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Two Towers and The Return of the King, the second and third volumes of the fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings as originally published...
managed to hold the island, but would not have succeeded if Elfhelm
Elfhelm
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, Elfhelm was a lord of Rohan and Marshal of the East-mark.He appears in The Two Towers and The Return of the King, the second and third volumes of the fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings as originally published...
had not come with reinforcements from Helm's Deep
Helm's Deep
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings, Helm's Deep was a large valley in the north-western Ered Nimrais .The valley was described as being blocked over its entire width by the natural series of hills called Helm's Dike and behind that lay the fortress of Aglarond or the Hornburg, at the...
. Thus the first battle of the Fords of Isen ended in defeat for the Rohirrim.
Now that the Marshal of the West-mark was dead, Erkenbrand
Erkenbrand
Erkenbrand is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in The Two Towers, the second volume of Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings....
took command of the Westfold. He placed Grimbold and Elfhelm at the Fords. However, they were unable to withstand the force of Isengard, and were surrounded. Though they successfully broke through the enemy's lines, they ended up scattered around the Westfold, giving Saruman clear passage into Rohan.
Meanwhile, Gandalf drove Gríma Wormtongue out of Edoras and went to gather Erkenbrand's scattered forces, advising King Théoden to move to the stronghold of Helm's Deep. The king and his forces arrived undisturbed, but soon the fortress was besieged by Saruman's troops. All through the night of March 3rd-4th a combined force of Orcs and Wild Men from Dunland besieged Helm's Deep, and despite the efforts of the Rohirrim (aided by Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
, Legolas
Legolas
Legolas is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. He is an Elf of the Woodland Realm and one of nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring.- Literature :...
and Gimli
Gimli (Middle-earth)
Gimli is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. A Dwarf warrior, he is the son of Glóin ....
) hope appeared lost. Believing Rohan was lost, Théoden decided to mount a final, suicidal charge against Saruman's forces. Unexpectedly, however, Gandalf arrived in the nick of time with Erkenbrand and the scattered Rohirrim, along with a forest of Huorn
Huorn
The Huorns are fictional characters from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. They are described as "trees" that can speak to Ents and are capable of locomotion.- Description :...
s who had been sent to the battle by the Ent
Ent
Ents are a race of beings in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world Middle-earth who closely resemble trees. They are similar to the talking trees in folklore around the world. Their name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for giant....
leader Treebeard
Treebeard
Treebeard is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The eldest of the species of Ents, he is said to live in the ancient Forest of Fangorn and stands fourteen feet in height and is tree-like in appearance, with leafy hair and a rigid structure. Fangorn Forest...
. The orcs were trapped and utterly annihilated. The wild Men taken captive, however, were freed after swearing an oath of loyalty to Rohan and clearing the battlefield of the dead. (The mercy of this act amazed the captives, who had been told by Saruman that the men of Rohan were cruel and burned their captives alive.)
Days before, at an Entmoot in Fangorn Forest, the Ents, furious over the destruction Saruman had wrought upon the forest, had begun marching on Isengard, intending to destroy it. Their sheer strength allowed the Ents to defeat Saruman by March 3. Treebeard then took control of Isengard. At Gandalf's request he sent a large herd of Huorns to the Battle of Hornburg, to aid the Rohirrim.
Gondor
For over 3,000 years, the realm of Gondor held back the shadow and the threat from the East. In time, the kingdom declined, and Sauron prepared to swoop in for the kill. FaramirFaramir
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, Faramir is a fictional character appearing in The Lord of the Rings. He is introduced as the younger brother of Boromir of the Fellowship of the Ring and second son of Denethor II, the Steward of the realm of Gondor...
, captain of Gondor and son of Denethor
Denethor
Denethor II of the House of Húrin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Return of the King, which is the third and final part of his novel The Lord of the Rings. In the novel, he is the 26th and penultimate ruling Steward of Gondor....
, Steward of Gondor, had divided his forces to many fronts. The two most important of these were in the island citadel of Cair Andros and the ruined city of Osgiliath. In a strict sense, the War of the Ring began with the Great Signal from Minas Morgul and the answering signal from Mount Doom
Mount Doom
Mount Doom is a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. It is located in the heart of the black land of Mordor and close to Barad-dûr, it is approximately high. Alternative names, in Tolkien's invented language of Sindarin, include Orodruin and Amon Amarth...
, and thus the attack on Osgiliath was the first battle of the war proper. Sauron's two armies obliterated the fortresses, and Faramir was forced to retreat to the causeway forts, the last defence against the Morgul
Minas Morgul
Minas Morgul , also known by its earlier name of Minas Ithil , is a fictional fortified city in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth...
forces. Soon these too were destroyed, and only Minas Tirith remained. The siege soon began, as the Nazgûl
Nazgûl
The Nazgûl are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium...
hovered above and spread terror and confusion, and siege towers tried to take the walls but were all destroyed. Finally, the Gate of Minas Tirith, which had never before been breached, was broken by a mighty ram, and the Lord of the Nazgûl
Witch-king of Angmar
The Witch-king of Angmar, also known as the Lord of the Nazgûl and the Black Captain among other names, is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. In Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, he is the chief of the Nazgûl , the chief servants...
entered, the first and only enemy to do so. All seemed lost – until six thousand Rohirrim, under King Théoden's command, came and somewhat relieved the Gondorian defenders, but at the cost of many lives, including Théoden's. However, he was avenged with the death of the Witch-king at the hands of Éowyn
Éowyn
Éowyn is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, who appears in his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings. She is a noblewoman of Rohan who describes herself as a "shieldmaiden".-Literature:...
(aided by Meriadoc Brandybuck). Still, the battle was in doubt until Aragorn arrived with a large force out of South Gondor. The joint force of Gondor and Rohan then successfully defeated their enemies.
The Battle of the Morannon was the final major battle against Sauron in the War of the Ring, fought at the Black Gate of Mordor
Mordor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor or Morhdorh was the dwelling place of Sauron, in the southeast of northwestern Middle-earth to the East of Anduin, the great river. Orodruin, a volcano in Mordor, was the destination of the Fellowship of the Ring in the quest to...
. The Army of the West, roughly 6,000 strong, led by Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
marched on the gate and faced a vastly larger force as a diversionary feint to distract Sauron's attention from Frodo
Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.He is the main protagonist of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He was a hobbit of the Shire who inherited Sauron's Ring from Bilbo Baggins and undertook the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom...
and Sam
Samwise Gamgee
Samwise Gamgee, later known as Samwise Gardner and commonly as Sam, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. Samwise is one of the chief characters in Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, in which he fills an archetypical role as the sidekick of the protagonist, Frodo...
, who were carrying the One Ring
One Ring
The One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
through Mordor. It was hoped that Sauron would think Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
had the Ring and was now trying to use it to overthrow Mordor. Despite the seemingly impossible odds the Army of the West was eventually victorious, when the Ring was destroyed, and Sauron's forces fled or surrendered in dismay.
Northern Theatre
Mordor's war effort was focused in the south against Gondor, but using his outstretched right arm Sauron attempted to flank the lands of the Free Peoples through the north, using Orcs and allied barbarian nations of Men. In this northern theatre of the war (which had spread far across Middle-earth) Sauron's primary objective was to use the forces at his primary base of operations in the areas, Dol Guldur in southern Mirkwood, to defeat Lothlórien, then pass the Misty MountainsMisty Mountains
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world of Middle-earth, the Misty Mountains is a mountain range, running for 795 miles from north to south, between Eriador and the valley of the Great River, Anduin, and...
(attacking Rivendell
Rivendell
Rivendell is an Elven outpost in Middle-earth, a fictional realm created by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was established and ruled by Elrond in the Second Age of Middle-earth...
), and wheel around to take Rohan and Gondor from the rear. However, Dol Guldur had to deal with the threat of the Woodland Realm of Thranduil, and thus split their forces between the attack on Lothlórien and the one on the Woodland Realm. Sauron wanted to use his barbarian Easterling allies in a joint attack with the Orcs from Dol Guldur on the Woodland Realm, and then have this victorious army link up with the other ones attacking Lothlórien and defeat it. However, unfortunately for Sauron a strong Dwarf nation now existed at the Lonely Mountain thanks to the efforts of Gandalf, as well as the Dwarves of the Iron Hills
Iron Hills
The Iron Hills are a fictional range of mountains in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. They are remnants of the Iron Mountains of the First Age and are located east of the Lonely Mountain in the northeastern part of Rhovanion and the northwest of Rhûn. In the Third Age, they are home to a...
and allied Men of Dale. Mordor's Easterling allies were tied up fighting the Dwarves of Erebor and Men of Dale, and never linked up with the Mordor forces assaulting the Woodland Realm, which in turn could not link up with those attacking Lothlórien, and the line held.
Bridging the gap between the northern and southern theatres of the war was the line of the River Anduin between Lothlórien and Gondor, running along the Rohan border. Orc armies peeling off from the assault on Lothlórien tried to enter Rohan via this route, while almost its entire army had left to fight at Minas Tirith, but the Ents of Fangorn forest counterattacked and drove the Orcs back in a panic, and most if not all drowned while attempting to flee by crossing the river.
Dale
As the war began, the Dwarves of Erebor refused to co-operate with Sauron in his hunt for the Ring. Therefore, Sauron sent an army of Easterlings to Dale. On March 17 they met the armies of the Dwarves and the Men of Dale. After three days of fighting, Men and Dwarves were overrun and sought refuge in Erebor. King Brand of Dale fell before the gate of Erebor, and King under the Mountain Dáin II IronfootDáin II Ironfoot
Dáin II Ironfoot was a Dwarf and king of Erebor in J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy legendarium concerning Middle-earth. His story is told primarily in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings, and he appears briefly in The Hobbit....
fell as he was defending Brand's body. Many Men and Dwarves made their escape to Erebor however, and were able to withstand the siege of the mountain fastness. When news spread about the victory in the South, the Easterlings
Easterlings
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, "Easterling" and "Easterlings" were generic terms for Men who lived in the east of Middle-earth, who mostly fought under Morgoth and Sauron, not directly but rather on behalf of their own High Lord....
scattered and the sons of Brand and Dáin led their army out of Erebor.
Lothlórien and Mirkwood
On March 11 Lothlórien was first attacked from Dol GuldurDol Guldur
Dol Guldur was Sauron's stronghold in Mirkwood in the fictional world of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. It is first mentioned in The Hobbit. The hill itself, rocky and barren, was the highest point in the southwestern part of the forest. Before Sauron's occupation it was called Amon Lanc...
. It was attacked two further times, on the 15 and the 22. When the Dark Lord had fallen, Celeborn
Celeborn
Celeborn is a fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Lord of the Rings as the Elven husband of Galadriel, Lord of the Galadhrim; and co-ruler along with Galadriel of Lothlórien. He was the father of Celebrían — the wife of Elrond — and thus the...
led his army out of Lórien, and crossed the Anduin
Anduin
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, Anduin is the Sindarin name for the Great River of Wilderland, the longest river in the Third Age . The ancestors of the Rohirrim called it Langflood. It flowed from its source in the Grey and Misty Mountains to the Mouths of Anduin in the Great Sea...
. Dol Guldur was captured and destroyed by Galadriel
Galadriel
Galadriel is a character created by J.R.R. Tolkien, appearing in his Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
.
Thranduil
Thranduil
Thranduil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is a supporting character in The Hobbit, and is referenced briefly in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.-In literature:...
of Mirkwood
Mirkwood
Mirkwood is a name used for two distinct fictional forests in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. In the First Age, the highlands of Dorthonion north of Beleriand were known as Mirkwood after falling under Morgoth's control. During the Third Age, the large forest in Rhovanion, east of the Anduin in ...
was also attacked from Dol Guldur, but in this, the Battle under the Trees, the Elven folk won a hard victory. After the destruction of Dol Guldur, Celeborn met Thranduil on 6 April, and as the shadow had passed, they divided Mirkwood and renamed it Eryn Lasgalen.
Shire
After the defeat of the Dark Lord, Saruman convinced Treebeard, possibly using what little enchantment was left in his voice, to release him from Isengard. He travelled to the Shire, where he replaced Lotho Sackville-Baggins as the Chief under the name Sharkey. Under his command ruffians entered The Shire and ruined it. They were defeated by HobbitHobbit
Hobbits are a fictional diminutive race who inhabit the lands of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction.Hobbits first appeared in the novel The Hobbit, in which the main protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is the titular hobbit...
s under the lead of Meriadoc Brandybuck
Meriadoc Brandybuck
Meriadoc Brandybuck, usually referred to as Merry, is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured throughout his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings....
and Peregrin Took
Peregrin Took
Peregrin Took, more commonly known as Pippin, is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. Pippin is introduced as a Hobbit who plays a major role as one of the companions of Frodo Baggins, in his quest to destroy the One Ring.Peregrin was the only son of...
(Merry and Pippin) in the Battle of Bywater on 3 November. The Hobbits headed to Hobbiton where Frodo
Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.He is the main protagonist of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He was a hobbit of the Shire who inherited Sauron's Ring from Bilbo Baggins and undertook the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom...
ordered Saruman and Wormtongue to leave the Shire. Wormtongue however killed Saruman, before he himself was killed by the Hobbits and their arrows. With the death of the wizard Saruman, the War of the Ring finally ended.
Consequences
The War of the Ring had great influence on all of the lands of the northwest of Middle-earth. Most importantly it led to the restoration of the Kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor as the Reunited KingdomReunited Kingdom
The Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor is a fictional realm from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth.When Aragorn became King of Gondor at the end of the War of the Ring, he was also the descendant of the Kings of Arnor, and by right he was crowned High King of both Arnor and Gondor and Reunited the...
, under King Elessar Telcontar. The Steward of Gondor was dead, but he was succeeded by his son Faramir
Faramir
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, Faramir is a fictional character appearing in The Lord of the Rings. He is introduced as the younger brother of Boromir of the Fellowship of the Ring and second son of Denethor II, the Steward of the realm of Gondor...
, who kept the office and was given the title Prince of Ithilien.
In Rohan the heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
, Théodred
Théodred
Théodred is a fictional character in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. He is the only son and heir of King Théoden of Rohan.His mother, Elfhild, died in childbirth. Théodred grew up together with his cousin Éomer...
, was killed, and, during the Battle of Pelennor Fields, King Théoden
Théoden
Théoden is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings. He appears as a major supporting character in The Two Towers and The Return of the King.-Appearances:...
died as well. He was succeeded by his nephew Éomer
Éomer
Éomer is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in The Two Towers and The Return of the King, the second and third volumes of Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings....
. In the Glittering Caves at the Hornburg, a Dwarven colony was established, and Isengard was given to the Ents to be renamed the Treegarth of Orthanc.
In Dale, both King Brand and King Dáin II Ironfoot
Dáin II Ironfoot
Dáin II Ironfoot was a Dwarf and king of Erebor in J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy legendarium concerning Middle-earth. His story is told primarily in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings, and he appears briefly in The Hobbit....
were killed, and were succeeded by their sons Bard and Thorin III Stonehelm. They sent their emissaries to the crowning of Elessar, and were in alliance with Gondor until their Kingdoms ended.
For the Elves, the final decline had begun. The bearers of the Three Rings
Three Rings
In Tolkien's legendarium, the Three Rings are magical artifacts forged by the Elves of Eregion. After the One Ring, they are the most powerful of the twenty Rings of Power....
left Middle-earth, and Lórien was eventually abandoned. The Elves of Lothlórien who did not depart over the Sea moved east to the southern third of Mirkwood, below the Narrows, which they named East Lórien. In Eryn Lasgalen however, Thranduil's rule continued, and they had peace. There was also an Elven colony in Ithilien
Ithilien
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, Ithilien is a region and fiefdom of Gondor.Ithilien, or "Moon-land," is the easternmost province of Gondor, the only part of Gondor across the Great River Anduin lying between the river and the Mountains of Shadow , subdivided by the stream of...
. Many of the Elves of Rivendell departed over the Sea, and by Aragorn's death 120 years later, it was entirely deserted.
In the Shire life continued as it had prior to the war. It was declared a free land under the Sceptre of Annúminas, and Men were forbidden to enter it. The Westmarch was added to the Shire by King Elessar in 1452 S.R.
Once the Fourth Age began the Elves stopped having an active influence on the affairs of Middle-earth, having started fading away ever since the Third. The Orcs never became a serious threat again, reduced to small bands of mountain brigands they were never more than a nuisance. The Nazgûl perished with the unmaking of the One Ring and the subsequent loss of the powers of the Nine, while their master Sauron was rendered impotent and unable to threaten Middle-earth again. However, the forces of Rhûn and Harad continued to war with the free peoples of Middle-earth until their eventual decline and defeat.
Adaptations
Many adaptations of The Lord of the Rings include part of the War in some form or another.There are several games that are patterned after the war: the Games Workshop
Games Workshop
Games Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...
2005 Summer Online Campaign, for The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game
The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game
The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game , and often referred to by players as Lord of the Rings, is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop . It is based on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, and the book that inspired it, written by J. R. R...
; a board game developed by Nexus Editrice
Nexus Editrice
Founded in 1993, Nexus Editrice was an Italian game publisher.Nexus produced board games, role-playing games, card games, miniature games, published magazines devoted to games, and licensed to the italian market games from many major international games publishers, such as Fantasy Flight Games,...
and published in the US by Fantasy Flight Games
Fantasy Flight Games
Fantasy Flight Games is a Roseville, Minnesota-based game company that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games. Fantasy Flight Publishing was founded in 1995 by its CEO, Christian T. Petersen. Since the release of its first game product in 1997, the company has been doing...
called War of the Ring (board game)
War of the Ring (board game)
War of the Ring is a strategy board game by Roberto Di Meglio, Marco Maggi and Francesco Nepitello, first produced by Nexus Editrice and currently published by NG International....
; a board and counter wargame called War of the Rings published by SPI in 1977; The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring is a 2003 real-time strategy game developed by Liquid Entertainment, the makers of the previous Battle Realms and its expansion, Winter of the Wolf, and published by Sierra Entertainment. Set in J. R. R...
, a real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
computer game published by Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
in 2003; and the Battle for Middle-earth series of real-time strategy games published by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
in 2004 and 2006.
The War of the Ring is the title of the eighth volume of The History of Middle-earth
The History of Middle-earth
The History of Middle-earth is a 12-volume series of books published from 1983 through to 1996 that collect and analyse material relating to the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, compiled and edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien. Some of the content consists of earlier versions of already published...
.
The War of the Ring was the working title of "Book 5" of 'The Lord of the Rings' (the first half of the eventual third volume). J. R. R. Tolkien wanted to use this as the overall title for the third volume of The Lord of the Rings, feeling that the title "The Return of the King" gave away too much of the plot.
See also
- The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
- Middle-earth warfare
- Minor battles in The Lord of the RingsMinor battles in The Lord of the RingsJ. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy book The Lord of the Rings concerns itself with, among other things, the War of the Ring, a war waged by the Dark Lord Sauron against the Elves, Dwarves and Men of the West of Middle-earth. However, the story also contains some battles which are either too minor in...
- Of the Rings of Power and the Third AgeOf the Rings of Power and the Third AgeOf the Rings of Power and the Third Age is the fifth and last part of The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is relatively short, consisting of about 20 pages....
- Rings of PowerRings of PowerThe Rings of Power in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium are magical rings created by Sauron or by the Elves of Eregion under Sauron's tutelage...
- The War of the Ring Online CampaignThe War of the Ring Online CampaignThe War of the Ring was Games Workshop's annual summer campaign for 2005. The campaign was named after the eponymous War of the Ring in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and was the first to feature the The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game as its wargaming system...
External links
- The Thains Book A description of the key battles of Middle-earth
- Encyclopedia of Arda
- http://www.angelfire.com/rings/firstwarofthering/ A non-commercial fansite of Games WorkshopGames WorkshopGames Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...
Lord of the Rings models.