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For the board game, see War of the Ring (board game). In the fictional fantasy-world of J. R. R. Tolkien the War of the Ring is a war between Sauron and the free peoples of Middle-earth for control of the One Ring and dominion over the continent. It took place at the end of the Third Age. Along with the Quest of the Ring it is extensively told about in The Lord of the Rings. The war was initiated by Sauron, who had gained strength since the end of the Second Age and sought the One Ring. 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 Evil side. The war also signified 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, Lórien, 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.
Rohan Although there had never really been peace, the War of the Ring started in Rohan when Saruman'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 Westmark 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 unmolested, but soon the fortress was surrounded by Saruman's troops. The situation became desperate, and at dawn the Rohirrim attempted a break-out. Unexpectedly, Gandalf arrived with Erkenbrand and the scattered Rohirrim, along with a forest of Huorns who had been sent to the battle by Treebeard. The orcs were trapped and utterly destroyed. Days before, at an Entmoot in Fangorn Forest, the Ents, furious over the destruction Saruman had wrought upon the forest, decided to march on Isengard. They were to move up to Isengard and destroy it. By 3 March the destruction was completed, and the command of Isengard was taken by the Ent Treebeard. At Gandalf's request he sent a large herd of Huorns to the Battle of Hornburg, to aid the Rohirrim. Gondor For over 3000 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. Faramir, captain 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. 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 attack soon began, as the Nazgûl hovered above and spread terror and confusion, and siege towers tried to take the walls but were all destroyed. The Gate of Minas Tirith was broken, and the Lord of the Nazgûl entered, the first and only enemy to do so, and all seemed lost — until Théoden of Rohan, with 6000 horsemen came and somewhat relieved the forces of Gondor. Still, the battle was in doubt until Aragorn arrived with a large force out of South Gondor. The forces of Gondor 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. Dale As the war begun, 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 Ironfoot 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 was spread about the victory in the South, the Easterlings scattered and the sons of Brand and Dain let their army out of Erebor. Lothlórien and Mirkwood On March 11 Lothlórien is first attacked from Dol Guldur. 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. Also Thranduil of Mirkwood was attacked from Dol Guldur, but in 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 was released by Treebeard. 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 Hobbits 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. With the death of 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 Kingdom, under King Elessar Telcontar. The Steward of Gondor was dead, but he was succeeded by his son Faramir, who 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. In Dale, both King Brand and King Dáin II Ironfoot were killed, who 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 Rings left Middle-earth, and Lórien was eventually abandoned. In Eryn Lasgalen however, Thranduil's rule continued, and they had peace. There was also an Elven colony in Ithilien. 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. Adaptations Trivia See also | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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