The people who fought in ⚔️War of Wrath

[TheManInTheMoon]

The main leader of the Host of the Valar was Fionwë Eonwë the Herald of Manwë. And there were many Maiar at his side. "Here the sons of the Gods prepared for war, and Fionwe son of Manwe was their leader." (THE LOST ROAD)

(Tolkien made a revision later and turned Fionwe into the Maia of Manwë, and the sons of the Gods/Valar were turned into Maiar associated with their respective Valar)

The Elves of Aman who joined Fionwë: "all the Qendi march, but remembering Swanhaven few of the Teleri go with them [1]. Cor is deserted [2]" (Shaping of Middle-earth).

1: "in the outline B the presence of the Solosimpi on the March is referred to without comment, while in C they only agreed to accompany the expedition on condition that they remained by the sea" This remained like that in later versions. The Teleri didn't fight in the War because of their grudge against the Noldor and kinslaying.

2: Cor is Tirion.

The Leader of the Vanyar: Prince Ingwion "Ingwiel son of Ingwe was their chief" (Shaping of Middle-earth/SoME)

The Leader of the Noldor: "...the host of the Valar prepared for battle; and beneath their white banners marched the Vanyar, the people of Ingwë, and those also of the Noldor who never departed from Valinor, whose leader was Finarfin the son of Finwë." (Silmarillion)

Of the Coming of Fionwë to Middle-earth and His Summons to the War

"Of the march of the host of the Valar to the north of Middle-earth little is said in any tale; for among them went none of those Elves who had dwelt and suffered in the Hither Lands, and who made the histories of those days that still are known; and tidings of these things they only learned long afterwards from their kinsfolk in Aman."

This quote does not imply that no Elves from Middle-earth participated in the War. What it do tell us is that the events of the journey, from Valinor to the battlefields in Middle-earth, were mostly unknown to the Elves of Beleriand and other regions of Middle-earth - since they were already in Middle-earth.

"But at the last Fionwë came up out of the West, and the challenge of his trumpets filled the sky; and he summoned unto him all Elves and Men from Hithlum unto the East; and Beleriand was ablaze with the glory of his arms, for the sons of the Gods were young and fair and terrible, and the mountains rang beneath their feet. The meeting of the hosts of the West and of the North is named the Great Battle, the Battle Terrible, and the War of Wrath." (LR)

This was the last time JRR Tolkien rewrote War of Wrath chapter, which was in 1937. As is clear above, Fionwë/Eönwë "summoned unto him all Elves and Men from Hithlum unto the East" to battle, meaning the Elves of Middle-earth joined.

"Great war came now into Beleriand, and Fionwe drove the Orcs and Balrogs before him; and he camped beside Sirion, and his tents were as snow upon the field. He summoned now all Elves, Men, Dwarves, beasts and birds unto his standard, who did not elect to fight for Morgoth. But the power and dread of Morgoth was very great and many did not obey the summons." (LR)

The Response to the Summons of Eonwë

There were some who refused the summons, and some who marched to the battle.

The Elves of East of the Mountains: "... kindred that dwelt still east of the mountains few came into the history of Beleriand, and they remained in the Hither Lands after the ruin of the West in the great war, and have faded since or become merged among the Lembi. Yet in the overthrow of Morgoth they were not without part, for they sent many of their warriors to answer the call of Fionwe" (Lost Road/LR)

The Edain: "the three houses of the Men of Beleriand fought against Morgoth. But most Men were allies of the Enemy" "all that were left of the three Houses of the Elf-friends, Fathers of Men, fought for Fionwe; and they were avenged upon the Orcs in those days for Baragund and Barahir, Gumlin and Gundor, Huor and Hurin, and many others of their lords; and so were fulfilled in part the words of Ulmo, for by Earendel son of Tuor help was brought unto the Elves, and by the swords of Men they were strengthened on the fields of war. But the most part of the sons of Men, whether of the people of Uldor or others newcome out of the East, marched with the Enemy; and the Elves do not forget it." (LR)

Women of The House of Lady Haleth : "many of their warriors were women" (Unfinished Tales)

Easterlings: "all that were left of the three Houses of the Fathers of Men fought for Fionwe, and to them were joined some of the Men of Hithlum who repenting of their evil servitude did deeds of valour" (LR)

Dwarves: at least some of them, probably, weren't scarred mindless of the dread of Morgoth and therefore at least some answered the summons.

Noldor of Middle-earth: " [Noldorin] tongue was the speech of the survivors of Gondolin at Sirion's mouth, and it became the speech of all the remnants of the free Elves in Beleriand, and of such as joined with the avenging hosts of Fionwe. .... Noldorin is therefore now the speech of the survivors of the wars of Beleriand that returned again to the West with Fionwe" (LR) note that in later versions not all non-noldor could speak Quenya.

Sindar and Green-Elves: as the above quote suggests Moriquendi of the West of the mountains also joined the war. But in the later conception of the Legendarium a lot of the Sindar hated the Noldor and would not go with them to the wars, nor would they be content to live among them, save some Sindar like Celeborn and Cirdan. Amdir was also cool with the Noldor, so were some more of the Sindar who later lived under the authority/influence of GilGalad and Galadriel. Also there was a ban of Thingol on Quenya in later versions.

Elros and Elrond: it would be extremely unlikely if Elros rejected the summons to fight, since the Valar rewarded Numenor to the Edain for their valour in the wars, and Elros was made their King. We know for a fact that the Valar were extremely disappointed of those who rejected to fight for Eonwe and instead listened to Morgoth. Elros must've been a great hero in the War of Wrath. As for Elrond, in the Council he himself tells us he was in the War of Wrath. Elrond paused a while and sighed. 'I remember well the splendour of their banners [in the Last Alliance],' he said. 'It recalled to me the glory of the Elder Days and the hosts of Beleriand [in War of Wrath], so many great princes and captains were assembled [in the Last Alliance]. And yet not so many, nor so fair, as when Thangorodrim was broken [in the War of Wrath], and the Elves deemed that evil was ended for ever, and it was not so.' Elrond must've been quite a great war lord in the War of Wrath, or else Gil-Galad would've not sent Elrond to save Eregion in the War of the Elves and Sauron. You won't send some newbie weak commander to lead your army.

Maglor and Maedhros: the oath may have moved them to join the Great Battle.

Celeborn and Galadriel: they most likely fought. They are described as valiant fighters several times. The reason they had not fought in the Siege and Unnumbered Tears and such was because... "they did not join in the war against Angband, which they judged to be hopeless under the ban of the Valar and without their aid..." (Unfinished Tales) Moreover no one was listening to their advice concerning the strong enough alliance, and Thingol had banned his subjects from participating in the war, but now there was no Thingol, and there was no hopelessness; the Valar sent aid and they had no reasons to not join the war.

Celebrimbor: he was "a great friend of Celeborn and Galadriel" and great admirer of Finrod who had died fighting the Enemy (Peoples of Middle-earth), it is probable if he joined the war. Moreover, this is "the heroic defender of Eregion" who fought in single combat against Sauron in the Fall of Eregion. You would expect from such a brave person to fight in War of Wrath.

Cirdan: greatest surviving warrior of the Sindar, along with Celeborn. No reasons why he wouldn't fight.

Gil-Galad: he was the King of the Exilic Noldor. Most likely answered the summons. It was, like, his duty to lead the Exilic Noldor and join under the lead of his forefather Finarfin.

The only people who didn't answer the call of Fionwë to the war were in grudge against the Noldor and/or too afraid of "the power and dread of Morgoth". But those of the valiant peoples of Middle-earth would not be that afraid of the power of Morgoth now, there were literal Maiar and 'extraordinary' powerful armies on their side (Morgoth only sent his servants to fight in this war, he himself didn't come to fight, he was "unvaliant", he had wasted too much of his innate power upon raising his armies and corrupting things). Sons of Feanor are the very Elves who had confronted the Fiery Terrors of Udun themselves. Gil-Galad was one of the most bravest of all time. So were Cirdan and Celeborn and Galadriel "the fairest lady of the house of Finwë and the most valiant" "she was strong, brave," "she was then of Amazon disposition" "the only woman of the Noldor to stand ... tall and valiant among contending princes" (Back in Aman, in the Kinslaying, she had "fought heroically" and had "fought fiercely against Feanor in defence of her mother's kin"). And of course, no doubt, Elrond and Elros.

The Air Forces of Valinor

"Eärendil came, shining with white flame, and about Vingilot [his flying ship] were gathered all the great birds of heaven and Thorondor [king of the Eagles] was their captain, and there was battle in the air all the day and through a dark night of doubt. Before the rising of the sun Eärendil slew Ancalagon the Black, the mightiest of the dragon-host, and cast him from the sky; and he fell upon the towers of Thangorodrim, and they were broken in his ruin." (Silmarillion)

A Possible Planned Revision of the Slayer of Ancalagon

"In this last reappearance of the mysterious and fluctuating idea the prophecy is put into the mouth of Andreth, the Wise-woman of the House of Beor: Turin will 'return from the Dead' before his final departure, and his last deed within the Circles of the World will be the slaying of the Great Dragon, Ancalagon the Black. Andreth prophesies of the Last Battle at the end of the Elder Days (the sense in which the term 'Last Battle' is used shortly afterwards in this text, p. 371); but in all the early texts (the Quenta, IV.160; the Annals of Beleriand, IV.309, V.144; the Quenta Silmarillion, V.329) it was Earendil who destroyed Ancalagon." (Peoples of Middle-earth)

.............

The War of Wrath lasted for 4 decades, almost all evil Maiar were destroyed, few orcs remained, only two dragons survived, many evil men fled east, and the war ended in the final overthrown of Morgoth.

"The war was successful, and ruin was limited to the small (if beautiful) region of Beleriand. Morgoth was thus actually made captive in physical form, and in that form taken as a mere criminal to Aman and delivered to Namo Mandos as judge - and executioner. He was judged, and eventually taken out of the Blessed Realm and executed: that is killed like one of the Incarnates. [And he was thrust beyond the Door of the Night by the will of Eru] " (Morgoth's Ring)

 

[JWhite001]

What it do tell us is that the events of the journey, from Valinor to the battlefields in Middle-earth, were mostly unknown to the Elves in Beleriand - since they were already in Beleriand.

"But at the last the might of Valinor came up out of the West, and the challenge of the trumpets of Eönwë filled the sky; and Beleriand was ablaze with the glory of their arms, for the host of the Valar were arrayed in forms young and fair and terrible, and the mountains rang beneath their feet. The meeting of the hosts of the West and of the North is named the Great Battle, and the War of Wrath."

This quote from published Silmarillion is edited by Christopher.

In the actual source material written by JRR himself it is said: "But at the last Fionwë came up out of the West, and the challenge of his trumpets filled the sky; and he summoned unto him all Elves and Men from Hithlum unto the East; and Beleriand was ablaze with the glory of his arms, for the sons of the Gods were young and fair and terrible, and the mountains rang beneath their feet. The meeting of the hosts of the West and of the North is named the Great Battle, the Battle Terrible, and the War of Wrath."

This was the last time JRR Tolkien revised War of Wrath chapter, which was in 1937.

As is clear above, Fionwë/Eönwë "summoned unto him all Elves and Men from Hithlum unto the East" to battle, meaning the Elves of Beleriand joined [Hitlum being in the north-western corner of Beleriand, in a broad sense].

It should be noted that in the 1948 version of Galadriel where she was in Lorien at the time of War of Wrath, it is said "too late she heard the summons of Fionwë". This means the Elves from east of the Misty Mountains did not participate in WoW. They heard the summons too late. (Celeborn and Galadriel were in Beleriand in 1955-1972 versions)

It is explicitly stated Elrond was present in the ruin of Thangorodrim. Hence Elros too must've been there.

The last remaining Arafinwians, GilGalad and Galadriel must've followed Arafinwë Finarfin. And actually Galadriel and Celeborn had said if the Valar send aid we'll participate in the war against Angband. Celebrimbor too must've participated, he was a great admirer of Finrod and after the Fall of Nargothrond he became the bestfriend of G&C.

Maglor and Maedhros must've participated as well, being moved by their Oath. I suppose they were with E twins.

The War of Wrath lasted for 4 decades and ended with the overthrown of Morgoth.

 

[Olorgando]

The War of Wrath lasted for 4 decades and ended with the overthrown of Morgoth.

This is the most ridiculous aspect of JRRT's whole ruminations about the WoW - at least if he means such a long time after the actual fighting began.
From the published Silmarillion: " ,,, and the uncounted legions of the Orcs perished like straw in a great fire, or were swept like shrivelled leaves before a burning wind. ..."

 

[Elthir]

Poetry in prose.

 

[m4r35n357]

Don't forget the extra details in The Later Annals of Beleriand!

Morgoth himself came forth from Angband, and passed over Taur-na-Fuin, and the thunder of his approach rolled in the mountains.

also:

. . . and Morgoth fled back to Angband pursued by Fionwe.

 

[Olorgando]

Don't forget the extra details in The Later Annals of Beleriand!

That stuff in HoMe volume X "Morgoth's Ring"? My memory refuses to transfer most of the later writings to long-term storage ... 🤢

 

[m4r35n357]

That stuff in HoMe volume X "Morgoth's Ring"? My memory refuses to transfer most of the later writings to long-term storage ... 🤢

Heh, Book 5 - The Lost Road. c.1937. However the later portions of the Annals are preserved (with reduction) into the Tale of Years in Book 11 according to CT.

For what it is worth, I am no fan of LACOTE . . .

 

[Alcuin]

This is the most ridiculous aspect of JRRT's whole ruminations about the WoW - at least if he means such a long time after the actual fighting began.

Think of European and Late Classical wars. The Seven Years War. The Thirty Years War. The Hundred Years War. The Wars of the Roses. The Great Northern War: though it ended in 1721 was merely the culmination of the nearly continuous Northern Wars that began in 1554. The Byzantine–Sassanid War of 572–591 and the Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628: the latter ended the Age of Antiquity with the collapse of the Sassanid Empire and the rise of the Arabs in their place, just as the Western Roman Empire had collapsed two centuries earlier and the Germanic tribes taken its place.

Good heavens, man! Some historians propose that the First and Second World Wars are in reality one long conflict with a twenty year respite so that a new generation of soldiers could mature and come to battle – and I agree with them, and with Helmuth von Moltke der Ältere, wholeheartedly.

 

[Alcuin]

"Of the march of the host of the Valar to the north of Middle-earth little is said in any tale; for among them went none of those Elves who had dwelt and suffered in the Hither Lands, and who made the histories of those days that still are known; and tidings of these things they only learned long afterwards from their kinsfolk in Aman."
...
The Edain: "the three houses of the Men of Beleriand fought against Morgoth. ..."
...
Easterlings: "all that were left of the three Houses of the Fathers of Men fought for Fionwe, and to them were joined some of the Men of Hithlum who repenting of their evil servitude did deeds of valour" (LR)
...
Noldor of Middle-earth: " [Noldorin] tongue was the speech of the survivors of Gondolin at Sirion's mouth, and it became the speech of all the remnants of the free Elves in Beleriand, and of such as joined with the avenging hosts of Fionwe. .... Noldorin is therefore now the speech of the survivors of the wars of Beleriand that returned again to the West with Fionwe" (LR) note that in later versions not all non-noldor could speak Quenya.

Despite the final elided paragraph, I have always interpreted the relevant passages to mean that the Eldar of Middle-earth, Noldor, Sindar, and those of mixed heritage (e.g., Pengoloð), stayed out of the war. The final elided paragraph I interpreted to mean that the majority of the survivors of Doriath, Gondolin, and the coastal settlements of the Sindar (those under Círdan) emigrated at the end of the First Age to Tol Eressëa when Fionwë and the Host of the West returned to Aman at the end of the war. The Edain did fight with Fionwë’s expeditionary force, along with a few Easterlings from Hithlum. (Were these “good” Easterlings permitted to take ship to Númenor with the Edain and Drúedain?) Eärendil Peredhil also fought, which along with the report that the Edain fought in the war rather invites the implication that his sons Elros and Elrond joined, too. But the idea I have always taken from all this is that the Eldar who fought the wars of Beleriand sat out the War of Wrath for some reason: perhaps they were exhausted, disheartened, or even (especially the Noldorin Exiles) ashamed. Among these I include Maedhros and Maglor, making their assault upon Fionwë’s camp and the murder of the Elves guarding the two remaining Silmarils particularly heinous; Celeborn and Galadriel, whom I have always assumed to be already east of the Ered Luin, as Galadriel describes in “Mirror of Galadriel”: “ere the fall of Nargothrond or Gondolin I passed over the mountains,” presumably the mountains separating Beleriand from Eriador; and Celebrimbor, Gil-galad, and Círdan I have always counted amongst “those Elves who had dwelt and suffered in the Hither Lands,” implying that they, too, sat out the war.

It is notable, I think, that Sauron vanishes from the records of the First Age after his defeat by Huan and surrender to Lúthien, implying that he hid from Morgoth’s wrath and scorn, preserving himself from his master’s ruin and defeat; and of course that Balrog that is Durin’s Bane also managed to escape.

All in all, though, an excellent opening post.

 

[Olorgando]

This is the most ridiculous aspect of JRRT's whole ruminations about the WoW - at least if he means such a long time after the actual fighting began.
From the published Silmarillion: " ,,, and the uncounted legions of the Orcs perished like straw in a great fire, or were swept like shrivelled leaves before a burning wind. ..."

Think of European and Late Classical wars. The Seven Years War. The Thirty Years War. The Hundred Years War. The Wars of the Roses. The Great Northern War: though it ended in 1721 was merely the culmination of the nearly continuous Northern Wars that began in 1554. The Byzantine–Sassanid War of 572–591 and the Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628: the latter ended the Age of Antiquity with the collapse of the Sassanid Empire and the rise of the Arabs in their place, just as the Western Roman Empire had collapsed two centuries earlier and the Germanic tribes taken its place.

Good heavens, man! Some historians propose that the First and Second World Wars are in reality one long conflict with a twenty year respite so that a new generation of soldiers could mature and come to battle – and I agree with them, and with Helmuth von Moltke der Ältere, wholeheartedly.

I'm aware of at least some details of most of the "wars" you mention. JRRT's first-hand experience was the Battle of the Somme, the perhaps greatest carnage in history. Involving a front that was relatively clearly defined, except in some phases in the heat of the battle - but that mostly involved a fairly small area of the front. But basically, as later in WW II, when one side or the other wasn't mounting an offensive, they were preparing for one. Anything you mention pre-WW-I doesn't remotely resemble this, simply because the logistics of the time were utterly incapable of sustaining more than a few days of fighting (and never mind that, for example, in the 1861-1865 American Civil War, over two thirds of deaths by soldiers were by diseases ravaging the respective camps, and "only" one third by enemy action).

The Hundred Years War between England and France? (Actually 116 years, 1337–1453) Mostly bandit / pirate raids in France, not to be wondered as the English "nobility" were basically Norman bandits who accompanied Billy the Bastard across the English Channel in 1066. And those Normans were basically Vikings who, as I sometimes like to comment sarcastically, had lousy navigation skills - actually, they found pickings less and less easy to come by after the plunder of the cloisters of Lindisfrarne in 793. Which brings me to another point about "warfare" in much of the time you mention. The "warriors" were to not a small percentage in each host mercenaries - who weren't fond of going head-to-head with forces equally well equipped with weapons. Very much so the case in the (first) 30-Years War that ravaged central Europe (what was much later to become Germany). Attacking cities and towns (civilians), plundering them and burning the places to the ground was much the preferred modus operandi of these basically bandits with some sort of royal blessing (100-Y-W rerun ...). The city I now live in, at the time a town, was depopulated and a ruin for several years during the 30-Y-W.

What JRRT described - I've included the part pf my post that you excluded from your reply - sounds more like what Hitler's troops did to France - squared, cubed, to the power of four, perhaps more. How much straw do you need to keep such a fire going for 50 years????? The Battles of Sudden Flame, and Unnumbered Tears, covering basically the same battle terrain (that of the WoW can only have been marginally larger) were over in a couple of days. Ëarendil and the Great Eagles put an end to even the threat of Ancalagon & Co. after "a night of doubt".

Taking up the totally idiotic 50 years again - that's 18,262 days. At the rate of killing 100 Orcs a day, that's 1.8 million. At 1,000 Orcs a day, 18 million ...

Really? How did Morgoth manage to feed a host the size, population-wise, of the Netherlands within the confines of Angband (I don't even want to start on the sanitation system issues ... 🤢 )

Back to the Battle of the Somme. British forces suffered over 57,000 casualties, including over 19,000 killed, on the first day.
19,000 killed times 18,262 days would give about 346 million dead Orcs in 50 years ... in the First Age?

 

[Alcuin]

Fair enough, Olorgando. I do believe Christopher Tolkien said that his father was given to hyperbole.

But consider your answer. I absolutely agree that wars often consist of intense battle followed by movement and preparation for the next battle. I believe Morgoth’s armies are described as initially so large that Anfauglith could not contain them: that’s a pretty big military force, so large that even had it consisted of only Orcs and nothing else, it would likely have taken quite some time to remove it, even if they all “perished like straw in a great fire, or were swept like shriveled leaves before a burning wind” before the Host of the West. Still, Beleriand was destroyed, most of it sinking beneath the waves.

Fifty years might be better described as the time between Fionwë’s landing and the final capture of Morgoth. Surely that is the length of the war, involving dragons and Balrogs (the mere length of the war and the destruction it wrought would seem to indicate there were more than seven, and certainly more than three Balrogs involved! particularly since they faced unconstrained Maiar in combat) as well as “countless Orcs,” Men, lesser Umaiar, and whatever other creatures Morgoth and his malicious minions had manipulated or manufactured for meting out mar and mayhem. There must have been an initial battle, then attacks, counter-attacks, sieges – the whole panoply of ancient warfare, but between creatures far mightier than men alone.

It seems to me that in HoME there is further description of the war than is found in Silmarillion, of the initial contacts between the opposing forces, the places where various battles were fought, and so on. Since they were not mechanized, even marching Eldar and Maiar would take some time to reach Anfauglith, and we can expect that Morgoth’s armies defended every plot of ground along the way.

Just as tens of millions of people died in the two World Wars, but not all at once, several million Orcs seem to have perished in the War of Wrath, but at a slower pace. (All I hope is that there is not a new world war brewing, with hundreds of millions or billions dying with digital speed.)

To me, this sounds less like Der Westfeldzug, the 1940 invasion of western Europe and the Fall of France, and more like the 1941 invasion of Russia, fought over a broad front with attacks, counter-attacks, sieges, encirclements, and brutal battles with no quarter from either side. Without mechanized warfare, that could take a long time: even the Mongols had horses, but there is no mention of cavalry here.

 

[Hisoka Morrow]

Were these “good” Easterlings permitted to take ship to Númenor with the Edain and Drúedain?

Maybe they're the few survival of Bohr's faction, for JRRT didn't mention that their personnel had no survival or not, further, I'm pretty sure there's no sources that JRRT mentioned that "they're annihilated", correct me if I'm wrong. Of course it's another matter of JRRT's annihilation, for we know that strictly-defined annihilation contains all kinds of loss of combat power, including personnel flee.

Just as tens of millions of people died in the two World Wars, but not all at once, several million Orcs seem to have perished in the War of Wrath, but at a slower pace. (All I hope is that there is not a new world war brewing, with hundreds of millions or billions dying with digital speed.)

But basically, as later in WW II, when one side or the other wasn't mounting an offensive, they were preparing for one. Anything you mention pre-WW-I doesn't remotely resemble this, simply because the logistics of the time were utterly incapable of sustaining more than a few days of fighting (and never mind that, for example, in the 1861-1865 American Civil War, over two thirds of deaths by soldiers were by diseases ravaging the respective camps, and "only" one third by enemy action).

Orcsish personnel quality sucked might be a good account, and consider the Battle of Feishui, if things went wrong, all kinds of reasons may cause astrological KIA, such as "trample", and don't froget Dark Lord's forces often like to play friendly fire, such as the friendly trample of Grond in the battle of Minas-Tirith in 3rd Age, and obviously those Dragons were a perfect show as friednly fire. Consider all these elements into account, I wonder it could explain why orcs provide so frequent combat exo gift package.

 

[Olorgando]

Fair enough, Olorgando. I do believe Christopher Tolkien said that his father was given to hyperbole.

As they both certainly considered themselves to be English (not British!) I would guess this is one of those "understatement" cases ... 😁

I tried another plausibility check, this time with maps. A bit difficult, as there is no map of Beleriand etc. with the authority of the maps published for the Third Age in LoTR. The closest is probably the "Second Silmarillion Map" mentioned in both HoMe vol. 11 "The War of The Jewels" and vol. 5 "The Lost Road". In the latter, the maps are to be found on pages 408-411; CRT comments of page 407 "The map is on four sheets, originally pasted together but now separate ...".

More useful were entries in "Part Two: Valinor and Middle-earth before The Lord of the Rings", section VI "Quenta Silmarillion", part "Commentary on Chapter 9", "Notes on distances", on page 272:

- The length of Sirion from the Pass to the Delta was 121 leagues - or 363 miles, or 584 kilometers
- West Beleriand at its widest was 70 leagues from Sirion to the sea - or 210 miles, or 338 kilometers
- East Beleriand at its widest was 100 leagues from Sirion to Gelion - or 300 miles, or 483 kilometers

Going by the map, from the "Pass" mentioned above - about at First Age Minas Tirith, later Sauron's Isle of Werewolves, is my guess - it was at most another 150 miles or 240 kilometers to Angband. The distances for an eastern sweep, through East Beleriand, were somewhat longer, always assuming the hosts from Valinor did a kind of "Normandy D-Day" at the Delta of the Sirion. Not sure if anything of the sort is mentioned anywhere in HoMe, but a second attack further north, driving into Hithlum - reminiscent of General MacArthur's landing at Inchon during the Korean War that crushed the first North Korean advance - would make sense to me.

West-East from sea to Gelion about 820 kilometers, Delta of Anduin to Angband about 825 kilometers - these are distance that fit comfortably into present-day Germany, never mind the distance the western Allies had to cover from Normandy into basically later West Germany.

For easier calculation, let's up that to 1,000 kilometers. That's 20 kilometers a year in 50 years. Or 55 meters a day ... hello?!? I do more that 50 meters a day just shuffling around our apartment! "... straw in a great fire ..." sounds many orders of magnitude faster ...

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

See what happens when you start prodding a slumbering statistician, Alcuin? 🙄

 

[Sons of the Woodland King]

I'm just bumping this thread to show my appreciation for all these terrific notes!

Lack of a specific roster leads to a lot of speculation on who actually participated in the War of Wrath. With it being decades long and so catastrophic, it's hard to imagine any able-bodied warriors staying neutral in the conflict. I suppose those who did not wish to partake were just really determined to seek shelter somewhere and hide.

 

[Áramandë Amaniel]

I've always thought that the War of Wrath could have been expanded on more...but again, it seemed Tolkien left out much to personal interpretation.