Battle of Dol Guldur

The Battle of Dol Guldur was the assault of Mirkwood and Lothlorien Elves to Sauron's stronghold of Dol Guldur, south of the Mirkwood forest. It took place in the War of the Ring at the end of the Third Age.

Dol Guldur was previously the Silvan Elves' seat of power, and they called this hill as Amon Lanc. When Sauron returned as the Necromancer, he used his dark shadow to defile the forest inhabited by the Elves. The Silvan Elves moved far within the woods to escape the evil threat and the vile creatures in the area. Sauron then occupied Amon Lanc and built his fortress, which he called Dol Guldur. He turned it into a stronghold as the Necromancer, but later the White Council cast him out, and he sought refuge in Mordor. From then, his Nazgul commanders occupied Dol Guldur. During the War of the Ring, the Nazgul, lead by one of its lieutenants Khamûl, second in command to the Witch-King, lead multiple attacks to the realms of Mirkwood and Lothlorien.

In TA 3019, the Nazgul stormed from Dol Guldur and struck Lothlorien on March 11th, but driven away by Galadriel's strength, through Nenya, her Ring of Power. Then, they engaged the Woodland Realm of Mirkwood on March 15th, of which the armies of King Thranduil eventually endured those of the Nazgul and triumphed in a prolonged, arduous battle. They continued the assaults in Lothlorien, the second attack occurred on March 15th and the third on March 22nd, all resulted in the outcome of their first attempt.

On March 28th, with Lothlorien and Mirkwood's united strength, the Elves marched towards Dol Guldur, lead by Galadriel and Thranduil. The Lady of Lothlorien destroyed the fortress of Dol Guldur to dust and emptied its abysses. Being occupied by darkness for more than two thousand years, she brought the stronghold into mere rubbles. And so, evil will never return, and the forest is finally free from the shadows and its creatures.

On April 6th, with the dissolution of Dol Guldur, Thranduil and Celeborn gathered and agreed to give the forest a new name, the Wood of Green Leaves or Eryn Lasgalen. They also settled their domains and borders in the forests, Thranduil claimed the territory north beyond Mirkwood's Mountains. Celeborn called their lands East Lorien, from the Narrows of the forest southward. And they entrusted the forest area in between to the Woodmen and Beornings. Lothlorien also re-established Amon Lanc, as it was before Dol Guldur. In the Fourth Age, Celeborn transformed the place into East Lorien's seat of power, which he reigned throughout his Middle-earth days.

The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth II [1] featured the Battle of Dol Guldur, but there were various deviations from the book's actual events. Dol Guldur was the last quest of the game's Good Campaign, joined by several characters mostly not on the book's original battle.

Elrond commands the company and not Celeborn, who was omitted. Thranduil is also involved in the quest. While the other characters added were Glorfindel, joined by Gloin, both fought as a duo on the campaign. Arwen and the Dwarf Dain II Ironfoot were also part of the mission (as he survived the Battle of Dale in the game, although he perished in the original story). Dol Guldur was also guarded by Men of Harad, the Easterlings, and an Oliphaunt. They changed the creatures in the game as Spiders and Wargs inhabited the fortress in the original story.

The first part of the quest takes the company of Elrond with the Dwarves and Elves to Mordor. There they take down a couple of Orc barracks and set beacons ablaze. Afterward, aid arrives for them, Glorfindel brings the Dwarves Dain and Gloin, while Thranduil enters with Arwen, the Elven forces, as well as the Ents. Next, they assail the fortress of Dol Guldur and break against several barriers. Soon after, news arrives that Sauron learned of their offense and set forth another army against them. The forces of Sauron with three Nazgul lieutenants appear, and the allied army battles them. The enemy army then falls back, most likely to aid Sauron's armies fighting in the Battle of Black Gates in Mordor. Still, a portion of Dol Guldur's army stays to defend it, and the Great Eagles arrive to help the company. With the combined strength of the Dwarves, Elves, Ent, and Eagles, soon they defeat the burrowing Wyrm, the Watcher creatures, and the armies of Dol Guldur.

The final mission is to beat the Dragon watching over Dol Guldur. Once slain, Galadriel then brings down the entire stronghold, concluding the North battle's triumph and driving the shadow out of the forest realms. Upon victory, Sauron also falls, and the One Ring is unmade.

1. ^The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II.