Battle of the Pelennor Fields

The Battle of Pelennor Fields was between the kingdom of men and the dark forces of Sauron. The battle took place in Minas Tirith, where the riders of Rohan joined in to defend the leaderless city of Gondor. It was the largest battle of the Third Age and claimed the life of King Theoden. Other notable casualties include the Witch-King of Angmar.​

Sauron’s army: Sauron’s forces arrived from Minas Morgul and was headed by the fiercest servant of the Dark Lord, the Witch-King of Angmar. The force outnumbered the joint forces of the kingdom of Gondor, Rohan, and other allies. This insatiable force consisted of approximately a hundred and fifty thousand trolls, orcs, and cursed men. Other allies of the Dark Lord included the Haradrim and the Southrons. These races brought gigantic beasts into the battlefield to cause mass destruction. They rode on towers, built on the back of the elephant-like creatures. The Khan’s Variags and Rhun Easterlings were also among Sauron’s forces. The western forces: The army of Gondor and its allies were nothing compared to the forces of the Dark Lord Sauron.

Faramir had already lost a third of his warriors in his suicide mission to retake the ruined city of Osgiliath. The neighboring provinces of Minas Tirith were only able to contribute three thousand men to defend the city walls. Out of the three thousand, a mere seven hundred men were strong fighters of Dol Amroth, and they were commanded by Prince Imrahil, the brother-in-law of Denethor. Towns from the coastal region of Gondor were under attack by the Corsairs of Umbar. This resulted in many soldiers being engaged in their towns rather than regrouping inside Minas Tirith. Rohan, the Northern neighboring kingdom, brought 6000 men on horseback, on the second day of the battle. These seasoned warriors contributed a great deal in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. But they were outnumbered three to one, by the Haradrim. Later on, further reinforcements arrived in the captured ships of the Corsairs. Aragorn gathered the remaining soldiers from the south and sailed towards the battlefield. After the battle was won, Aragorn claimed Gondor’s throne. He was the rightful ruler of the great city since he was descended from Gondor, as well as Arnor's High King. Before the beginning of the Fellowship of the Ring, Aragorn led the Rangers of the North.​

Denethor II, the Ruling Steward of Gondor, had very few expectations of help coming from the kingdom of Rohan. But Gandalf and Pippin had already alerted King Theodon of the attack by secretly lighting the beacons. Denethor, downcast by Faramir’s defeat in the second attack on Osgiliath, locked himself in the great White hall, while Sauron’s army had already breached Rammas Echor and was pressing on the city.​

The Rohirrim by-passed the northern defenses and attacked the army of Mordor from the rear. This was possible because Theoden’s army, guided by Druedain, took a secret passage (built by Dunedain) in the Druadan Forest to reach the Pelennor Fields. This hidden pathway was unknown to many except the Wild Men, and therefore, Mordor was not expecting the attack. Even though Theoden’s army took over half of the northern side of Pelennor, they couldn’t entrench a strong defensive line for the city, since the city walls were already shattered and breached by the time they had arrived. However, their attack forced the Haradrim to retreat. The Witch-King of Angmar rode in on his fell beast at this point and engaged in a fight with King Theoden.

The king gets injured during the fight and his horse falls on top of him. Merry Brandybuck was riding with Eowyn, Theoden’s niece, during the battle. Upon seeing her beloved uncle fall to the ground, Eowyn attacked the fell beast of the Witch-King. She severed its head with two strikes of her blade and sent the Witch-King falling off of his steed. Unharmed by the fall, the Witch-King rose back up again and struck Eowyn with his mace. Eowyn blocked the attack with a shield. But the continued strikes and the sheer force of the mace broke the shield and injured her arm.

And as she laid on the ground, defenseless, the Witch-King raised his weapon to finish her off. Merry came to her rescue and used his Barrow-Blade to stab the Witch-King on his leg from behind. Eowyn utilized the opportunity to drive her blade through the Witch-King’s face. The continued assault of the Rohirrim, commanded by Eomer, encouraged the foot-soldiers inside Gondor to retaliate. But even with their unified forces, the Mumakil, Southrons, and Haradrim outmatched them. Sauron’s forces quickly recovered from the death of their leader and pressed on. Meanwhile, the Corsairs of Umbar were about to anchor at the shores of Gondor to attack from the west. Upon their arrival, they saw Aragorn and the Grey Company standing at the port.

Aragorn gave them several warnings to retreat, but unaware of the Army of the Dead fighting alongside Aragorn, the pirates disregarded the threat. The Army of the Dead made their first attack on the Corsairs in an attempt to repay the king’s debt. Umbar’s men were driven mad by the attack, and abandoned ship, only to drown in the river. Aragorn’s Army of the Dead loaded the ships, along with the remaining allies of the fallen city of Gondor, and sailed towards Pelennor in the north. After reaching the battlefield, the Army laid waste to Sauron’s forces effortlessly, diminishing the forces nearby of Minas Tirith and the Anduin River. The joined forces of the Gondor army and the Rohirrim took this opportunity to strike with all they had left.

They tactically used their infantry to attack the Orcs while the men on horseback charged at the fleeing forces. Most of the enemies were either dead or retreating to the Land of Shadow. Gothmog summoned evil beings to fight back while the Orcs fled. Meanwhile, a strong regiment of the Easterling forces kept fighting with all they had. Even though Sauron’s army had done considerable damage and killed thousands of men in the Pelennor Fields, they were outmatched and outnumbered by the Armies of the West at the end. The battle was over by sunset.​

The stand against Mordor’s Army in the Pelennor was a stand of the realm of Men against the dark forces. Thousands of lives were lost during the battle, but thousands were saved as well. The unity of the Riders of Rohan, the Army of the Dead, and the soldiers of Gondor defeated Sauron from the core. His failure to manipulate the leaders of men cost him a sizable portion of his army. However, the Orcs he lost during the battle was only a small segment of his entire army, but a large portion of the battle-ready force he had. The Haradrim were almost vanquished with few surviving the battle. The biggest blow to Sauron’s power was the loss of his commander, the Witch-King of Angmar. The city of Minas Tirith was better defended after the battle. Aragorn had ordered men to arrive from Southern Gondor to join him in an attack at the gates of Mordor. 7000 marched towards Morannon to strike the enemy while he was at his weakest.​

Rankin/Bass (1980 Animation): The Return of the King

The battle in the animated film illustrates the undetailed graphics of Sauron’s forces clashing with infantrymen and riders of the west. Arrows are seen flying at both parties, while everyone engages in riot battle. The battle is only covered partway, and you can see Sauron’s orcs, trolls, and Uruk-hai in the field. Soon, the Oliphaunts join in with, somewhat, unstable towers lashed onto their backs, and carrying dozens of Mordor’s forces. The battle ensues: Pippin reaches out to Gandalf to alert him of Denethor's (the Ruling Steward of Gondor) plan to burn himself in a pyre. When confronted, Denethor replies that he sees no hope against the forces of Sauron and that they have failed.

He intended to die on his terms instead of being slaughtered by Sauron’s creatures. Gandalf tries to assure him that reinforcements from Rohan are on their way. But Denethor shows the Palantir to Gandalf, only to prove that he knows Sauron’s plans and that the Corsairs were sailing upriver on their black fleet. Later on, the Oliphaunts drag in the Grond to breach the walls of Minas Tirith. Trolls were used to operate the ram under the direction of The Witch-King of Angmar. Gandalf and the Witch-King on his fell beast exchange words.

The conversation intervened with the sound of a rooster crow, which indicated that a new dawn was upon them. Soon afterward, the Rohirrim arrive and blow their pre-battle horn. The Riders of Rohan thrashed through Sauron’s forces from the rear. The Witch-King leaves but returns later, with reinvigorated strength. The Dawnless Day casts a shadow over the battlefield as the Witch-King returns. He attacks Theoden and in the process, causes his horse Snowmane to throw him off and fatally wound the mortal king. By this time, Pippin and Merry had already found each other. Eowyn attacks the Witch-King to save her uncle and slays the fell beast. They duel with each other, but the Witch-King fractures Eowyn’s arm with his mace.

Merry intervenes and stabs the Witch-King on his leg from behind. Eowyn takes the opportunity to sever the Witch-King’s head. In the end, Sauron’s forces retreat hastily. Some accidentally fall in the river and drown. When the black fleets sailed in, they had banners of the King of Gondor instead of that of Mordor. This causes more panic among Sauron’s troops. The joint forces take on the remaining enemies. Preparations to attack the Black Gates of Mordor start soon after the battle ends. [1]​

In this film, the battle was lost much more in general than the book version about the siege. The Gondor forces could initially devastate Mordor forces with trebuchets, Gandalf's command and the gate's solidity, having much better performance than the book version in the first places. However, after the Nazguls destroyed the trebuchets and Mordor forces destroyed the gate with their newly-deployed battle-ram called Grond, the tides begun to favor Mordor's forces as they're able to overwhelm the defenders via the gate with their superior number till their numerical advantage was diminished by the ciditael terrain. After massive street combat through the whole night after the gate was broken,the Morodr forces not only took over the gate but the whole urban area of the 1st level in spite of their destructive but affordable casualties.
The Gondor garrisons kept giving up their defenses till the Rohirrim's arrive with 6000 horsemen and charged the orcs from their flank. With the advantage of the slope, they rode fast and smashed through the orc shield-wall. The orcs retaliated with multiple volleys that went in vain. But they soon released the Mumakil to face the riders of Rohan. King Theoden rode along with the riders and dived right into the battle. They successfully destroyed some of the Haradrim forces by spearing the Mumakils down. The Witch-King of Angmar, commander of Sauron’s forces, arrived at the battlefield in his fell beast. He attacks King Theoden, and Theoden’s horse Snowmane, falls on top of him, nearly crushing the king. His niece Eowyn had secretly joined his horsemen as Dernhelm, to take part in the battle. Upon seeing her uncle fall, she defends the king by striking the fell beast with her sword, severing its head.

The Witch-King is thrown off his steed but recuperates quickly and engages in a fight with Eowyn. He swayed his mace and kept hitting Eowyn’s shield over and over again, till the shield shattered and fractured Eowyn’s arm. Right before the Witch-King raised his mace to strike a final blow, sure to send Eowyn to her death, Merry stabbed the King of Angmar in his leg. Eowyn got up and took the opportunity to drive her sword through the Witch-King’s face and finish him. Before the war began, Aragorn had gone on a mission of his own. To reinforce their army, he reached out to the Army of the Dead to join the battle. Accompanied by Gimli and the son of Thranduil, Legolas, they visit the dead in their domain. Aragorn swore to hold the debt to the King, owed by the dead, settled if the dead fought alongside the living to defeat Sauron’s forces. The Corsairs arrived soon, sailing upriver, to join the forces of the Dark Lord.

However, they met Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas at the port. Unaware of the Army of the Dead, the Corsairs neglect their warnings. Aragorn attacked them with the help of the Dead Army and took over their ships. Back in Minas Tirith, Gondor prepared for a final attack to finish everyone off. The orcs outnumbered the men in the Pelennor Fields and were nearing victory. Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas arrived with their ships filled with the allies of the fallen kingdom of Gondor. The Dead effortlessly diminished the Haradrim, Mumakil, and Orcs. Whatever was left of Mordor’s forces, were compelled to retreat.​

An outdated rendition of the Battle of the Pelennor Field is documented in the fourth volume of The History of The Lord of the Rings. There are considerable differences in details and certain storylines, between the fourth volume and the films. For instance: In the fourth volume, Theoden dies after getting his heart pierced by a projectile instead of being crumpled by his steed. Another minor difference is Eowyn’s hairstyle when she reveals herself on the battlefield. In the Fourth volume, she has short hair when she takes off her helmet. Tolkien even considered killing off the character of Eowyn. Tolkien has mentioned another war similar to that of the Battle of the Pelennor Field, called the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. The Battle of the Catalaunian plains is also recorded as the Battle of the Campus Mauriacus/Battle of Chalons/Battle of Troyes. Both battles had transpired between the eastern civilization and that of the west.

The latter was a battle between Flavius Aetius (Roman general) and Theodoric I (the Visigothic King) versus the Huns and Attila’s vassals. King Theodoric, I die fighting in the Catalaunian Plains. According to reports by the Jordanes, he was thrown off the back of his mare, just like King Theoden in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. However, instead of getting crushed by his mare, he was trampled by his men while they were marching forward. In the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, King Theoden is seen assembling his men before he is attacked by the Witch-King. Both Theodoric and Theoden’s bodies were honorably conveyed away from the warzone by their warriors amid an ongoing battle.

BBC Radio series: The Lord of the Rings

The Battle of the Pelennor Fields is dictated in the Radio series through music, dubs, and opera. One is Pippin’s voice, and the other is the different voices describing the battle itself. Pippin is heard, at first, talking to the Steward of Gondor, Denethor II, trying to convince him that Faramir is not dead, but unconscious. He then finds Gandalf aware of Denethor’s madness. This scene is cohesive with the book. The battle is heard in songs, operas, and the voices of some of the characters. It starts with the pre-battle speech orated by the Rohan King Theoden. When the Rohirrims charge towards the Orcs and attack the dark forces, it is sung in tunes by a vocalist in the radio version. Jack May voiced the character of Theoden, and Eomer was dubbed by Anthony Hyde. Soon after the Rohirrim's intercede in the battle, Eomer and Theoden are heard saying that the Nazgul is arriving. The attack of the Witch-King, the fall of Theoden on the battlefield, and the Witch-King’s attempt to kill Theoden- is heard in opera. The music fades as Eowyn faces the Witch-King to save her uncle.​