While a great victory had been won at the Battle of the Hornburg, the fate
of Middle-Earth still hung in the balance, with Sauron maintaining the upper hand in spite of the
loss of his most powerful servant Saruman and the might of Isengard. The Dark Lord had bred
hundreds of thousands of Orcs, as well as his own variation of the Uruk-Hai in the depths of Mordor,
and looked poised to force the Men of the West into one final battle to decisively end the War
of the Ring. But before the famous battle of the Pelennor Fields, we need to see how the opposing
forces approached Gondor and how captain Faramir tried to buy the time for the allies to arrive
at the second battle of Osgiliath and the battle of Rammas Echor.
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Following on from the Battle of the Hornburg, Gandalf accompanied by Théoden, Aragorn, Legolas,
Gimli, Treebeard, Merry, and Pippin approached the imposing might of Isengard which the Ents
could not breach due to its superior Numenorian design, and confronted Saruman, who spiteful
and proud even in defeat, refused the pleas of Gandalf to surrender, forcing the white wizard to
reluctantly expel his former friend from the Order destroying his staff and leaving him powerless.
Grima Wormtongue also refused the mercy of King Théoden, instead hurling Saruman’s Palantír at the
King narrowly missing him. Ever curious, Pippin dived into the watery depths now encompassing
the fortress, recovering the Palantír which had been corrupted by Sauron. The young hobbit came
face to face with the Dark Lord himself, but paralysed by fear said nothing. Still,
his presence confirmed the defeat of Saruman, driving an icy shard of fear into Sauron’s.
In the meantime, Saruman was left to his own devices, with the Ents to serve as his keepers.
Upon returning to Helm’s Deep the group was met by the Grey Company, consisting of the
remaining thirty-one members of the Dunedain led by Aragorn’s lieutenant Halbarad and the twin sons
of Elrond; Elladan and Elrohir. They brought with them advice from Galadriel and Elrond,
as well as a standard made by Arwen, depicting the White Tree upon a black
background with a crown placed above the tree symbolising what was to come.
The decision was made that the Heir of Isildur must make his presence known to his greatest
adversary. Gazing deep within the Palantír and holding the reforged blade Anduril Flame of the
West, Aragorn confronted the Dark Lord revealing that the heir of Isildur was soon to return
as King of Gondor. Believing that Aragorn was now in possession of the One Ring while also about
to unite all of the Free Folk of Middle Earth behind his banner, the Dark Lord panicked. His
well laid plans were hastened as he now saw the need for a pre-emptive strike on Gondor
before Aragorn could assume the throne. Having been shown the sheer might of Sauron’s forces
through the Palantír, Aragorn was also forced to take desperate measures, in this instance
departing the now rallying Rohirrim to walk the Paths of the Dead in order to save his people.
Gandalf left the King to continue his muster, taking Pippin with him to Minas Tirith with all
the haste his mount Shadowfax could muster and before long they came before the Rammas Echor
or the Long Wall as it was often called. This fortification served as Minas Tirith’s second
line of defence should Osgiliath fall, consisting of a large wall which took an elliptical course
across the plains of Pelennor. At its centre stood the causeway forts, twin towers which
could be held against large numbers, yet as was a sign of the decaying strength of the Kingdom,
these walls had been left to the elements for many years and when passing through Gandalf
and Pippin witnessed hasty and desperate attempts to patch up the fortifications.
Further adding to the woes of the Gondorians, they no longer possessed
enough soldiers to man the unwieldy defences. Arriving at the city, Pippin was overtaken by
its sheer size and majesty, yet Gandalf was not as impressed seeing a city resigned to its defeat,
as the majority of the citizenry had been sent out into the fiefdoms of the Kingdom and
a rallying call had been sent out by the Steward Denethor. However, the threat of an incoming fleet
of corsairs from Umbar had severely limited the numbers sent from the outlying regions of Gondor.
The muster itself amounted to 200 well-armed men from Lossarnach, 300 from Ringlo Vale,
500 bowmen from Morthond, 150 scantily equipped levies from Anfalas, 50 hillmen from Larnedon,
100 fisher-folk from Ethir Anduin, 300 from Pinnath Gelin and 1200 men from Dol Amroth.
The latter were led by the Prince of Dol Amroth Imrahil, who immediately assumed a leadership
role in the defence of the city. He brought with him the very flower of the Gondorian forces,
the heavily armed and armoured Swan Knights - the only known horsemen in Middle Earth who could
potentially best their Rohirrim allies. While each of these men did not lack for valour or the
willingness to die for their land, their strength and numbers were lower than anytime before.
Arriving within the Tower of Ecthelion, Gandalf was left even more worried by the mental state
of Denethor Steward of Gondor, who appeared to be completely distraught due to the death of his
son Boromir, as well as the pervading influence of Sauron through his usage of the Palantír of Minas
Tirith. Pippin feeling responsible for the loss of Steward’s son at the hands of the Uruk Hai at
Amon Hen, immediately pledged himself to the Steward and was brought into Denethor’s service,
Meanwhile, Faramir had ordered his company of Rangers of Ithillien to reinforce the garrison
of Osgiliath, and then returned to Minas Tirith chased by the Fell Beasts of the Nazgul and
barely made it inside the walls due to the timely intervention of Gandalf who flew through the gates
of the city upon his steed Shadowfax. He revealed his true power upon that day, driving back the
Nine with the might of his power and even making the Witch King recoil in what resembled fear
if he could still feel such a human emotion. Faramir then informed his father as well as
Gandalf and Pippin of the survival of Frodo and Sam as well as their continued travels towards
the Morgul Vale. Denethor was furious with the failure of his son to bring the One Ring to Gondor
and lamented that he had lived and Boromir had not, before sending his son to hold the
Western portion of Osgiliath at all costs. A strategy which Faramir disagreed with
knowing that it most likely would cost him his life. Ever the most dutiful of sons Faramir took
up this responsibility, but not before saying to his father "Then farewell! But if I should return,
think better of me!" and hearing "That depends on the manner of your return" in response.
Faramir returned to Osgiliath that same day and began to make ready the defences of the city of
which they only maintained control of the Western portion. The Eastern portion lay in the hands of
a massive horde of Orcs which was estimated to number between seventy and a hundred thousand,
while overall command was given to the Witch King of Angmar, his lieutenant Gothmog was an
adept strategist. He had commanded the Orcs stationed on the Eastern bank of the Anduin
to create as many barges as they could in order to ferry their forces over the mighty river.
On the ninth and tenth of March, the Dark Lord sent a foul cloud from Mordor covering the lands
of Rohan and Gondor in darkness for two days, sapping the strength and will of the Men of
the West as the dawn never arrived. On the same day a behemoth force emerged from the Black Gate
and force-marched itself all the way to Cair Andros, capturing the island in the hopes of
cutting off the Rohirrim relief force which had completed its muster at Dunharrow, while
simultaneously another smaller army marched from Minas Morgul to bolster the forces at Osgiliath.
Théoden had honoured the pledge of Eorl the Young and assembled six thousand cavalrymen among them
his niece Eowyn and Merry disguised among his riders. This was all all he could manage in the
time allotted to him, but it remained uncertain as to whether or not they would arrive in time.
Meanwhile, Aragorn was leading the Grey Company, Gimli and Legolas through the Paths of the Dead.
His plan was to recruit the Dead Men of Dunharrow, who betrayed their oath to
Isildur during the War of the Last Alliance. As the Heir of Isildur, Aragorn had the ability to
release them from their oath and undead existence, so the Dead Men joined him.
At the same time, the Orcish host alongside their Haradrim reinforcements attacked Osgilliath on
the 11th of March. The Rangers of Ithillien and Gondorian regulars made the hordes of Orcs pay for
every step they took through the former capital and proved their worth despite the unfavourable
odds. After a day of fighting however the weight of numbers soon took its toll pushing the Men of
Gondor from the city and forcing them to take up further positions along the Rammas Echor.
The fighting was at its fiercest at the Causeway Forts, as Faramir personally led the defence here
and knowing that time was of the essence refused to give an inch of ground to the forces of Mordor.
The Rammas Echor was too large a bastion to hold given the numbers provided to the young captain
of Gondor and having held another day here they were forced into a retreat on the 13th of March.
What started as an orderly withdrawal soon turned into a rout as the battered
and broken forces of Gondor attempted to make their way back to the White City,
yet the Pelennor Fields offered no cover to Faramir or his men.
They were overtaken by the forces of the Dark Lord and a fierce mêlée ensued in which Faramir was
struck down by a poisonous dart commonly used by the forces of the Southrons and left near death.
His men loyal to their captain above all else shielded his body and stood willing to fight
to the last man if it meant saving their leader. This proved .unnecessary however as Prince Imrahil
despite orders to avoid any engagements outside the walls of the city by the Lord Denethor,
led a sortie of his Swan Knights. The sheer ferocity and strength of these scions of an age
long since passed saved the lives of the remainder of the garrison of Osgilliath,
their Swan shaped helms driving fear into the hearts of the Orcs and Southrons who themselves
turned to rout. With Gandalf once more driving off the Nazgul who had grown to fear the light
of the Istaari once more, Imrahil coming upon the stricken body of his friend and nephew,
hoisted Faramir upon his horse and rode back to the city with all haste in search of a healer.
Upon hearing of his son’s injury Denethor finally gave way to madness, locking himself within the
White Tower preparing a pyre for himself and his son to burn upon despite Pippin’s protestations.
That left the defence of the city to Gandalf who was aided by the immensely capable Prince Imrahil,
with the regular forces of Gondor joined by the survivors of the Rammas Echor.
While the defeat at Osgiliath had been resounding and Faramir’s injury deprived them of another
capable leader for the battle which was to come, the time he had bought in his desperate defence
would prove pivotal in giving time for the Rohirrim to arrive and fulfil their oaths. This
had been symbolised by the Red Arrow of Eorl which had been presented to King Théoden at Dunharrow,
a gesture which once again called upon the old oaths of friendship to be fulfilled.
So began the Siege of Gondor the conflict which would forever alter the course of the
history Middle Earth and decide whether it would be the age of man or the age of the
orc which would come to eclipse the fading light of the Elves in the years to come.
Much of this hinged on whether the diminished blood of Numenor
in the guise of the steadfast Gondorian defenders could hold out long enough for relief to arrive.
Yet in the face of such darkness this rested on nought more than a fool’s hope, which Gandalf
the White believed may be just enough to hold the darkness at bay as Frodo and Sam advanced
ever closer to the flames of Mount Doom and the salvation of the peoples of Middle Earth.
This brings us to the Battle of Pelennor Fields; however, this is the story for our
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