Thorin's Sortie

Thorin's Sortie is the climactic military action of the Battle of the Five Armies, in which Thorin Oakenshield, King under the Mountain, leads his companions in a desperate charge from the Front Gate of the Lonely Mountain, turning the tide of the battle against the goblin host before he is mortally wounded.

Background and Context

The Battle of the Five Armies had been joined after the goblin host, led by Bolg of the North, descended upon the valley between the arms of the Lonely Mountain. The forces of Elves, Men, and Dwarves had been driven back, and the defenders were being slowly beaten down on both the southern and eastern spurs. The goblins had scaled the Mountain from the other side and were streaming down to attack the spurs from above, while the bodyguard of Bolg, huge goblins with scimitars of steel, pressed the attack in the valley. Victory had vanished from hope, and the defenders were hemmed in, facing every way, with the goblins and wolves returning to the assault.

The Charge from the Gate

At the moment of greatest peril, a trumpet call rang out from the Gate. Part of the wall, moved by levers, fell outward with a crash into the pool before the entrance. Out leapt Thorin Oakenshield, King under the Mountain, and his companions followed him. They had cast aside their hoods and cloaks and were in shining armour; red light leapt from their eyes. In the gloom, the great dwarf gleamed like gold in a dying fire. Rocks were hurled down from on high by the goblins above, but the dwarves held on, leapt down to the foot of the falls, and rushed forward into battle. Wolf and rider fell or fled before them. Thorin wielded his axe with mighty strokes, and nothing seemed to harm him.

The Battle Cry and the Rally

Thorin cried out, "To me! To me! Elves and Men! To me! O my kinsfolk!" His voice shook like a horn in the valley. All the dwarves of Dain rushed to his help, heedless of order. Many of the Lake-men came down as well, for Bard could not restrain them, and many of the spearmen of the elves charged out upon the other side. The goblins were stricken in the valley once again, and they were piled in heaps until Dale was dark and hideous with their corpses. The Wargs were scattered, and Thorin drove right against the bodyguard of Bolg. But he could not pierce their ranks.

The Fall of Thorin

Already behind him among the goblin dead lay many men and many dwarves, and many a fair elf. As the valley widened, his onset grew ever slower. His numbers were too few, his flanks unguarded. Soon the attackers were attacked, and they were forced into a great ring, hemmed all about with goblins and wolves returning to the assault. The bodyguard of Bolg drove in upon their ranks like waves upon cliffs of sand. Thorin fell, pierced with spears. Beorn, who had appeared in bear's shape and grown almost to giant-size in his wrath, stooped and lifted Thorin, bearing him out of the fray. Thorin was laid in a tent in Dale, where he spoke his farewell to Bilbo Baggins, acknowledging him as "good thief" and parting in friendship, before dying of his wounds.

Significance and Aftermath

Thorin's Sortie was the decisive turning point of the battle, rallying the scattered defenders and buying time for the Eagles and Beorn to arrive and complete the victory. Though Thorin himself was slain, his charge broke the goblin assault and allowed the allied forces to regroup. He was buried deep beneath the Mountain with the Arkenstone upon his breast, and the Elvenking laid Orcrist upon his tomb. The sortie fulfilled the arc of Thorin's character, from the proud and gold-obsessed king to the warrior who died in battle against the common foe, redeeming his earlier harshness and greed. It also marked the end of the quest, as the treasure was divided and peace restored to the lands around the Mountain.