The Battle of the Pelennor Fields

The Battle of the Pelennor Fields is the great and terrible climax of the War of the Ring, the moment when the armies of the West turn the tide against the Dark Lord Sauron. Fought on the broad plain before the walls of Minas Tirith, it is the battle that breaks the siege of Gondor's capital and decides the fate of the free peoples of Middle-earth. It is a battle of enormous scale and consequence, in which the Rohirrim ride to the rescue of Gondor, King Théoden falls in his moment of triumph, and the Witch-king of Angmar, Sauron's most terrible servant, is destroyed by an unexpected hand. The battle is remembered in song and story long afterward, and its outcome sets the stage for the final march to the Black Gate and the destruction of the One Ring.

The Assault upon Gondor and the Breaking of the Darkness

The battle begins as the climax of a long siege, when the forces of Mordor and its allies have surrounded Minas Tirith and pressed the City to its last defense. The assault upon Gondor is not led by any orc-chieftain or brigand, but by the Witch-king of Angmar, the Lord of the Nazgûl, who commands the armies of the Enemy with terrible power. Yet even as he stretches out his hand to seize victory, the darkness begins to break too soon, before the date that his Master had set for it. Fortune has betrayed him for the moment, and the world has turned against him; victory is slipping from his grasp. But his arm is long, and he is still in command, wielding great powers. King, Ringwraith, Lord of the Nazgûl, he has many weapons, and he leaves the Gate and vanishes to meet the new threat.

The Ride of the Rohirrim and the Fall of Théoden

The turning of the battle comes with the arrival of the Rohirrim, the horsemen of Rohan, who have ridden through the night to answer Gondor's call. Théoden King of the Mark has reached the road from the Gate to the River, and he turns towards the City that is now less than a mile distant. He slackens his speed a little, seeking new foes, and his knights come about him, and Dernhelm is with them. Ahead, nearer the walls, Elfhelm's men are among the siege-engines, hewing, slaying, driving their foes into the fire-pits. Well nigh all the northern half of the Pelennor is overrun, and there camps are blazing, orcs are flying towards the River like herds before the hunters, and the Rohirrim go hither and thither at their will. But they have not yet overthrown the siege, nor won the Gate. Many foes stand before it, and on the further half of the plain are other hosts still unfought. Southward beyond the road lies the main force of the Haradrim, and there their horsemen are gathered about the standard of their chieftain. He looks out, and in the growing light he sees the banner of the king, far ahead of the battle with few men about it. Then he is filled with a red wrath and shouts aloud, and displaying his standard, a black serpent upon scarlet, he comes against the white horse and the green with great press of men; the drawing of the scimitars of the Southrons is like a glitter of stars. It is in this charge that Théoden falls, the Thengling mighty, never returning to his golden halls and green pastures in the Northern fields. His death is remembered in the song of the Mounds of Mundburg, where the maker in Rohan sings of the horns in the hills ringing and the swords shining in the South-kingdom.

The Cost of Victory and the Song of the Mounds of Mundburg

The battle is won at a terrible price, and the full count of the fallen no tale has told. Aragorn and Éomer and Imrahil ride back towards the Gate of the City, weary beyond joy or sorrow. These three are unscathed, for such is their fortune and the skill and might of their arms, and few indeed have dared to abide them or look on their faces in the hour of their wrath. But many others are hurt or maimed or dead upon the field. The axes hew Forlong as he fights alone and unhorsed; both Duilin of Morthond and his brother are trampled to death when they assail the mûmakil, leading their bowmen close to shoot at the eyes of the monsters. Neither Hirluin the fair returns to Pinnath Gelin, nor Grimbold to Grimslade, nor Halbarad to the Northlands, dour-handed Ranger. No few have fallen, renowned or nameless, captain or soldier; for it is a great battle. The song of the Mounds of Mundburg lists the fallen lords of Gondor and Rohan: Harding and Guthláf, Dúnhere and Déorwine, doughty Grimbold, Herefara and Herubrand, Horn and Fastred, who fought and fell there in a far country, lying under mould with their league-fellows. Neither Hirluin the Fair to the hills by the sea, nor Forlong the old to the flowering vales ever returned in triumph; nor the tall bowmen, Derufin and Duilin, to their dark waters, meres of Morthond under mountain-shadows. The song remembers how the Great River ran red with blood, foam dyed with blood flamed at sunset, and red fell the dew in Rammas Echor.

The Aftermath and the Turning of the War

The Battle of the Pelennor Fields marks the decisive turning point of the War of the Ring. The victory breaks the siege of Minas Tirith and destroys the main army of the Enemy in the West, clearing the way for the final march to the Black Gate. The battle's outcome is remembered long afterward, and its significance echoes through the rest of the war. The fall of the Witch-king, the death of Théoden, and the survival of Aragorn, Éomer, and Imrahil all shape the events that follow. The victory at the Pelennor gives the free peoples the hope and the opportunity to make their last stand against Sauron, leading directly to the destruction of the One Ring and the downfall of the Dark Lord. The battle is thus not merely a military engagement but the hinge upon which the entire fate of Middle-earth turns, the moment when the long defeat of the West is finally reversed.