Battle of Five Armies

The Battle of Five Armies was the decisive armed conflict that ended the Quest of Erebor and reshaped the power balance of northern Middle-earth in the late Third Age. Fought in 2941 near the Lonely Mountain, it pitted an alliance of Dwarves, Men, and Elves against a vast host of Orcs and Wargs. The battle resulted in the death of Thorin Oakenshield, the destruction of the dragon Smaug, and the restoration of the Dwarf-kingdom under the Mountain, inadvertently creating conditions that would later prove crucial in the War of the Ring.

Causes and Background

The battle was the direct consequence of the successful but disruptive Quest of Erebor. Thorin Oakenshield and his company of thirteen Dwarves, guided by the Wizard Gandalf and accompanied by the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, had reclaimed the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug. Smaug's subsequent destruction by Bard of Esgaroth left the Mountain's vast treasure without a guardian. Thorin then claimed the treasure for himself, leading to a tense standoff with the Elven-king Thranduil and the Men of Lake-town, who sought compensation for the destruction Smaug had wrought. This dispute was on the verge of open conflict when news arrived of a far greater threat: a massive army of Orcs and Wargs, led by Bolg, son of Azog, was marching from the Mountains of Mirkwood to seize the Mountain and its wealth. The Orcs, seeking vengeance for their defeat in the War of the Dwarves and Orcs decades earlier, forced the quarreling free peoples into a desperate alliance.

The Course of the Battle

The battle was fought on the slopes and before the gates of Erebor. The combined forces of Dwarves, Men of Dale and Lake-town, and Elves of Mirkwood, though outnumbered, held a strong defensive position. The fighting was savage and prolonged. The Orcs, driven by Bolg's command, launched wave after wave of assaults. The turning point came with the arrival of the Eagles of the Misty Mountains, who swept down upon the Orc host from above, breaking their formations. In the final, desperate struggle, Thorin Oakenshield led a charge from the Mountain's gate and engaged Bolg's bodyguard. Thorin was mortally wounded in the fight, but his counterattack, combined with the Eagles' intervention, shattered the Orc army. The battle ended with the complete destruction of the Orc host and the death of their leader, Bolg.

Consequences and Aftermath

The battle's immediate consequences were profound. Thorin Oakenshield died of his wounds and was buried with the Arkenstone deep within the Mountain. His sister-sons, Fíli and Kíli, also fell in the battle. Dáin Ironfoot, Thorin's cousin and a veteran of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, became King under the Mountain, ushering in a new era of prosperity for the Dwarf-realm. The Kingdom of Dale was restored under Bard, and peace returned to the region. The treasure of Erebor was divided, with Bilbo Baggins returning to the Shire with a modest but comfortable portion. More significantly, the destruction of Sauron's chief northern agent, the Necromancer of Dol Guldur, was completed shortly after the battle when the White Council drove him from his stronghold. The victory at the Battle of Five Armies thus removed a major threat to the North and allowed the free peoples of Wilderland to recover their strength, a recovery that would prove essential when the War of the Ring erupted decades later. The battle also had a personal consequence for the Ring: Bilbo Baggins, who had found the One Ring in the Misty Mountains before the quest, returned to the Shire with it, unknowingly setting the stage for the central conflict of the age.