Most important Military Force in the War of the Ring

[Orc]

Who do you think was the most important military force during the War of the Ring and why?

you can select more than one....

[BlackArrow]

All the armies had a significant part in the War of the Ring. The Ent's destroyed Isengard and alot of his orcs, The Dwarves fought off more orcs in Dale, Both Rohan and Gondor fought in the main battle near Minas Tirith and elsewhere. ANy of them is a good choice but my vote is for Gondor, they had stood gurading the rest of ME for years and still stood at the end of the War.

[Gil-Galad]

A good point

[Fatty]

Well I think they were all important in there own way. THough I put other. I think Saurons forces were the most important, he could have used them to lock down Mordor and make the Ringbearers task impossible, but due to the deceptions of the other side he did not.

So I think that his forces active part intaking th ebattle to the free peoples,as it were, was the most decisive military decision in the War.

Most of the other battles were important for events after Saurons downfall, as in still peole left alive etc. But as regard the outcome they did not play a great part. Except maybe the final bait to keep the eye from Mordor, by the captains of the west.

[Orc]

While each of the different forces played important roles in the War of the Ring, I think that the Ents and Hurons were the most important.

At the Battle of Helm's deep they were critical. Had the Hurons not been present, a significant amount of Saruaman's forces may have survived and prevented Theoden and his forces from coming to the rescue of Gondor. By destroying Sauraman's forces as well as Isengard, they turned the war from a two front engagement, to a one front engagement, freeing valuable troops and resources to face Sauron.

[PrinceImrahil]

I had to vote for 2.

First, the ents and hourns for the same reasons as Orc.
Second, Gondor for holding bak the enemy for so many years. In Particular all the small foores from different areas that came to defend Minas Tirith. Foe example Prince Imrahil and the Knights of Dol Amroth (but that wasn't that small), Forlong the Fat, and many many more...

[Beregond]

I say Gondor just because they had Forlong the Fat behind them.

Not really. I chose Gondor for the same reasons as Imrahil. My second choice would have been Rohan.

[A! Elbereth]

Orc... you always have the best answer to everything lol ;) :) :grin:

[Pil]

I chose Rohan, cos i think they are the kinda backup that gondor inevitably needed and the BATTLE OF THE PELENNOR FIELDS :hooray:...:embarras: would have been a WHOLE lot different without them!

Plus they have cool horses :elfqueen:

I chose 'other' in order to mention the eagles. I mean, they're ALWAYS there. Saving gandalf like what, three times!? V. important guy there!!!! Saving bilbo and the dwarves from the wargs and goblins...and at the battle of the five armies. PLUS they were there outside the gates of mordor when pippin saw them. GO EAGLES :entdraught:

[PrinceImrahil]

I forgot about the eagles...
Good Point Pil!

[Fatty]

The only comment I can add to this is that in my opinion, The War of the Ring was different from previous wars. It was no tdown to military force, had it been Sauron would have won a few months after teh Pelennor for sure.

So although the forces involved were important in what they saved or prevented being destroyed, I am not sure that they were that instrumental in the ringbearer fullfilling his quest. I can see that they helped draw the eye from Mordor. But even had they lost at Pelennor and Minas Tirith had fallen. Sauron's mind would still have been far from his own land. With Lorien, Rivendell, Rohan and Mithlond all waiting for destruction.

[Gil-Galad]

A very good point. I think that sauron would never have been able to kill good, but would have been able to beat it down.

[Elentari]

Though again we have to acknowledge that all peoples and events work together to bring about an end, I think the most important military force (imho) would have to be the delegation from Rohan. The men of Gondor would never have held out without them, and they were also instrumental in the Battle of Helms Deep.

[Gil-Galad]

Another good point!

[Pil]

Weeeeel, aren't we just SOOOOO intelligent!? (lol)

[Elentari]

Personally, I don't feel I'm all that intelligent; that's why I said 'in my humble opinion'. I'd love to hear everyone else's ideas on the subject. :-)

[Bonos-Girl]

i can't decide at all but if i really had to pick it wou;ld be the men of gondor..... (same reasons as everyone else!)

[Pil]

C'mon...be original...pick EAGLES!!!!!! :hooray:

[Orc]

But for what reasons would you pick the eagles? They don't even make much of a football team here in the states, muchless a potent military force.

In LorR they seem to be more of a writers foil - i.e. the great JRR seems to write himself into a corner, and uses the eagles to bail himself out of it.

[Pil]

THAT IS SOOOOOOOOOOO NOT TRUE! verymad

THE EAGLES PLAY MANY A VITAL ROLE IN THE WAR OF THE RING AND SHOULD NOT BE FORGOTTEN. QUANTITY IS NOT QUALITY. JUST COS THEY DON'T GO CHUCKING THEMSELVES AROUND LIKE THE OTHER ARMIES DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY HAVE NOT BEEN INFLUENTIAL! :knight:

[Tinuviel]

I would have to agree with Orc here about the Eagles. As a strategic and decisive fighting force, they don't really fit into that category. For that i'd have to vote for the Ents and the Huorns for the reasons mentioned. Though a sentimental fave would be the . Rohan Riders. I like the Eagles too, as they seem to intervene at particularly critical times, though i see them more as a dramatic foil also, appearing to save the day. almost like a "hand of fate" type of writing device, getting our characters out of the pickle they're in, when no humanly, elf-ly, hobbity, dwarve-ly way could.

[Pil]

Exactly! They have helped soooo much! :thumbs:

[Orc]

Originally posted by Pil
THAT IS SOOOOOOOOOOO NOT TRUE! verymad

THE EAGLES PLAY MANY A VITAL ROLE IN THE WAR OF THE RING AND SHOULD NOT BE FORGOTTEN. QUANTITY IS NOT QUALITY. JUST COS THEY DON'T GO CHUCKING THEMSELVES AROUND LIKE THE OTHER ARMIES DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY HAVE NOT BEEN INFLUENTIAL! :knight:

I still think it is interesting that we don't really see the Eagles engage in combat. In The Hobbit, the Eagles show up, Bilbo gets bonked on the head - end of chapter. In RotK, Pippin hears that the "Eagles are coming" as he passes out - end of chapter.

In both cases, it wraps up a battle, but we never see it. Seems a bit like a short cut to me.

They pull Gandalf and co. off the trees while being chased by the Wargs, save Gandalf from Isengard and rescue Sam and Frodo. They almost seem to be more of a transport medium than a military force.

Pil, in what manner do you see the Eagles being more than just a literary tool to bail out the characters? Why didn't they just fly Frodo to Mt. Doom so he could slam dunk the ring into the crack of Mt. Doom?

[Pil]

i think if we look back to the hobbit and review the sort of attitude shown by the eagles, we can see that most of their work is done when either:

a)someone that they care about/are allied to is in danger.

b) when they just HAPPEN to stumble along and help out or...

c) when the orcs are being fought (they have the same sort of special dislike for them as is shared by Beorn).

The reasons for the eagles not getting directly involved are that:

a) they knew little about hobbits, let alone about frodo - they do not care personally about him.

b) the vital aspect of frodo going with the ring into mordor is that it would be a secret...not even eagle eyes would have easily spotted our little hobbits in mordor - not that the eagles would usually fly that way anyway!

c) the ring being destroyed was an 'offencive' against sauron, an evil that the eagles probably didn't know an awful lot about. that particular act didn't openly affect their enemies the orcs in a way as for example, a battle does. Therefore there would have been less motive to help out even if they JUST caught wind of it.

d) Final reason... SLAMDUNK! It wouldn't have made a very good story would it?! :p :dragon:

[Orofacion of the Vanyar]

I'm going to have to go with Ents. Why? Well... *clears throat* :):

Isengard was building a formadible army that would definetly do some damage given the opportunity. If the ents had not gone and pretty much take care of everything before Rohan, the riders would probably have suffered far more casualties then they did. Also, the Huorns that surrounded Helm's Deep assisted Rohan as well.

Now, Rohan was a main contributor to the victory at the Pelennor Fields. If their numbers were decreased fighting Saruman, a victory might not have been achieveable.

But this is from the viewpoint of the "goodguys." The greatest military power would have to be Sauron's by far. He had more men/orcs with the addition of the Haradrim and their oliphants, and sheer numbers has been proven to be the deciding factor, but not always, in many wars.

MHO

What a great topic!!

[Catz]

it kind of depends on what you think of as important.....if numbers are the criteria, then yeah, id have to agree with Oro, and say Saurons forces....if its destructive potential, then its most definitely the Huorns and Ents...but as for strategic value....hmmmmm a tossup between the Riders and , one not mentioned, Gandalf as the White....now i know that hes only one man, which does not a military force make, but the presence or absence of one man can break a force as effectively as a trebuchet can break walls....without the moral courage engendered by his presence, the city of Gondor may very well have fallen, plus of course he was directing the stretched forces of the city in the most effective way...
:catz:

[Pil]

I re-read the whole 'seige of gondor', 'battle of the pelennor fields', 'the pyre of denethor' part of ROTK last night and this morning (I'VE LOST COUNT OF THE AMOUNT OF TIMES I'VE DONE THIS! lol) And i would have to agree with :catz:. Gandalf was SUCH an influential and scale tipping presence in the war of the ring. One man...yeah...not STRICTLY military force...but definitely not one to be forgotten! :wiggle: :dragon:

[Pil]

Could the hobbits of the shire in the scouring be counted as a military force...lol...soz...:embarras: :p

[Gil-Galad]

Well they could be counted as a military force, but, i doubt that they would be the most im[prtamt. They came in after most of the war was over, and did not effect the destruction of the ring. They did not even fight until frodo, merry, sam and pip came.

[Pil]

But once rallied they did a pretty good job! :thumbs: :loveyou: :rolleyes:

[Gil-Galad]

they wernt fighting balrogs or orcs or such, they were fighting ruffins

[Pil]

Yeh...but ruffians thrice their size...not what i'd call a walk in the park...don't take away from the hobbits...they had NO idea of warfare....but still managed to come out on top...:gofatty:

[A! Elbereth]

i think they did a good job. But it really was all Pippin and Merry... they were the real warriors of the Shire.

[Gil-Galad]

I dont think it was all merry and pippin, remember, frodo needed to stop those blodthirsty from killing them all!!!

[Pil]

And so? I wouldn't have made an ounce of difference if he haddn't. Shoulda done IMHO! :evil: :flamer: :batty:

[Sindarin]

Quite true.

[Pil]

HeHe! Aren't WE the naughty ones?! :fanboy:

[Sindarin]

lol

[Orc]

Let's get this thread back on target folks. The subject matter at hand is which military force was the most important during the War of the Ring.

Thank you for your support

[Menemir]

The Rohirrim and the grave men of Gondor.

Gondor held off Mordor for years, and Rohan helped majorly at tying up forces at Helm's Deep so the Ents could take it, and saving Gondor's butt during the Seige of Gondor.

[Pil]

Gondor would have gone down! lol

[Finrod Felagund]

2 things:
1. Aragorn's Dead Army. Destroyed Corsairs and let reinforcements get to the battle in the knick of time (as usual)

2. Orc: I've pondered the Slam Dunk Theory myself, If Gandalf was on such good terms with the Eagles, I would think he could have asked the little favor of taking Frodo to Mount Doom, Would have saved thousands of lives, a whole bunch of trouble and between Elrond, Gandalf, Aragorn, and Galadriel, I think they could have made a pretty good case to Thorondor. This wouldn't have made much of a story but IMHO it is one of the major flaws to the LOR. Mopping up the baddies would have been much easier without their fear of Sauron and the Ringwraiths pushing them.....
This sounds like a good place to start a new thread... TBC

[Pil]

Originally posted by Longshot
Aragorn's Dead Army. Destroyed Corsairs and let reinforcements get to the battle in the knick of time (as usual)

Nice one! They were extremely helpful! :thumbs:

[Menemir]

A little bit off topic here, but...

After the final apocalyptic battle between good and evil on the slopes of Mount Doom, and Aragorn gets wedded and crowned and Sauron falls, what happens to Mordor? Do they just leave it or colonise it or something?

[Tar-Ancalimë]

they leave it and put another watch on it... more vigilant this time... (i think).

I voted Gondor. Woo-hoo! They're winning!

[Bonos-Girl]

i can't even remember who i voted for now...but i don't think they are winnning.....

[Tar-Ancalimë]

Originally posted by Bonos-Girl
i can't decide at all but if i really had to pick it wou;ld be the men of gondor..... (same reasons as everyone else!)

you posted this earlier... I voted for them too... they are winning!

[Bonos-Girl]

sorry...i was running out of time and therefore couldn't re-read all the earlier posts

[Gil-galad Elven King]

i say both the men of Gondor and Rohan

[Narsil's weilder]

The riders of Rohan, the most powerful weapon! They can come swiftly to a battle and leave without a trace. They came to storm the warriors of Mordor in the Battle of Pellenor feilds and saved their king Theoden in the Battle for Helm's Deep.

[high capt. of angbad]

people people people. think paths of the dead. with out that army, frodo wouldnt have made it.

[Brego]

Men of Gondor and Rohan both fort bravely and valiantly, but i think Rohan lost more and they came to Gondor's aid so they got my vote. I dunno really i keep thinking Rohan and then i argue with meself and think Gondor argh!!! dont ask such difficult questions lol i'm all confuzzled now :(

[Charis]

Well, leaving off the question of who actually won the war[which would be the shire folk], and if we narrow our search to just the battles portrayed in the trilogy. I would say it was the men of Gondor and Rohan that worried Sauron the most. Therefore, I guess I'll vote for them.

[Stone Drake]

The most powerfull militairy forces are Sauron's legion's, ofcourse, and next to that, Saruman's Uruk'Hai legions. If Frodo would not have destroyed the One Ring, Sauron would have smashed the humans, elves, dwarves and all other races.
So I choose Other, since they're not in the list.

[Daughter of Gondor]

Gondor~ just look at my signature

[Roca Wear]

yea they all good

Ents - Pretty much destroyed Isengards working places and all his workers so he couldn't breed another army, and it gave gandalf the chance to confront saruman.

Rohan/Gondor - Rohan fought durin helms deep, and gondor fought since the beginning of time. but they are good cuz they both joined together and fought at the end.

elves - helped such people(aragorn) survive at helms deep..so they're ok

[Stone Drake]

Although the elves didn't help the people at Helm's Deep in the book. They went east and let the human races face the evil of Mordor alone.
Ents were certainly a powerful race, and with the help of the river they destroyed Isengard. Yet they were no warriors, they could never face an entire army, there were too little of them left to fight in a war.

[Alatar]

Welli personaly think it is Gondor becuase they fended off the Orcs of mordor for like ages and stoped them from just doing whatever they wanted to do

Long Live The Forces Of Gondor *what forces are left*