Pelennor Fields

[Finwe]

Well there's a few things i would like to sorten out about the battle at Pelennor Fields

1. In the book what efect do you think the rohirrim had on the first wave of atack?

2. In the movie (ROTK) Theoden assigns a short line formation to his men (a very tight formation) as soon as the mumakil began their advance. Now there must be something wrong with that... one stomp from those giants and they'll be spred all over the place.

3. And... what if the eagles came earlier? ;)

[Balrog X]

another thing the rohirrim looked like they had destroyed most of the people and the dead people and company were just there to finish them off
*Cough*Not in the Book*Cough

[Steve the Great]

Yeah, as you said, it's a bit different in the book... :nono:lol
I think, the first wave of attack didn't really have crucial effect on Sauron's army. But they stopped the siege (and killed many of their foes, of course), however, they wouldn't have had many chance, if Aragorn didn't arrive with the Black Fleet...

[Finwe]

One thing still puzels me though, why didn't Tolkien involve the other peoples of middle earth upon the last struggle if the situation was so dire? Men of Dale, Wood Elves under Thranduil even Beorn and his kin. I know they had they're past struggles but... If you ask me i think the rohirrim did only a sweep-up action on allready spreaded orcs, but indeed the rohirrim now how to cut orcs. And speaking of steeds and unforgetable deeds there's Imrahil's knights, definitely! ;)

[Steve the Great]

why didn't Tolkien involve the other peoples of middle earth upon the last struggle...
Actually, he did involve them... There were very serious battles all over Middle Earth (orcs attacked Lothlorien, the Kingdom of the Lonely Mountain, etc.) These battles were also crucial to defeat Sauron, but the battel in the Pelennor field had that special importance, that kept Sauron busy while Frodo&Sam were on their way to Mt. Doom

And concerning your opening questions (the 2nd one): I saw ROTK today again, and tried observing that moment.
I think, the primary objective of rohirrim was to break the front line of mumakils and attack them from behind (or from beneath, as Eowyn did). During this effort they had heavy casualities, but I don't think, it would have been much smaller, if they had used another formation. Well, maybe if they attacked in columnes, but rohirrim prefer frontal charges (imho)...

[Finwe]

Yup, i looked it up in the Lost Tales, in which Mithrandir says that the dwarf kingdom of Erebor and the Iron Hills are in heavy threat and so Lorien and Rivendale. This happened because of Sauron's atempts to reach Smaug and thus make him an ally. Also in the LT about Thranduil it's said that he never atempted another large scale atack after the Disaster at the Gladen Fields where he aided Gondorian reconaisance troops looking for Isildur's body. About the rohirrim, yeah straight line columnes would have been better; on either side of the mumaks but i guess it doesn't matter.

[Gil Galad]

theres lots of stuf in the apendixes about the battle elsewhere in the NW of ME during the war of the Ring, so all the other kingdoms had there own problems to deal with and cudnt aid Gondor.


im not sure if there would be any calvary tactic which would deal effectivly with the Mamukil, unless perhaps light cavalry archers could gt in fire a few shots and then get back out, but that wudnt have a great effect on such beasts

[Eomund]

actually i think they wouldwe; for arrows into the eyes, arrows into men upon mumaks, etc. Even in the Appendix B says that everything else was under attack and tharanduil made a attack on Dol Guldur after it had been destroyed (point is to destroy the fleeres). Celeborn and Tharanduil met in Mirkwood and they named it Lath - Rasgalen or something....

[Glorfindel]

Eryn Lasgalen is what you mean. Which means "Wood of Greenleaves"