Battle of the Hornburg
From the One Wiki to Rule Them All, the Lord of the Rings Encyclopedia.
| Battle of the Hornburg | |
|---|---|
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| Conflict: War of the Ring | |
| Date: 3-4 March TA 3019 | |
| Place: Helms Deep | |
| Outcome: Decisive Rohirrim Victory | |
| Combatants | |
*Rohan
| *Isengard |
| Commanders | |
| *Gandalf | *Saruman
|
| Strength | |
| Movie: 300 Rohirrim (initially) and estimated 200-300 more elves, up to a 1000 at the start of the battle, and 2000 Rohirrim led by Eomer and Gandalf by the end of the battle
| At least 10,000 Uruk-hai, 2000-3000 Dunlendings |
| Casualties | |
| Hundreds killed or wounded in defending force. | Total destruction of attacking force except for the remaining Dundlendings who swore to never attack Rohan again. |
- "A new power is rising, its victory is at hand. This night the land will be stained with the blood of Rohan. March to Helm's deep, leave none alive. TO WAR! There will be no Dawn for Men ."
- —Saruman
The Battle of the Hornburg was a battle during the War of the Ring where the Rohirrim defended the Hornburg from Saruman's army of Uruk-Hai.
Contents |
[edit] Pre-Battle
After being freed by Gandalf from Gríma Wormtongue's influence, Théoden went to the Fords of Isen where Erkenbrand was battling Saruman's orcs. When Théoden got there, he realized that the army was scattered, so Gandalf told Théoden to help the refugees to Hornburg where many people from Westfold were also taking refuge. Soon Gandalf brought the Rohirrim to defend Helm's Deep from Saruman's attacking forces. The soldiers were led by a local captain called Gamling the Old. Unfortunately, many of the soldiers there were either too young or too old.
[edit] The Battle
The army of Saruman made up of Uruk-hai, common Orcs, Wild Men of Dunland, and half-orcs arrived in the middle of the night. Legolas and Gimli agreed to do a contest to see how many kills they could get.
The orcs quickly overran the first defence in Helm's Dike, approaching the fortress as the Rohirrim retreated. They shot arrows at the Rohirrm, but there was no response at first. When the orcs got closer to the fortress, the defenders sent a volley of arrows and stones at them, forcing the orcs to fall back. The orcs soon got close enough to Hornburg and attempted to break the gate down with a battering ram, but were scattered by a small attack team led by Aragorn and Gimli.
The attackers then raised hundreds of ladders to scale the Deeping Wall; the worn-out defenders threw down the ladder attacks, but were attacked from behind by orcs who had crawled through the culvert at the base of the wall. Legolas and Gimli attacked the orcs who got through the hole and Gimli helped block the culvert. Unfortunately, the Deeping Wall was breached by Saruman's explosive blasting-fire (possibly gunpowder).
The defenders led by Éomer and Gimli retreated into the Glittering Caves while Aragorn and Legolas led a retreat into the keep. Aragorn called for a parley and told the orcs that they would die if they didn't surrender, but the Uruk-hai laughed at his threat and attempted to shoot him down, almost killing Aragorn. The orcs then made it to the gate and destroyed the arch with Saruman's 'blasting-fire'. Suddenly, Théoden and Aragorn led a vicious cavalry charge out of the keep, driving the Uruks away from the remains of the gate.
Just then, Gandalf on his horse Shadowfax arrived with Erkenbrand and a thousand swordsmen on foot, and they charged the orcs. As the Uruks were driven out of the valley, they realized the entrance to the valley was blocked by an army of Huorns. After the orcs and Uruks were driven into the Huorns, the Dunlendings surrendered and were spared, but were forced to take an oath never to attack Rohan again.
[edit] Immediate Aftermath
The surviving Dunlendings were sent home and their slain were buried in a communal mound. The orc carcasses were simply piled off to the side of the battle field and left to rot. One of the Rohirrim dead was Háma, a captain of Théoden's personal guard and doorguard of Meduseld. Gimli had lost his helmet in the battle and was wounded badly on the head, but he had killed forty-two orcs to Legolas' forty-one.
[edit] Later Aftermath
The battle was critical to the survival of Rohan and their participation in the War of the Ring as a whole; had the Rohirrim lost the Battle of the Hornburg, their nation as a whole would have been obliterated by the rampaging legions of Saruman's livid Uruk-hai. Merry and Pippin's persuasion of Treebeard to attack Isengard was critical as well, and guaranteed Rohan's survival for a time. Had the battle been lost, and the Ents refused to attack Isengard, Saruman's forces would've opened up a two-front war with Gondor and crush them. This battle also gave valuable, albeit painful, war experience to the hitherto-lax Riders of Rohan that would prove to be invaluable on the Pelennor Fields but a short while after.
[edit] Film Version
In The Two Towers (film), the city of Edoras was evacuated to Helm's Deep. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli accompanied King Théoden and his people there. Along the way they were attacked by Saruman's Warg-Riders. During this fight, Éowyn led the evacuees on to Helm's Deep while the Riders of Rohan fought off the attack. Aragorn became entangled with the harness of a Warg and was dragged off the side of a cliff.
After reaching Helm's Deep, the Rohirrim began to prepare for a siege. During these preparations, Aragorn, who had been found by the horse Brego, arrived with news of 10,000 Uruk-hai coming from Isengard. In response to this, Théoden orders every male able to bear arms, including some of the mature children and old men, to be armed and ready to fight. Aragorn suggested calling for aid but Théoden didn't believe anyone would come. Aragorn also tried lifting the morale of Haleth, one of the boy soldiers.
The Rohirrim were surprised by the arrival of Haldir from Lórien and his archers. They were sent by Elrond to support the Rohirrim, in honor of the ancient treaty with the king of Gondor, represented by Aragorn. Aragorn, Legolas, and Haldir's Elves were stationed on the Deeping Wall, which ensured that every fortification of the Hornburg was manned.
- "An alliance once existed between Elves and Men. Long ago we fought and died together. We come to honor that allegiance."
- —Haldir speaking to Théoden and Aragorn
The battle began when an older man accidentally fired an arrow at the Uruk-hai, killing one by hitting it in the neck. At first it consisted primarily of volleys of arrows. The Elven Archers demonstrated their unmatched proficiency of archery, as they loosened devastating hails of arrows in seconds, felling many Uruk-hai. For a while, their fine skills of bowmanship seemed to halt the momentum of the Uruk-hai charge, as so many Uruks were killed. But the Uruks were not ones to sit idly by as they found several Elvish arrows lodged in their throats; they utilized their new weapons. However, the vast waves of bloodthirsty Uruk-hai, reached the base of the Deeping Wall. At a short range, the Uruk Crossbowmen could finally hit back with their slow-loading, yet hard hitting weapons. A good few elves were killed, one falling horribly into the mass of Uruks below. Then the Uruk-hai began raising ladders, each with a berserker on top. Many elves were killed during this stage of the battle but they and the Rohirrim were managing to keep the Uruk-hai from getting a good foothold on the wall. While the elves were sword-fighting with the Uruk-hai on the wall, the sappers, a group of four Uruk-hai, laid the charges that were prepared by Saruman in the culvert under the wall. A berserker lit the blasting powder despite Legolas shooting him.
Once the wall was blown, the Uruk-hai poured into Helm's Deep. The elves, led by Aragorn, were the first defense against them. While they fought, more Uruk-hai brought a battering ram up to the main gate. Théoden led his men to brace the door, which eventually broke under the assault. Aragorn and Gimli worked together to give the Rohirrim enough time to mend the door and then escaped via a rope lowered by Legolas.
The Uruk-hai used ropes to raised massive ladders that carried dozens of Uruk-hai up to the main Hornburg walls. Although one was shot down by Legolas, many more sprung up.
With the gate broken again, as well as the main fortifications being overrun, Théoden pulled his men back to the keep itself. During the retreat, Haldir was killed before Aragorn could rescue him.
Once inside the keep, Théoden fell into despair while his men tried to brace the door. Aragorn sent word to evacuate the caves.
Aragorn remembered Gandalf telling him that he would arrive at dawn and convinced Théoden to ride out. Gimli sounded the horn of Helm Hammerhand, which frightened the orcs. The Rohirrim, along with Aragorn and Legolas mounted on their horses and charged the Uruks just as they broke through the door. Théoden's cavalry drove out all of the orcs from the Hornburg and retook the gate, with Saruman's main host now gathered outside the fortress.
Outside the keep, Théoden and Aragorn saw Gandalf arrive on Shadowfax. Alonside him was Éomer and his cavalry, and together they charged down the valley. The Uruk-hai formed up a phalanx of spears to repel Elmer’s horsemen; however their defense is thrown into disarray when they encounter real sunlight. Between the combined forces, the Uruk-hai forced to retreat.
In the extended edition, the Uruks are driven into a Huorn forest, and Éomer orders his men to stop pursuing them. The Rohirrim watch from a safe distance as the Huorns slaughter remaining Uruk-hai.
In the extended edition DVD, after the battle, Gimli is sitting on a corpse nearby the gate and Legolas walks up to him, saying he killed forty-two Uruk-Hai, while Gimli responds by saying he was on forty-three. Legolas shoots the corpse Gimli is sitting on, and says he has forty-three because the corpse was twitching. Gimli responds to that because he stuck his axe into the Uruk's nervous system, with him shaking his axe to shake the body, thus proving his point.
- "That's because I got my axe embedded into his nervous system!"
- —Gimli speaking to Legolas(Extended Edition Only)
[edit] Elves of Lórien
The elves' involvement in the defense of the Hornburg proved critical in delaying the enemy; as their superior archery and sword skills enabled them to defend the Deeping Wall for a time. Around 500 Elves, or so, marched to defend the Hornburg. Otherwise, the Rohirrim did not have sufficient manpower to cover all of the Hornburg's fortifications and hold out long enough, being forced to supplant their ranks with teenage boys and old men. The elves' sacrifice bought enough time for Gandalf, Eomer and the two thousand mounted Rohirrim horseman to arrive and turn the tide of the battle.
But the price that the elves paid was high indeed: most of them who left Lothlórien including Haldir were slain in the battle. They were buried by the men of Rohan with honor in the land of their allies. Around 20 of them returned to accompany their kin on that final journey to the Undying Lands.
[edit] Noteable Deaths
[edit] Rohirrim
[edit] Isengard
[edit] See Also
| War of the Ring |
|---|
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Balin's Tomb – Amon Hen – Fords of Isen – Isengard – Helm's Deep – Osgiliath – Dale – Battle of the Peak – Pelennor Fields – Black Gate – Bywater |
