The Battle of Pelargir was the battle in which Aragorn and company with the aid of the Army of the Dead drove away Sauron's allies from the Gondor coastal city of Pelargir.

PreludeEdit

After Aragorn with Gimli, Legolas, the sons of Elrond Elladan and Elrohir and the Grey Company had summoned the Army of the Dead at the Stone of Erech, they planned their next move. It had been known that a fleet of Haradrim Corsairs of Umbar was making its way up the Anduin to reinforce the Enemy who had overrun the Pelennor and besieged Minas Tirith. Thus, Aragorn and company decided to intercept the fleet before they reached Minas Tirith, and then hopefully use the enemy vessels to swiftly move up the Anduin and break the siege. As they made their way through Gondor's western provinces, they gradually gathered more and more reinforcements.

The BattleEdit

On March 13, 3019 Aragorn with the Grey Company along with their new reinforcements which included mercenary archers from the Blackroot Vale near Erech, infantry from Lebennin and Lamedon and many other cavalry and mercenary infantry finally intercepted the enemy fleet at Pelargir, a famous port city on the lower Anduin known for its skilled mariners. The corsairs had foolishly delayed their arrival at the Pelennor by stopping at port towns along their way to loot and pillage them. While they were just about to do the same at Pelargir, Aragorn's forces showed just in time to give them battle in the streets and harbour of the city. The moderately sized force of Aragorn was able to triumph over the much greater corsair force by systematically defeating small units of men who were spread throughout the city. The Army of the Dead's actual chief weapon was fear, which drove the corsairs manning the ships to flee their vessels and jump overboard, without giving battle. In just a short time, Aragorn's forces had freed Pelargir from the corsair threat and had wrested control of their vessels, opening the way to a speedy relief of the siege of Minas Tirith.

After the BattleEdit

Before Aragorn's army, now reinforced with mariners from Pelargir, could sail up the Anduin, Aragorn had to disband the much helpful Army of the Dead. Instead of taking them to fight at the Pelennor fields, Aragorn decided to hold their oath fulfilled and thus freed them of their living dead, much to their chieftain's satisfaction. With the corsair force defeated, Aragorn's army quickly loaded the vessels at Pelargir and set off up the Anduin to relieve the siege of Minas Tirith.

ReferencesEdit

• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Passing of the Grey Company