Second War The Second War was a conflict between the newly formed Alliance of Lordaeron and the Old Horde , engulfing almost all of the lands of the Eastern Kingdoms , and ending with the victory for the Alliance . The events were chronicled in " " . The Second War is also used to refer to events of Beyond the Dark Portal in some accounts as well . See also Battles of the Second War and this account of what events from the game campaigns were included in the lore . The era of the Second war was characterized by many technological advancements to both political factions , such that resembled the growing usage of combat engineering made by each to achieve dominance : The Gnome s and Goblin s were responsible for most of these advancements , and examples would be the gnomish submarine and goblin zeppelin , or the gnomish flying machine and the Goblin sapper team unit , respectively . Prelude to war . Following the events of the First War , the survivors of Stormwind led by Anduin Lothar made their way through the Great Sea to the northern kingdom of Lordaeron to beseech aid from King Terenas Menethil II . Following Lothar ' s impassioned speech , Terenas called for an emergency council of war to discuss the Orcish threat . Meanwhile , the Orcish Horde pillaged Stormwind city and the surrounding areas , effectively destroying all human holdings south of the Burning Steppes . In the years between the defeat of the Kingdom of Azeroth and the outbreak of the Second War , it can only be assumed that both the Horde and Alliance went through massive reformations and began huge military build - ups in preparation for war . King Terenas , through skilled political maneuvering , enlisted the support of the human kingdoms of Gilneas , Stromgarde , Dalaran , Alterac , and Kul Tiras . They also managed to gain the allegiance of the Bronzebeard Dwarves of Ironforge , the Wildhammer Dwarves of Aerie Peak , and the Gnomes of Gnomeregan . Envoys led by King Terenas attempted to gain the allegiance of the High Elves of Quel ' Thalas , though initially they were uninterested in the coming conflict and sent merely a pittance of their forces at first . However , after the Horde ' s destruction of a sacred Elven monolith at Caer Darrow , the High Elves joined King Terenas ' s cause fully , pledging their rangers and navy to the war . This resulted in the creation of the Old Alliance , the Alliance of Lordaeron . In the last days of the First War , the leader of the Shadow Council , the Warlock Gul ' dan fell into a deep coma attempting to probe the mind of Medivh . Without the machinations of the Shadow Council , the Horde fell prey to infighting . In a coup d ' état led by Orgrim Doomhammer to end what he saw as a corrupting influence over the Horde , the Shadow Council was destroyed as well as its puppet Warchief , Blackhand the Destroyer . Doomhammer successfully took control of the remaining Horde forces and began to bolster their devastated armies with orcs and ogres from beyond the Dark Portal . With trolls , ogres and orcs fighting side by side , it was not long before the enterprising goblins saw the potential profit in aiding them . The Horde gained support from Goblin machinists and mercenaries , and through use of the Demon Soul managed to enslave the Red Dragon Alexstrasza and the majority of her brood . It is unknown what relationship the Horde had with the Troll tribes of Stranglethorn Vale , however they did not join forces with the Horde and stayed apart from the Second War . Upon awakening from his coma and finding himself without allies , Gul ' dan " swore " allegiance to Doomhammer and began creation of the first death knights in the service of the Warchief . This was the beginning of the so - called Horde . The Horde Offensive . In the 6th year after the fall of Stormwind , the Horde began their northern offensive against the Alliance forces . The Horde simultaneously launched two primary assaults . The first was a land offensive launched out of Blackrock Mountain which moved north to the Dwarf holdings in Khaz Modan . The second was a naval assault launched from the ruins of Stormwind , which sailed north taking the islands of Zul ' dare , Tol Barad , and Crestfall and establishing them as primary naval bases . From these launching points , the Horde landed troops along the coasts of the Wetlands , the Arathi Highlands , and most importantly the southern coast of Lordaeron . Southern outposts such as Southshore , Tarren Mill and Hillsbrad were assaulted , and the Horde squeezed a large amount of troops into Lordaeron this way , assisted by the nation of Alterac who provided them with maps and secret routes . Soon after , Zul ' Jin and some of his champions were discovered by Horde scouts in a makeshift prison near Tarren Mill . Upon hearing the news , Doomhammer immediately ordered his release from the 40 - man raid party that captured him . Now in Doomhammer ' s debt , Zul ' Jin agreed to form a pact with the orcish Horde : the plains and valleys of Lordaeron would belong to the Horde , while the trolls would take back their ancestral forests from their mortal enemies , the high elves . The Horde ' s land assault proceeded to lay waste to Loch Modan , pushing the outnumbered Dwarf and Gnome forces into the city of Ironforge , who sealed themselves from the outside threat . The Bleeding Hollow Clan attempted several raids on the mighty dwarven city , to no avail . For the most part , Dwarves and Gnomes were cut off from the rest of the Alliance , save through air support . Following the ravaging of Loch Modan , the Horde pushed farther north into the Wetlands , taking Dun Algaz , Dun Modr , and Grim Batol and converting them into fortresses for the Horde . Grim Batol became the primary base for the land offensive , and was also converted into a hatchery for the enslaved red dragonflight . Thandol Span was a pivotal battleground in the Second War , constantly shifting in possession between the two factions . Finally , owing to a diversion of Lothar ' s main army at Aerie Peak , the Horde succeeded in penetrating Quel ' Thalas through the cliffs undetected . Together with the entirety of the Amani tribe under Zul ' Jin , Doomhammer ' s troops slashed and burned their way through the elven forests , and made it as far as Eversong Woods before the Alliance reinforcements could arrive . Brief counterattacks from the Alliance . Outraged at the attack on their borders , the Elves finally put forth their full strength in the war effort . This included the deployment of Elven Destroyers south to the Hinterlands and to the shores of Lordaeron . High Commander Anduin Lothar decided to split his army in order to out manuever the Horde . He left half of his army , under command of his second in command , to destroy the Horde threat in the Elven Forests , while Lothar ' s half would stay in the Hinterlands to destroy the large number of Horde still remaining there . Lordaeron and Quel ' Thalas managed to push back the majority of Horde forces to the shores of Hillsbrad , but not before Gul ' dan was able to acquire High Elven runestones to use in his effort to create Ogre - magi for the war effort . With support from the Elves , the Alliance was able to launch an attack on Zul ' dare and end the invasion of Lordaeron . Though Hillsbrad and Southshore were nearly obliterated , the Horde navies were driven back , presumably to the shores of the Wetlands , Crestfall , and the ruins of Stormwind . Following the victory in the north , the Alliance concentrated on pushing back the ground offensive on the edge of the Arathi Highlands on the great bridges of the Thandol Span . The first step was a bloody retaking of the Horde fortress on Tol Barad for use as a staging point for an invasion upon Dun Modr , the primary base of support for the attacks upon the Thandol Span . With naval support from Tol Barad , the Alliance ground forces were finally able to push across the Thandol Span and reclaim Dun Modr . The Alliance continued to push south , taking the base at Dun Algaz . Though they were unable to completely take the cursed fortress of Grim Batol , they effectively shattered the armies of the Horde and causing them to retreat from Khaz Modan . After the defeat of the Horde forces in Khaz Modan , a brief pause in open combat ensued . The Horde attempted to gather more troops from the south , including the newly completed Death Knights . The Alliance began to turn their sights northward to the remnants of the Horde forces in northern Lordaeron , and to that end they sent Uther Lightbringer and his newly formed Knights of the Silver Hand to lend aid to the victims of the war . However , a minor peasant riot in Tyr ' s Hand led to a discovery of a plot from Lord Perenolde of Alterac , who was attempting to destroy the Alliance from within . Learning of Alterac ' s plots , the Alliance forces obliterated the small , treacherous kingdom . The Siege of Lordaeron . Alterac ' s betrayal had let the entire Horde army through to the walls of Lordaeron , and they began sieging the capital . Troops from Stromgarde cut off all remaining Horde reinforcements in Alterac and imprisoned Perenolde for his treason . The whole of the Alliance army converged on the Horde , but were unable to defeat them at first . Meanwhile , Gul ' dan took the Stormreaver and Twilight ' s Hammer Clans to the location of the Tomb of Sargeras in an attempt to raise the Tomb from the sea and claim the demonic powers for his own . It was foolish of him to try however because both clans , including Gul ' dan , were annihilated by the demons inside . Meanwhile , Doomhammer withdrew his forces to pursue Gul ' dan in order to keep them from dishonoring the Horde . The Alliance jumped on this opportunity and proceeded to mop up the horde ' s remaining standing troops in Lordaeron , who were in shambles and without air support . The Stormreaver and Twilight ' s Hammer Clan were destroyed by Doomhammer ' s forces . The mage Rhonin also led a small contingent of Alliance warriors and succeeded in destroying the Demon Soul as well as its keeper , the warlock called Nekros . After being freed Alexstraza , enraged , slaughtered many of the orcs that had enslaved her and her red dragonflight . The Alliance Takeover . With the Horde forces thus weakened , the Alliance laid siege to the fortress of Blackrock . In order to break the siege , Doomhammer and what followers he had left charged out of the Spire and attacked Lord Lothar and his Paladins . After a titanic duel , Doomhammer narrowly managed to kill Lord Lothar . Upon his death , Lothar ' s second - in - command , the Paladin Turalyon took command , bested Doomhammer and made him his prisoner , and chased the retreating orcs to their last bastion of power , the Dark Portal . Ragged and broken , the remaining Horde forces attempted a defense of the Dark Portal . In what has been described as the bloodiest battle of the Second War , the orcs were finally defeated , their leaders rounded up , and Doomhammer himself had been taken in chains . Shortly thereafter , the wizard Khadgar , flanked by the brave warriors of the Alliance , destroyed the Dark Portal . With the destruction of the Dark Portal , the Second War was ended .