War of Wrath

### Outcome

Very succesfull victory for the Host of the Valar and its allies,drowning of Beleriand, expulsion of Morgoth from Arda

### Combatants

Good:The Host of Valinor,Elves,Dwarves,Edain,Great Eagles,Evil:Hosts of Angband,Easterlings

### Commander(s)

Good:Varda,Ilmarë,Eltariel,Thorondor,Edain commanders,Dwarf commanders,Evil:Morgoth,Sauron,Lungorthin,Ancalagon,Thuringwethil

### Strength

Good:The greatest host ever assembled byElves, Dwarves and Men,Hunderds of thousands Elves,Edain and the Dwarves,Valar and Maiar from Valinor,Great Eagles,Evil:Massive:Millions of Orcs,Remaining Balrogs of Angband,Thousands of Wolves, Werewolves, Dragonsand other evil creatures

### Casualties

Good:Very smallEvil:Nearly total; the entire army was destroyed or fled

The **War of Wrath**, also called the **Great Battle**, was the war of Valar, Maiar, Elves, Men, Dwarves and against Morgoth at the end of the First Age, which marked both the end of the Age and of Morgoth's rule in Middle-earth. It was the largest battle of the First Age and possibly the largest battle ever to have taken place in Middle-earth. It resulted in the expulsion of Morgoth from Arda and the ruin of the Thangorodrim, but the violence of the clashes between the forces of the Valar and Morgoth shattered the northwestern portion of Middle-earth, Beleriand, and caused it to sink beneath the ocean.

Background

By the early sixth century of the First Age, Morgoth's dominion had become completely uncontested in Middle-earth. The power of the Elves, Men, and Dwarves to resist him had been utterly destroyed, and all the great kingdoms of the Elves had been overthrown. Morgoth was now master of nearly all of Beleriand, save for the havens in Arvernien, which he gave little heed to. To make matters worse, and to the great amusement of Morgoth, the Sons of Fëanor, seeking the Silmaril of Beren and Lúthien, had launched two devastatingly brutal Kinslayings in which they had destroyed both Doriath and the Havens of Sirion. In this time of need, the mariner Eärendil, by the guidance of a Silmaril which he wore on his forehead, searched for and came to Valinor on behalf of Elves and Men. There, he begged the Valar to pardon and aid the overmatched peoples of Middle-earth.

The battle

Despite having pledged to leave the Ñoldor to reap the bitter harvest of their folly in pursuing Morgoth, Manwë was moved by Eärendil's plea. Along with the Vanyar and the remaining Ñoldor in Aman, the host of the Valar came to Middle-earth in the mightiest gathering of arms in the history of Arda. The Teleri of Alqualondë granted the use of their ships to ferry the hosts of Aman to Middle-earth, but they remembered still the Kinslaying of their people long ago and harbored much bitterness over it. As such, they sent only what mariners were needed to man the ships, and none of them set foot on Middle-earth once they arrived. The great force of Aman marched across Beleriand, and met the armies of Morgoth in the plains of Anfauglith. Morgoth marshaled the entirety of his forces, which had by this point grown so vast that Anfauglith could not contain their numbers.

Though the war lasted for over 40 years, the Host of the Valar utterly destroyed the Orc armies of Morgoth, as well as most of the Balrogs. While the Three Houses of Men fought alongside the Valar, many other Men from the East fought for the forces of Morgoth and were either destroyed or forced to flee back to the far eastern parts of Middle-earth. Facing final defeat, Morgoth released his ultimate weapon, the winged Dragons, which had never been seen before.However, they were also quickly destroyed by the Valar and Maiar.  Angband was then leveled and Morgoth was finally captured in the deepest of his mines. He sued for peace and pardon, but he was bound again with the old chain Angainor and the two Silmarils still in his possession were taken by the Eönwë, the Herald of Manwe. Morgoth was taken to Aman and tried for his crimes. In the end, the Valar un-housed Morgoth by beheading him and "thrust him through the Door of Night", beyond the Walls of the World, into the Timeless Void, the doors of which are forever guarded by Ëarendil.

Aftermath

The geographical wreckage of the war was immense; most of the land west of the Blue Mountains and the whole continent of Beleriand were destroyed and sank beneath the waves. Additionally, it was noted that a few Balrogs fled and hid deep in the Earth, though only one, known by the title of Durin's Bane, was ever noted by history to have appeared again. Some number of dragons, particularly Cold-drakes, also hid themselves away in the mountains. These dragons bred over time, and became particularly troublesome for the Dwarves in ages to come. Nearly all of the winged Fire-drakes were destroyed by Thorondor and his Eagles, but two fled. Elves were bidden by Ilmarë and Eltariel to return with them to the lands of Aman. Most of the Elves went into the West, while others still refused the summons and rather journeyed eastward where they would become lords of the remaining Eldar or those Elves who still dwelt in the East. Maedhros and Maglor, the two surviving sons of Fëanor, were compelled by their oath to recover the gems. Though sick at heart at the burden of the terrible oath, they conspired to sneak into the camp of the victorious Host of the Valar, where they slew the guard around the Silmarils and took them. The camp was roused against them, and though they were prepared to fight to the death to keep the gems, they were permitted to go. But they soon discovered that, due to the wicked deeds they had performed in recovering the jewels, first among them the three Kinslayings, they could not hold the Silmarils without suffering terrible pain. And so Maedhros cast himself and the Silmaril he bore into a fiery pit, and Maglor threw his into the Sea. And so both were lost to the Host of the Valar, and they returned to Aman empty-handed.

For those men of the Edain who fought for the host of the Valar, the land of Númenor (in the full Quenya form Nùmenórë) was given to them. This land was neither of Aman nor of Middle-earth, but was closer to Aman.