Gothmôg

"*The age of Men is over. The time of the Orc has come.*"
—Gothmog
**Gothmôg** was a commander of Minas Morgûl. At the Battle of Pelennor Fields, he was second-in-command to the Er-Mûrazôr, the Witch-king of Angmar and lord of the Nazgûl during the War of the Ring.

## Biography

### War of the Ring

#### Second Battle of Osgiliath

Upon arriving at the ruined city of Osgiliath, Lieutenant Gothmôg is in immediate command of them. Gothmog orders his Orc troops to be quiet whilst they approach Osgiliath, in a surprise attack on the Gondorian defenders. As the Orcs draw closer towards the city, one soldier notices them approaching, and Gothmog quickly orders his demise. Unaware that Faramir quickly leads a heroic defence of the city, having all his men guard each side of the river bank, Gothmôg orders his troops to draw their swords and prepare to invade the city.

After his forces managed to overrun the city and slaughter everything in their path, Gothmôg approaches a wounded Madril and cruelly kills him with a spear. Gothmôg then states to his troops that the Age of Men is over and that the time of the Orc has come. He then approaches the Er-Mûrazôr, who orders him to send forth all legions and not halt the attack until Minas Tirith is taken, commanding the Orcs to slay everyone in the city. Gothmôg asks of Gandalf's fate, and the Witch-king says that he shall break him.

When Faramir rides out with a small band of Gondor Knights on horseback, attempting to retake the city, Gothmôg orders his archers to fire a volley from the ruins of Osgiliath which kill the knights save Faramir.

#### Siege of Minas Tirith

Marching towards Minas Tirith, Gothmôg had a bit trouble getting off from his Warg. When one orc tried to help off, Gothmôg shoved him away since he didn't need help. Before the siege was about to begin, he orders the heads of the dead soldiers in Osgiliath to be launched off the catapults, to instill fear into the hearts of Gondor's soldiers and to lower their morale.

Gothmôg then begins directing the main ground operations, from catapults to siege-towers. He becomes enraged when the doors into the city won't budge, ordering Grond to be brought forth to smash it down. When the defenders of Gondor start launching debris at the attackers with trebuchets, Gothmôg orders his troops to hold still. When a huge rock is launched directly at him, Gothmôg waits until the last second before sidestepping to avoid it by about a foot, prompting him to mock his opponents by spitting on it.

#### Battle of Pelennor Fields

Once the city was nearly overtaken, Gothmôg orders his officers to enter the city and kill all in their path. However, that was when the sound of horns was heard, and Gothmog turned to witness King Théoden Ednew of Rohan, leading an army of Rohirrim to turn the tide of the battle. Furious, Gothmôg prepares his Orcs for a second assault when he notices an army arriving in the distance. In the Orc lines, Gothmôg realizes the risks to his army and has the pikemen go to the Front lines, with archers behind them.

As the Rohirrim charge down the field towards their opponents, Gothmôg began to panic as he ordered his archers to open fire. He realized that it was too late as Rohirrim crash into the Orcs and charge through their lines, forcing the Orc Commander to flee desperately for his life, but that was when the Haradrim arrive to engage the Rohirrim. Having survived the onslaught, he duels Éowyn Dernhelm in a brief duel. Trying to take her down with his sword, Éowyn gained the upper hand and wounds his leg, causing the Orc Commander to collapse in pain moments before the Witch-king arrives.

At this point, Gothmôg survived his wounds. When he realized that the Witch-King was dead, Gothmôg rises, furious for revenge, and uses an axe for support as he limps towards Éowyn, the one responsible for killing the Witch-King. As he approaches, he discards the axe and picks up a mace, preparing to kill Éowyn once and for all for she did to him. However, that was when Aragorn rushes in and chops off Gothmôg's arm. Gimli rushes in from behind and strikes Gothmog in the torso with his axe, before Aragorn delivers the final blow to his back, finishing him off.

## Personality and Traits

Gothmôg's intelligence is far above that of the common orc and he, understandably, would be the perfect link between the Witch-King and the other planners of the siege of Minas Tirith (most likely men in Sauron's service) and the mindless mass of orc infantry on the front lines. While Gothmôg likely did not have the intelligence to design the attack on the White City, he certainly would have been able to ensure orders were carried out. Gothmôg is clearly a brutal commander, but also an over-confident one.

## Appearances

* *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King* (First appearance)