Army of Minas Morgul

The **Army of Minas Morgul** was a massive military force of Orcs and other evil forces that served under the Witch King of Angmar who served the dark lord Sauron. The army served as the main attack force of Sauron's against the lands of Gondor. While the army was used at various times throughout the Third Age, it was most heavily involved in the Siege of Gondor and nearly the entire army perished during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

## History

Gondor was first attacked on June 20, 3018 when the forces of Mordor launched a surprise attack on the ruined city of Osgiliath. However while the eastern half of the city fell, Boromir the son of steward Denethor II successfully defended the western half by destroying the last bridge that crossed the Anduin river. Nine months passed after the skirmish in Osgiliath when Sauron's ally Saruman sent forth a large army to destroy the people of Rohan. They were, however, defeated by the forces of the Rohirrim in the Battle of the Hornburg. After this decisive victory, Aragorn revealed himself to Sauron through the Palantír of Orthanc, which spurred the Dark Lord into action, making him send his armies before the full force was prepared. He decided to release his long-prepared army in hopes of quickly annihilating his greatest enemy, Gondor before aid could arrive. Due to the threat of a huge fleet of Corsair warships sailing from Umbar, the southern fiefdoms of Gondor sent far fewer people to aid Minas Tirith's defense than expected.

an army from the Black Gate emerged and captured the island of Cair Andros. The purpose was two-fold: to prevent the Rohirrim from reaching Minas Tirith, and to attempt to cut off the garrison at Osgiliath. The Muster of Rohan, led by King Théoden, left the camp at Dunharrow, the Beacons of Gondor being lit one day prior. During the Dawnless Day, the Ring-bearer Frodo Baggins, Samwise, and their guide, Gollum, approached Minas Morgul. When they arrived, they saw a red flash emanating from beyond the eastern mountains- probably from Orodruin-, which was answered by lightning and blue flame issuing from Minas Morgul and the surrounding hills.

This was the smaller of Sauron the Great's forces; the larger host issuing forth from the Black Gate.

Although Faramir and his men resisted stoutly and inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy forces, the Witch King's army began to breach the wall, forcing Faramir to retreat with most of his remaining men, but was soon overtaken by Orcs and Southrons pouring onto the fields. Prince Imrahil and Gandalf led a cavalry sortie which allowed the retreating men to regroup and return to Minas Tirith, but Faramir was wounded by a Southron arrow and was carried by Imrahil.

On the second day of the battle, with the forces of Gondor on the brink of defeat, the Rohirrim, with 6,000 fully armed horsemen, arrived at daybreak fresh and ready. After a stirring call-to-battle by King Theoden and a series of horn blasts, the legion of horsemen rode out as one towards Sauron's forces with the king at the apex. The orcs hastily reorganised themselves, setting up their pikemen in front and their archers behind them. As the Rohirrim closed in, the orcs opened fire with three volleys of arrows, killing several of the horsemen but it was all for naught as the barrage had no effect whatsoever on the Rohirrim's momentum. The Orc Chief could only look on in horror as the Rohirrim smashed headlong into the orc ranks with all the power and fury of a force ten times their actual size, slicing through and mowing down thousands of the panicking orcs with shocking ease. The orc lines buckled, splintered and then shattered completely, causing them to rout the field; yet the Rohirrim pursued them still, slaughtering the orcs by the hundreds.

Back inside the walls of Minas Tirith, the forces of Gondor prepared to make their last stand against the encroaching orcs. Out on the Pelennor fields, the Rohirrim continued to fight hard but were still heavily outnumbered and assailed from all sides. Then, just as defeat seemed imminent for Gondor and Rohan, the ships of the Corsairs of Umbar arrived on the river bank. A detachment of orcs arrived to join up with them but were instead greeted by the sight of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli jumping off the lead ship. The trio then charged the orc ranks, followed immediately by the forces of the Dead Men of Dunharrow, who poured onto the field butchering every orc and Haradrim in their path before flooding into the city itself and massacring every orc within. The remaining orcs and Haradrim stood no chance against the dead and were quickly slaughtered.

The battle ended with a grand albeit costly victory for the Free Peoples. Sauron meanwhile suffered his heaviest defeat to date; his primary orc armies had been completely annihilated, the Haradrim so badly mauled that they were no longer a threat and the Corsairs of Umbar were destroyed as a fighting force. Worst of all was the loss of his most powerful servant the Witch-King. Yet all was not lost for the Dark Lord, for though his Easterling allies were tied up in the Northern Theatre against the kingdoms of Erebor and Dale, Sauron still possessed large reserves of orcs in Mordor and was prepared to carry on the war for as long as was necessary. The Free Peoples meanwhile met to discuss a new strategy, giving way to the eventual march on the Black Gate.