AAR: The Age of Men is over, the time of the Dwarves has come.
2980 TA:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:Spring, 2980 TA
Dear Balin, son of Fundin,
Our enemies are growing. We have to expand our territories before the orcs claim the middle-earth. I have decided to head north, and I hope you can come back to govern Erebor while I am away.
Regards,
King Dáin II Ironfoot
Meanwhile, to the west of middle-earth, Glóin, son of Gróin living in Thorin’s halls, was planning to expand to the river Lune.
“We shouldn’t stay here all day, my lord. Vast lands on the east can all be ours, as long as you order to attack.” Róin, an adviser of Glóin said.
“There are settlements of men. What will Eriador think if we do so?” Glóin asked.
“They will thank us for dealing with the rebels on their borders. I can assure you they won’t have any bad feelings, my lord,” Róin replied, “All we need are to recruit.”
“But as I know, they have quite a number of garrisons. We might need years to recruit enough solders.” Glóin doubted as he had heard of the messages from the east, having a little knowledge about the troops stationed in Luneland.
“I’m sure that Gimli can help on this matter in Kibil Dum.”
After Róin’s persuasion, Glóin and his son Gimli started recruiting soldiers for the attack.
Summer, 2980 TA
After a season of preparation, Glóin began his journey to Luneland. His plan was to look for cities and settle somewhere close until reinforcements from Kibil Dum arrive.
On the east, a spy had spotted the exact position of the village Wormcove to the north of Erebor, along with the information of the local garrison.
“My king, one of our spies has given us the position of Wormcove. We can arrive there in a season.” Corin the military adviser told King Dáin.
“Excellent. We shall march there to our glory.” Dáin replied.
“I’ve also received messages from our diplomat. He has made an agreement to trade map information with our ally Dale, and is going to meet the elves in the Woodland Realm.” Corin reported.
“Let’s hope he will bring us some good news then.” Dáin said.
Autumn, 2980 TA
“As Wormcove is close enough already, the spy can go for the Grey Mountains so that he can get some information for us before we retake our lands.” King Dáin II ordered.
“Your Grace,” Corin greeted the king, “Lord Thorin III Stonehelm of the Iron Hills has begun his way south, entering north Rhûn.”
“What about his army? How large is it?” Dáin asked as he was thinking where to send the Dale cavalry squad that recently joined.
“I suppose it would be enough for him. You can send some more troops to assist if you want to.” Corin suggested.
“I trust his ability. Besides, we need more troops to fight the orcs. We should send the additional troops here instead.”
Days later, King Dáin II arrived at Wormcove with his army. He originally planned to starve the garrison force to death. However, considering the low treasury at the moment, he decided to capture the village immediately in order to gain more income.
After resting for a day, the 682 dwarven soldiers lined up to prepare for battle. Dáin split his troops into two parts – one on the east of the village and the other on the south.
On the other side, the garrison – or more precisely the 151 woodmen including their leader Girion who wish to defend their homes – did not meet their enemy in the open and chose to stay inside the village. It was not a very bad option considering the difference in numbers and the lack of missile troops in the dwarven army.
As the dwarves entered the village, the swearing noise from the men became louder and louder. But the dwarves did not care. A company of the south wing of dwarves charged first at the woodmen, followed by another company of the east wing.
The dwarves had the best heavy infantry in the middle-earth. For the woodmen, the fight was hard enough just to stand against the two companies of dwarves. However, soon another two companies was going round them. It was clear that the enemy was going to encircle them, but Girion was unable to get his army out from the fight. He can only watch as the dwarves came from all sides.
In Wormcove, the population was mostly woodmen, and had no professional army. The so-called soldiers were only men holding their wooding tools. They had never been trained, and had never joined a war. But now they fought bravely. They did not run away, although it was so clear that they are all going to die.
Dáin watched all that happened. As a dwarf he was awed by the bravery of men. But he knew he cannot have mercy now, not in a battle. He can only admire them in the heart, and respect them by letting them die in battle honourably.
Girion, the one who came out to encourage people to stand their ground when they knew the dwarves were approaching, watched as his companions died one by one, and started to doubt his decision. But he knew it was too late to regret. He fought the hundreds of dwarves, until all his friends who grew up with him had died, until an axe hit his head. The battle of Wormcove was over, with all woodmen died.
To the west, after a season, the army led by Glóin finally saw Lunelaith, a village in Luneland, far away from their camp. Now without sufficient troops to attack, Glóin had to wait for the reinforcements from Kibil Dum, although it would only take a season for his army to reach Lunelaith.
Winter, 2980 TA
Winter had come, and Glóin had already arrived at Lunelaith. Since the last season, he had been thinking whether to besiege the village right away or to wait for the reinforcements.
“They are not professional soldiers. They would not choose to risk their lives unless necessary.” This advice from Róin influenced Glóin very much. Róin was not the best adviser, but was certainly a good speaker, and can easily change Glóin’s mind with words.
Glóin knew it would take seasons for the reinforcements to arrive, but he believed in Róin, that the soldiers in Lunelaith would not sally forth. He believed that he can besiege the village to weaken the enemy while waiting for the troops from Kibil Dum.
After the battle of Wormcove, the eastern side of the Dwarven realm was peaceful again. Loni the diplomat arrived at the Woodland Realm and met the elven King Thranduil to seek for an alliance against the orcs stationed in the middle of the Blue Mountains and Erebor, which split up the Dwarven realm. Although a little money was needed to impress the elves, the talk was generally successful.
2981 TA:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:Summer, 2981 TA
“My king, I’ve received a report from our spy. He has reached the Grey Mountains and gathered a lot of info.” Corin reported.
“That means we can have the size of the enemy under our notice while we are preparing.” Dáin said.
“I’ll order him to keep track of the orcs until we recapture the mountains.” Corin said.
“Balin has arrived, your Grace.” Corin said as Balin entered the hall.
“Greetings, good friend. I suppose you have chosen somebody to look after Erebor.” King Dáin II said.
“Of course, my king. Kili stayed behind.” Balin replied.
“Fair enough. I need someone experienced enough to manage this village, so that it can grow well,” Dáin explained, “While Erebor can be governed by someone less experienced, as a training to the new generals. I believe Kili can learn a lot from our people.”
“Indeed,” Balin said, “What is your plan next? Grey Mountains?”
“Pretty much, but I need Kili to recruit some more soldiers. I fear I’m not having enough troops.”
“I believe he’s already doing it. The army will be ready in winter.”
“Excellent. Let’s station somewhere near Erebor and wait for the army, shall we?” Dáin asked Corin.
As Corin accepted, Dáin left Wormcove and headed south, leaving Balin and a small garrison force in Wormcove.
“Reinforcements from Kibil Dum arrived, my lord,” Róin told Glóin, “But I would recommend you not to attack right now. Our enemies are starving now. It would be wiser to let them sally forth, instead of having us to attack.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Glóin said, “But what if they don’t?”
“They have no food. They can only fight to death or to surrender. They have no choice.”
A month later, during late summer, the Lunelaith troops can no longer wait. For weeks they can only have a little piece of bread for dinner, and had nothing for breakfast and lunch. Captain Celebrindor of Lunelaith finally succeeded in persuading the public to sally forth.
The dwarves had no archers, which made it an advantage for Lunelaith to have archers and javelins. Celebrindor ordered the axemen to stay in front to cover the archers and javelinmen while they marched forward.
Noticing the disadvantage, Róin told Glóin to charge before the enemy was ready to fire at them. But Glóin was too scared to do so. He ordered the entire army to step back and meet the enemy in the open.
Celebrindor’s troops continued to march forward, until the dwarves were in range of the archers. Glóin finally realised the situation, and had his force charge at the army of men, but it was too late. The enemy archers had begun to fire at the dwarves and killed a number of them.
The two armies approached. The lines of dwarven warriors and men charged into each other. Fierce fight had begun. On the left wing of the dwarves, a company of men were split from the rest of the line and were attacked in front and on the flank from two dwarven companies. To encounter, Celebrindor sent a company of javelinmen to assist.
On the dwarven right wing, the axemen were overwhelmed by the dwarven troops twice the number of their soldiers, but were assisted by two companies of archers and a company of javelins.
To deal with the missile troops, Glóin sent a company to go round the front line and charge at the archers. Seeing this, the archers withdrew immediately, while the dwarves went on chasing them.
It didn’t take long before the axemen on both flanks retreated. Only the company which Celebrindor was fighting with was still encountering the dwarves in melee. Glóin felt the remaining axemen would retreat soon too, so he sent three companies of dwarves from the melee fight to charge into the enemy missile troops.
However, beyond Glóin’s expectations, the axemen fought bravely against the dwarves, and the dwarven company engaging would probably lose the fight. There was no way to take the dwarves chasing the missile troops back as the archers and javelins would then fire at them. Therefore, Glóin himself charged with his elite bodyguards.
Kill their leader and all will be over, Glóin thought in his mind. And so he quickly spotted Celebrindor, and fought his way to him. Celebrindor wasn’t aware of Glóin, and was struck by Glóin’s axe.
“The captain is dead!” The axemen yelled as they began to flee. Glóin didn’t want the enemy to recover, and so he pursued with the idle forces. The troops entered the village and began another fierce fight. Although the captain was dead, the men still continued fighting and made no attempt to flee from the village as they knew they have no chance to escape.
At that moment, a dwarven company had finished off the javelins and entered the village from the other side. The dwarves used their encirclement tactics again, until all enemy soldiers had died. Victory belonged to the dwarves, but many of them sacrificed just because of one mistake made by Glóin.
Autumn, 2981 TA
In Erebor, Dáin adopted Farin and appointed him to the Iron Hills as Lord Thorin III of the Iron Hills was away.
On the other side, Glóin regretted that he didn’t listen to Róin in the last battle, and so this time he followed Róin’s instruction and didn’t settle down after the battle of Lunelaith. Instead, he only left a small army as garrison and entered the Hills of Evendim further in the east.
Winter, 2981 TA
Another cold winter had come. Lord Thorin III, who left the ballista alone to increase the marching speed, had arrived much earlier than the ballista squad, and besieged Kugavod, a town in north Rhûn. After Thorin’s arrival, he was confident that the decision to split up his army and the ballista squad was correct, as an army of Rhûn was found to be very close to the town, and yet Thorin came first.
2982 TA:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:Spring, 2982 TA
“There are still two reports that you have to read, your Grace,” Corin said as he handed two pieces of parchment to King Dáin II, “The first one is from our diplomat. Mordor has accepted the trade rights we offered, without any further demands.”
“Mordor?” Dáin doubted, “I thought we’re fighting against the followers of Melkor. How could you offer them trade rights without my permission?”
“It’s temporary,” Corin explained, “We have to trade, and Mordor is close enough. We aren’t at war now. I don’t see why we cannot trade with them. It’s not for their good only, but is mutually beneficial. You can see that we’ve gained much from it, as they barely accepted just because they didn’t want to fight one more enemy and open one more battle front. They’ve had enough engagements with Gondor and the elves.”
As Dáin accepted, Corin went on reporting.
“The last one is from the messengers in the south. Saruman the White has declared war on Rohan.”
“The White Wizard?” Dáin was shocked for a moment, “I knew Gandalf was right. Saruman is on the dark side!”
After Glóin entered and explored the Hills of Evendim with a small army, he came to the walls of Nenuial. While he only settled next to the town, Róin suggested him to besiege the town.
“With this tiny force, we cannot fight them. What if they sally forth? We will be screwed.” Glóin said.
“If they sally forth, we will withdraw our troops. You knew they won’t follow.” Róin replied.
Accepting Róin’s suggestion, Glóin, instead of simply settling beside, besieged the town. As Róin expected, the garrison in the town didn’t sally forth. Since reinforcements were on their way, Glóin was confident that the town would soon belong to the dwarves.
Summer, 2982 TA
The east was in peace temporarily, but soon it would not. Nar, the dwarven spy who was sent to Dáin’s Halls to gather information, had spotted an orc army which was marching towards Erebor. King Dáin II, who was marching his troops towards the Grey Mountains, believed the two armies would meet sooner or later. A bloody battle was close.
Autumn, 2982 TA
King Dáin II received a message from a spy. The One Ring had been found and was possessed by an orc general. The good thing was that the dwarves were so close to the orcs of the Misty Mountains that a victory would probably imply the dwarves can possess the Ring. But the bad thing was the orcs, the major enemy of the dwarves, had gained the enormous power of the One Ring.
On his way to Dáin’s Halls, King Dáin II met a small patrol composed of two companies of javelins, instead of the larger army recently spotted, which was not marching towards Erebor as Dáin expected.
When the patrol force noticed the dwarven attack, they retreated as they were seriously outnumbered. However, the dwarves continued chasing them, forcing them to face the enemy.
The orc skirmishers deployed on top of a hill, hoping they can have as much time as possible, and probably getting a few throws at the dwarves.
Dáin, instead of sending his large main army against the orcs, only sent the allied Dale cavalry squad to charge. When the orcs saw the charge of the horse riders, they were frightened and attempted to step back, but the Dale riders were much faster. Not long after the riders charged, the orc captain Radrat died and the entire army began to flee. Most of the routing soldiers were captured before they left the battlefield. The remainders disbanded and never returned as warriors.
In the town of Kugavod, the garrison army sallied forth against the dwarven army led by Lord Thorin III. In the middle-earth, it may take years for a person to travel from the west to the east, but for a message, it wouldn’t take long.
Thorin had already learnt the mistake Glóin had made during the Battle of Lunelaith, and he wasn’t going to make the same error again. When the Kugavod garrison came out of the gate and began forming lines, Thorin saw the opportunity. He charged most of his army right at the enemy when they hadn’t formed up properly. Also, at the back of the dwarven lines, ballistae started to fire at the garrison, and caused a lot of casualties as the enemy was packed up, maximising the effect of ballistae.
Despite the mistakes made by Captain Athala in command of the Kugavod garrison, his army was tough. It nearly eliminated an entire company of dwarves. However, the major problem in the garrison force was that the soldiers depended too much on the captain. Once the captain was dead, the army surrendered, and Kugavod was captured.
Winter, 2982 TA
“Sire, our diplomat has entered the borders of Lothlórien. Hopefully we can exchange maps with the elves when he reached the town of Caras Galadhon.” Corin reported.
“I do not mind spending some money for the map. And also tell him that he doesn’t have to spend too much on the alliance when he reached Rohan. The Rohirrim are just too far to have an effective mutual protection.” King Dáin II said.
2983 TA:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:Spring, 2983 TA
King Dáin II and his troops marched along the road towards Dáin’s Halls, a stronghold which once belonged to the dwarves but were captured by the orcs.
“New messages, my king,” Corin said, “Lord Thorin III in Kugavod has adopted Ori, placing him as the governor of Kugavod so that Thorin himself can focus on preparing war against Rhûn.
In Lothlórien, our diplomat met Haldir in Caras Galadhon and exchanged maps. I believe it’s worth spending some money for it.”
“Your Grace,” a scout reported, “We’re not far from our destination, but an army is stationed outside the walls of Dáin’s Halls.”
“Then we shall fight them,” Dáin said, “Khazâd! Form lines and we shall give them hell!”
Encouraged by the king, the dwarven army responded with a battle cry loud enough to be heard by the orcs.
The orcs were commanded by Captain Lughur, with reinforcements from Dáin’s Halls, led by Ugrad. They outnumbered the dwarves nearly 2:1. Dáin knew the disadvantage in numbers, but he was still confident.
The king deployed his army on a flat mountain top and the Dale cavalry squad on the left wing. At first, he thought the enemy would also deploy on top of the mountain as it was clear that deploying below was not a good tactical option. However, soon he found out the orcs were stationed slightly lower on the mountain, with missile troops in front and melee behind, having a disadvantage in height. But deploying there also implied that the orcs were not in front of the dwarven lines, but on the right.
Seeing this, Dáin had to turn his formation to the right. But he also intended to march to the enemy as fast as he can, as the orcs had missile troops while the dwarves did not. That distorted the formation and made it diagonal.
Running downhill, the dwarves quickly approached the enemy lines. Three companies of dwarven warriors on the left wing charged into the Snaga javelins and archers, which withdrew behind the goblins immediately. The dwarves charged into the two companies of goblin infantry instead.
On the right wing, the Snaga skirmishers were not fast enough, and were forced to fight in melee with the dwarves. Fortunately for them, the goblins assisted.
The front line of both armies made a chaotic fight. At the same time, the two companies of dwarves stayed behind as reserves were ordered to flank the orcs. They bypassed the front line through the two sides and charged at the idle goblin company which was directly commanded by Captain Lughur.
To prevent the withdrawn javelins and archers from firing at the flanking force, the Dale cavalry quickly charged into the missile troops, before they were able to fire.
Being attacked both in front and at the rear and with their captain killed, the goblins’ morale collapsed quickly. Their right wing fell first, followed by the left shortly after. With the exception of some missile troops who fled earlier during the cavalry charge, most of the soldiers were captured as prisoners. The reinforcements led by Ugrad were still far away at this point. Seeing the defeat, Ugrad started to withdraw.
The Dale cavalry squad, which was chasing the routing orcs, soon reached Ugrad’s army. Attempting to destroy the orcs completely, the cavalry turned to chase Ugrad’s skirmishers.
But the skirmishers were unlike those who were fleeing as their morale was still high. They killed a number of riders and forced the Men of Dale to withdraw. Noticing the danger of his allied force, Dáin sounded a retreat to the Dale riders. But the riders were tempted by the weakness of the orcs, and charged again. That further decreased the number of their soldiers. And this time the squad had no more choice but to give up, and watch as the orcs fled back into Dáin’s Halls.
The dwarven king didn’t slow down, and marched towards Dáin’s Halls. As the spy opened the gates for the king, building siege weapons was not required. To keep the pressure on the orcs, Dáin ordered the attack immediately after his army arrived.
Ugrad, the general of the orc army, placed one of the two companies of javelins on top of the wall, and one behind the gate next to his bodyguards.
To preserve more elite soldiers, Dáin ordered the two companies of less elite miners to rush into the city and secure the gate before the professional warriors entered. As a result, one of the companies attacked the skirmishers on top of the walls while the other attempted to charge into those on the street, but was blocked by the bodyguards of Ugrad.
The skirmishers behind Ugrad’s bodyguards fired at the dwarves. To prevent further casualties, Dáin ordered the miners to push forward and engage the javelins in melee at all costs. However, only several miners made it through to attack the skirmishers. They suffered a huge casualty and had no chance to stop the javelins.
Luckily, the dwarven warriors arrived on time to assist. They greatly outnumbered the orc bodyguards and reached the skirmishers, which stopped them from firing. With Ugrad’s death, the skirmishers on the wall started to flee, while those who were pushed back into the central plaza attempted to fight to death.
To reduce casualties and time required, the Dale cavalry went another way through to the rear of the orcs. They charged twice on the orcs until the battle came to an end.
Summer, 2983 TA
While the Second War of the Dwarves and Orcs continued in the east, another battle began in the west. After being besieged for more than a year, the garrison in Nenuial was forced to sally forth. To encounter, Glóin’s army charged immediately as the enemy was forming up outside the walls.
All the enemy missile troops were successfully made useless as the dwarves held them in melee. The men of Nenuial attempted to change the course by flanking the right wing of the dwarves with their spearmen, but were counter-flanked by a dwarven company. Again, the dwarves attacked from the two sides, encircling the men.
Captain Mablung of Nenuial, in the chaotic battle, was captured by the dwarves and brought in front of Glóin.
“Kill me if you want,” Mablung said, “If my death can end the fight and spare the lives of my men, I will have it.”
“I don’t lie to the dead. I can spare their lives.” Glóin replied as he sent Mablung back into the battlefield to inform his army. The men of Nenuial surrendered after Mablung cut his own throat.
Autumn, 2983 TA
To prepare another attack against the orcs, the dwarven spy Nar infiltrated the Mount of Gundabad. King Dáin II hoped to retake the sacred place as soon as possible, but he had to gather more forces. Even though the garrison in Gundabad was found to be weak, Dáin feared he couldn’t defend from the forces from the nearby orc settlements after taking the mount. And so he trained and recruited more troops to ensure victory.
2984-85 TA:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:Spring, 2984 TA
“Any news from our diplomat in Rohan, Corin?” King Dáin II asked.
“We’ve already offered everything we can,” Corin replied, “But the Rohirrim just weren’t interested. I guess they want to fight Isengard themselves.”
“So after all we’ve done to bind the forces of the free peoples, they still suspect us,” Dáin said, “Let them be then. It’s fine as long as we don’t go to war. And I wonder where our diplomat is heading for now. I wish to see how Isengard respond to our offers.”
“I believe he will arrive in summer.”
Summer, 2984 TA
“It seems to me that Isengard’s attitude towards us is not that different from Mordor,” Corin reported, “They barely accepted our offer to trade and exchange maps.”
“Another proof that they are on the same side.” Dáin said.
“I think Saruman has his own thoughts,” Corin added, “It was him who met our diplomat and negotiated the offers. If it were the orcs, they wouldn’t even have given Loni a chance to speak.”
Spring, 2985 TA
After a short break, the dwarves began their expansions once again. Three armies, in the same season, marched on their destinations, hoping to bring back the glorious days that they once had.
With his army ready, King Dáin II began his march on the sacred Mount Gundabad, hoping to retake the mount from the orcs. This time he brought newly trained axethrowers that acted as missile troops. Although their range was much shorter than archers, they can make battles a lot easier.
Glóin decided to stay in Nenuial as governor. Gimli was ordered to take over his place to go for the orcs, and Róin to assist. Captain Náin was appointed to lead the army to the north until Gimli joined in.
Taking Forodwaith in the north was important. Only two settlements can link up the Hills of Evendim and other territories in the east: Pitkäranta and Fornost. But Fornost was part of Eriador, a faction of men that the dwarves would rather ally with than fight. As the orcs had taken Forodwaith, it gave the dwarves a chance to take it justifiably.
For a long time did the Men of Dale and Rhûn fought against each other. As an ally of Dale, the dwarves can no longer stay out of the war. As an army of Rhûn passed through dwarven territories to attack Dale, the dwarves were angered and decided to assist their ally.
Lord Thorin III, together with his adopted son Thrain, marched into the territory of Rhûn, hoping to create another battle front which would split the forces of the evil men, weakening them and save Dale from the danger of being conquered.
Summer, 2985 TA
After months of journey, Loni the diplomat arrived at the elven settlement Argond in the west. Hoping to focus on the dark forces in the south, the elves welcomed Loni. Although elves and dwarves had been unfriendly to each other in the past, they both knew the importance to cooperate to resist the forces of Sauron. Negotiations thus went successfully and fruitfully for both factions as an alliance was formed. Loni, after the meeting, went on to the north to the lands of Eriador, finishing his last mission in the north.
Winter, 2985 TA
“My king, I’m afraid what we feared most has started,” Corin said worriedly, “The dark lord Sauron has called an invasion to Edoras.”
“The fall of a single part of Rohan isn’t what I concern about, Corin,” King Dáin replied as he hadn’t forgotten how Rohan had refused his offer of alliance, “Let it fall.”
“We cannot let the power of evil grow. We should send forces to assist.” Corin suggested.
“And anger Sauron? And make all evil powers turn against us? No, we will not.”
“Lord Thorin is already in Rhomen,” the king continued, “We are at war with Rhûn. We cannot afford more wars. And if Rhûn sends its forces to Edoras, it would be an advantage for us. We should use it well.”
“I believe you will not change your mind no matter what I say,” Corin replied, “But I won’t change my mind either. I still believe you should assist Rohan.”
Meanwhile, Captain Náin joined Gimli with his force in Pitkäranta. Seeing this, the orcs were frightened as they were greatly outnumbered, and clearly stood no chance against the dwarves. The orcs finally decided to surrender. But Gimli, who showed hatred towards the orcs, did not let them live. He executed all who surrendered and claimed the village.
As Forodwaith, or the Northern Waste, was in Gimli’s hand, the dwarves of Ered Luin were one step closer from the east. The only territories that separated them are Angmar and Gundabad, the lands which would also fall to the dwarves very soon.
In Barrow-downs, Beleg, a general of the free peoples of Eriador, met Loni. Knowing the alliance formed between elves and dwarves, the Men of Eriador were pleased and hoped to join. A triple alliance between men, elves and dwarves were formed, after a series of negotiations, while the orcs of Gundabad and the Misty Mountains, now surrounded, must unite or they would be destroyed.
======================================================================
This is my first time writing an AAR. Hope you enjoy
Comment on it if there are any things to improve
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Dr. Freeman
I like how you made that paint kind of strategic thing to show us how you had set up your troups
keep it going!
