The Dark Lord's Hordes

Prologue:
Ash swirled above the plains of Gorgoroth, Mt. Doom spewed another wave of fire into the sky, and the Great Eye of Mordor looked down on the lands of middle earth. For years he had been planning his onslaught upon the Free Peoples of the West, and that time was soon approaching. In the south the armies of Mordor and Harad were moving to secure Ithillien and the crossings of the Anduin. In the east, Rhun was preparing a defensive line against Dale and the Dwarves of the Iron Hills. The wild men of Dunland and armies of Isenguard were moving against Rohan and, in the north, the armies of Moria and Gundabad were massing for the oncoming storm.
But all was not ready yet. The Free Peoples were still a force to be reckoned with. While the final onslaught would come soon, the armies of darkness would first need to build of their armies in preparation. Then, when the Great War finally came, nothing could stop them. Yes, thought the Dark Lord Sauron, patience; I have waited for countless millennia, and I can wait a few years longer. Gleaming with malice, it turned its eyes west, watching as the hordes of Mordor marched to war.

Introduction:
The way I set this game up, I will be playing as every evil faction in the game simultaneously, using a hotseat setup. The purpose of this will be to allow the armies of darkness to coordinate under the direction of their dark lord and master. That being said, I will offset this advantage in four ways. First, I will play on VH/VH, next, I will use the sadistic governor script w/ no building/recruiting without a family member present. Also, as this is technically a Hotseat game I will not be able to command defensive battles (meaning that I am going to get screwed by the auto-resolve every now and then). Finally, if, later in the game some factions become too powerful I will have them betray Sauron and seek to conquer Middle Earth on their own.
I would argue that Evil has a weaker starting position, especially in the north. There, the Orcs of Gundabad and the Misty Mountains are surrounded by countless armies of elves, men, and dwarves. That will be a defensive war. My attacks on Rohan and Gondor will be my main thrust, with Rhun supporting both while holding off Dale. In this Rhun will likely prove to be the decisive factor, tipping the balance of the war in Evil's favor (though maybe I just love those Dragon Legions).

Random Commentary: So I love MOS, but I would highly advise playing it in a window. Otherwise the turns take about ten minutes to process. With a window you can multitask and go back and forth. Plus, you can make AARs like this!

Chapter 1: The Pieces are Moving
The armies of darkness will have to move quickly if they are to position themselves well for the oncoming storm. In the south Mordor's armies are overrunning Ithillien while in Duneland the wildmen moved to capture Tharbad and Swanfleet. This move led to the first real battle of the Great War. Seeing the Wildmen encroach upon their territory, the peasants of Swanfleet raised an army and marched to challenge them. Meeting below the cliffs south of Tharbad, these peasants held the numerical advantage, but proved no match for the Dunlending Berserkers cleaving through their lines.

The Battle of Swanfleet
Elsewhere, the Dark Lord's Plans proceed apace. The Orcs of Gundabad began a push to the coast, in the hopes of conquering Forodwaith, the Orcs of the Misty Mountains made preparations for a campaign against the rebels of the Upper Anduin, Rhun built of its Dragon Legions and moved against Uldonavan, and Harad attacked north into Harodnor.
It was at this time that disaster struck for the forces of Gondor. Thinking Mordor weak, they left inadequate forces garrisoning the Anduin, and the Dark Lord Struck. The Witch King of Angmar rushed forward and took Cair Andros and Osgiliath, the fortresses guarding the Anduin crossings.

Random Commentary: I realize that the two-turn recruitment for elite units is a balance issue, but it can be really infuriating having to wait double the time to get your army up and running. It is even worse for Rhun, my favorite faction, because their Dragon Legions are ALL two-turn recruits. Still, seeing your gold-clad army assembled in the field makes it all worth it. I mean seriously, Rhun is awesome! I'm surprised more people don't play them. They are like Roman Legionaries (minus the pila).

The hosts of Mordor, however, still had many battles to fight. There were rebels that needed to be driven out of Henneth Annun and an army of Gondorien reinforcements marching on Cair Andros. Seeing this, the dark lord threw his armies agains Henneth Annun, planning to then send them west to reinforce the crossing. The battle was long and bloody, with wave after wave of orcs being thrown back from the cave, but soon, the Nazgul circled round the rear and, in a series of devastating charges, wiped out the remaining defenders.


The Battle of Henneth Annun
However, the assault was bloody and few were left to hold the river crossing. As such, the armies in Osgiliath crossed the river and marched north to cut off the Gondorian escape. Seeing this, General Egelmoth turned his army back and attacked one of the armies marching against him. It was routed, but the other soon struck back in its place. Led by three Nazgul the host of over 3000 orcs descended on the 700 fleeing Gondorians.
Egelmoth put up a valiant defense, but his number were far too few. The Nazgul circled round his flank and soon the captain of Gondor lay slain and his army was in flight. Only the Fountain Guard remained on the field, fighting to the bitter end, but for every orc they slew, two more took its place. Eventually all were overwhelmed and slaughtered.

The Battle of Anorien

Random Commentary: I'm playing this while listening to the song "Where There's a Whip There's a Way" from the Rakin-Bass Return of the King. So funky!

Meanwhile in the Gap of Rohan, the host of Isenguard goes on the march. The Kind of Rohan, seeing the weakness of the Westfold, sent an army to reinforce the troops already stationed there. If the two armies were to meet they would prove a deadly force to the Uruk-Hai army. To avoid this, the host of Isenguard marched south with all haste in the hopes of cutting them off and defeating the two armies separately.
The chase was long and soon the Rohirrim were at the very gates of the town when the Uruk-Hai caught up with them. Knowing that the garrison at Gineard would arrive soon, the Uruk-Hai struck first. At the sight of the vast horde the Rohirrim fled up a hill, hoping to make their stand there. Undaunted the Uruks charged up the hill, smashing into the Rohirrim lines.
Soon, however, a hord was heard across the plains and the reinforcements under Gamling of Gineard arrived to bolster the Rohirrim lines. His tide of horsemen smashed into the Urik-Hai archers, but like a great all they held fast. Soon, as the Rohirrim on the hill were wiped out, the bulk of Isenguards army turned back to face Gamling. The fight was long and bloody but, soon, Gamling lay slain and Rohan's army was vanquished with over 1000 slain alongside but 300 Uruks.


The Battle of Gineard

Emboldened by this success, the Dark Lord pondered a new plan. The armies of Gundabad and Moria had been built up well and they were in need of lands to conquor. The Orcs of the Misty Mountains were already planning a campaign into the Upper Anduin but their southern armies were uncommitted. Seeing this, the Great Eye of Sauron looked to Rivendell, home of Elrond and capitol of the High Elves. To capture this place would strike a huge blow against the free peoples of Middle Earth. Mobilizing his armies, the Orcs of Gundabad and Moria each sent a force to take the city. Hopefully their combined strength could overpower that of the Elves.
The war has now gone on for almost five years. The armies of darkness rule the banks of the Anduin from Harodnor to Dul Guldor and a line has been drawn across Mirkwood and Rohavion stretching from The banks of the Anduin to the Sea of Rhun. The armies of Isenguard and Dunland rule Enedwaith and the westfold as their armies continue to swell with new recruits. In the north Gundabad and Moria are sending their armies against Rivendell while the Orcs of the Misty Mountains attempt to secure the Upper Anduin.
The Dark Lord sees this and would have smiled, were he capable of such an act. The opening skirmishes have been fought and won but the Battle for Middle Earth is yet to begin...