The battle begins immediately following Gandalf's denying the Witch-king's entry into the city. Some changes of detail are apparent. In the retreat to the city, Faramir, son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor, was severely wounded. A Great Darkness of smoke and cloud from Mordor blotted out the sun. The king's horse was killed by a dart, and it fell and crushed the king.[6]. [T 6], Éowyn's brother Éomer arrived to find Théoden mortally wounded; he named Éomer king before dying. CNN.com put the battle on a list of best and worst battle scenes in film, where it appeared twice: one of the best before the Army of the Dead arrives, and one of the worst after that, dubbing the battle's climax an "oversimplified cop out" as a result of their involvement. [T 6], Further reinforcements from the coastal towns of Gondor sailed on Corsair ships to the city,[T 4] led by Aragorn, who had captured the ships, thus removing the threat to the southern provinces. I'm Polish, but I also speak english, german and spanish, so I spotted the following: In the polish tab the name of the battle is spanish, and in the french tab it is in polish, so the following arrangement would be correct: Dhognulir (talk) 10:48, August 13, 2015 (UTC). Charging the ranks of Mordor, the Rohirrim split into two groups. The hobbit Meriadoc Brandybuck, who had accompanied "Dernhelm", stabbed the Witch-king behind the knee with his Barrow-blade, a dagger from the ancient kingdom of Arnor enchanted against the forces of Angmar. Unlike the book, in which the hosts of Mordor are dazzled by the light of the rising sun reflecting off the armor of the Rohirrim charging from the west, the movie has the Rohirrim backlit by the sun, inconsistent with the geography of the situation as presented by Tolkien. [10], In the BBC radio series The Lord of the Rings, the Battle of the Pelennor Fields is heard from two sides, the first being mainly Pippin's. The strength of the Host of the West's victory left them with sufficient strength to "challenge battle" and still leave Minas Tirith better defended than it had been during the siege. "[T 2], The defenders' numbers were considerably less. Gothmog is furious with his subordinates as they flee, but his lieutenant insists that their rams are useless, and the gate is too strong. Another apparent similarity is the death of king Theodoric I on the Catalaunian Fields and that of Théoden on the Pelennor. Théoden's speech is declaimed, followed by music. He is armed with a huge flail (instead of the book's mace) and a sword. [12], There are repeated references by Tolkien to a historic account of the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields by Jordanes. fighting. In the ensuing combat she slew the Witch-king's mount, but he then broke her shield and shield arm. For example, Théoden dies by a projectile to the heart instead of being crushed by his horse; when Éowyn reveals her sex she has cut her hair short, a detail absent from the final version. The Great Darkness blotted out the sun. [2], The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, "The best – and worst – movie battle scenes. Tolkien indirectly states that Théoden's death could have been prevented if Gandalf had helped the Rohirrim instead, as he had intended. The ships indeed were manned by Aragorn and his Rangers of the North, Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf, the Half-elven brothers Elladan and Elrohir and many troops from south Gondor. Tolkien also considered killing off both Théoden and Éowyn. [T 6], After breaking the city gate with Grond, the Witch-king of Angmar rode under "the archway that no enemy ever yet had passed. In the book, the defenders of Minas Tirith also sally forth and play an important part, while Sauron's army includes a huge variety of forces, including Southron cavalry, Easterlings, Variags from Khand and "out of Far Harad black men like half-trolls with white eyes and red tongues". War of the Ring Attack on the Woodland Realm – Sauron's assault on Osgiliath – Weathertop – Balin's Tomb – Durin's Tower – Amon Hen – Fords of Isen – Attack of the Rohirrim – Battle of the Hornburg – Isengard – Ithilien – Battle of Osgiliath – Siege of Gondor – Battle of the Pelennor Fields – Dale – Battles of Lórien – Mirkwood – Cirith Ungol – Black Gate – Dol Guldur – Battle of Bywater Éowyn then faces him. [9] Tolkien indirectly states that Théoden's death could have been prevented if Gandalf had helped the Rohirrim instead, as he had intended.[9]. "[16][17], J. R. R. 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This army consisted of some 150,000 orcs, trolls, and Men who had allied with Sauron. Théoden himself slew the king of the Haradrim and threw down their standard. Besides the fact that Gondor and Rohan lost a good chunk of their army and leaders; Denethor was dead, as was Halbarad, Theoden. Then the vocalism changes again and one hears Jack May and Anthony Hyde, voicing respectively Théoden and Éomer, saying a Nazgûl is coming.          Sexual Content [T 8], Charging the ranks of Mordor, the Rohirrim split into two groups. And like Theodoric, Théoden is carried from the battlefield with his knights weeping and singing for him while the battle still goes on. Another apparent similarity is the death of king Theodoric I on the Catalaunian Fields and that of Théoden on the Pelennor. Meanwhile, a fleet of ships, apparently the navy of the Corsairs of Umbar, who were Sauron's allies, sailed up Anduin to the Harlond. She and Théoden exchange words before the latter dies; in the book Théoden talks to Merry, not Éowyn, before dying. Just before reaching the quays, the flagship unfurled the ancient banner of the Kings of Gondor. [8] Shippey writes that warhorns exemplify the "heroic Northern world", as in what he calls the nearest Beowulf has to a moment of eucatastrophe, when Ongentheow's Geats, trapped all night, hear the horns of Hygelac's men coming to rescue them. 3,000 Gondorians

Crowd sourced content that is contributed to World Heritage Encyclopedia is peer reviewed and edited by our editorial staff to ensure quality scholarly research articles. [T 10], Out on the Pelennor Fields, the battle was turning against Gondor and its allies. {some 6000 of the 7000 soldiers who set out for the black gate are noted to be gondorian(only 1000 rohirrim are comitted, the other 3000 are sent north to attack the easterling army they had earlier bypassed). The siege of the city begins with Sauron's forces throwing severed heads of Gondorian soldiers into the city with siege engines, as in the book. Meanwhile, the enemy forces assembled before the city on the Pelennor Fields. Since the despairing Steward refused to leave his son's side, the Wizard Gandalf took command of the city's defences. And like Theodoric, Théoden is carried from the battlefield with his knights weeping and singing for him while the battle still goes on.[13]. Some allies 2800 Minas Tirith 2000 Rohirrim 6000 Aragorn 1000 Total Gondor forces: 11250 Minas Morgul/Witch King 20000 Haradrim 18000 Others 7000 Total Mordor forces: 45000 So, in Pelennor Fields we could say there were about 55000+ men, orcs,etc.

The enemy officer Gothmog, the Witch-king's lieutenant, is interpreted as a grotesquely misshapen Orc general, possibly maimed in prior wars. In the retreat to the city, Faramir, son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor, was severely wounded. After repeated futile attacks by catapults and siege towers, Sauron's forces were able to breach the city gate using the giant battering ram Grond. Don't go by the movie, you'll just look naïeve when someone who has read the books turns up and shows you that you where wrong. A brief respite was won until the Battle of the Black Gate.[6].
Their number was smaller than expected since Gondor's coastal towns were being attacked by the Corsairs of Umbar. Théoden similarly rallies his men shortly before he falls and is crushed by his horse. The Nazgûlor Ri… World Heritage Encyclopedia content is assembled from numerous content providers, Open Access Publishing, and in compliance with The Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act (FASTR), Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., Public Library of Science, The Encyclopedia of Life, Open Book Publishers (OBP), PubMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and USA.gov, which sources content from all federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial government publication portals (.gov, .mil, .edu). On the side of the Host of the West there had been significant losses.

Tolkien writes that Faramir was outnumbered by ten times at Osgiliath, where he lost one third of his men.

The battle was the largest and most important event of the War of the Ring, the war in which the Third Age of Middle-earth comes to a close. Éomer then saw his sister unconscious. ", "Tolkien annotated map of Middle-earth acquired by Bodleian library", Risk: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Edition, The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, Tolkien: A Look Behind "The Lord of the Rings", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_the_Pelennor_Fields&oldid=977910338, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 11 September 2020, at 18:35. I don't understand. The Ringwraith's Black Breath had made them both gravely ill, as with Faramir earlier. For example, Théoden dies by a projectile to the heart instead of being crushed by his horse; when Éowyn reveals her sex she has cut her hair short, a detail absent from the final version.

They were also able to send a significant force north into Anórien to fight another Mordor army which had been intended to intercept the Rohirrim. The Witch-king was bitterly wounded due to that particular sword's special magic. However, Denethor was dead, as were Halbarad, Théoden, and many officers and men of Gondor and Rohan, and some would have to be kept in Gondor in case of attack, so only a small force could be sent. Since the despairing Steward refused to leave his son's side, the Wizard Gandalf took command of the city's defences. [4] Tolkien describes the army as the greatest to "issue from that vale since the days of Isildur's might, no host so fell and strong in arms had yet assailed the fords of Anduin; and yet it was but one and not the greatest of the hosts that Mordor now sent forth. I've been checking out some of the articles on this wikia and after reading trough this article I have noticed a mistake in the tanslations tab. 3019 as the Great Darknessblotted out the sun. One hears him discussing with Denethor, and like in the book, he has to find Gandalf to prevent Denethor from burning Faramir.          Political / Social. The King's niece Éowyn (disguised as a man and calling herself "Dernhelm") challenged the Witch-king to personal combat. [T 6] This fulfilled Glorfindel's prophecy following the fall of Arnor that the Witch-king would not die "by the hand of man". "[T 1] Gandalf, on his horse Shadowfax, alone stood in his way. After breaking the gate with Grond, the Witch-king rode "under the archway that no enemy ever yet had passed.