Battle of the Hornburg

"A new power is rising, its victory is at hand. This night the land will be stained with the blood of Rohan. March to Helm's deep, leave none alive. TO WAR! There will be no Dawn for Men."

- Saruman

The Battle of the Hornburg was a battle during the War of the Ring where the Rohirrim defended Hornburg from Saruman's army of Orcs.

Pre-Battle
After being freed by Gandalf from Gríma Wormtongue's influence, Théoden went to the Fords of Isen where Erkenbrand was battling Saruman's Orcs. When Théoden got there, he realized that the army was scattered, so Gandalf told Théoden to help the refugees to Hornburg where many people from Westfold were also taking refuge. Soon Gandalf brought the Rohirrim to defend Helm's Deep from Saruman's attacking forces. The soldiers were led by a local captain called Gamling the Old. Unfortunately, many of the soldiers there were either too young or too old.

The Battle
The army of Saruman made up of Uruk-hai, common Orcs, Wild Men of Dunland, and half-orcs arrived in the middle of the night. Legolas and Gimli agreed to do a contest to see how many kills they could get.

The Orcs quickly overran the first defence in Helm's Dike, approaching the fortress as the Rohirrim retreated. They shot arrows at the Rohirrm, but there was no response at first. When the Orcs got closer to the fortress, the defenders sent a volley of arrows and stones at them, forcing the Orcs to fall back. The Orcs soon got close enough to Hornburg and attempted to break the gate down with a battering ram, but were scattered by a small attack team led by Aragorn and Gimli.

The attackers then raised hundreds of ladders to scale the Deeping Wall; the worn-out defenders threw down the ladder attacks, but were attacked from behind by Orcs who had crawled through the culvert at the base of the wall. Legolas and Gimli attacked the Orcs who got through the hole and Gimli helped block the culvert. Unfortunately, the Deeping Wall was breached by Saruman's explosive blasting-fire.

The defenders led by Éomer and Gimli retreated into the Glittering Caves while Aragorn and Legolas led a retreat into the keep. Aragorn called for a parley and told the Orcs that they would die if they didn't surrender, but the Uruk-hai laughed at his threat and attempted to shoot him down, almost killing Aragorn. The Orcs then made it to the gate and destroyed the arch with Saruman's 'blasting-fire'. Suddenly, Théoden and Aragorn led a vicious cavalry charge out of the keep, driving the Uruks away from the remains of the gate.

Just then, Gandalf on his horse Shadowfax arrived with Erkenbrand and a thousand swordsmen on foot, and they charged the Orcs. As the Uruks were driven out of the valley, they realized the entrance to the valley was blocked by an army of Huorns. After the Orcs and Uruks were driven into the Huorns, the Dunlendings surrendered and were spared, but were forced to take an oath never to attack Rohan again.

Immediate Aftermath
The surviving Dunlendings were sent home and their slain were buried in a communal mound. The Orc carcasses were simply piled off to the side of the battle field and left to rot. One of the Rohirrim dead was Háma, a captain of Théoden's personal guard and doorguard of Meduseld. Gimli had lost his helmet in the battle and was wounded badly on the head, but he had killed forty-two orcs to Legolas' forty-one.

Film Version
In The Two Towers (film), the city of Edoras was evacuated to Helm's Deep. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli accompanied King Théoden and his people there. Along the way they were attacked by Saruman's Warg-Riders. During this fight, Éowyn led the evacuees on to Helm's Deep while the Riders of Rohan fought off the attack. Aragorn became entangled with the harness of a Warg and was dragged off the side of a cliff.

After reaching Helm's Deep, the Rohirrim began to prepare for a siege. During these preparations, Aragorn, who had been found by the horse Brego, arrived with news of 10,000 Uruk-hais coming from Isengard. In response to this, Théoden orders every male able to bear arms, including some of the older children, to be armed and ready to fight. Aragorn suggested calling for aid but Théoden didn't believe anyone would come.

The Rohirrim were surprised by the arrival of Haldir from Lórien and his archers. They were sent by Elrond to support the Rohirrim, in honor of the ancient treaty with the king of Gondor, represented by Aragorn. "An alliance once existed between Elves and Men. Long ago we fought and died together. We come to honor that allegiance."

- Haldir speaking to Théoden and Aragorn

The battle began when an older man fired an arrow at the Uruk-hai, killing one. At first it consisted primarily of volleys of arrows. Then the Uruk-hai began raising ladders, each with a berserker on top. Many Elves were killed during this stage of the battle but they and the Rohirrim were managing to keep the Uruk-hai from getting a good foothold on the wall. While the Elves were sword-fighting with the Uruk-hai on the wall, the sappers, a group of four Uruk-hai, laid the charges that were prepared by Saruman in the culvert under the wall. A berserker lit the blasting powder despite Legolas shooting him.

Once the wall was blown, the Uruk-hai poured into Helm's Deep. The Elves, led by Aragorn, were the first defense against them. While they fought, more Uruk-hai brought a battering ram up to the door. Théoden led his men to brace the door, which eventually broke under the assault. Aragorn and Gimli worked together to give the Rohirrim enough time to mend the door and then escaped via a rope lowered by Legolas.

The Uruk-hai then raised massive ladders that carried dozens of Uruk-hai up to the fortress wall. Although one was shot down by Legolas, Théoden decided to pull his men back to the keep itself. During the retreat, Haldir was killed.

Once inside the keep, Théoden fell into despair while his men tried to brace the door. Aragorn sent word to evacuate the caves. He remembered Gandalf telling him that he would arrive at dawn and convinced Théoden to ride out. The Rohirrim, along with Aragorn and Legolas, charged out while Gimli sounded the horn of Helm Hammerhand. Outside the keep, Théoden and Aragorn saw Gandalf arrive on Shadowfax. Behind him were Éomer and his men, who charged down the hill to attack. Between the combined forces, the Uruk-hai were driven into retreating into a Huorn forest. The Huorns eliminated the remaining Uruk-hai.

Rohirrim

 * Háma, Doorward of the Meduseld
 * Haleth, son of Háma
 * Haldir of Lórien

Isengard

 * Sharku
 * Uglúk