Attack on Dol Guldur

The Attack on Dol Guldur was a battle launched by the White Council in TA 2941 of the Third Age (just before the Battle of the Five Armies) against the fortress of Dol Guldur which was commanded by The Necromancer and The Nine.

Prelude
The stronghold and old fortress of Dol Guldur was established in the year TA 1000, which was originally known as Amon Lanc (meaning "Bald Hill"), and it was the capital of Oropher's Silvan Elves. After that, followed the return of the Dark Lord Sauron in Middle-earth. And, Sauron hid his identity disguising himself as the Necromancer of Dol Guldur, just like a mortal man. After Sauron took over command of Amon Lanc, the Silvan Elves were defeated. Thranduil, son of Oropher, led his people over the Forest River towards Mirkwood, where they remained for hundreds of years, and Dol Guldur became a ruin.

The Council of the Wise long feared the Necromancer might indeed be Sauron, and in the year TA 2063, Gandalf, the Grey Wizard among the Five Wizards, went to Dol Guldur to investigate, but Sauron, who was not yet powerful, fled to Mordor before the Wizard could find out the truth. During the Watchful Peace, Sauron returned to Dol Guldur in the year TA 2460, the same year as the One Ring was found by Sméagol. However, the Ring disappeared with Sméagol under the Misty Mountains. Sméagol was fallen by the Ring during that period.

In TA 2845, Thráin II, son of Thrór, father of Thorin Oakenshield, King of Durin's Folk, and holder of the last of the Seven Rings of the Dwarves, was imprisoned in Dol Guldur's dungeons. Five years later, Gandalf returned to Dol Guldur, finding the dying Thráin, and Gandalf was entrusted with the map and key to give to Thorin II, although Thráin could not tell him his own or his son's name before he died. After Thráin's death, Gandalf confirmed that Sauron was the master of Dol Guldur at that time.

Gandalf returned to the White Council and urged an attack on Dol Guldur, but was overruled by Saruman, who had begun searching for the One Ring in the area by then. In TA 2941, Saruman finally agreed to attack Dol Guldur, which occurred at the same time as The Quest of Erebor. This was carefully planned by Gandalf, so that Sauron and Smaug could not assist each other during this attack.

The Attack
Not much is known of the actual battle (if this was simply a duel between great powers, or if it involved the use of army weapons) besides that the White Council marched against the great fortress, Sauron's army was heavily wounded. While it made Sauron fled to Mordor, his plans to rule Middle Earth, now are ready.

Aftermath
It is unclear if the Council actually ever entered the fortress because Dol Guldur remained after the attack was still staffed by the Orc lieutenant of Barad-dûr, and later Khamûl, the Lord of Ringwraith after the Witch King's death, until the fortress was destroyed during the War of the Ring. With victory of the attack, Gandalf immediately left the White Council towards the Lonely Mountain, to aid Thorin's company, where he would take part in the Battle of the Five Armies.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies


The Attack on Dol Guldur appears in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies as one of the main plots, besides Smaug's attack to Lake-town and the gathering for battle at the Lonely Mountain. Considering Tolkien did not write much about these events in Dol Guldur, Peter Jackson had the right to take creative liberties in a completely justified context. After Gandalf was defeated and captured after facing Sauron in The Desolation of Smaug, the White Council (Galadriel, Saruman, Elrond and Radagast the Brown) came to his aid and faced Sauron/Necromancer and The Nine (Nazgûl).

In The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, after Gandalf is released from his cage by an Orc that's about to kill him, Galadriel appears, flicks her arm ahead of her and the Orc is sent flying with a flash of light from Nenya. She carries Gandalf to a wider area and Sauron begins taunting her in Black Speech, chanting the Dark Speech, which Galadriel finishes in the Westron "and Nine for mortal men doomed to die". She and the unconscious Gandalf are surrounded by the spectral forms of the Ringwraiths/Nazgûl.

She states she is not alone. Elrond and Saruman appear and fight all of the Nine. Radagast arrives on his rabbit sled and takes Gandalf to safety. The Nine seem to be banished, before Sauron's silhouette erupts into flaming form above them, the Nine hovering before him. Galadriel's eyes flash blue and she takes on a darker/ethereal form, like she did in The Fellowship of the Ring when Frodo presents her with the Ring. Sauron tries to tempt her but she calls him "nameless" and says he has no place in this world. Finally, he is cast away and banished. Elrond states that he must be followed and permanently destroyed, stating that Gondor and other people need to be warned. Saruman tells him to take the severely weakened Galadriel to safety and to leave Sauron to him, hinting at his downfall in The Lord of the Rings.

According to the Official Movie Guide to The Battle of the Five Armies, in coming to Gandalf's aid, Galadriel has to grapple with the seductive power of the Necromancer to draw other beings into a void of darkness, despair and decay. She has to summon every particle of her strength to resist and, in doing so, we see Galadriel’s incredible power and realize that — but for the finesse and strength of her spirit — how quickly power for goodness could be turned to evil.” Blanchett also says Galadriel "uses the language of the enemy".

It is expected that The Three Guardians of the Elven Rings run into some kind of fight with the Nazgûl. Galadriel and Saruman, until now, are expected to have an intense confrontation with Sauron.