Second Battle of the Fords of Isen

In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Fords of Isen were fords in the river Isen, guarded by the Rohirrim.

There were two battles at the Fords of Isen. The first battle took place on 23 February TA 3019. The second was on 2 March TA 3019. The battles were between Saruman's Uruk-hai and the Rohirrim of Rohan. See also: First Battle of the Fords of Isen

Second Battle
The command of the ford was given to Erkenbrand of the Westfold. However, until he arrived from Helm's Deep, Grimbold held the position. Grimbold decided to place foot soldiers at the ford and put Elfhelm's men on the east side where he expected the attack to come from.

Saruman sent a force which was small, but which still outnumbered the defenders. The attackers forced Grimbold to retreat across the ford with heavy losses. Grimbold held the eastern side of the ford and waited for Elfhelm to come to his aid. More than half of Saruman's force was attacking Grimbold's position.

Some Warg Riders and their followers went through the gap between the two Rohirrim forces and tried to surround Elfhelm. Although he knew Grimbold was in danger, Elfhelm retreated eastwards. Grimbold was still holding his position when he saw torches coming from the north and from Isengard - the vanguard of Saruman's reinforcements advancing towards him. Before he knew it, they had crossed the ford. He could not hold the ford so he retreated to his camp and made a shield wall around it.

Even though the Rohirrim were surrounded, still the forces of Isengard could not break through. Grimbold knew he could not hold out forever. With no sign of Elfhelm and no help from Erkenbrand, he decided to try to break out. He mounted all the riders for whom he had horses and made a gap on the east side of the wall through which the riders passed. They formed into two groups and attacked the north and south sides simultaneously. In the ensuing confusion, the remaining Rohirrim retreated on foot as quickly as they could in the dark.

Saruman's commander had finished his first task of creating a supply route into Rohan and he now moved on to his more important task - the Hornburg.