Battle of Five Armies

"... in all the mountains there was a forging and an arming. Then they marched ... until around and beneath the great mountain Gundabad of the North, where was their capital, a vast host was assembled ready to sweep down in time of storm unawares upon the South."

- The Hobbit, "The Clouds Burst"

The Battle of Five Armies was a battle waged between the Orcs and the Wargs of Dol Guldur and Gundabad against the Men of Dale, Elves, Dwarves, on and near the Lonely Mountain.

Background
After Bard killed the dragon Smaug, the Men of the Lake and the Wood-elves both laid siege to the Dwarves in the Lonely Mountain, the thirteen Dwarves of Erebor (the realm of the Lonely Mountain) under Thorin II Oakenshield having refused to share any of the treasure that they had recaptured from Smaug.

Thorin and Company were then trapped in a bloodless siege, with Thranduil and Bard hoping to wait them out. However, Thorin had sent messages of his plight to his relatives using talking messenger Ravens that lived on the Lonely Mountain. These reached Dáin II Ironfoot of the nearby Iron Hills, and he marched to the Lonely Mountain with 500 heavily armed Dwarves, most skilled veterans of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. When Dáin's forces arrived, battle was almost joined between the two sides (now three armies were on the field) but at the last moment Gandalf intervened between the two and revealed that while they were bickering amongst themselves, the Goblins of the Misty Mountains and Grey Mountains under Bolg were using the opportunity to march against them. They had been incited by Gandalf's earlier slaying of the Great Goblin, but had now mobilized for a full-scale attack after hearing news of the death of the Dragon and the now relatively unguarded treasure hoard.

The Battle
The three commanders agreed that the Goblins, Wargs, and Bats were the enemies of all, and previous grievances between them were put on hold in face of the greater threat. They arranged their forces on the two spurs of the Mountain that lined the valley leading to the now-sealed off great gate; the only entrance to the Mountain. The 500 Dwarves and 200 Lake-men formed up on one spur and over 1000 Elves on the other, while a light rear-guard lined across the mouth of the valley to lure the Goblins between the two, and thus destroy them. Bilbo Baggins, while invisible due to the Ring, tried to sit out the battle on the spur held by the Elves. Bilbo Baggins tried to sit out from the battle on Ravenhill which was held by the Elves and where also Gandalf had withdrawn to.



Soon the Goblins, Wargs, and a cloud of Bats "like a sea of locusts" arrived (and now four armies were on the field), and at first the plan worked: they were lured into the choke point and took heavy losses. However, due to the goblins' superior numbers, the allied Free Folk did not hold the advantage long. The second wave was even worse than the first, and now many Goblins scaled the mountain from the opposite side, and began to attack the arrayed forces from above and behind, as the main wave pressed forward. The battle raged across the Mountain, and then a great noise was heard: Thorin and his twelve Dwarf companions inside the mountain had thrown down the stone wall they had erected across the mouth of the gates, killing many Goblins. Thorin and Company then charged out to join the battle, covered from head to toe in the finest armour and weapons contained in the treasure hoard of the Lonely Mountain. Thorin advanced through the Goblins ranks all the way up to the gigantic Goblins that formed the Bodyguard of Bolg, whom he could not get past. The battle degenerated into a chaotic close quarters melee, no quarter asked or given.

As the battle was turning fully against the Free Folk, a number of Giant Eagles of the Misty Mountains arrived (the fifth army), led by the Great Eagle. Bilbo was the first to spot their entrance on the scene and began shouting that "the Eagles are coming!", a shout that was then continued among the other troops of the Free Folk. At this point Bilbo was knocked in the head by a large stone thrown by a Goblin from above on the Mountain, and he passed out. With the support of the Giant Eagles, the battle turned back against the Goblins. Then Beorn himself arrived at the battle, apparently having heard news that a large army of Goblins was on the move. This time he did not appear in his former shape of a giant Man, but had changed his skin to that of a gigantic bear. Beorn drove through the Goblin lines, but paused to carry the wounded Thorin out of the battle. Beorn then returned to the battle with even greater wrath and smashed the ranks of the Bodyguard of Bolg, ultimately killing Bolg himself. The Goblins eventually panicked and scattered, to be picked off by hunting forces from the victors later; many of the Goblin survivors died in the Mirkwood forest.

Death of Thorin Oakenshield


When Bilbo regained consciousness, the battle was already over. Thorin II Oakenshield had been mortally wounded on the field, and his nephews Fili and Kili died defending him as he lay on the ground. Thorin died soon after the battle, but had time to say a last goodbye to Bilbo.

Distributing of the Treasure Hoard
After defeating the Goblins and Wargs, the victors divided the treasure. Bard took Bilbo's fourteenth share of the gold and silver in return for the Arkenstone, whereupon he shared his reward with the Master of Lake-town and gave the Elven-king Thranduil the emeralds of Girion. Bilbo, despite having forfeited his share, was offered a rich reward but refused to take more than two small chests of gold and silver which was still enough to leave him a wealthy Hobbit back in The Shire for 60 years.

Portrayal in adaptations
In the third installment The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, the Orc army led by Azog attacks the Lonely Mountain and the conflict between the Dwarves, Men and Elves is quickly averted. In the Extended Edition, Dain sends forth his goat calvary and spinning ballistas upon the Elven forces, who try and counter with shield wall and archer formations. during this early conflict, many dwarves, goats, and elves are killed until the Were Worms break forth from the earth and the fighting stops to combat a new force. Dáin's dwarves send up a phalanx formation to counter the Guldur Orc charge, Thranduil in quick response sends hundreds of elves jumping over the Dwarven lines to strike deep into the orc lines, soon dwarves, elves, and orcs all are in brutal combat. Seeing this great force upon his orc lines, Azog sends forth his "War Beasts" huge armored trolls and Ogres, who Gandalf quickly notices, smash into Dáin's left flank and send many hurdling towards death. Thranduil's elves counter some of the more huge trolls by letting lose a volley of thousands of arrows which take a few of the beasts, and some orcs down, Dáin's chariots find the opportunity to charge into the orc lines and cut some of the orcs down. Azog counters the "war machines" with his smaller beasts, the ogres, who charge against the chariots and crush dwarves and rams alike. Azog noticing the brutal fighting below, sends half his army against Dale in a flanking move. Seeing this, the men of laketown in the valley along with Bard, Gandalf, and Bilbo make their way to the city to help defend it, as More and more Dwarves and Elves are killed by azog's orcs and war trolls.

In Dale, huge catapult trolls send volleys of rocks against the defending walls, and a large troll equipped with a stone headpiece charges the north wall sending it down, creating an opening for the orcs to enter. Within the city, garrisons of leftover laketown guards, millitamen, and citizens are left to defend themselves from the orcs and trolls entering Dale. Soon Bard enters the city with rest of his army, Gandalf, and Bilbo, who try to fight against the orcs as much as they can. Soon the fight becomes a vicious street brawl, locked into tight corners of one on one fights.

As the fighting continues, the situation becomes more and more desperate, Ogres throw men and dwarves, Orcs surround and knock down elves, and trolls overwhelm whoever remains, seeing this, Thranduil and a small force of elves enter Dale to aid it, Thranduil loses his Elk, and charges against the orcs, dealing great and swift damage. Dáin in the valley along with the Dwarves and remaining elves, are losing fast, Dáin loses his war pig and helmet and he and his remaining forces are pushed against the walls of Erebor itself, as Azog prepares for the final charge.

During the battle, Thorin eventually overcomes his madness inside the Lonely Mountain and leads the company out of the Mountain and joins the battle. He then decides to kill Azog in Ravenhill and is followed by Dwalin, Fili and Kili. When they reach the peak, Azog is nowhere to be found so Thorin sends Fili and Kili to scout the upper levels. Fili is then captured, impaled by Azog and thrown off a tower. Bilbo arrives to warn the Dwarves of Bolg's army which is near but is knocked out by Bolg in Ravenhill. Bolg later finds Tauriel and injures her but before he can finish her, Kili arrives to save her but is impaled by Bolg's mace and dies. In anger Tauriel throws Bolg off a hill but she is dragged down with him. Legolas then spots Bolg and engages in a climactic duel with him in which the giant Gundabad Orc is killed when Legolas plunges a shortsword into his head. After Bolg's death, the Great eagles arrive, led by Radagast and Beorn who quickly demolish the Orc army.

Thorin confronts Azog in an epic fight to avenge Fili and he gains the upper hand by throwing Azog off a hill but the Defiler sends Orc soldiers to kill Thorin but this fails. Azog then returns with a flail but Thorin breaks the ice on the river and Azog falls in the water due to the weight of his weapon. Thorin follows Azog's body but is stabbed in the foot and while he is incapacitated, Azog stabs him in the chest, mortally wounding the Dwarf but Oakenshield plunges Orcrist through Azog's chest and stabs him into the ice, killing the Orc. Thorin later apologises to Bilbo for almost killing him and dies having made peace with Bilbo. Despite Bilbo's efforts to keep him alive, Thorin succumbs to his wounds and dies. He is found dead when the rest of his company arrive.

Strength
Along with a formidable legion of Gundabad Orcs, and Bats, the film added the appearance of Were-Worms and Trolls and Ogres. As in the film the entire forces are changed, the Elves and the Lake-men are more numerous that in the book, there is no appearance of the Wargs during the battle. Additional combatants in the battle are Legolas, Tauriel, Radagast, Feren, and Percy.

Estimated strength of the Dwarves, Elves, and Men:
 * 8000 Silvan Elves of Mirkwood
 * 4000 Dwarves of the Iron Hills
 * 2000 Lake-town Militia (including 1000-1500 Lake-town Civilians)
 * 80 Great Eagles
 * 2 Wizards
 * 1 Beorning
 * 1 Hobbit

Estimated strength of Azog's army:
 * 25,000-30,000 Guldur Orcs
 * 10,000-15,000 Gundabad Orcs
 * 40 Orc Berserkers
 * 100 Wargs
 * 900 Gundabad Bats
 * 200 Goblin Mercenaries
 * 20 Trolls and Olog-hai
 * 12 Ogres
 * 3 Were-worms

(Source: Weta digital VFX: Hobbit Botfa)

Other namesakes

 * The Battle of the Five Armies was also the name of a war game to replay this battle made by . The game uses 10-mm miniatures and is heavily based on their Warhammer system.


 * The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is the title of the third and final film in Peter Jackson's Hobbit Trilogy.

External link


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