Siege of Dale

Siege of Dale is a battle which took place at the ruins of Dale in TA 2941.

Beginning of the battle outside Erebor and Dale
Upon the arrival of Azog's massive orc forces, Dain Ironfoot rallies his troops and leads about 500 Dwarven warriors to battle against the Orc armies. The dwarves set up a shieldwall and stand their ground as the orcs charge toward them in a massive wave. Before the orcs collide with the dwarves, Thranduil dispatches several hundred of his elf-warriors to launch a surprise frontal attack. The distraction is enough for the dwarves to break their shieldwall and charge into the ranks of the orcs with lowered spears. Dain on his armored war hog and Thranduil on his giant stag fight in the front ranks, slaying dozens of orc warriors in the process.

Seeing the first wave of his troops being cut to pieces by the elves and dwarves, Azog signals his war beasts to attack. Hundreds of Wargs, Warg riders, armored mountain trolls, and Olog Hai Warriors pour out of the tunnels and advance upon the dwarves and elves. Thranduil rallies his archers, who fire a barrage of arrows at the war beasts and slay several hundred of them in the process. Dain and Thranduil then throw the rest of their troops into the fray and launch a fresh attack, inflicting heavy casualties on the forces of Azog the Defiler.

Breaching the Walls of Dale
Knowing that the dwarves, men, and elves could not attack on two battlefronts, Azog seizes the opportunity and orders a full-scale attack on the city of Dale. A force consisting of between 13,000-15,000 Guldur Orcs, ten armored trolls, five Ogres, and nearly 1000-2000 Goblin Mercenaries began their advance towards the walls of Dale, while seven massive trolls, each of them carrying a catapult on their backs manned by a crew of four Goblin Mercenaries climb out of the tunnels and set up their positions on a hilltop facing Dale.

As Bard and his men, along with Gandalf and Bilbo fall back to the city, the catapults were fired and inflicted heavy damage on the walls of the city. A portion of the wall was breached and collapsed by a troll-ram, and hundreds of orcs and dozens of Goblin Mercenaries poured into the city, killing dozens of the unexpected Laketown villagers inside.

Rescue of Bain, Sigrid, and Tilda
As the Guldur orcs pour into Dale and terrorize the villagers, Bard's daughters Sigrid and Tilda become separated from their brother Bain and are closely pursued by two orcs. Bain soon finds them and rescues his sisters by killing the two orcs with a sword he took out of the city armory. The three children soon catch up with their father, who has led his men in a full-front charge against the orcs and goblins.

Bard soon finds his children waiting for him at the abandoned marketplace, but soon discovers a large ogre advancing upon them with his club raised above his head. Mounting on an abandoned cart and riding down the sloping road, Bard rides the cart over the heads of his daughters and son, jumps off the cart, and drives his sword through the ogre's chest, killing him instantly.

Retreat to the Citadel
After rescuing his children from the ogre, Bard tells them to gather the women and children and lead them to the safety of the citadel. At first, Bain, Sigrid, and Tilda refuse to do so and want to stay with their father, but Bard, with a little help from Alfrid Lickspittle, urges them to do what they are told. The children do not hesitate to help the surviving villagers gather together and make their way through the deserted buildings of the city until they arrive at the citadel.

While Alfrid, Bain, Sigrid, Tilda, and the Laketown villagers make their way to the citadel, Bard gathers his men together and launches a fresh attack against the Guldur Orcs and armored trolls. Bowmen fire arrows at the orcs and goblins, killing dozens of them in the process. Laketown militia keep back the orcs with spears and swords, with Bard fighting at their head. Gandalf strikes down a few orcs with his staff and uses his sword Glamdring to cut down several others, while Bilbo slashes at the legs of a few orcs with his sword Sting.

Arrival of Thranduil and the Wood Elves into Dale
As more orcs and goblins, along with a small group of armored trolls, pour through several breaches into the walls of Dale, Thranduil gathers a company of his warriors and archers and leads a charge towards the main gate. Thranduil rides ahead of his forces on his giant stag, trampling down and slaying dozens of Guldur Orcs that have occupied the bridge. The stag even catches several orcs in his massive antlers, to which the king of the wood elves dispatches them quickly by beheading them with his sword.

Just as Thranduil rides through the open gates of the city, goblin archers shoot down his stag, forcing the Elven king to leap down from his fallen mount and find himself surrounded by dozens of Guldur Orcs. Wielding his two curved Elven swords, Thranduil furiously attacks the orcs, slaying a large number of them before the rest of his warriors join him. The wood elves fight furiously to protect their king, but dozens of them are slain by the pikes and scimitars of the orcs in the process.

Placement and use
Dale was not a place of battle in the book, but was used greatly in the film. In this, Azog sends a good half of his orc forces and several War-Beasts to strike the city, while the rest of his army occupies the allies in the valley, upon seeing this and the danger to the lake-town citizens inside, Thranduil and Bard both send a large portion of their men to defend the city, while what remains of the Lakemen and the elven forces on the field, aide the dwarven army. This evenly divides the forces against the orc onslaught.

Appearances

 * The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies