The War of the Ring, the central conflict of Lord of the Rings, is a brutal military campaign that battered Middle-earth for almost seventeen months. Some battles get lost in the trends and forces of the struggle against Sauron. While Isengard and Pelennor Fields get most of the attention, events like the battle under the trees remain critical, even if they don’t earn a proper name.
In many ways, Legolas embodies the default image of a fantasy Elf. His flawless face sits next to the entry in any self-respecting dictionary. Countless first-time Dungeons & Dragons players put together an Elven ranger who might as well be Orlando Bloom. Though he plays a central role in the Fellowship, his home is less involved in the War of the Ring. One of their brief moments in the spotlight came in the battle under the trees.
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What was the Battle Under the Trees?
The battle under the trees is the fan-selected name of the conflicts between the Orcs of Dol Guldur and the Elves of the Mirkwood. The northern Mirkwood was known as the Woodland Realm, established by a Sindarin Elf named Oropher. Oropher led his people to migrate north several times throughout the Second Age, eventually settling beyond the ancient Dwarf-Road. Near the end of the Second Age, Oropher died in combat with Sauron. His son, Thranduil, took over the Woodland Realm, ruling the whole of Greenwood the Great. As the War of the Ring began, Sauron sent a force of Orcs into the Mirkwood to cause a distraction, letting Gollum slip into the Dark Lord’s clutches. Thranduil sent his son, Legolas, to warn the ranger Aragorn and Elrond, Lord of Rivendell, of Gollum’s capture. Though Legolas participated heavily in the War of the Ring, the Mirkwood remained peaceful until the Orcs of Dol Guldur attacked.
On March 15th, T.A. 3019, the forces of Mordor blotted out the sun and marched into Pelennor Fields for the greatest battle of the War of the Ring. Sauron’s opponents defeated the Dark Lord despite being outnumbered five-to-one. Shortly after the devastating loss, Sauron refused to yield. His outpost at Dol Guldur, just south of the Mirkwood, became active only a few days earlier. He placed the Ringwraith Khamûl in charge of Dol Guldur, sending two other Nazgûl with him. Khamûl sent three waves of Orcs to invade the deep forests and battle with the Wood-elves. Their two assaults on Lothlórien and one on the Mirkwood collectively threatened Thranduil’s Woodland Realm with corruption.
Who won the battle under the trees?
The Orcs of Dol Guldur failed every assault they attempted, driven back on all sides by Thranduil and his Wood-elves. Elves won the battle under the trees and defended Lothlórien twice. The books offer little detail on how the Wood-elves conquered their foe, but the losses were recorded. The attacks on Lothlórien faltered under the might and bravery of the Galadhrim. Those Tree-people were known for their two-handed Elven swords and powerful longbows, with which they were often deadly accurate. Galadriel led the Galadhrim with her ring, Nenya, which made short work of Dol Guldur’s Orcs.
The Mirkwood also warded off Sauron’s forces, though not without losses. The Orcs of Dol Guldur brought terrible fire to the deep woods, destroying much of the beauty and splendor of the Mirkwood. Though they wrought destruction, Thranduil and his Elves drove the invaders back. The Elvenking wasn’t known for martial prowess, but his experience with Sauron led him to hold hate in his heart. That vengeance served him well, and as Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales put it,
But there was in Thranduil’s heart a still deeper shadow. He had seen the horror of Mordor and could not forget it. If ever he looked south its memory dimmed the light of the Sun, and though he knew that it was now broken and deserted and under the vigilance of the Kings of Men, fear spoke in his heart that it was not conquered for ever; it would arise again.
What was the aftermath of the battle under the trees?
Thranduil, Celeborn, and Galadriel stormed Dol Guldur after Sauron fell. They eradicated its dark defenders, allowing Galadriel to destroy the evil place with Nenya. With Sauron’s base conquered, the victorious nobles divided the land. They renamed the Mirkwood Eryn Lasgalen, meaning “The Wood of Green Leaves.” Celeborn took land south of The Narrows and called it East Lórien, while Thranduil took all the forests north of the Mountains of Mirkwood. Finally, they set aside a massive central area of the woods for the humans who lived in the forests before Sauron drove them out.
The battle under the trees and the surrounding invasions were critical victories for the forces of good. If Sauron had conquered the Mirkwood, his forces could have established mightier bases of power and continued to spread beyond Mordor. Though the books don’t share most of the details, the battle under the trees is a fun showcase for the people of Middle-earth rising against the Dark Lord and defending the lands they love.
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