Black Gate Assault

The forces mobilized during the Mordor invasion is what I guess to represent 1% of the population, meaning 254,800 additional men could be called up. But would require training and equipment. Due to the costs of training, equipping and feeding this army, I think this sized force would be highly optimistic. Especially as this would cripple the economy at a time when it would already be suffering. Then, these troops would take 9 months to fully materialize. Even with an incredibly basic 6 week training program, the full force would require time to recruit. Its highly doubtful that the whole group would join up all at once.   Meaning there would be a slow trickle of troops able to replace losses at first. But this would take 6 weeks to begin to show itself. For the first and most critical period, the troops that survived the war up to this point would be all that is available. Then, between 6 weeks and 9 months after Minas Tiirith, you would probably see a steady rise in troop levels.   I'm going to estimate that the garrison of Minas Tirith will be effectively out of commission. The need to maintain some defense combined with losses from disease and battle will effectively leave the garrison unable to conduct offensive operations. This includes those troops originally stationed at Osgiliath. The remaining troops from the south would be needed there to do their best stopping future Southron attacks. This leaves the troops from Cair Andros as effectively the only troops left in the professional army left to fight. But this would effectively be only 200 men at this point.   So, Aragorn would be a fool to risk his Compagnie d'ordonnance troops when he arrives. They would have fewer numbers, less skill, discipline, training and inferior equipment compared to the Army of the Dead. Plus, the Oathbreakers are practically invincible. His fighting would be led by the Army of the Dead and thus probably take no losses. Which means 16,800 Compagnie d'ordonnance and 45,000 Oathbreakers. Lastly, there would be the Rangers. Rough guess here for those who survived the fighting in Osgiliath would be 200.   Then there are the elves. We have the 125 that probably survived Minas Tirith and I'll guess 200 that survived the fighting for Osgiliath. So 225 of the original force. Then, there are the reinforcements sent that broke the Cair Andros Siege before coming to Minas Tirith. I would say that we probably would have a solid 4,000 left after losses. Moria's force would in my estimation be down to probably about 20,000. This comes from everything from diversions to the Lonely Mountain, fighting the Easterlings and the battles on the way to Minas Tirith. Their fighting style would naturally risk losses more than the elves would.   Because of the distraction nature of this, I suspect that a small portion of these troops would be used. I would think that the dwarves would be split between here and Minas Morgul. The Cair Andros professional Banda would be sent exclusively to the black gate while the Rangers would be split. So would the elves due to their skill in stealth. The Compagnie d'ordonnance and Armies of the Dead would be sent to Minas Morgul. I'll explain this division as I go. By this point, I suspect that the full remaining Rohirrim would be available. After losses and some troops returning home, I suspect 9,000 would be available. Most of these would be sent to the Black Gate. The Black Gate has much more importance in defending Rohan. Meanwhile Minas Morgul is further and would be seen as only important for the glory of Gondor.   Also important to note is the fact that I wanted all of Mordor’s forces thrown into the Battle at Minas Tirith – where Mordor’s losses are described as “near total”. If we take that to mean that only 1% to 5% made it back to the Black Gate in enough shape to fight, 2,603-13,015 orcs and at 36 to 179 trolls. This is much easier. If we were talking the full forces available to Mordor in the battle as it happened, this would still be the suicide mission shown. Defense still has huge advantages, so I will describe the battle with concessions to the chance that I underestimate the forces in Mordor.

Now, how would a Black Gate battle take place? That is a vital part of Mordor and a significant location near where the Easterlings would begin a renewed attack on the people of Gondor. It is also a solid staging ground for Gondor's attacks on the Easterlings. And a solid defensive position from which Gondor can defend against future Easterling attacks.   Now, how would one go about attacking this place? I will run through all the possibilities to see how feasible this really is. To keep things consistent across the scenarios, here are the assumptions. First, the destruction of the One Ring is not what is holding up the Gate. In the book, the destruction of the Ring led to the complete destruction of Barad-dur and the Black Gate. Barad-dur is all that fell due to the Ring in the movie. Also, we have complete destruction or desertion of most of Mordor’s forces. It matters not if they were killed in Minas Tirith or lost to the Ring’s destruction. Then, we must remember that there is a force hammering Mordor from Minas Morgul.

The timing is a lot easier to figure out so I am going to deal with that first. Apparently the Battle of Minas Tirith took place 10 days before the Battle of the Black Gate, when the ring was destroyed. Dol Guldor was taken 5 days later. Marching from there to the Black Gate (about 300 miles) would have been tough in less than 10 days. Which means that the best time to attack the Black Gate would be on day 16 after the start of the Battle of Minas Tirith. Keep in mind that the battle plan I proposed in the Minas Tirith note proposed that the battle be intentionally drawn out as long as possible by Aragorn so that the fighting at Minas Tirith took the place of the Black Gate. This means 10 days of fighting at Minas Tirith. Which would see the final victory at Minas Tirith come from the destruction of the One Ring.   Lastly, there was only 10 days between the end of Minas Tirith and the Black Gate battles in the book. I wanted the battle of Minas Tirith to take over the black gate role – so the Black Gate would only happen if Minas Tirith was too short. This means anything between 6-9 days would be too short to serve as a diversion while also not giving Gondor enough time to march to the Black Gate. We would have to be content with Minas Morgul filling in. This means that there are decent odds that the battle would not actually take place in my scenarios at all. A small force might be able to march up and simply occupy the area uncontested. This would obviously be ideal. Also, I will be using the book numbers as I don’t think the movie numbers are high enough to amount to anything worth doing things with.   Basically, this siege of the Black Gate is only meant to be if and only if both these delaying tactics and the Minas Morgul fail to distract Mordor enough.

If the One Ring was destroyed, it would be a simple matter of sending a basic occupation force to the area around the Black Gate. The goal would actually be work to rebuild the forts there as a means to secure a base of operations against the Easterlings. Keep in mind after the destruction of the One Ring, the entire Gate complex was destroyed in the books.   We do have a historical analog to look at that will inform a lot of my thinking in this battle – Verdun. In that battle, Falkenhayn planned to launch a large-scale, surprise and brutal attack on the high ground around Verdun. This was in theory going to provoke French counter attacks against the worst possible position one could attack. The idea was not to actually take Verdun, but simply hold that high ground, threaten this area the French could not lose, thus baiting them to launch suicidal counterattacks that would destroy the French Army.   Gondor has a chance to do the same basic thing here. Should the gate be taken by surprise, it can be used to destroy enemy troops trying to get out. The consequences of the defeat at Minas Tirith would likely leave the forces at the gate poorly organized, demoralized, confused and with little time to prepare for action so soon. A strong attack force by elite troops at night aiming to maximize surprise could pull off this sort of attack. Remember, the main force they will be up against is the gatehouse garrison, not the full army. The gate could be taken before the rest of the enemy realizes the threat, mobilizes and marches into battle. At that point, the gate works as it was intended – keeping Mordor’s forces trapped in Udon.   The first steps would be easy. The force should march to the Black Gate and get them to build a Roman style camp just out of sight of the walls. The idea is to keep it as secret as possible. Then a reserve force would garrison the camp during the battle in case of a retreat being forced or to attack any Easterlings that move in to provide reinforcements Mordor. This would probably be the Cair Andros forces. They would be the closes force in the area and able to set up such camps quickly. Should a breakthrough occur, this force would then advance behind the main attacking force to occupy the area behind the gate.   The attacking force would be led by the elves and rangers – split into two groups. These would aim to take the towers by sneaking up through the mountains under cover of darkness. They would attempt to scale the walls from behind the towers, take them and then try and secure the ramparts to the landing. From there, they would be able to provide cover for the rest of the army to advance.   Once this has been gained, I would attempt to move on the outer walls. With the vanguard forces in the Towers of the Teeth marching down from the ramparts, the main army could then advance with ladders to take the walls. Once here, you can apply suppressing fire to the main gate walls and kill those coming out of the main gate much easier. At this point, I would begin construction of some field works just outside the outer walls to trap the enemy inside and provide a place to fall back to. I would put a semicircle up that contains any advance from the gate and a fall back position on the two hills that Gondor’s troops were stationed on for the battle in the movie/book. The occupation and attempt to fortify the hills should begin the second the attack on the Towers of the Teeth begin while the second line should be set up once the towers are taken.   This leaves us with a siege and stalemate – which works to Gondor’s advantage. The walls have essentially become Sauron’s own enemy by trapping his troops in. They would have to retake the gate while being shot at. Without this, they can attack. And we know they will. Mordor's military doctrine dictates that offensive actions can overcome any defensive position if the attackers have enough morale.   At this point it becomes a numbers game. Sauron would have the advantage in open battle, so Mordor has the incentive shift things to an open battlefield. Sauron would need to relieve the pressure on the Gate as this is where his reinforcements arrive from outside Mordor. Keep in mind the reserve force is cutting the arrival of these reinforcements and allowing Gondor’s troops to get supplies.   This is also where the dwarves would shine. Their expertise in sieges would come in quite handy. Plus, key areas would be narrow enough for the full power of the phalanx to show itself. In the taking of the Black Gate compound and consolidating the gains in Udun, their skills would possibly allow for Gondor to win.   Lets say somehow the orcs do pull off retaking the Black Gate. I think the result here would be very close and Pyrrhic no matter who won. But, if I had to choose I would suspect that Gordor’s forces would eventually overwhelm Mondor even if it was a bloody assault. Gondor would retreat to their field works, then to the Slag Hills. Ideally, this would slow down the enemy advance enough to allow the rest to retreat back to the camp. Then there would be a siege there.   Due to the already low numbers Mordor has to work with, the outcome would most likely be in favor of Gondor. Even if forced to their camp, the proportionally huge losses for Mordor would weaken the army fatally. Gondor then advance again back to their earthworks, reapply siege conditions and attempt to breach the gate. The drawing in of the Rohirrim reserves could use hot pursuit to follow the retreating enemy through the gate and take it from the inside. Rangers could also be left behind to kill the garrison left during Mordor’s attack.   Mordor would not have enough troops to ensure victory in open battle or enough to not lose the entire army attacking fortifications. The result is that Gondor would then continue to press the attack slowly. Catapults would be used in conjunction with archers to provide suppressing fire so that ladders could be moved against the walls. Gondor also is short on troops so it would be unwise to attack too quickly here. It should only be done when the advance looks mostly clear.   A special note now about the Ring Wraiths. They would most likely attack very early – especially against the Slag Hill position as those would be the most exposed to air attacks. But, as in the book and movie, this is where the eagles show up. Their engagement with the Wraiths was clearly the superior move on their part. Once this threat is neutralized, the eagles should be used to harass the enemy troops positioned behind the wall.   Basically, the shattered remnants of Mordor's force would not really be able to hold out. When the breakthrough occurs, the eagles and Rohirrim should be used to pursue the enemy troops, killing as many as possible in an attempt to keep them from reaching Barad-dur. Then, the Free People should move all forces forward into the area just behind the gate. Just past the Black Gate was Udun. The only ways in and out are the Black Gate and another 50-100 foot pass though steep mountains diagonally across the plain. First, this means a perfect kill zone where the enemy would be forced to pass in their retreat. Thus the Eagle and Rohirrim attack would prove brutal.   Meanwhile the main force should press the advance as hard as possible to prevent regrouping or escape by the retreating forces until this second pass is reached. Then the attackers should throw up more field works to hold that position. The more this area is fortified the better. They could then use this area as their own staging ground for future military actions – either against the Easterlings or deeper into Mordor in a pincer attack with Minas Morgul. Now it is a simple waiting game for the rest of the troops to mobilize, get trained and equipped. The force this attack started with would be too small to do much more good and is too exposed as it is. But, Minas Morgul is only about 50 to 60 miles away. Reinforcement, resupply or retreat could be possible as a result. For comparison, Mt. Doom and Bara-dur are about 100 miles away.   Like I said, a deeper push into Mordor would probably be too costly to pull off until Gondor’s full mobilization of the professional troops from the Southern Fiefs. But even that would prove difficult. Barad-dur is not too far away and is incredibly well defended. Apparently it took 7 years for the Last Alliance of Men and Elves (the largest army ever assembled in Middle Earth outside Mordor) to take it and 600 years to build. I can see why. But it suffered from the same weakness that Sauron did. It required the power of the One Ring to stand.   So, a better option would be to not attack Barad-dur but wait until the destruction of the Ring. Which honestly I don’t see how it wouldn’t have happened by this point. Through a solid hot pursuit of a routed enemy at the Black Gate, all of Udun could be taken and with it Durthang. Once that occurs, the same sort of tactics can be used. Essentially this extends the whole bite and hold tactics one step further. Lines are extended to a logical stopping point. Then the troops halt, fortify their position and brace themselves for a coming counterattack.

This leaves the forces of evil completely devastated. The nature of regimes like in Mordor is that there is no continuity of government plans in place. Sauron dies and his entire institutional framework is gone. The only leader in a position to unite the coalition killed. The most powerful battlefield commanders in the ring wraiths are killed. The trolls – the strongest infantry available to the forces of evil – are gone. This is on top of a series of defeats that crippled the enemy due to massive troop losses, key portions of the main economic core being lost and enough of the transportation and communication infrastructure is taken to the point coordination is impossible. This is likely to have highly demoralized the remaining Southrons and Easterlings.   Effectively, this gives Gondor control over Udun. The rest of the Plateau of Gorgoroth would be wide open. Especially after the One Ring is destroyed and Minas Morgul is taken. And with that comes one of the best terrain for defense and the most industrial infrastructure in Middle Earth. This would become quite useful later after combining with information gleaned from Isengard.