Mordor's Military

At the beginning of the War of the Ring, Sauron had a pretty impressive force at his disposal. The sum total is estimated to be between 240,000 and 450,000 orcs, Easterlings, Southrons and trolls. Sauron's orc armies were estimated at between 100,000 and 300,000.   Due to the absence of shields and cavalry and minimal archers, losses will be extreme but the large numbers are apparently expected to compensate for that. Ultimately the high numbers, tenacity and blood lust of the orcs are to overcome the tactical and equipment defects. Ideally in any battle, the all the troops would get to the target. However, the inferiority of orcs means that higher numbers are needed to overwhelm the technical, physical and mental ability to resist.   This only really works over the course of a war if Mordor uses an attrition strategy. The end result is to bleed the enemy dry. With no incentive to conserve men and material it makes sense to then force the enemy – especially one with less resources – to throw all of their resources into battle. Once this is done, Mordor’s superior numbers can just wear down the enemy. No skill or anything is required, just sheer bloodletting. Most nations would seek to minimize resources and the time they are mobilized, but Mordor wins through inducing larger mobilizations, longer times and larger causalities than the enemy can afford. Nations cannot muster all available manpower for long before the very economies that sustain the armies collapses and brings the war effort down with it. Mordor’s army appears perfect to force enemies to choose between unacceptably high losses of men or territory. Ultimately war to Sauron is to be a pure numbers game. Victories will probably be seen in terms of territory taken and soldiers killed, with little regard to any of the other factors that go into sustaining a war effort.   Each Soviet rifle division in World War Two was 9,380 men and had about 238 tanks to support them. Mordor sent between “several” and 300 trolls to Minas Tirith. For our purposes, they will functionally stand in for tanks. Now, Deep Battle relies on a lot more air power than what 9 Ring Wraiths can provide. It also calls for mechanized transportation to hit the speeds needed. But that can be mitigated somewhat by the superhuman endurance of orcs. At the same time, the Soviets needed their motor transit to counter its availability to the other side. In a medieval context like Lord of the Rings, the need for such mechanized speed would be negated.   Now, if we remember the estimates of between 140,200 and 260,300 orcs and 9,380 men per Soviet division, we would have between 15 and 28 divisions of orcs. Each division would need had about 238 tanks – or 3,570 to 6,664 trolls for Mordor. This is 12 to 22 times as many as Mordor has in even the best case situation of 300 from the movie. The shortage of “tank” numbers would also be somewhat mitigated - Gondor would have no trolls of its own. In real life, there are counters to tanks that do not require friendly tanks - like portable anti-take guns. Gondor would be able to manage this with archers. But lets be honest. In a battle between a force with trolls and one without, the advantage goes to the one with trolls. This means the numbers would not need to be as high, as Mordor would not need to counter enemy “armor”.   On the other hand, there are options. The first is to exploit the fact that Mordor can choose when to attack. The trolls used in the main battles of the story are the olog hai variety that Sauron literally breeds. Now, I have no information on how much time it takes to breed a single troll, but he does have all of Mordor to devote to the task. He also has Dol Goldur during his residence there. So, delay until he has the trolls needed and using the full resources available, it is entirely possible that he could breed them until he has the numbers needed to attack.

So, the agricultural sectors of real life command economies appear to be somewhat too inefficient to produce the material needed for cloth armors. So gambesons would most likely not happen. Plate armor is actually much more likely. Mail takes skill to produce – something that Mordor is not known for. The inherent violence of orcs will mean they will be inclined to hunt. This means that leather will be plentiful for them. I suspect that leather armor would be the basis for most orcish armor. So crude plate armor with leather interior layers covering gaps seems logical.   Shields were apparently intentionally disposed with as it gets in the way of movement and attack. But this seems unlikely. Anything that sees combat as frequently as an orc would have a shield. It may be crude, not very effective, scavenged or stolen, probably quite light and small, but they would exist. Purpose build shielding would probably consist of bucklers as those are small enough to not encumber a soldier too much and are easy to make.   But there are a high number of forges in the area around Mt. Doom and iron did exist in Mordor in enough quantities to build massive siege engines. So it seems likely that some plate armor would exist though probably only given to commanders and high value assets like trolls. Garrison units would probably get more full body suits. The main army would be equipped mainly with a helmet covering the top and sides of their head (little to no face protection) and breastplates. Otherwise they would be forced to outfit themselves.   Generally the orcs had to find their own equipment. Due to the general lack of orc’s forging skill relative to say dwarves or even humans, there would probably be a lot of slag making the domestic armor heavier and more brittle. So it would be better than nothing but higher casualties would be suffered than if better armor was used. Sauron after all would not care overly much about his cannon fodder. But he does need them alive long enough to be effective.   Now, the other option to get around the shortage of trolls for Deep Battle doctrine is to make each troll count. Isengard is able to produce huge quantities of armor for his army very quickly. It is also possible to use the Easterlings and Dol Guldur’s facilities to produce armor. Ideally, he can make each troll so heavily armored that they are more effective and harder to kill. This would not be hard. After all they are mind blowing strong. They should be able to be loaded up with a ton of armor.

Weaponry also suffers from the same basic limitations as their armor. Orcs used crude bows only able to shoot 150 yards at most. Poor construction would also mean more shots than normal would be needed for a kill. This means that they are most likely to suffer losses before they are able to engage the enemy at all in open battle. The result is that ambushes and harassing fire are the order of the day for ranged combat. When they did get in close, orcs appear to prefer scimitars, axes and spears.   Apparently the orcs do use biological warfare to a degree in that their arrows are so dirty that they cause disease at higher rates. Poison was also used. However, spears would be very practical as well given then poverty of Mordor. In the movies, those they did use were light and 4-5 feet long. They could be thrown, but they would do little damage if the enemy had much armor. Normally the orc would hide behind their shield then thrust the spear out at their enemy when they were close enough.   The design elements typically employed should not come as a surprise. Enemy armies that do not crack under an orc army’s savage assault could actually break the morale of the orcs and cause a rout. The same is true for their armor – made of uncured leather and so caked in dirt, blood, manure and innards that the smell would have a effect on enemy troops in melee combat. Thus, brutal, ugly and terror inducing designs were incorporated into arms and armor. Hence the utility of their horrible smells.   Meanwhile, Mordor’s general lack of technical competence was made up for in the sheer scale. Like many real world dictatorships, individual soldiers suffered from inferior training and equipment whille huge and intimidating weaponry were deployed. In this case siege equipment. The catapults had 15 foot frames and 30 foot arms. Their size meant they could only be moved or used by trolls. Their 150 yard range and 10 to 20 pound shots means that fortified walls were probably safe but troops, morale and normal civilian buildings could suffer serious damage. The siege towers were 75 feet tall and their front covered in iron.   Then you have Grond – the giant battering ram used to batter down the main gate of Minas Tirith. It was 150 feet long buy 60 feet tall and made of iron. While I could find no info on its width, I will assume it was also 60 feet across. That means that just the ram itself was 265,140,000 pounds. This is what I mean by ridiculous scale. This guy was then suspended from a wood frame by metal chains. That doesn’t seem entirely plausible but okay. Also interesting was the fact that the rig had platforms for archers and specialized beasts to move and operate it.

The Mouth of Sauron was his other main servant outside the Ring Wraiths. He was Black numennorean sorcerer. The best estimates are that he had been serving Sauron for 68 years. In that time he apparently forgot his own name. Meanwhile, his sorcery skills and persuasion were greatly increased.He was the second in command of Barad-Dur and negotiated with Aragorn prior to the Black Gate. It is the Mouth that actually gives the order for Sauron's armies to attack at the Black Gate in the books when that attempt fails. It is entirely possible that the Mouth of Sauron could be the tool used to carry out the systematic corruption of the wizards. He was completely unknown and thus would be less likely to raise suspicions until it is too late. He was also a skilled at sorcery and persuasion – the same traits that allowed Sauron's successes with the Rings of Power.   Marching was done in basic blocks of rank and file troops. Command and control was handled with captains on wargs and drummer trolls.

Full Spectrum Dominance fits with the military strengths and control freak nature of Sauron. We see this in the Battle of Minas Tirith most clearly. Sauron uses the Palantir to allow Denethor to see only what Sauron wants Gondor to know. The Ring Wraiths are the most effective psychological weapons in the entirety of all of Middle Earth’s arsenals. Outside the eagles, the Ring Wraiths also serve as the only air power available. Granted, their numbers are too small and mounts too large to be effective replacements of tactical support roles. But their recon, command and control potential is beyond anything else I can see in Middle Earth. As is their ability to serve in a shock role, hitting important targets such as siege engines. The high number of orcs allows Mordor to protect vital areas of its front and make sure its supply lines are covered. It can exploit this to attack wherever it wants in reach without then exposing itself. The result is it can much more easily choose when and where to attack and not leave the enemy weak points to target. This allows Mordor the ability to strike across as wide a front as possible both in terms of geography and battle areas.   This also explains Mordor’s choice of allies. The Corsairs grant sea superiority. The Easterlings give Mordor heavy infantry superior in both quantity and quality. Mordor’s only cavalry comes from the Haradrim. They also have the heaviest cavalry in the entire war via their oliphaunts. Should Isengard have survived, the only artillery in Middle Earth would be in Mordor’s army.   Even tough neither their weapons or soldiers were all that good, the huge numbers of orcs allowed them to still do a lot of damage to enemies. Especially given the fact that orcs are noted for fighting dirty. In the books and movies, it appears that the general tactics used was to send huge numbers of poorly trained and equipped troops against the enemy in waves of massed infantry attacks. Thus they were more of a swarm than a real unit. By the time of the War of the Ring, more structure was introduced, but Mordor’s army was still a poorly trained, disciplined, equipped force. Archers were in the ranks, but they were mainly limited support more than a main arm. These were placed very close to the front due to the fact their range was so limited. No real mounted contingent appears from what I have found either. Thus, ferocious attacks at close range by overwhelming numbers is what Mordor’s enemies can expect.   The end result is an army best suited for attrition wars. Orcs are seen as entirely disposable and expendable. Tactics will be favored that send waves of troops against the enemy deliberately with the understanding that high losses will result. Common would be massed, concentrated infantry attacks launching unprotected frontal assaults against an enemy line. Melee combat and the sheer weight of numbers is expected to prevail. No subtleties, attempted deception, flanking or other such actions. Huge numbers and the shock of such a charge ideally breaks through the enemy line. It is also required that these “wave” attacks use the highest possible numbers so that even in the face of devastating defensive fire, crippling force still exists when melee range is reached. Similarly, the charge needs to be exposed to such fire for as short of a period as possible, so lower losses are sustained. The result is the sacrifice of concealment and thus surprise for numbers and speed.   The Cult of the Offensive appears to also be one of the ideas Sauron uses. This was a military doctrine that was common prior to World War One that informed how those leaders planned and acted in the outbreak of the war. Its central idea was the superiority of attack even in the face of entrenched defenders. Raw will and morale was seen as sufficient to win even against better positions and firepower. Clearly superior firepower, position and numbers are beneficial even to the attacker but they are not needed. “The attack is the action most suited to the spirit of war”, to quote to Conrad von Hoetzendorff. Infantry was seen as able to win battles, without the assistance of other arms of the military and against numerically superior foes. All that is needed is sufficient will, aggression, physical toughness and confidence. The attacker will be victorious, at least in the sense of causing more casualties than they receive, regardless of circumstance.   In this model, the offensive is to wear down the enemy. Enemy causalities are important in this, but breaking their morale and will to resist works too. Frontal attacks can work well, but flanks can and should be exploited when possible. If one attacks with enough will, then entrenched enemies will be overcome. But here is the major point - the goal of the offensive is to destroy the enemy army. So when flanks are broken, the center collapses or breakthrough occurs, the commander is not to rush forward to hit strategic areas in the rear. Even if strategically vital areas are in reach. Instead, the goal is to eliminate the enemy as a fighting force. Thus, success is measured in the number of enemy soldiers dead, wounded, captured or missing. Or it can be measured in causing a rout.   In this model, infantry carry the entire weight of the attack. Primacy is placed not so much in their skill, weaponry, tactics or commanders. Instead, raw fighting spirit. Given the typical disregard for defensive power, we can assume huge numbers are needed too. Attacks need to be pressed as often and for as long as possible. If the attacker's will is stronger than the defenders, the Cult of the Offensive expects victory. Should the defender have their will broken, victory is assured.   The demand for attacks to be pursued as energetically as possible was required to prevent the defenders from reorganizing, resting, resupplying or any other tasks that would allow them to resist longer. This makes routs more devastating and more likely. Basically, no break in the fighting is to occur, which will begin to take a toll on the supplies and morale of both sides. Which explains at least part of the need to have superior morale in the attackers.   Therefore, defense as a concept is almost completely discredited. This results in all strategies focusing on attacking, and the only valid defensive strategy being to counter-attack. Attacks prior to the enemy being ready are vital in that surprise can exploit the lack of preparation and thus cause confusion. This then opens up the enemy for more rapid advances into their territory. Waiting too long to attack could lead to the same factors being exploited to favor the enemy. Thus, mobilization needs to begin and be completed as soon as possible in a crisis and attacks being as soon after that as possible.   Given its power and numbers, it makes sense for the Soviet concept of Deep Battle be part of Mordor’s operational planning. The idea is to destroy, disrupt or disorganize the enemy not just at the point of contact but across the entire combat zone if possible. It aimed to use combined arms tactics to break through enemy defenses and exploit that to disrupt the rear areas. Front units would break the enemy lines and uncommitted mobile reserves would be moved forward into the breach.   Deep Battle was a doctrine that aims to capitalize on the industrial capacity, manpower reserves and the expanses of the Russian interior. These factors allowed for attacks with high speed and fluidity. But it also meant that a war of position and attrition could be engaged in. But this requires a solid economy and population defined by loyalty and political indoctrination. Nurn would allow for the resource base needed and orcs are the sort of loyal troops needed. The bloodlust and brutality fit the values of Mordor, so that would have the same effect as communist propaganda for the Soviet Union.   Deep Battle is opposed to the concept of the decisive battle. Deep Battle does not aim to defeat the enemy in a single operation. Several, conducted in parallel or successively, aim to cause a catastrophic failure in enemy defenses. These operations work in part by diverting enemy attention and resources across several theaters at once. This prevented the enemy from concentrating men where they could be best used. The elastic defense concept able to counter deep penetration is also frustrated by forcing the enemy to defend everywhere. Each operation had their own objectives and forces were supposed to continue towards them until they could not. This meant that even a diversion could prove dangerous to the enemy even if it was not meant to win on its own merits.   As opposed to German tactics, the goal was to aim at multiple breakthroughs on multiple fronts at the same time all exploited with their own reserves. German doctrines were quite effective in limited and short wars where small numbers with high quality can be effective. The Deep Battle doctrine is much more effective when larger theaters are contested and for a nation with huge (but of questionable quality) manpower reserves. Orcs, corsairs and Haradrim would all suffer serious discipline, training or equipment flaws. On the other hand, they provide Mordor with a massive army.   The main strategic target that operations aim at are normally the destruction of some proportion of enemy troops or taking specific areas. Shock formations are added to allow for positional attacks. The goal was to encircle and destroy the targeted forces if possible. Ideally, the divisions were to remain moving as fast as possible to make sure they were able to surround the enemy. Once encirclement was complete, assaulting the enemy was to be carried out with the shock units.   Such operations aim to at least occupy the enemy strategic reserves - ideally aiming to destroy enemy forces and occupy strategic depth. From there, the idea is to force a form of systems paralysis. Towards the end, the enemy will have nowhere left to run, no reserves and no idea where the fatal strike will come. Worse yet, any failure could prove to be that fatal blow. The result is an enemy that loses the will and/or ability to mount an operational level defense.   Defensively, layers of defense were set up so the enemy would have to slog slowly through strong static defenses. Once they got close, the shock divisions would be ready and waiting. Ideally the enemy would exhaust themselves. At that point, a powerful counterattack would be launched.   Concentration of force on a specific point is to be combined with deep and echeloned tactical and operational layers. This allows the attackers to maintain pressure. Once the first wave is unable to continue, there are several behind it to step up. Ideally, this keeps the enemy from being able to rest and reorganize. Meanwhile, the attackers are able to sustain a higher speed than otherwise would have been possible. Should the same forces be spread over the course of a wider front, this would not be possible.   In this concept, the first units to attack are to prioritize firepower above all else to break enemy defenses. Mobility becomes more critical in later waves. This second wave seeks to envelope the enemy front and annihilate them. As those units turn the flanks of enemy defenses. Others are to surge forward to strike at the now exposed enemy rear areas. This means communications, transportation and supplies at the same time the enemy main line of resistance is being surrounded. Reinforcements will thus be much less likely to arrive in time, if at all.   The down side is that the entire force cannot be employed against the enemy all at once. Therefore, it is theoretically possible to emulate Thermopylae. One can use terrain or forts to allow a small number to defeat each wave in turn when the defenders could not hope to withstand the entire enemy force at once. The rear units were expected to conduct flank attacks to help mitigate that. But the Thermopylae strategy works best when the terrain is specifically chosen to minimize or even eliminate the threats to the flanks. Nor can the flank attacks be relied on too much without risking the concentration and reserve formations that make Deep Battle work.   Glantz, David M. (1991). Soviet Military Operational Art: In Pursuit of Deep Battle, Frank Cass, London,   Harrison, Richard W. The Russian Way of War: Operational Art 1904–1940. Lawrence, Kan.: University Press of Kansas, 2001   Now for our purposes, the writings of Georgii Samoilovich Isserson are instructive. He wrote that in the age dominated by First World War style trenches, there was little room for movement or flanking attacks. Deep defensive depth and no opportunities for flanking means that new ideas were needed. He assumed then that the attacks needed to aim deep rather than wide. Instead of going around, the assaulting force should aim to hit 100 to 120 kilometers. This would be enough to rupture two separate defensive lines of the sort used on the Western Front, plus take enemy supply depots and rail heads. Get to this level and one has the enemy infrastructure and industry within reach.   The frontage to be attacked would be wide as well. A four rifle corp group that needed to cover 100 kilometers minimum had to attack along a frontage of 70-80 kilometers. Individual divisions were responsible for a solid 6 kilometers. Another corp would conduct feints on the flanks to tie down enemy reserves, confuse the enemy and delay their responses. Even these diversions were given objectives to take before merging into the main assault.   Speed is essential if this is to succeed. Those units aiming at the flanks are expected to move 40-45 kilometers per day. 20-25 kilometers per day are expected for those targeting rear areas. The idea is that at those speeds, enemies would not be able to escape. Keep in mind this is over a 6 kilometer front. If the attack succeeds, the front units will pin the enemy in place and hopefully defeat them in in battle. Second units will break through and attack the flanks. The enemy will then be surrounded and the pocket destroyed. Then the attackers would harass, cut off, and destroy those enemy troops retreating. The pursuit would be pushed as far as possible.   This is important to me. We see the prime target for Mordor is a city protected by 7 major walls. It has an Easterling army, trolls, massive siege equipment and Ring Wraiths. It also has numbers of light infantry. It seems that a doctrine based on large numbers of poor troops, reliant on shock formations and aiming at pushing forward through many layers of defenses would be perfect for Mordor.   For our purposes, the “deep operations” doctrine recognizes the unique challenges faced in assaulting a position like Minas Tirith. Soviet thinking looked at the battles of World War One and noticed how breaking through the first line of defense was a critical first step. But, it was clearly not enough on its own. The exertion of that first step, the slow pace of men on foot compared to railroads bringing in reinforcements and attacker supply problems saw assaults bog down quickly at this first step. Like World War One, Minas Tirith has many seriously impressive lines of defense. Deep Operations got around this in part through the use of air power and mechanized infantry. But more importantly, the writings appear to require the Soviet Military operate in a way that sounds very close to Full Spectrum Dominance.   The result was an attack on a wide front. Firepower and mobility were to be maximized. This means that not only would the attackers hit harder, but they could maintain contact with retreating forces much easier. An uninterrupted, deep, shattering blow on a wide front was the desired outcome. Operations were to be independent but with objectives that complemented each other. Each was to destroy targeted tactical defenses and operational reserves to take territorial objectives.   Ideally, the result was a high tempo attack with a focus on the operational and strategic levels. The tactical level of Soviet doctrine was rather blunt and rudimentary in comparison to both its own focus at the "higher" levels and to its western allies. The western allies preferred to use infantry cautiously and rely on heavier firepower to get forward. Higher numbers were needed by the Soviets to put pressure on a wider front, which then prevented the defenders from utilizing their resources efficiently. Which meant a breakthrough somewhere. If this worked right, the result was defeating the enemy army faster and actually led to less deaths.   But this did require speed. If tempo was not both high from the start and sustained, it would be harder to destabilize the enemy. Nor would it become likely that the enemy would be forced into a defensive, reactive posture - which was seen as ideal as enemy reaction times would become relatively slower. Failure would turn these attacks into attrition battles. Which is a fancy way of saying high cost and little value. As a result, is was considered better to suffer heavy losses in the first assaults if it meant a break through and retaining high mobility. The formations used for exploitation of the break through can thus defeat the enemy in a much less costly and time consuming way.

Training is often irrelevant in this context, but the higher physical attributes, courage, bloodlust and coercion involved is where Mordor and the orcs shine. The total lack of training and firepower (sometimes with no room to maneuver) is made up for with with ability to motivate and control the troops.

During the Cold War period up to the start of the War of the Ring, Mordor had several secretive bases of operations that could be highly useful. Moria was the most obvious. Orcs that were refugees from the north and orc and trolls specifically sent there by Sauron began to populate Moria. Add in the fact there was a balrog and Mordor is in a quite strong position in the Misty Mountains. Also, no force in the area had the resources, inclination or intelligence needed to remove that threat. Given the remnants of the Dwarven kingdom and the trove of iron ore, the orcs here had much more metal weapons and plate armor than Mordor’s orcs. This could have great impacts if used properly.   At the far northern reaches of the Misty Mountains is where Angmar was located. As again orcs tend to like mountainous areas and goblins were known to live in the caves of that range, it seems like a good place to regain. With the destruction of Arnor, there was no major threat in the area or any major power watching here. Should the Ring Wraiths be sent back, it could serve as a base to rebuild Sauron's armies outside Mordor in secret. Meanwhile, it could be a great place to begin searching the Shire for the One Ring. In fact, in the last of the Hobbit movies, it is stated that such a reestablished Angmar was planned. The forces at Dol Guldur were intended to retake the Lonely Mountain as part of that plan.   Last was Dol Guldur, located at the southern end of Mirkwood. Sauron used it to launch raids against Gondor specifically and to hide the fact he had returned. He even retreated from it for 400 years to avoid Gandalf discovering it was him operating from there. Later, when Gandalf did figure out who was really the master there, Sauron no longer needed it and openly declared his presence in Mordor. But Saruman’s treachery was already partly on display here. 91 years passed between Gandalf’s discovery and when he was evicted due to Saruman wishing to exploit the situation to find the ring for himself. That year was also the year that The Hobbit took place and thus when the One Ring was found. In the movie version of The Hobbit, a huge army was based here and deployed into the battle. During the War of the Ring, three Ring Wraiths are sent there and attacks on Lothlorien and Mirkwood were launched around the same time as Minas Tirith.