Sacking of Isengard

This can have several interesting implications for the story. First, due to the ridiculous eyesight of the eagles, they would be able to see the army building up in Isengard. Given the attacks by Isengard’s human allies and the skirmishes between uruk hai and Rohan it would not be hard to figure out where that army intends to strike. A skip bombing attack on the dam holding back the river Isen before the army left to attack Helm’s Deep would not only wipe out the industrial base of Isengard but its entire army as well. We need look no further than the fact that the ents effectively eliminated Isengard as a military power by doing the same thing. As a result, the Battle of Helm’s Deep would not happen at all.   How should the ents attack? First, they would need to strike hard and fast. This would mean the highest rate of fire possible and the highest weight of each round as possible for maximum damage as fast as possible. Given the walls of Isengard being the main protection to the uruk hai, the walls should be the first objective. The idea would be of an initial hard bombardment aimed at forming a breach in the walls that could be stormed by the hourns before the defenders could react. Any opening or flanking maneuvers could expose the dam to direct fire, which would then flood the entire area. The defensive benefits of the underground areas would become the greatest liability. Thus some fire would be directed against the walls and some at suppressing any infantry massing inside for possible counterattack. But the main force would be against the dam.   These attacks would probably primarily rely on direct fire, as the walls and dam would be visible to something as tall as an ent. But the suppressing fire into the interior would probably require indirect fire. It would be likely that huorns would serve as forward observers, calling back to the ents how to more effectively aim inside the walls. This is actually possible, as the heavier guns of World War One could fire further than the lighter caliber guns of the same era – up to 30 km for the heavy guns and 8 for the field guns that dominated the earlier stages of the war. But the super guns of the same era could fire 846.5 pounds and the record was an 81 mile range.   If we take the numbers for the Paris Gun as good stand ins, then we would expect projectiles weighing 234 pounds thrown at a rate of 5,400 feet per second. This comparison is not totally unreasonable, as not using their full strength could mean faster speeds of the projectile. This weight would do serious damage and is well within the limits of the ents. Even the more reasonable 18 mile range means that the ents would be able to hurl devastating fire from distances that could expose the entire territory of Isengard to fire from beyond what the range that Isengard would be able to respond. That range is actually so great that the ents could even be expected to destroy the dam while being hidden from view by Isengard.   But we do not need full fledged Paris Guns – the US Civil War saw the use of quite large scale guns. Siege guns could average 12 shots an hour and 20 if rushed. 6,600 to 8,000 yards were seen in battlefield conditions. Some of these could fire 1,000 pound projectiles 8,000 yards. A mortar called “the dictator” could shoot 218 pounds 4,200 yards. Such guns would require between 12-16 mules and 150 men. If we assume that the larger WW1 era guns were too big, it is not like there is not smaller alternatives that fill the same role. This still leaves the possibilities of huge amounts of stone being thrown into Isengard from almost 5 miles away.   To get around the subtly problem, the German artillery began to use a three phase attack aimed at stunning and suppressing enemy troops instead of using the artillery to completely destroy the enemy. This means infantry attacks after only hours of bombardment instead of the days used earlier in World War One. This shift saw the first phase aimed at cutting enemy communications. This could be done by bombardment of the positions between Isengard and the dam, so reinforcements are not able to be deployed to stop the dam from being destroyed. The second phase was to bomb enemy artillery and machine guns – basically suppressing fire. In The Two Towers, this would mean hitting the parts of the walls where a breach would be the easiest and possibly the gatehouse. Then, major troop concentrations would be hit to keep the opening vulnerable enough to be penetrated.   The combination of this is the ents attacking Isengard would start out walking to just outside of visual range of the defenders. Then, they would exploit their range and secrecy to begin a sudden hurricane bombardment with the majority of stones aiming for the dam. The gatehouse would be the secondary priority. Any ents not needed for that would then bomb the wall itself and the interior. Hourns would serve as forward observers to correct their aim. After the dam is destroyed or enough breaches in the wall form, fire would switch to a creeping barrage to cover advancing hourns. Meanwhile a “box barrage” would continue to be aimed at the interior to continue to inhibit enemy attacks or formations. The time limit for the hurricane barrage should be set at less than an hour. Any effect it has regarding infantry suppression would probably begin to wear off by that point and the devastation of the defenses could continue if not sufficient as the hourns approach. Ideally, the assaulting huorns would arrive just after the barrage in an area stops – or at least without enough time for the uruk hais to recover from the shock, leave their shelter and resume active defense.   Keep in mind this sort of attack would be brutal in an assault on Isengard as well. The perimeter of Isengard was 5529.2 yards long. Given the assault force of 50 ents, this means one ent for each 111 yards. Now, if we assume the use of 24 pound stones for the duration of the attack, we would see 612,000 pounds of rock rain down on Isengard over the course of 4.25 and 8.5 hours depending on rate of fire. Now, if we assume that a 6 ent per group is used to attack the dam from afar in a super gun style attack – a logical move – you would see 1,404 pounds strike the dam at once as the first sign of trouble, then every minute after. Such a barrage would be devastating.   From a war fighting perspective, they have foot soldiers in the form of huorns – walking talking trees. The huorns marched with the ents when they attacked Isengard and went under the orders of the ents to trap and kill the Uruk hai at Helm’s Deep. Now, the ents would have an interesting possibility for combined arms tactics. The Hourns could provide basically an infantry screen, killing uruk hais that attempted to reach the ents, while the ents use big rocks to bomb the walls and infantry formations with massed direct artillery fire. Due to the height of the ents, the infantry screen might not interfere with accuracy and they would be able to adjust and concentrate fire as conditions shifted. Meanwhile the weight of the fire forming a line in front of the advancing army would impede enemy troop concentrations or attacks.   Given the potential of this screen to not impede fire, it becomes possible for the big rock bombardment of the walls. The ents can sit there and be a blunt instrument, indiscriminately hammering entire enemy positions. The hourns would provide protection against the infantry attacks. This style of attack aims at cutting through enemy defenses so that the main attacking force can just march right in. Thus walls and enemy artillery or archery fire would be knocked out. There is also the possibility of using the fact huorns look like normal trees to allow them to report where to aim without getting detected, thus eliminating the need for ranging shots that betray the coming attacks. This allows for fire to continue even if we assume the huorns are too tall for the ents to fire over. Ents walking behind the huorns also allows them to gauge progress and see where to provide cover fire, reducing the threat posed in World War One of creeping barrages causing friendly fire. Alternatively, their familiarity with the area would allow for better firing from the map.   The ability to see further and adjust fire means the attack on Isengard’s positions would be perfectly suited for creeping barrages. Such a tactic would see the hourns marching up to the walls as the ents bombard just in front of them. Effectively this would be solid suppressing fire. The uruk hai would not be able to effectively counterattack while the forces of Fanghorn advance. Thus, once the walls are destroyed and/or the dam, the ents can then switch the creeping barrage to cover the advance into the interior of Isengard.   The problem with these two tactics is they are not subtle. Saruman would know pretty quickly that he was under attack and would be able to get his troops into protected positions. The problem with this is that this would then leave the dam even more exposed. Nor would enough troops be able to survive even with these countermeasures due to the main army being sent to Helm’s Deep. Thus, Isengard is essentially screwed even if the attack is known well in advance.   When engaged in open battles, the infantry is required to work closely with and tightly coordinate with artillery. At first, the infantry is to support the artillery, making sure attacks are not able to silence the artillery. Artillery aims to break the enemy units apart. It matters not if this is from high causalities causing holes in the line to form or a loss of morale. However it occurs, the second the enemy ranks are shattered by the artillery, infantry is meant to press the attack on the new weak point prior to any possibilities of reorganization of the enemy ranks. This would normally come after 20-30 minutes of intense bombardment.   This is especially logical for the ents, as it seems unlikely than any enemy they face would be remotely close in terms of the number and power of artillery. The strong command and control needed in the French Army to follow though on this was harder than one would expect, due to the loudness of artillery and the smoke they produce. However, ents are abnormal in the power of their voice and their height. Secondly, rocks thrown by hand produce much less smoke than a gunpowder cannon. The fact they are wood also means that arrows would do less damage. Only artillery fire and literal fire would be enough to take them down. This allows for the up close and personal bombardments called for in the French Doctrine to be much less risky.   Now, in both the discussion of attacking Isengard and in field engagements, the role of coordination with infantry is stressed. Bombardments alone rarely win battles – they exist to make infantry charges possible. To again borrow from the doctrines around the time of Napoleonic wars, gun batteries had 6 artillery pieces and 120 crew. Now, ents do not require operators in the same way a cannon does. This means that the 120 huorns that would replace the artillery crew would then be an infantry screen. These would protect against enemy infantry attacks against the ents and carry up the supplies. Once the decisive moment arrives, they would then be able to divert the majority of these, say up to 100, in attacks.   In the US Civil War, gun batteries were also six artillery pieces. Each gun had 32 projectiles. One battery wagon and one field forge was attached to each battery. However, there was 1 captain, 4 lieutenants, 14 non commissioned officers, 11 support staff and 125 privates. 52 of these were drivers and 70 worked the guns. 112 horses were attached as well. 6 were used to carry each gun, meaning 36 were slotted for this task. Another 36 were used for the field forge and battery wagon. 40 were mounts for officers and replacements should others become too sick.   Now, we can expect this US Civil War model closer to what the Ents would use should they be able to concentrate all their forces in one battle. After all, they essentially have an entire forest to mobilize on their behalf. Granted, I could not find any solid basis to estimate exact numbers sent to Helms Deep to form a base line, it looks like a pretty decent forest that shows up. So we can assume the huorns available at the time of Helm’s Deep to pretty high. Should this larger battery system be used, the officers could be replaced with 5 forward observers. The 25 non commissioned officers and support staff could be either their protection or replacements for losses. The 52 drivers could be kept back as body guards of the ents while the 70 that ran the guns could be placed a bit further in front to serve as an infantry screen. The 112 horses should also be replaced with huorns. The 6 used to carry each gun could instead protect the rear areas of the formation. The other 36 used for the field forge and battery wagon should be used in similar roles for the Ents – protecting the stone ammunition supplies and running it to the Ents. The 40 mounts for officers and replacements would form effective reserves. Because this is for a group of 6 Ents, each group would have 267 huorns. This would mean a full army of the Ents would be the 50 Ents marching with between 2,136 and 2,403 huorns.   However, the mobilization of the Ents in the Two Towers sees them split their forces between reinforcing Helm’s Deep and attacking Isengard. When all of this is put together, we can expect the attack on Isengard’s forces would involve the 50 ents and 1,000 huorns broken into 8 or 9 groups. Should the ents have chosen to attack the army advancing on Helm’s Deep and the use of 12 pound stones, an impressive 12,000 to 36,000 pounds of stone would be hurled at the uruk hai over the course of 30 minutes. Then 834 huorns would advance. The bombardment would possibly last up to 85 minutes, likely if the ents are able to surround the army in a way that allows them to continually pound their enemies. This leaves 1,403 huorns to march against the Uruk Hai at Helm’s Deep. I suspect that this split would still take place, given the fact the Ents have no way of knowing that the uruk hai were defeated. Plus there is wisdom in making sure that they are totally wiped out.   Now, notice how I advocate that the ents should let the huorns lead the charge by attacking the breach first. That is intentional. The ents are unique as I stated before in their ability to provide superior artillery coverage to advancing troops. While they would be the most impressive shock troops out there, there is no reason to sacrifice their primary strengths in a way that 1) puts already endangered ents in greater threat when 2) there is a less risky means to get the same objective accomplished and 3) that allows the two parts of the army to compliment each other.   Compare this to the trolls and easterlings in the attack on Minas Tirith. There, the trolls and Easterlings had little alternative roles they were specialists at, so throwing them into the gate when the breach was formed was actually making the best use of their talents. Secondly, the siege of Minas Tirith required more power applied inside the walls than outside them given the multiple layers of defense. Withholding shock troops would have led to assured defeat.

First, the overall fate of Isengard probably would not have changed one way or the other. This is due to the fact that the ents marched on it and took it with basically no effort. The main army was gone. The Battle of Helm’s Deep would have left the army either utterly destroyed or too far away to affect the battle. The ents also went to war primarily due to the destruction of the forest, not the fate of Rohan.   Thus, Isengard’s fate was sealed. Saruman would have been stripped of his power and resource base. At best, he could have shown up at Minas Tirith as a counter to Gandalf. But, he was defeated and evicted before Minas Tirith in the books and did not appear in that battle, so that seems unlikely. Also, the ring wraiths were more than a match for Gandalf one on one, had the ability to fly and there were nine of them. Seems unlikely that Saruman would have been much more help.   What could we realistically expect for Isengard’s future post defeat? Well, given its potential as an industrial area, the dwarves would have an interest in taking control. As would Gondor. Rohan would have less interest in its economic potential than as a fort to secure its western border. Eagles would also be keen on getting a piece of the action as it too was seen as a threat to them and as a defended area at the junction of their two major home regions.   The Ents would be interested in preventing another threat to Fangorn arising and are the ones who occupied it. So they would probably fight to prevent the dwarves from taking over. Rohan is not a threat to Fangorn long term and were their allies against Isengard. Then, the ents do not have any long term interest in occupation. So it would seem logical that they would give it to Rohan. The Eagle’s intervention and alliance with Rohan would probably allow them some claim as well, possibly given roosting rights in the area.   But here is where things start to get interesting. Remember the dwarven foreign policy model of investing in governments to gain concessions from them? This transfer to Rohan would essentially be a hand over to the dwarves. There would possibly be a skirmish of some sort between the ents and dwarves of Moria. Or we could see them work out some sort of information transfer where the dwarves get to examine the factories and libraries. Basically I think the dwarves would be highly interested in and forceful in gaining economic advantages through the metaphorical gold mine that is Isengard. It is unlikely that this would not result in some form of conflict.   What is more certain is concessions to the Glittering Caves would be granted. The military intervention and economic aid would be exploited to gain extraction rights there. This would be difficult for Theoden to resist. But would probably result in some backlash afterwards. This would be a sacred space in Rohan's national myths. So mining this area by an outside area would understandably be seen as an affront to the heritage of the nation. Possibly leading to a revolt against the Royal Family.