We return this morning to a forgotten war, long ignored but now impossible to ignore. The dispatches arrived at dawn, and they are grim. Last night, the armies of Mordor crossed the lines of Ithilien. Orc vanguards were spotted less than twenty leagues from Minas Tirith. The Grand Steward Denethor urgently summoned the Council of War of Gondor. Special edition with Anne Besson, a researcher at the University of Artois and unofficial strategist of the coalition of free peoples.
An overwhelming offensive catching the coalition off guard
The alert came at dawn: Mordor’s forces have crossed the lines and are converging towards Minas Tirith. On-site, the situation is staggering, “the Pelennor fields are black […] it is not night, it is an army,” describes the correspondent, mentioning “tens of thousands of orcs.” A scene of terror advances towards the gates, while a sky darkened by “a cloud of black smoke” weighs on the civilians. The population flees, children are evacuated, and “uncertainty about reinforcements is total,” in an atmosphere of extreme tension.
This offensive fits into a larger logic, “Sauron has attacked on multiple fronts simultaneously,” in a “very well-coordinated” strategy aiming to strike at still scattered forces and break the lock represented by Minas Tirith. To the east, its allied affluents “many kings” and the armies of the South, while even renowned impregnable fortresses are threatened. Faced with this, the coalition remains fragile despite some recent successes: the fall of Isengard and the victory at Helm’s Deep have deprived the enemy of support, but the Gondor capital remains isolated at the heart of a military and psychological vise.
Amid fragile hopes and the war of fear
Beyond the military shock, the enemy imposes a true psychological war. “Anxiety and despair” are described as “Mordor’s main strength,” fueled by artificial darkness, the Nazgûl “whose mere sight is enough to paralyze,” and terror practices with “severed heads […]” sent even into the towers. The aim is clear: to break all moral resistance. Yet, some see a flaw in this offensive: by multiplying the fronts, Sauron disperses his attention, offering a chance to “improbable heroes” on whom the outcome of the conflict may depend.
In this critical context, hopes rest on reinforcements still on the way. The call is unambiguous, “the king must be ready to go to war.” The Rohan’s rallying marks a potential turning point, with “thousands of riders,” perhaps “5,500 to 6,000” who could “change the face of the battle.” Other, unexpected allies have already played a crucial role: the Ents, by destroying Isengard, have reminded that “nature is a full-fledged political force.” But the equation remains brutal: “if Minas Tirith falls, the entire West could fall with it,” making this battle a decisive moment on which the future of all Middle-earth depends.
