Battle of Dale

The Battle of Dale was a battle fought between the realm of Dale, allied with the Dwarves of Erebor and the Iron Hills, against the Easterlings of Rhûn in the valley of Dale during the War of the Ring in the late Third Age, and was the decisive battle in the Northern Theater of the War of the Ring. Initially the battle was a stalemate between the equally matched armies of the Men of Dale and their Dwarven allies, against the assailing hordes of Easterling legions invading from Rhûn.

However as the battle progressed, The larger Easterling legions began forcing back the combined Men and Dwarvish armies, first to the City of Dale and then once more to the Gate of Erebor. Following several days of sieging, the Easterling’s were suddenly routed by the banishment of Sauron.

History

The Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain and the Dale-men declined the offering of alliance that Sauron's emissaries brought to them, seeking knowledge of the Shire. Angered by the Dale-men and the Dwarves refusal of his emissaries, Sauron vowed to repay their slight with blood.

During the height of the War of the Ring, as his armies menaced Gondor to the south. Sauron ordered his remaining Easterling Legions to invade the North and assault Dale and Erebor. Fearing that the northern kingdoms might rally to Gondor’s aid. The invasion served as a pre-emptive strike to prevent Dale and Erebor from joining forces with Gondor.

King Brand of Dale upon learning that the Easterlings had crossed the river Carnen and were marching upon Dale, quickly mustered an army alongside his Dwarven ally, King Dáin II and marched south to meet them in battle.

On March 14, 3019. The combined Dale-Men, Dwarven army met the Easterling legions in battle. Beginning on the shores of the Long Lake. For three days the battle raged and thousands of Men and Dwarven lives were lost. Until on the fourth day, The Easterlings, bolstered by reinforcements from Rhûn, smashed through the Dwarven and Dale-men lines. Realising the battle was lost, Brand and Dâin II withdrew their armies to the City of Dale intending to mount a defence.

The defence of the City of Dale however was a short and bloody affair. Weakened from the losses of the prior battle and heavily demoralised, the defenders of Dale were unable to mount a strong defence, leading to the City’s swift capture and sacking.

Yet again the Dale-men and Dwarves were forced back, this time to the Gate of Erebor. Rather than surrender in the face of such overwhelming odds. Both Brand and Dâin II decided to mount a final last stand, to protect the refugees of Dale and the Dwarven population sheltering in the Lonely Mountain.

The last stand at the Gate of Erebor was a valiant but futile struggle. The remnants of the Dale-men and Dwarven army stoically weathered assault after assault by the Easterlings. Brand and Dâin II themselves fought on the very frontline of the battle. Shoulder to shoulder with their men, during the fighting Brand was struck down by an Easterling volley. Dâin II in a display of the brotherhood shared between the two rulers, stood protectively over the corpse of his friend and mustered his remaining forces to continue the fight until he himself was slain.

With their King’s dead and their ranks totally shattered, the remaining Dale-men and Dwarves retreated behind the Gate of Erebor and prepared for the inevitable siege of the Lonely Mountain. Despite winning the battle, the Easterlings were unable to breach the Gate of Erebor which was fiercely defended by the remaining Dale-men and Dwarves. As such both sides settled into a siege, with the Easterlings intending to starve the population sheltering within Erebor into submission and thus force their surrender.

The siege lasted for many days, until news of Sauron's defeat arrived from the South. The once united Easterling Legions soon fell into disarray. Exploiting this collapse in their enemies morale the armies of Dale and Erebor surged forth from the Lonely Mountain commanded by their new kings Bard II and Thorin III.

The confused and disarrayed Easterlings routed, before the reinvigorated Dale-men, Dwarven army and were soon driven out of Dale entirely bring the Battle of Dale to an end by March 27th, 3019.

Strategic importance

The battle was very important for the future of Middle-earth. Though it could not change the outcome of the War of the Ring, which was tied to fate of the One Ring, a victory by Sauron's forces would have had devastating consequences.

Had the Lonely Mountain not withstood the assault, Sauron's Easterling armies would likely have been able to join up with Sauron's forces from Dol Guldur in their attacks on the Woodland Realm of Mirkwood, potentially tipping the scales in favor of Mordor. The corruption of Mirkwood might have been completed, and Dol Guldur could become a staging point for a future assault on Lothlórien, though a successful invasion of Lothlórien would have been very difficult due to Galadriel and her Ring. Both Rohan and Gondor would also be further threatened by a victory of Sauron in the North, and Eriador and Rivendell too would have been in danger. Gandalf himself commented on the possible consequences of losing the Battle of Dale:

Even without being completely defeated, the Battle of Dale still further reduced the already low numbers of Dwarves and thus helped pave way for the dominion of Men in the Fourth Age.

In adaptations

The Lord of the Ringsfilm trilogy

The Battle of Dale is not directly featured in the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. However, in the Extended Edition of The Return of the King, Legolas tells Gimli that he fears that war is already marching upon their own lands. This was described by Peter Jackson to refer to the Battle of Dale and the attacks on the Woodland Realm.

The Hobbitfilm trilogy

Mentioned in an appendix of the Extended Edition of The Hobbit film trilogy covering Dáin Ironfoot: Lord of the Iron Hills.

Video games

The Battle for Middle-earth II

In Electronic Arts' The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, the Battle of Dale is featured as one of the most important battles in both the Good and the Evil Campaigns, though the actual events of the battle were somewhat different. For the Good Campaign, Brand was not seen and the host assaulting Lonely Mountain was directly from Dol Guldur, with plenty of Orcs, Haradrim, and Trolls alongside the Easterlings. Also, the battle involves several Nazgûl and even the Mouth of Sauron, because in the game the battle happens earlier than in the books, during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields instead of the Battle of the Morannon. However, the basic layout of the siege is the same: The Dwarves defend Lonely Mountain in Dale and eventually Elves drive the attackers away, though they do not necessarily need to retreat to Lonely Mountain. One of the most important differences is that Dáin survives the battle.

In the Evil Campaign, the Lonely Mountain sends out multiple Dwarven battalions to attack the Mordor forces, but they ultimately fail. Glóin also leads a band of Dwarves to attack the Mordor base from behind but meet the same fate thanks to the Dragons coming to Mordor's aid. The Mouth of Sauron and the Nazgûl then lead the force into Lonely Mountain and slay King Dáin, taking over Lonely Mountain. The results of this are very similar to the what was mentioned above, leading to an attack on Rivendell and total defeat for the North. The dragon-fire can even be taken literally because of the dragons aiding Sauron.

Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game

The Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game, produced by Games Workshop, released a supplement titled Defence of the North in 2022. It covered the war in the north including the battle of Dale.

Translations

References