Battle of the Hornburg
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| Battle of the Hornburg | |||||||
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 The Battle of the Hornburg in Peter Jackson's film adaptation of The Two Towers |
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| Combatants | |||||||
| Isengard | Rohan | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Saruman | Théoden, Aragorn, Gandalf, Éomer | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 10,000 Uruk-hai and common Orcs of Isengard, 2,000-5,000 Dunlendings, an unknown number of orc-human hybrids | about 2,000 Rohirrim; reinforced by 1,000 more Rohirrim in the morning, and thousands of Huorns | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| All Uruks. normal Orcs and hybrids of Isengard, most Dunlendings | Unknown, but heavy | ||||||
| War of the Ring |
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| 1st Fords of Isen - 2nd Fords of Isen - Isengard - Hornburg - Lothlórien - Mirkwood - Osgiliath - Pelennor Fields - Dale - Black Gate - Bywater |
The Battle of the Hornburg is a fictional battle in J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings. The battle pitted the forces of Saruman against the Rohirrim under King Théoden, who had taken refuge in the mountain fortress of the Hornburg at Helm's Deep.
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[edit] The battle
[edit] Background
After being released from Gríma Wormtongue's influence by Gandalf, Théoden set out to the Fords of Isen, where Erkenbrand was fighting Saruman's forces. However, Théoden found out that they had been scattered, and Gandalf advised him to take refuge in the Hornburg, where many of the folk of the Westfold were taking refuge. Then Gandalf left on some unexplained errand - he was actually on a quest to find the Rohirrim and bring them back to aid the the defence of Helm's Deep. The Rohirrim went to Helm's Deep, where the people were commanded by a local captain called Gamling the Old. Many there were too old or too young, but the women and children of Edoras were at least safe in Dunharrow, led by Éowyn.
[edit] The battle proper
The forces of Saruman, common Orcs and Uruk-hai, together with some orc-human hybrids (called "half-orcs and goblin-men"—which may have included the Uruk-hai themselves) and human Dunlendings, arrived at the valley of Helm's Deep in the middle of the night. Meanwhile, Legolas the Elf and Gimli the Dwarf agreed to a contest of how many kills each could score.
The attackers quickly scaled over the first defence, Helm's Dike, forcing the Rohirrim there to fall back to the fortress. They approached and shot arrows at the defenders, some finding their mark. When they were close, the defenders loosed arrows and threw stones at them, driving them back, but they managed to get close to the wall after multiple charges. They attempted to break down the fortress's gate with a battering ram, but a sortie led by Aragorn and Éomer scattered the forces threatening the doors.
The Orcs and Dunlendings then raised hundreds of ladders to scale the wall. Aragorn and Éomer repeatedly motivated the tired defenders to repel the Orcs coming up the ladders and crossing the wall. However, some Orcs had crept in through a culvert which let a stream out of Helm's Deep, and while the defenders were busy with the assault on the wall, they were suddenly attacked from behind. The defenders, led by Gimli and Gamling, quickly reacted and drove back the Orcs, and the culvert was blocked up under Gimli's expert supervision.
However, the enemies reentered the culvert and made a wide hole in the wall using an explosive device invented by Saruman, a "blasting-fire". The defenders retreated to the Glittering Caves, Éomer and Gimli among them, in the Deep.
At this time Aragorn called for a parley, and told the jeering Uruks that they would all die if they would not retreat, for no enemy had yet taken the Hornburg. They responded, "This is no parley." and shot at him. Aragorn narrowly escaped.
Soon Saruman's forces broke through the gate and gained entrance to the Deep. At this moment, however, the horn of Helm's Deep was sounded, and after a moment a sortie led by Théoden and Aragorn rode forth, followed by all the Rohirrim left inside. Théoden and Aragorn cut through the Orcs and Dunlendings and arrived at Helm's Dike.
Both armies then noticed that many Huorns had moved to block a possible escape route for the Orcs. Then Gandalf arrived on Shadowfax, with Erkenbrand and a thousand swordmen on foot - the remaining strength of the Rohirrim that had been routed at the Fords of Isen. They charged into the fray. The Dunlendings were so terrified of Gandalf that they could no longer fight. The Orcs lost control and ran into the "forest" of Huorns, where they were destroyed. Thus, Rohan won the battle.
After the battle those Dunlendings who surrendered were given amnesty by King Théoden and allowed to return home (much to their surprise, since Saruman had told them that the men of Rohan would burn all survivors alive). The Rohirrim required that all hostilities cease, and that the Dunlendings retreat behind the River Isen again and never recross while bearing arms. The slain Dunlendings were buried in a mound of their own apart from the Orc carcasses.
Among the Rohirrim dead was Háma, captain of Théoden's personal guard and doorward of Meduseld. Gimli had lost his helmet and was wounded in the head, but had killed forty-two to Legolas' forty-one.
[edit] Terminology
The event is alternately called the Battle of Helm's Deep, a title which was never used by Tolkien but which is often used by readers and other fans (especially after Peter Jackson's film version, see below), most probably because "Helm's Deep" is the title of the chapter where it is recounted.
This has led to the misconception that the term "Helm's Deep" refers to the fortress. Properly speaking, the fortress is the Hornburg (German = horn fortress) and Helm's Deep is the ravine behind it. In one of his letters regarding a proposed film adaptation, Tolkien protested the use of Helm's Deep, stating that, "the 'defence of the Hornburg'...would be a better title, since Helm's Deep, the ravine behind, is not shown" (Letters, 210).
[edit] Adaptations
[edit] In Ralph Bakshi's animated film
The Battle of the Hornburg is a key part of Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated adaptation. However, it is never referred to by that name, or any other name. Bakshi calls the fortress itself "Helm's Deep". As Gandalf says to Aragorn:
- "Halfway between Edoras and Isengard, there lies an old strong fortress that men call Helm’s Deep."
As already given above, this usage of Helm's Deep is incorrect, as regards to the source material.
Saruman's army is composed of Orcs and a few wolves (probably meant to be Wargs, but never named thus). The film omits the distinction of Uruk-hai and common Orcs, though there are at least three types of Orcs judging visually; one rather resembling Grunts from the Warcraft games, another resembling an ape—probably based on a line in the book where Saruman's Orcs call those of Sauron "apes of Lugbúrz" (Barad-dûr)—and a third type wrapped in sheets.
One noticeable difference is that the defenders shoot their arrows first. The Orcs ignore and step over their fallen while the defenders launch their arrows (Jackson takes a different approach in his version, see below).
Also, Aragorn and Legolas repel a battering-ram crew by themselves, as opposed to the book where Aragorn and Éomer lead a sortie.
Directly after this sequence, the "blasting-fire" is used to breach the wall, but it is turned into magical projectiles resembling comets coming from Isengard (Aragorn, seeing them, calls out "Fire of Isengard!"); it is some sort of explosive in the book.
More importantly, Éomer is not present at the start of the battle. Gandalf rides off to find him and his Riders (and explicitly says so), and returns with them at the end.
[edit] Peter Jackson's "Battle of Helm's Deep"
The Battle of the Hornburg is also a key part of Peter Jackson's film adaptation, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The amount of screen time spent on the battle is huge, compared to the rest of the film. In contrast, the battle occupies one chapter in Tolkien, relatively short compared to the rest of the book (due to his writing style). It should be noted, however, that the Battle of the Pelennor Fields also occupies one chapter in The Return of the King, though there are chapters of the siege and other warfare leading up to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
In the context of the film, it is referred to as the Battle of Helm's Deep, and like Bakshi, Jackson identifies "Helm's Deep" with the fortress itself. As Gríma says to Saruman:
- "Théoden will not stay at Edoras. ...They will flee to Helm's Deep, the great fortress of Rohan."
On the significance of the battle, Tolkien also comments in the same letter that "If both the Ents and the Hornburg cannot be treated at sufficient length to make sense, then one should go. It should be the Hornburg, which is incidental to the main story".
In the movie, 10,000 of Saruman's Uruk-hai lay siege to the fortress, which is defended by around 300 Rohirrim (before the battle, Legolas states their strength to be "three hundred against ten thousand", but he may have meant at that time, as more were fleeing to the fortress. Visually there are clearly more than 300 appearing on screen in the battle)—and 200 Elven archers. (The numbers are as detailed in the movie tie-in book The Lord of the Rings: Weapons and Warfare, though they disregard that some Uruks were armed with pikes as well.)
The defenders suffer heavy losses, but hold out till dawn, when Gandalf arrives with two thousand riders led by Éomer, who finally turn the tide of the battle and send Saruman's forces into retreat. In the Extended Edition, the Huorns make an appearance; they were absent from the theatrical cut.
It is clear from the beginning that the defenders will be hard put keeping the fortress against Saruman's huge army. In an earlier scene, however, Gandalf suggests that the forces of Rohan should meet Saruman's army in the open field, an idea immediately rejected by Théoden. This exchange must be considered an inconsistency in Jackson's story, as the opposite happens in the book: after reaching the Fords of Isen for open battle, Gandalf instead advises Théoden to move into the Hornburg.
The presence of Elven archers other than Legolas are one of the film's major departures from the book. Elrond, at the prompting of Galadriel, sends them under the command of Haldir of Lórien to reinforce the defence of the keep. During the battle, many of the Elves are killed, including Haldir. In the book, Legolas merely wishes that they had a hundred archers of Mirkwood with them, but tells Gimli that his folk are busy with their own troubles. (In fact, the Elves of Lothlórien and Mirkwood did withstand assaults by Sauron's armies. The latter Elves took and cleansed Dol Guldur, led by Celeborn and Thranduil.) This change was met with both bitterness and enthusiasm with viewers of various persuasions (readers of the original book, Jackson's fans, etc.). Jackson never makes it clear how a regiment of Elves were able to march from Lórien to Helm's Deep in one day while it took Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli three days to run across Rohan from the Emyn Muil to Fangorn forest.
A somewhat similar event takes place in the books, in which Elrond and Galadriel send a company of Aragorn's fellow Rangers, led by his kinsman Halbarad and accompanied by Elrond's sons, Elladan and Elrohir, bringing with them the banner of Gondor (made by Arwen) and the advice to take the Paths of the Dead.
Before and during the battle, Jackson shows women and children being sheltered within the area. Later, he shows all boys able to carry weapons arming for battle, among them Haleth, son of Háma (who has already been killed by a Warg). However, in the book the youngest combatants are probably in their late teens, because the women and children are safe at Dunharrow (in the film the latter are all inside the Hornburg, accompanied by Éowyn). Still, Legolas and Gimli's comments that many defending Helm's Deep have seen either "too many winters, or too few" is a direct quote from the book (spoken by Gamling the Old in the text; he points to his young grandson as he does so).
Saruman's army in the film is solely composed of Uruks, though some of his Wild Men are shown attacking some farmers early in the film. The films tended to avoid killing the human "allies" of the forces of evil (Dunlendings, Easterlings, etc.) on screen, because this would have been more "realistic violence" than killing Orcs and the censors might have given them an R rating.
Expanding on the book's battering ram and ladders, the Uruks also use ballistae. The "blasting-fire" of the books is interpreted as bombs detonated by a torch-bearing sapper. The Uruks also employ bands of berserkers, who are responsible for giving the Uruks a near victory, as they would cling onto the tops of ladders that were being hoisted up, and would swing their cleaves around, keeping the ladder safe so the regular infantry could climb up behind.
Jackson has the Uruks first thumping their pikes on the ground, then being provoked to attack after one of the Rohirrim accidentally releases his arrow and shoots one of them.
Aragorn's parley is not featured. However, he and Gimli (whose height is used for comedic effect at the start of the battle) share a scene where they sneak through a side-door and he tosses the dwarf into a group of enemies who are battering down the doors to the keep. This scene, while popular with Jackson's fans, felt jarring and was insulting to Gimli, according to others. Legolas also has a prominent scene, as he slides down a staircase using a shield as a makeshift "snowboard", shooting arrows all the while.
Concerning the climax of the battle, there are some other changes from the book to the film. In the original text, Gandalf returns with infantry led by Erkenbrand, whereas in the film they are cavalry led by Éomer (a change already made by Bakshi in his version). In the book, Éomer is of course present at the start of the battle; Théoden's line to Aragorn before they ride out, "Let this be the hour when we draw swords together!", is actually spoken by Aragorn to Éomer in the book, before their sortie against the battering ram—in the form "This is the hour when we draw swords together!" Also, Gimli, who is apparently unharmed throughout, blows Helm's Horn himself.
At the end of the battle, Gimli wins the contest by forty-three to Legolas' forty-two (both numbers are different from the kill count in the book by exactly one). Jackson inserts another comedy scene here, with Legolas shooting a dead Uruk and claiming a tie in jest.
Legolas: "Forty-three."
Gimli: "He was already dead."
Legolas: "He was twitching."
Gimli: "He's twitching because he's got my axe embedded in his nervous system!"
The result of the contest is only shown in the extended version of the movie. In the book, Legolas' reaction is entirely different, stating that he does not mind losing the contest as he is so relieved to see Gimli alive.
[edit] Trivia
- Originally, Arwen was supposed to fight at Helm's Deep with the Elves, disguised as one of them; she would have brought the reforged Andúril to Aragorn. Her audition script featured a scene where she and Aragorn talk shortly before the battle. Battle scenes with Liv Tyler were actually filmed, but Peter Jackson decided to rewrite and replace them, due to Tyler not suiting her Xena-like role, and possibly due to fan outrage (they dubbed her XenArwen), although Peter Jackson has stated that such ideas were made very early in production, when Miramax still wanted the entire story fit into only two, two hour-long movies, and the plot had to be incredibly condensed. Once the film switched over to New Line Cinema, heavy re-writes removed most of these condensations. In The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Elrond himself gives Andúril to Aragorn after the battle.
- Peter Jackson gave himself a cameo as one of the Rohirrim; he throws a spear at the Uruks.
Another scene was filmed, where Éowyn fought with a sword in the glittering caves. This scene was played out where the Uruk-hai reached the caves, while Théoden and his men rode out to meet the Uruk-hai army. The behind the scene footages can be seen on the second disk of the limited edition of The Two Towers DVD.
[edit] In other media
The battle is featured in the real-time strategy games The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring, and The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth, the latter based on the Jackson films. The former includes lines very close to the book in its cutscenes, notably in Aragorn's parley.
It is also possible to fight the battle with the Games Workshop tabletop miniature wargame The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game, based either on the book or the Jackson films.
Several custom StarCraft maps have been created that are based on the battle, usually as depicted in the live-action film, and have become one of the more popular types of custom maps. The most popular versions include, in order of their release: Haldir version, Zergling version, and Annatar version. Others versions include NGM, Sarm, Genocide, and Poody. The names of map versions typically refer to their creators.
While the different versions vary widely in layout and play details, all involve the Uruk-hai army attacking the armies of Rohan and Lórien, following the story told by the Peter Jackson film. A timer, usually ranging from thirty to forty-five minutes or more, is always present to count down to the arrival of Gandalf and the Riders of Rohan, along with Éomer/Erkenbrand, depending on the version. Most contain one or more locations where hero units can recover lost hit points and upgrade attack/defence. Aragorn, Théoden, Legolas, Gimli, and Haldir are always present (unless there is no player to play their role or the role of their associated army). While heroes are significantly superior to standard infantry, they are not invincible. In most versions, the game ends either when Théoden or the civilians of Rohan are killed, or when both Uruk-hai commanders are killed.
